Troy-Bilt 24A-204B766 6.5HP Chipper Shredder Vac Self Propelled Model

Great value, but not really self propelled., September 2, 2005
Reviewer: John S. Bilik

I have a lakeside area with lots of acorns and walnuts in the north woods of Wisconsin, which after one pass, are completely removed and no longer a bother. The vaccuum is strong enough to lift small twigs and nuts from the ground in one pass, so it does it’s job. The self propelled feature is not so hardy. My vac pull to the right constantly, I believe only the left rear wheel is power driven. There appears to be a small differential casing, but it’s very dainty and may be broken after only several uses. For the money, this little machine really cleans up, and will make no work at all out of leaves and grass. It’s a good value for me, and is perfect for small areas (<1 acre) with lots of manicured trees. The flywheel is directly connected to the motor shaft, so it’s a bit of a challenge to get it started with a pull rope, especially when very cold.

Replaced similar YardMan model which I sold two years ago., July 19, 2005
Reviewer: Wayne J. Hughes “EZ” (Blue Ridge, NC)

After deciding to move to Fl., I no longer needed my yard man leaf vacuum which was indespensible in my wooded northern acre.
Well, we decided to move again, to woods in NC and I ordered the Troy-Bilt 6.5 Hp chipper shredder, made by MTD also, because of my experience with the YardMan version.

It arrived earlier than estimated (good) and in perfect condition. The minor assembly was easy and everything works fine. It has a bit more power than my older one but is very similar, Otherwise. It chips branches up to 3″ and worked very well on my accumulation of yard debris. Fast and efficient for a unit this size. I learned with the other that the vacuum hose is a better accessory than the vacuum nozzle that comes std. so I ordered that from MTD and used it in my wooded area to clear some leaf piles from last Fall. The extra power of this unit was evident and it did a great job, very seldom having to clear the hose of wet debris.

For its size and price, this is an excellent machine and I anticipate good service as with my prior version.

Quality Control Needs to be Fired, May 13, 2005
Reviewer: Rick (Houston)
This is my initial impression, as I just received my unit. It took alot longer to assemble than it should have, thanks to very poor quality control. First, the support bracket that attaches the chipper chute to the vac handle absolutely would not attach, because the plastic portion of the chute was not assembled to the metal portion properly. I had to drill holes and relocate the bracket in order to get it mounted properly — and I was following the instructions to the letter.

Second, there is a safety switch below the snout of the vac that gets depressed by a tab connected to the snout (so you can’t start it unless the snout is properly attached). This tab is easily bent, and apparently was. I tried to start the unit several times before I thought about the switch and checked to see if it was depressed. I fixed the tab, and the unit did start.

Third, the adjustment levers for the snout opening were assembled incorrectly. I had to partially dissamble the mechanism and get them seated properly in their slots.

So after taking 1.5 hours to assemble something that should have taken 20 mins. I finally got to try the thing out and can offer a few functional observations:
1. The vac portion works very well. It sucks up loose leaves and small twigs without difficulty. It will not suck up leaves that are wet and matted to the ground, but I wouldn’t really expect it to.
2. The chipper can be finicky. You need to make sure that anything you stick into it does not have any kinks in it that would cause it to get caught in the opening at the base near the blades.
3. As previously stated, it does have a rather heavy pull to start. If you have the choke on for the initial startup it starts pretty easily, though (1st or 2nd pull).

I will need more time to get used to the quirks and form a real opinion on how well it works, but I thought I would post my initial impressions while they were fresh — and I was really irritated about the QC issues.

Almost Makes Clearing the Leaves Fun, November 10, 2004
Reviewer: Connecticut Swamp Yankee (Norwalk, CT)
I received my Troy-Bilt chipper vac about four weeks ago and have used it a couple of times since then. I have a three quarter acre lot that is very heavily wooded, about one half acre of which requires raking. This machine has literally cut more than in half the amount of time it takes me to clear my yard. It has also greatly reduced the volume of yard waste that I have to pile in the woods behind my house.

I wholeheartedly agree with most of what previous reviewers stated about this machine, but would like to add my two cents.

With regard to the starter pull cord being a tough pull, this is true. I have noticed that the machine often leaves small pieces of larger sticks in the chipper chute which can jam the chipper chute making the pull start next to impossible to pull. What I have found works best in this situation is to us a long stick to rotate the chipper blade until the offending piece is exposed, then fish out the piece with the stick. This should be obvious, but never reach into the chute with your arm, even when the machine is turned off. Another observation I have made is that when the machine has been running and is turned off, it is best to set the choke to half when restarting. This should get it going again with one pull.

With regard to the nozzle height, I also have an uneven yard and have also experienced divoting when the nozzle is in a lowered position. I also find it best to leave the nozzle in it’s highest position.

As far as the bag goes, I had a lot of difficulty with it at first, especially considering that one of the pins is located tightly between the handle and the chipper chute. After a couple of tries, I found that if you tilt the machine backwards so that the bag rests on the ground, it lets up the slack on the hooks and makes it much easier to remove. I recommend removing the hook next to the chipper chute first. I also recommend not letting the bag get too full. This makes removal of the bag a little more difficult.

With regard to delivery difficulties, I guess it just depends on the local delivery service. The folks that delivered it to my house not only removed it from the truck, but placed it right into my garage. I still find it hard to believe that I got free shipping on such a huge item.

A couple of final pieces of advice. First, invest in a face mask. This machine has a tendency to produce a lot of fine dust that gets in your eyes (even with goggles), mouth, nose and lungs. Second, do not to let the leaves build up in your yard, especially if your yard is heavily wooded. The machine works great and has great suction, but when you have a thick layer of leaves on the ground, it has a tendency to clog from time to time and may require a few passes. Not to mention, you will have to empty the bag more frequently, which can become a nuisance. When the machine has clogged, I found that simply easing it back on its rear wheels or pulling it backwards almost always quickly clears the clog.

Overall this is an excellent product that I would highly recommend to anybody with a lot of leaf bearing trees on their property. Take it from someone who has a good number of large, old growth oak trees on his property. What used to take me about 16 hours to do by rake now takes me about 6 to do with the this leaf vac. It truly is a time and labor saver.

Troy-Bilt Shredder Vac - Time Saver, November 5, 2004
Reviewer: Tool Buyer “Don” (East Greenwich, RI USA)
I purchased this chipper/vac about 6 weeks ago and have used it three times since. These are my observations,
1. The starter pull cord takes a lot of effort to pull, but does start in 1 or 2 pulls. If you have left a stick in the chipper chute that is engaging the blades, it is very hard to pull. If you don’t have average upper body strength you will have a difficult time starting this machine.
2. The run/stop lever is difficult to reach because it is located behind the bag. You can not read it because the bag is in the way, so become familar with the direction for run and stop prior to running, because you will need to reach in blindly to stop it.
3. The adjustment for the nozzle height, in my case, needs to be all the way up. I do not have the benefit of a perfectly flat yard, so, when I come across a high spot the edge of the nozzle digs in and divots the lawn. All the way up is the only way I can operate this machine.
4. When Troy-Bilt states in the agreement, shipper is not responsible to get this machine off the shippers truck, they mean it. When the tractor trailer came, I had to be inventive as to getting this 200 lb machine off his truck. The driver did help, but it was my responsibilty to come up with a way to get the large box to the ground.
5. Other reviewers have stated difficulty with the bag. I have found the bag to be a learning experience. What I mean is once you get the hang of it, you can install and remove it quickly and without much effort. I like the bottom zipper for dumping the leaves and the multiple grab handles.
6. The vac has good suction. Branches do need to be rather straight and have some thickness and weight to find their way to the blades on their own. It chips well.
7. My neighbors spend all day raking and I vac in the time it takes to mow the lawn.
8. I haven’t as of yet had the experience of vacuuming up a stone and still wonder if it is possible and what, if any, damage it could cause.

So far, I am pleased with this purchase. I never looked forward to raking up up least 50 bags of leaves. Uneven surfaces are a problem, but you find a way to deal with it eventually, it still beats raking.

Once Started, Good Tool for the Money, December 31, 2003
Reviewer: the_emperor_of_ice_cream (Ft Washington, Pa United States)
I have now been using the 6.5 HP Troy Built C/S/V for three months. To make this simple, I’ll get straight to the pro’s and cons…

Pro’s…
1) The factory did an excellent job of packaging and crating the unit for shipment
2) The unit feels substantial and this was reinforced for me as I went through the very simple set-up process (takes about an hour to unbox and set-up)
3) Directions for set-up were flawless
4) Once started, the unit does an excellent job of picking up dry leaves and twigs through the vaccuum nozzle — it cleared my 1/3 acre yard in about 2 hours (including the time it took me to get the refuse to the street for pick-up)
5) When the suction power of the nozzle is overhwelmed by leaves, it is very easy to unclog the nozzle — I just use a twig
6) I found that the unit hungrily accepted branches up to 2.5 inches in diameter (I measured) — the unit does start to bog down on branches larger than this
7) Does a fantastic job of mulching yard waste — I can’t say it does this to a 10:1 ratio like the company claims (how do they measure this?), but I am very please with how few lawn bags I am using this season

Cons…
1) This unit is EXTREMELY difficult to start. For context, I am 6′ 2″ and before that third helping of Christmas dinner, I weighed in around 235 lbs. My wife, 5′ 3″ and around 120 (if she reads this I’m a dead man!), was never able to start the unit. I would guess that the pull weight on the starter cord exceeds 60 lbs. Exascerbating the issue is the rather awkward position in which the pull starter is located.
2) Branches can get jammed in the feeder shoot, and the plunger is never quit long enough to drive a lot of branches to the grinding teeth. Freeing these items from the feeder tube can be a frustrating process.
3) Awkward position of zipper on the catch bag makes it difficult to transfer mulched waste into garbage bags

Net/net: If you have a lot of trees and want to save time and think you’re man enough to start it ; ) — BUY IT!

It worked great until…, December 2, 2003
Reviewer: A home improvement enthusiast
I bought this product and I used it to do a heavily wooded property. It handled the wet leaves but the twiggs and leaves clogged the inlet. I was able to unclog it with a stick. Plenty of power, for the propulsion and the chipping / vacuum. It worked great until the transmission fell off. I bought it assembled. The bolts just loosened and fell out. Somebody didn’t use lock nuts. 2 yr warranty is nice. It’s a week now waiting for the parts.

Not bad for the money, October 24, 2003
Reviewer: Carlyle Maupin (Columbus, Ohio United States)
I just received this item by freight yesterday so take this review for what it’s worth. I was pleasantly surprised the truck driver unloaded it and put it in my garage. It would have been impossible for me to have unloaded it by myself.(see shipping restrictions). This is my second troy-bilt chipper/vac so I can compare them. The first was the 8 hp model purchased about 8 years ago. It only lasted 3 years and then the motor seized. It cost over twice as much and I definitely did not get my moneys worth. So I’m taking a chance on this one. I have about 1 acre with about 30 mature trees, many of them black walnuts so my yard is pretty harsh on equipment.

The shredder/vac portion is fantastic. If I were to rate this product just on that portion it would get five stars. The chipper part is a little disappointing. It seems to have a little trouble with 1 inch twigs. I stopped it once thinking it had finished chipping only to find out I couldn’t restart until I took off the nozzle and worked the twig out of the blade.
Other things that drop it from five stars are the seemingly flimsy plastic parts, the bag design and the troy-bilt customer service. Some parts didn’t fit together causing me not to be able to start it. I called customer service and had to wait about ten minutes for the guy to tell me to call my local dealer. I don’t think it was a toll-free call but I could be wrong. Fortunately I was able to fix it myself. It had shipped from the factor with the safety button assembly upside down.

All said, if it last, I will probably be happy with the purchase. The general design is much better than the 8 hp and the nozzle doesn’t seem to get clogged as much. Perhaps the added 1.5 hp made the former a better chippper.