Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Toro Mulcher/Blower Fries Just a Year after Purchase from Home Depot


I hate that maple tree in the fall.  The branches are tall and spindly and scary in the wind.  But its the leaf production that makes life in the fall rather a hell.

The leaves fall by the truckload.   Many fall onto the wire of the cat yard turning day in the yard to night.  I used to whack at the wire from underneath, with a broom, to try to get them off, but I can't do that anymore.  Hurts my neck and shoulder.

So last year, I bought a mulcher/blower, Toro brand, at Home Depot.  I have the receipt that says I bought it on October 11 last year.  I didn't use it much, just the rest of the leaf season.   I've used it so far three times this year, the last time being tonight.

Suddenly, after only ten minutes out there, it began to smell awful and then smoke poured out of both sides. I quickly unplugged it and ran it out to the driveway so it wouldn't catch anything on fire.

It smoked another ten minutes or so, and I went and found my camera to get a video although it had mostly stopped smoking by the time I found the camera.  I am not happy.  To have something last only a year with such minimal use means it was crap to begin with.  It's made in Mexico.  The warranty from Home Depot on it was only 90 days.

It's almost like they build this stuff to break and expect me to dutifully go buy another piece of plastic crap to replace it.  I'll go back to whacking at the leaves from underneath with a broom before I'll lay out cash for crap.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:55 PM

    I think such a product would have to have a twelve month warranty here. It would surely be worthwhile approaching Home Depot and see if they can help you out their goodwill. Toro sounds Mexican. It probably died in fear of the election of Trumpet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have reached out to both Home Depot and Toro, so far, no response from either.

      Delete
  2. Sigh.
    Remember when things could be repaired? Too many things are built to fall apart completely. Quickly.
    I worry about you hurting yourself though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, whacking from underneath isn't good on my neck issues.

      Delete
  3. Now I know what not to buy. Hope you can get some positive resolution on this. However, I'm sure that's not how you wanted to spend your time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I wanted to just blow the leaves. Yesterday was dry so the leaves were dry, had hoped to get it done.

      Delete
  4. Poor thing! What a pain. The tarp used to haul leaves is very clever, by the way. As much as I love autumn leaf color, I'm happy to enjoy it in other peoples' yards. Take care!

    ReplyDelete

Dashing

 Got a message this morning.  Was I even really awake yet?   The weather has been really winterish, with winds, pouring rain, cold, even thu...