This has got to be the worst piece of crap I have ever bought, no wonder there are so many being sold on gumtree and local areas.
Blower / Vacuum switch leaks on both settings, bag leaks, noisy, won't even pick up light smearing of dust and dirt, let alone leaves. Save your money and buy a rake and pair of gloves.

The unit is poorly designed in that the vacuum unit entry is too narrow & gets blocked constantly even with small volume of leaves and blockages are extremely difficult to clear. The collection bag is difficult to fit, leaks fine particles and is constantly blowing off. Operating noise level is excessive. Only used twice for moderate patio area but totally dissatisfied with unit's inability to perform to acceptable standard. Consider unit is totally unfit for purpose & should be recalled from market & buyers refunded.

Extremely poor bag design. The bag continually leaks & blows off every time it is used leaving a worse mess than you start with. I originally had a Victa Vac 500 until the motor failed & thought I would upgrade (or so I thought) to the VBE1500. Two replacement bags later, frustration has lead me to write this review. Until a better designed bag is provided this product should be withdrawn from the market. It simply is not fit for purpose.
Steer clear of this product.

The bag doesn't seal properly and blows fine leaf and dust material out the right side. Took it back and eventually got a replacement. It did exactly the same thing. Took it back and got a refund. Not surprised by the predominantly one star rating for this product. I've had an old Victa Vac that works like a dream except the zip on the bag eventually failed. Can't buy a replacement bag. Will try and buy an old Victa Vac on gumtree.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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.