backpack blowers

[Shoal]

Now jack I own both the "Bad Boy" echo and the when " It is blowing aint nothing still" stihl and there is nothing inferior with the stilh products. how ever I will say that both are very good machines. I have never heard anything bad with Redmax. so I bet their a great product. shoal

[jgc8fan]

We just bought a Stihl HL-420 blower this year after our Echo died on us. Just be careful buying Stihl... There are two versions of some models example: the HL-420L which is less powerful than the standard (I think those might be California models). Also the 420 has no primer bulb. It's primed by the first pulls, and can be a bit of a pain getting it started in the morning (after the first start of the day it usually only takes 1 or 2 pulls the rest of the day). I finally got a system working though... Choke on and pull until the engine sputters (usually two pulls) then choke off, and pull till it starts (usually 3 more pulls).

I like it though... It has a lot more power than our Echo had.

[The C Man]

Loser

Please be advised that the Redmax 8001 and the Stihl BR650 are currently the most powerful BP's avail.

Please also be advised that NEITHER of the above mentioned models even exists. Jerk D. is either intentionally misleading readers, or just in an infantile hurry to have more posts than anyone else.

[jgc8fan]

oops... I just realized I posted a bogus model too... It's a Stihl "BR"-420. I get the model #s confused... HL are the hedge trimmers. It also looks like they quit making the BR-420L (not on their site anymore) so that's not an issue unless you find someone still having the "L"s in stock.

C-Man is right... The highest Stihl model is the BR-600. Unless they had an older model labelled 650 (quite possible). The 600 is a monster though. I believe it retails around $400-$500.

[Hawk83]

certainly not sticking up for Mr.D, but perhaps the redmax model he mentioned is a typeo, since there is a Redmax EBZ 8000, not 8001. .as for the stihl, i never had much experiance with the brand, so who knows what he was thiniing on that one...

[Jack D.]

Please be advised that Jack D. has tested a prototype of the 8001 which is almost identical to the 8000 with the exception of minor housing and tube differences. The BR 600 was originally designated 650.

Please note that Stihl 400 series, BR 400, 420, 420 Magnum are 15 year old technology and blow significantly less air than high outputs from Echo and Redmax. The BR 600 is the first true high output blower avail. from Stihl. Jack D. has used them all extensively and rates the blowers as follows.

1) Redmax 8000-By far the most powerful but heavy. Comes with a "pansy strap" to help distribute weight for limp wristers.

2) Echo 650/750- More reliable than first generation 8000's but not as powerful.

3) Redmax 7001- A nice balance between power and weight, reliable and almost as powerful as the Echo.

4) Stihl BR 600-Jack D. has not run a broken in unit. The factory fresh was light but below the above blowers in power. Power may increase after break-in.

5)Stihl BR 400,420,420 Magnum BR550. These are included only because they were Stihl's top line blower. The 550 for only a short period of time. The 400 series are light and pre 2003 (enviro nut restriction carbs) reliable, however they are also very weak compared to the above blowers and rank closer in power to second or third tier models from Redmax, Shindaiwa and Echo.

Please note that a powerful Backpack will make a huge difference in profits for any mow and blow operation.

[Scaper-S2k]

My understanding is that the new Stihl puts out more air at the housing AND at the tube than the Redmax 8000. Mine is new so I have not gotten it up to full throttle yet.

[The C Man]

certainly not sticking up for Mr.D, but perhaps the redmax model he mentioned is a typeo, since there is a Redmax EBZ8000, not 8001...

No, he knew what he was doing. It wouldn't be the first time he's lied about something. Come to think of it, it wouldn't be the 10th or 20th time either. He says the 8001 is the same as the 8000 except for some housing and tube differences. The last time he brought up the 8001 he said it wouldn't be Strato-Charged™, but now he doesn't even mention that. Funny how he has all this insider information and none of it's ever true. He also said there was an 8002 available in Canada. Uh-huh.

[Jack D.]

Mr Skaper will find the BR600 a huge improvement over his BR400 & 420's. The BR400 series are like handhelds compared to today's High Output Blowers.

Jack D. does extensive product testing for his dealer and ran a factory fresh BR600 next to a broken in Echo 750 for two days. The results were very close. Jack D. believes that a 5-10% increase in power is not unreasonable after proper break-in on the BR600 which would make it equal to or slighty better than the Echo and just under the Redmax 8000.

This unit is a giant leap forward for Stihl.