Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZR08510 25.4cc Gas-Powered Variable-Speed Hand-Held Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
by Ryobi
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List Price: Our Price: $62.99 You Save: $117.01 (65%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Factory Reconditioned Ryobi ZR08510 25.4cc Gas-Powered Variable-Speed Hand-Held Blower/Vacuum/Mulcher
Customer Review: It does work in Virginia!!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my second unit. The first one would not run at full throttle without bogging down. At half throttle, ran good but not enough air flow. Seemed like a mixture adjustment but did not have the special tool to adjust. It started real easy by following the directions on the casing. CPO sent another, with a return ebill (via email)
The second unit ran great, good power, lots of air velocity, easy to start, cold, hot, and in-between.
The fellow who has the sticking choke problem, note that the choke, does not return manually when you push the lever back. the choke pops off when you press the trigger/throttle, at least on both the units I received.
Both units looked almost brand new, maybe a little shelf wear and a short run to check it out. A few minor scratches on the bottom.
The manual leaves something to be desired!!! It is obviously for a slightly different model than the one received. The main difference is in the starting procedure and the air filter (mine does not have one). Big NOTE here, follow the starting procedure on the casing. The manual and one of the copied pages says hold the throttle while pulling the starter. The other copied page says DO NOT hold the throttle (the one I have). If you hold the throttle, the choke will pop off and you will never get it started cold.... Mine started real easy with choke on, primer bulb 7 to 8 times, pull starter, wait a few seconds after starting then press the throttle. Started the first time on the 3rd pull. The first pull thereafter hot, with no throttle or choke, the 2nd or 3 pull when warm but not hot, with no throttle or choke.
The lack of an air filter is a real concern. The carb has a very course mesh screen over the inlet which is fine for hands, feet, and big leaves, but not dust. Blowing leaves or sucking them up is a very dusty job. All that dust will be sucked into the engine and do nasty things to the pistons, bearings, and cylinder walls. I will find or make a filter to put in it. Hopefully, no carb adjustment or such will be necessary.
I will be using it heavily in about a month or so when the weather permits. If I find problems, I will so report here.
Customer Review: Questionable Reconditioning
Summary: 3 Stars
I've owned this about two months now, using it at least once a week. So far I'm satisfied with the purchase, but it didn't start out that way.
When I first fueled and started the product, it started fine, but then would quickly die. A little bit of diagnosis indicated that one of the two fuel lines wasn't properly attached--I think the one that pressurizes the tank. After pushing the line on firmly, the product started up and ran fine. I sort of wonder if this is the reason it was returned, and that perhaps they didn't actually fix it. Ignoring that, the product seemed to be in like new condition, but I didn't think to pull the plug to see if it was new.
As to operations, it does take maybe five pulls to start it up after priming it seven pushes and moving a lever to "start." Once it fires up you should hit the trigger to take it off "start" and get the engine to run smoothly. For me it sometimes runs smoothly almost instantly, but at other times it can take maybe 30 seconds for it to get up to full RPMs, but it will idle.
My only other experience with a blower was an electric model, and this is clearly equal to or better than having such a device, unless perhaps you work in a relatively small area where the cord is not such an issue.
[Edit: I've now used this through the first season, including the fall leaf season. It's worked flawlessly as a blower, subject to the starting process noted above. I've also tried the leaf vacuum function, and that too works reasonably well, but it is somewhat awkward compared to an electric model which simply reversed direction. With this model you attach a tube to what would be the intake during blowing. There are two problems with that. First, the handling of the device is a but awkward at that angle. Second, the tube connects via screws, so it's not easy to remove and reinstall. I just leave one tube on when blowing, which means there's a 24-30" tube hanging off the side. Again though, this is only an issue during the fall.]
Customer Review: Biggest POS I've ever owned
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't get upset too easily, but this product inspired me to write a review, hoping it will save other buyers from wasting their $$. I recently used it for the first time. I started with the vacuum mode. Well, that didn't last long. The vacuum tube falls out every 30 seconds, because it twist locks in place and the cheap plastic doesn't hold it secure. There's supposed to be a safety that kills the engine if the blower/fan access door is open. Well numerous times when the vac tube fell out on me, the door stayed slightly ajar and the motor kept running. Talk about an extreme safety issue. The engine also spat and sputtered and would hardly stay running while using the vacuum mode. As soon as I would increase the throttle it would not want to stay running. Yes, I read the owner's manual and know how to operate a gas engine. I was using new gas mixed in the proper ratio. After absolutely no success with the vac mode, I switched to blower mode. The blower tubes fall out all the time as well! This flimsy twist-lock design is worthless! Finally, I had to resort to some duct tape to hold it in. Like others, the zipper tab on the vac bag disintegrated half way the first time I opened the bag and completely on the second use. The handle for vac mode is right next to the exhaust so you practically burn yourself. On the positive side, the engine stayed running in blower mode and I could actually increase to max throttle without it killing. It does run quieter that my last leaf blower and the engine starts up good. You have to ask yourself why there is a vast supply of refurbed units being sold. After using the product firsthand, I can see why. No amazon return policy for items that use flammable liquids and Ryobi return policy says item must be unused. Well, what good is that? You don't get to truly experience how useless this leaf blower is until you put some gas in it and fire it up! I feel truly let down by Amazon. Why do I have to choose one star for this product, it deserves ZERO!Customer Review: Unconnected return fuel line. After the fix, it works great.
Summary: 2 Stars
11/16/10 Well I have used the blower about a 6 times, 1 hour each, since my initial review. On the plus side it starts easy, blows hard, much better than an electric blower it replaced. Now the down side, it started rattling during the 6th use and steadily got louder which was a bit disturbing. After awhile I noticed that the noise was due to a loose exhaust manifold, the bolts had worked loose. I took the unit to my garage, removed the plastic cowling from the right side of the blower so I could get to the manifold. I then removed the 2 bolts one at a time, added some Locktite to the threads and re-tightened the bolts. This process took about 5 minutes. Not sure that most homeowners could do this or would go to the effort. The noise is now gone. I've had a Ryobi weed eater for 15 years and it has worked flawlessly. Get your act back together Ryobi! Downgrading to 2 stars from 3.
Initial review:
On the positive side, shipping was as promised, the blower is now working like expected. The bad, the return fuel line was not connected which I discovered after fueling the tank and pressing the priming bulb. Fuel spilled out onto my garage floor from the bottom of the carb return fuel nipple. I drained the fuel out of the tank and picked a pair of needle nose pliers and attempted to connect the hose without success. I then discovered that the end of the hose had the remnants of an old fuel nipple inside it. This may be the reason that units are returned to the factory as the return fuel nipple is plastic and can be easily broken since it is somewhat exposed to being damaged. After studying the problem, I decided to cut off the end of the hose section that had the old fuel nipple and pull a quarter inch of hose thru the fuel tank to make the hose long enough to reach the nipple on the carb. After this I refueled the tank I successfully started and used the blower. Starts on 3rd pull consistently now and works great.
Customer Review: A little too fragile for my tastes.
Summary: 3 Stars
The other reviewers were right, and I probably should have listened to them. I followed the starting instructions to the letter, and after twenty or thirty pulls of the rope, I got tired of trying to get it started. A quick shot of carburetor cleaner into the carb made it start and run that first time, and from that point on it started after one or two pulls.
The leaf collector tube does tend to fall off in use, so I drilled a small hole through the mount and screwed a short sheetmetal screw to keep it from coming loose. Not a big deal, but Ryobi should have solved the problem at the engineering level instead of letting the consumer figure out their own solution.
After bagging about 1/4 acre of raked leaves (probably 40 collector bags worth - I think it's too small), I was almost finished, so I thought I'd try blowing the last few leaves instead of raking them. I put on the blower nozzle, pulled the trigger, and The impeller (the one that everyone said is fragile) exploded.
I've had two electric leaf blower/vacs in the past that each lived about five years, so I feel confident that I'm not abusing my tools by feeding the leaf shredders too many rocks and sticks. They never exploded, so why did this one? It's a poor design, and I'll probably end up buying a new impeller from Ryobi at the start of every season.
The fan impeller, by the way, is not covered by the 1 year warranty, nor is shipping to and from the repair center, but I still plan on calling Ryobi to express my displeasure.
If you buy this unit, go easy on it. If you use it to just blow leaves, you may be okay. It looks like it's pro equipment, but it's really just barely consumer-grade.