McCulloch GBV345

Ditto – Had mine for about 5 years and it was great until like reviewer D. KIm (below) experienced, it became difficult to start then, after I could finally get it to start, it wouldn't run. It would have cost me $200.00 to fix (carburettor). It is actually a stupid imitation (made in China) of a McCulloch. Very disappointing when you consider that… Read more

'McCulloch' used to be the world's leading brand in small petrol engined power tools. This fake junk cost me $249.00 (they still retail for that now), so I didn't see any point in paying almost the same to fix it up when it would undoubtedly fail again, but in less time! Straight to the wheelie bin where it belongs. I went out and bought for the same $249.00 price-tag: a real blower: a Stihl BG 56. I know from experience with the same brand whipper snipper, which I've had for 10 years and still runs like new: I'm confident, this one WILL last the distance.

Clunky and Cumbersome – The GBV345 is the most overrated blower vac on the market. Apart from it taking forever to start, the amount of time spent having to change over from blower parts to vacuum parts is unfortunately poorly designed. The blade for mulching is plastic and is very unreliable when trying to pick up leaves with long stems.  Show details

Good until it refused to start – I have had it for more than 5 years and loved it until the fateful day it refused to do what it always did. Replaced the spark plug, checked the fuel and carburettor but no clue. Wehn I called the authorised repairer, the tiny carburettor ( which I suspect is the heart of the problem) will cost me $200. Will toss the rubbish in the bin. No more McCullocks again.  Show details

A very reliable and effective unit – I have had this unit now for 5 years and it has never let me down. It starts easily and is very effective in picking up leaves. Unlike other comments, my unit has a metal disk not plastic. I have never had it serviced during the time I have owned it. My only criticism is that it is a bit heavy and the bag connector can be a fiddly.  Show details

Great - while it was working. 13 months later it refuses to start and it's a bin job – I bought my GBV345 last year at Masters. For the first 12 months, I loved it. Powerful, easy to start, not too heavy, etc. Went to use it a few weeks ago and it refused to start. Checked for spark - no spark. Took it to the McCulloch service agent and strangely it was sparking again but they took the muffler off and looked into the cylinder… Read more

and advised me that the bore had been scored and it was likely to be a fuel related issue which McCulloch would refuse to cover under warranty. Grrrrr. So, took it back home and it refused to spark again - weird and very frustrating. Anyway, I thought I would give McCulloch a call again and although the guy I spoke with was friendly enough the general feeling was that if the engine showed a particular type of damage it would not be regarded as a manufacturing defect and therefore not covered by the warranty. I have been METICULOUS with the fuel mix I used in this thing, always making sure the mix was correct, etc and have used exactly the same fuel and two stroke oil (with a different mix ratio) in my el-cheapo Talon line trimmer for the last 8 years and it's never skipped a beat. Beware - don't be fooled by the McCulloch name, a lot of big and supposedly premium brands are selling out and making cheap rubbish to make a buck (which will hurt them in the long term). I am furious. Once bitten - I will never buy McCulloch again. I'm off to buy myself an Echo PB-2155 now. Edit: I ended up buying a Stihl BG56 and it's awesome. Much better than the McCulloch ever was.

Rubbish – Blower broke down twice. First time resulted in a a seized piston rod and an engine rebuild. Threw it in the bin when it broke down the second time. Mediocre performance. Cheap rubbish. Shouldn't have bothered. Went out a bought the real thing - a Stilh. Should have known better in the first place.  Show details

Vacuum attachment design is not good – I purchased one of these at Bunnings yesterday. I really wanted the vacuum/mulching function to pick up leaves from my mango tree. I gave up after two bag fulls and have returned the item. The vacuum attachment is designed to attach at the side of the blower and the leaves pass over the blades of the engine which are plastic. The leaves have worn… Read more

down about 5mm of the blades after 30 minutes use. I also had two holes burnt in the bag - again due to a design fault as the bag sits to the right of the engine. When you put it down to empty the bag there is a good chance it will come in contact with the hot engine. I do not recommend this as a vacuum unit. The blower part worked fine.

Bunnings did give me a new one to replace it but I have only used it as a blower...

Powerful but EXTREMELY Poorly Designed – I purchased the GBV345, at a price premium over the competition from Bunnings Warehouse. I took the unit home and assembled it as per the instructions and gave it it's first try. Motor started easily right away, and it was quite powerful (one warmed up enough to accelerate to full speed). I went to start sucking up the leaves and debris… Read more

around the yard and the unit was quite powerful - easily picking up all leaves and other debris.

But that's where the fun ended!

I had to remove the inlet tube twice as it got jammed - once from a small branch (less than 5mm diameter and 20cm long)with leaves attached, and again when it sounded like something was stuck in the impeller (wasnt!!).

I looked at the impeller - and was shocked it was already worn down considerably! (20% would be a fair estimate!).

Anyhow, The bag was finally full and i decided to empty it into the bin..... Well Nope... you cannot!

The bag does not detach from the elbow tube - and you need tools to remove the elbow tube from the blower body.... Ok... Fine... I placed the bag into the bin which required the machine to be turned, and i was able to empty the bag...

When i righted the machine again i noticed a fair fuel leak as there was a puddle on the ground below where i had been emptying the bag.

I returned the unit to Bunnings, and they were fantastic in accepting the return.

Definitely powerful, and I think it would make a brilliant blower - but as a vaccuum... absolutely rubbish.

Good, solid, reliable, portable blower – I have used various types of blowers in a commercial environment for a few years. I now use this McCulloch as a reserve, a Stilh back pack blower being number one choice. Note portables aren't designed for sustained and really heavy use anyway, over time it wears them out. With this in mind I have destroyed petrol ryobi's and such like and… Read more

believe this is the best I have found to date. I actually like it (and I'm a toughie) and recommended it for medium domestic use or as a reserve tool. Regards C. Reliable startup and resonable power blow I suppose. Not so light on the arm (you get used to it tho) and right hand use finds your clothes can be sucked in to the in-take fan.

runs good, very smooth – I had a homelite for 5 years, but this blower is far smoother, easier to start. Time will tell on how it goes long term, but so far so good! The new homelites are rubbish in my opinion, nothing like they use to be. Most blowers in this price range don't appear to of good quality. Seem like they are throw aways. This blower seems solid, well built.… Read more ·  1

looks good, priced good (masters $228) runs well. packaging not the best. like it was thrown into the box and sent, not a scratch on it through.

Fanatastic product – I had a m325 blower/vac which i gave to my dad and i have just purchased a gbv345 and i am very happy with it.My m325 is now being used by my dad and he loves the old m325.I think anything from Mc culloch is great bit of equipment. keep up the good work it's durabilty things that are good are pricey