Echo made really good handheld units. Not sure about current models because our newest one is 15 years old now.
We switched to Stihl for small equipment when we switched dealers. The small Stihl blowers with the non-adjustable EPA carbs are hardly worth messing with. Out of seven they all quit running within about a year. We started buying the shredder vacuum models because they have adjustable carbs. Cut the tabs and they run for years.
Mostly I say get a backpack unit. So much easier for all but the smallest jobs.
Mr. HE
Glad to see i'm not the only one the hand held blower wears out. Figured i was just a panty waist.lol Kevin seriously if you plan on running it for long periods of time you're gonna wish for the backpack. Something about the gyro effect of the blower fan makes them hard to hold steady for a long time. If you could find a decent used backpack that's the way i would go. The bg-85 has plenty of blowing power if you can hang on to it long enough. For blowing sidewalks and short jobs it will be fine just don't plan on blowing a whole yard with it unless you have a very small yard. I'm pretty sure you're yard is big from the pics that you have posted. If you do blow a few hours with one , please come back and tell us how many cramps you got.lol
I wish the gtg was soon and i would bring the 85 and let you use it for a while, it won't take long before you will say ok i see what you guys mean. Not steering you away from it if the jobs you do are small ones. it will work like a champ on small blowing jobs. It will work good on long ones too, it's just the tiring of the wrist and hands. Go to a dealer and see if they will let you run one for a short period of time. you will feel the gyro effect. I realize their not gonna let you run it long but you can get an idea of how it's gonna feel. Now you may have extremely strong wrist and hands and it won't bother you.Y'all are making this tough on me.
SS (and everyone else who has recommended a used backpack), I believe what you're saying, but finding one locally won't be easy. And I'm picky...so that'll make it that much harder. I'll have to do some more research and see which backpack blower I would want in a used condition (air volume specs.) and that I could realistically afford ($250...same as what I would pay for the BG 86, taxes incl.).
Kevin
I have an Echo PB-46 backpack that I bought 10 years ago when we moved to a lot with hardwood trees. I have nerve entrapment issues in both elbows, and cannot tolerate a lot of weight in my hands for any length of time. Mine's a great backpack blower, but there may be better ones out there. My only gripes are that sometimes it bogs down a bit when you hit the throttle, and it's a pain to get that thing on my back just to blow a little grass off the sidewalk and driveway. I just adjusted the carb on it so I think I have cured the carb problem. It's never given me a minute of trouble otherwise. I tell people it's strong enough to knock young squirrels right out of the tree.
Soooooooo, last year I caught a sale on the Stihl BG-55 at the local Ace hardware store, and brought it home. It is fantastic for walkways and driveways, but I would not want to run it for an hour. I bought it because it was the lightest model they made, and I can easily grab it and go. My only gripe is it can be hard to start, but there's a trick to it. The choke only has two positions, full choke and no choke. You have to cheat a bit. Pump the primer bulb 9-10 times to make sure it's got fuel, lock the throttle open, full choke, and give it a pull. It will attempt to fire. When it does this, move the choke off a little, just a little, and then pull again. Mine starts right up.
There's a hidden benefit with one of each that I only realized later. The BG-55 is so light my wife can handle it. And with me on the Echo, the two of us can clean up the leaves like you wouldn't believe. Much easier to herd them in the right direction with two blowers!
Good luck with the decision, but if I were you, I'd buy which ever one popped up first at a good price, and get the other style later. That way you can move some leaves now, and even easier later.
I wish the gtg was soon and i would bring the 85 and let you use it for a while, it won't take long before you will say ok i see what you guys mean. Not steering you away from it if the jobs you do are small ones. it will work like a champ on small blowing jobs. It will work good on long ones too, it's just the tiring of the wrist and hands. Go to a dealer and see if they will let you run one for a short period of time. you will feel the gyro effect. I realize their not gonna let you run it long but you can get an idea of how it's gonna feel. Now you may have extremely strong wrist and hands and it won't bother you.
It's going to be a one time buy, and only one blower. The ability for my wife to use it is a possibility, although it's not the determining factor.
Stihl's smallest backpack blower (BR 380D) would work for me...but it's $100 more than the BG86. Echo has a new backpack blower (PB-500T) that has similar specs to the BR 380D and the same price. As far as backpack blowers, it's definitely going to have be used to get within my budget, and locally bought or if I buy from a trusted AS member. No ebay. I will wait and see how Talon likes his BG 86 and the new anti-vibe.
Kevin
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