Victa VBE1500

Great suction – I’ve just recently bought this from upgrading from a different brand. It has great suction. I use it on my artificial turf. The bag is a better quality that I’ve seen. The only downside is that it’s a bit heavy and cumbersome for a 5ft nothing person. Other than that I’m happy with my purchase.  Show details

Perfect for what I use it for – I bought one of these second hand off eBay for $50, which was a real bargain. I bought it "before" reading these reviews, and then I thought oh no!, what have I done? I already have a petrol blower vac but it is a pain to convert from blower to vac, so I needed something else just to suck up heaps of leaves from my pattern paved driveway and… Read more

footpath once a year in Autumn. When I say heaps of leaves - I mean heaps of leaves, every day for about for about 3 - 4 weeks. I was pleasantly surprised (and so relieved) when I fired up this machine once I got it home. It did exactly what I wanted - to pick up leaves, and mulch them into smaller amounts to then throw onto my garden beds. There is never stones or debris in the area I use it in. As an added bonus, with a simple twist of a knob - the machine turns into quite a strong blower which blows away any left over leaves at the end, which I then just scoop up with my hands myself. I don't rush when doing the task, which I think is the key to it working properly. You need to give it time to create suction each step you take. If you rush it too much, it can clog up a little bit at the front, but it is very easy to reach down and unclog it with your finger tips - without hardly missing a stride. I can understand other peoples mixed reviews, because I think if you're after a super machine that works quick and easy, and picks up debris and stones along the way - perhaps this isn't the machine for you. I find it is very easy to empty the bag.

I have had two back surgeries so not having to carry a machine around with a heavy bag full of leaves is fantastic.

I leave it set up in the garage so any of my family can use it. It's easy to move around and is actually fun to use too. It's not as noisy or messy as a petrol blower vac either. Hope this helps you?

A waste of money, and difficult to use – Initially exchanged because it was broken inside the box, it hardly picked up anything, and forget about using it on anything but completely flat ground: it will simply not move forward. And trying to undo the sliding bag-locking device is almost impossible. Also, the vacuum exhaust blows out dust all over the control switch.  Show details

Not what I expected from Victa – I own a Victa 500, but needed to replace it as the motor is nearly gone. bought the new Victa 500 vacuum & blower. Good vacuum, & good blower. Only problem, is that the blower leaking when vacuuming, got to chase the leaves around. try to take it back, but no dice, it was checked by the insurance agent for Victa and I was told that it was because… Read more

the bag was blocked and too dirty??? NEW MACHINE, WITH LESS THAN 5 MINUTES WORK. only used it to try on a handful of leaves on clean pavers. RIPPED OFF, will try consumer affairs.

Designed by someone who has never used one – Previous vac machine was excellent upgraded to have blow facility what a disaster the so called easy bag system is a joke. The bag blows off at least once every time I use it it is impossible to seal the vac component is spasmodic. Blow is sound but it is useless unless you can then vac items up.  Show details

Product idea is great but performance is shocking!! – I have had one of these Vac's for 3 years now, there are not many pluses for it as sucking of leaves is poor, and constantly blocks up, the bag is of poor quality! and any small stones are like are like missiles, that decimate the back of the bag rendering it useless in no time, I ended up gluing a 10ltr paint bucket lid inside it to limit the… Read more

damage, also when the bag starts to fill up it puts the machine out of balance and in my case it fell backwards breaking the handle it is now held together with Duct Tape, it also spends most of it's time being blocked, and the blower option is not 100%, when it's on vac/suck it also partly blows, making sucking difficult, the other major problem is the cost of replacement parts for repairs, they are horrifically expensive!!! mine is off to the Dump you cxertainly couldn't give it to anyone for the fear of all of the complaints.

Absolute Rubbish! – I cannot understand how you could release a product like this without going through some sort of testing and come to the conclusion of PASS, wrong FAIL! This machine fails to suck up leaves well and is always blocking and as for the blower it's a waste of time using because its weak, so fail there as well!

I Like It – I too bought this because the normal blower vacs were too heavy for me and also because the bag would fall off all the time even if it was only half full. I ended up trying to tie it on with a piece of cord but it would still fall off and make a mess. So, I saw one of these at Bunnings and went out straight away to purchase it. I have never… Read more

looked back. Have had it for over 12 months and use it every week and love it! Worth every penny I Paid.

Give me an old model – I have used the 700 watt Victa vac machine for the past 28 years, going through 2 machines I that time. The second just failed so I went to Bunnings to replace. The "new" machine, twice as powerful, is just useless!. It clogs up almost immediately & I spend more time unclogging than vacuuming! I am trying to track down a working version of the old machine.

Biggest Waste Of Money Ever – The worst motorised gardening product I've ever bought. Will only pick up loose, light leaves. Won't pick up stems, won't pick up tiny twigs or little bits of bark. Won't even vacuum up sand off a concrete floor. Shockingly poor design. The joke is, anything it can actually pick up is blown forward by the electric motors cooling fan. Can't believe… Read more

I spent $$ on this. Completely ripped off. Thought buying a known brand name would guarantee a certain level of quality. WRONG. Avoid. Most useless vacuum ever built. What a piece of crap.

WHAT A WONDERFUL MACHINE ! – My husband bought me this because the normal strap-over-the-shoulder type was just too heavy for me. I absolutely love the leaf vacuum/blower and can't imagine why others have had so many problems with it. If you don't secure the bag properly, yes you will get dust flying out the sides, just takes a little bit of time to make sure it's all clipped on nice and tight.

Joke and a waste of precious resources – We purchased a Victor Vac from Bunnings and it is utterly useless. It has a terrible design, consistently blocks, easier to use a rake, gloves and wheelbarrow to clean up the leaves. Want to set fire to it with two stroke, my advise do not buy this product as I have had many small leaf vacuums, need to spend $1000 or more for something that truly works.

Disgusting product – I use it for 2 to 3 minutes and will not suck the slightest bit off dust and will not suck it is the most disgusting waste of money I have ever spent the Victa blower vac 1500 AND IT IS NEW PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY Buy some other brand

Not a good product – When my Victa Vac 500 engine blew I bought the VBE 1500 however it is not very effective. Firstly it does not pick up all the leaves etc and there must be some design fault because when it is on vacuum mode it blows stuff away and I ended up chasing leaves etc around. The bag is too small and debris leak from the side of the plastic retainer. All is not lost as I transplanted the engine into my dead Victa Vac 500. Read review for Victa Vac 500.

Sucks? But it doesn't – In a word, inadequate. Its 'gullet' is too small, restricting its uptake - both of leaf size and volume taken in at one time, causing it to block up easily. Its ground clearance is low, hindering it from moving over the leaves it is to collect; instead it tends to just push them along. Its suction, however, is already insufficient to pick up leaf… Read more

stems, so it couldn't cope with greater clearance anyhow. At only 18 litres, the bag is too small. I found the bag could be attached securely, but it was fussy and hard to get right at the first attempt. I disagree with comments about dust: it is an outside vac. and if it kept all the dust, the bag would soon lose its ability to filter, resulting in even less suction. If you are patient, the VBE1500 will eventually collect your smaller leaves and mince them finely. I returned mine, and I have to say that Bunnings was nice about it. But not Victa's finest hour.

Can't complain – I have had mine for 3 years. It works fine. Good suction even on pavers. Chops up leaves Finley. Those who have the bags falling off must not have locked it in place with the sliding piece on the top. If I had to complain about anything it would be the noise, but I have nothing to compare it to. Maybe others are just as noisy I also agree that… Read more

fine dust does get through the bag, but again maybe others do thi too.

After 3 years use every 2 nd weekend I ripped the bag and while looking for a second hand bag I came across this review.

As a happy user I felt I should stick up for the product.

If it doesn't work in first 12 months take it back, then Victa will realize the issues. Keep your receipts.

Good 3 star vale to me

Most useless piece victa product I have ever owned – Had an old model Red colour model 500 and this was still going after about 20 years use without missing a beat, only reason it has been retired is that the blower impeller is completely worn away. went out and purchased a VBE1500A and found nothing like the old one,useless picking up leaves, bag leaked and plastic retainer holding bag to frame… Read more

broke and when tried to get parts was told that I had to buy the whole assembly, have since thrown into garden shed as I cant even give away.This has turned me off Victa, sad a great company that made great products and aircraft that somehow has lost its way. Can not even rate this vac as I do not think it even rates one star.

How can it be sold? – The product is not worthy of purchase and should not be sold! The so-called collection (rubbish) bag is not designed properly and continually fell-off, when I used the cleaner. After one (1) week, I returned the so-called "cleaner" to Bunning's Warehouse and got my money back without any issues whatsoever!

Vacuum unit with no suck – With 180sqm of new limestone pavers I lashed out for an easy to use garden vacuum but have found my old cheapy (10 years old) having to be used to clean up after using the Victa failed to clean the area. I will be returning it to get my money back as it is completely unsuitable for doing the job it was supposedly designed to do. Bunning's claim… Read more

they have not had any bad reports from these units but on reviewing this site it confirms my initial thought that the unit is not for me.

Winner of the most useless product of the year award! – It is simply useless as a garden vacuum... I tried it in the garage and it cant even pick up dust and sand... Just so you know Victa - I wont be buying from you any time soon. Like one of the other poster's said -I wouldn't even give it away and I would be embarrassed to leave it out on the verge for pick up...

ZERO stars for VBE 1500A blower vac – This product is junk. A useless collection of wasted raw material that I would not even GIVE away. As you approach the debris with the vac setting fully on, the collection chute has blowing air leakage which blows the debris everywhere so that what little suction there is doesn't vacuum. This is a disgrace to the victa name. I will NEVER buy a… Read more

product from this manaufacturer again. ZERO stars for me, this product fails at the elementary design level and is NOT fit for purpose.

Victa VBE1500 very disappointed – Used only a few times and the catcher bag fell apart, very frustrated as I obviously can't use it and having difficulty on how and where to purchase a new bag. Bunnings were not helpful even though I purchades it from them. $200+ and sits idle in my garden shed

Absolute rubbish – Victa have a good reputation but this has let them down. 1. The bag is flimsy and lets dust penetrate to the outside 2. The bag is extremelly difficult to remove and more difficult to replace after being emptied 3. Tiny castor wheels on the front can be an issue on pavers or uneven surfaces 4. Cheap plastic construction and poor fitting parts Fit only for the tip

Lasted 2 uses – Have used it twice since new and even though it has only picked up leaves from an artificial lawn the bag has already disintegrated. Ideal opportunity for replacement manufacturer!

The first thing I noticed was the front castor wheels are way to small – Well I wish I never bought the [censored word removed] thing. The first thing I noticed was the front castor wheels are way to small, so they don't go over bumps or on artificial lawn. It's very noisy and the bag can come away from the frame quite easily, it also gets clogged up very easily. The suction

Victa VBE 1500 – Like so many others in this thread, I was very disappointed with my new Victa, which I bought yesterday. I had an old one years ago that was marvellous.. This one is badly made, the parts don't fit together well and are very inconvenient to remove. The inlet is far too narrow and clogs up after a couple of passes. I am taking mine back to the shop tomorrow. Badly made, clogs the inlet every few passes.

Total Victa Fail – Bag had a hole in it after 2mins of use from a brand new unit. Took the bag back to Bunnings who made me bring the whole unit back for exchange. Does a fair job of picking up leaves, but the bags look poorly made and already looks to be failing after 3 uses. Spend some more on a decent quality unit, as this just looks like Chinese rubbish with… Read more

a Victa brand on it. Ok at picking up leaves poor quality bag and makes a lot of noise for little suction.

What a waste of money – Totally usless pick up half bucket of small leaves from paved back yard and the bag has holes in it Of course bunnings want you to buy another bag as it is considered a consumable have purchased 5 bags all with the same problem -holes cant afford any more bags Tried mini vac same problem sad part of the story is that the orange victa vac 500 was… Read more

brilliant had one for approx 7 years It all comes down to the quick buck with no thought to quality which i would be happy to pay for Great idea Poor quality, poor materials used, made in china throw away [quickly]