New Leaf Blower

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Not all 2 stroke OPE engines are aggravating undependable POS's. In almost 25 years in my current House, I've owned 2 leaf blowers. An Echo PB202 backpack blower, which I gave to my son, and my current Echo GT 2100 hand held. I also own an Echo string trimmer and an Echo 450 CS chainsaw. I use only Echo Power Blend 2 stroke oil along with non ethanol 90 or higher octane gas. All mine have been dependable easy starting and trouble free. If I couldn't buy another Echo, the only other 2 stroke OPE I would even consider would be Stihl.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
^^^Ya see, I always keep my OPE maintained as I did with my previous leaf blower.
Changed the plug, cleaned out any debris, cleaned carb, used good gas/oil mix, and new air filter(s) regularly.

As I was running my blower at full throttle, the coil wire atop the plug(I didn't know this at the time), BROKE and the unit just STOPPED and hydrolocked the engine. I was able to free up the piston and fix the wire(temporarily) and restart the engine. But, it took waaaaay tooooo many pulls to restart the engine.

After this last usage/restart(it ran GREAT & STRONG) but, it never started again. I did some checking/testing(not getting spark) and ultimately changed out the coil. It still won't start. Long story short, I bought a new blower!



Char Baby: sorry if you thought that comment was directed toward you! It was really aimed at the neg reviewers on the amazon link you posted.
 
My older Mantis tiller has an Echo engine. When the carb got wet inside and corroded the original to junk. I went with a Zama carb clone.from E bay. It has adjustable mixture screws.. Mantis advises emptying the tank and running the carb dry after every use. The way the I have the screws set, I don't use the primer or choke. It will flood very easily if I do. Starts with a few yanks
 
Originally Posted by RyanY
Originally Posted by Char Baby
^^^Ya see, I always keep my OPE maintained as I did with my previous leaf blower.
Changed the plug, cleaned out any debris, cleaned carb, used good gas/oil mix, and new air filter(s) regularly.

As I was running my blower at full throttle, the coil wire atop the plug(I didn't know this at the time), BROKE and the unit just STOPPED and hydrolocked the engine. I was able to free up the piston and fix the wire(temporarily) and restart the engine. But, it took waaaaay tooooo many pulls to restart the engine.

After this last usage/restart(it ran GREAT & STRONG) but, it never started again. I did some checking/testing(not getting spark) and ultimately changed out the coil. It still won't start. Long story short, I bought a new blower!



Char Baby: sorry if you thought that comment was directed toward you! It was really aimed at the neg reviewers on the amazon link you posted.


Thank you Ryan.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by gman2304
Not all 2 stroke OPE engines are aggravating undependable POS's. In almost 25 years in my current House, I've owned 2 leaf blowers. An Echo PB202 backpack blower, which I gave to my son, and my current Echo GT 2100 hand held. I also own an Echo string trimmer and an Echo 450 CS chainsaw. I use only Echo Power Blend 2 stroke oil along with non ethanol 90 or higher octane gas. All mine have been dependable easy starting and trouble free. If I couldn't buy another Echo, the only other 2 stroke OPE I would even consider would be Stihl.


I believe this(ECHO & Stihl to be best) to be true as well. I will be changing over to nonE and using syn oil in the fuel. Maybe this will help with longevity.
 
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Sorry if it's been mentioned, but the best deal I've seen on gas leaf blowers is the Hitachi that goes on sale for $99 shipped from time to time on Amazon. eBay has them for around $100 refurbished sometimes as well.
 
For $99 that is a good blower. Even if it lasts few years and starts reliably, I would say it was a good deal.
Stihl and Echo are nice, but in most cases are overkill for home use only.
My echo blower is used so little for lawn care in our new house that I started using it to dry my cars lol. Trimmer is used very little as well, but I don't have any other use for it, maybe I will start trimming lawns for my neighbours
lol.gif
 
Thus far, the new blower starts quickly and easily with ~2 pulling motions. I can hold the blower with one hand and easily pull the cord with the other. I don't have to pull from the ground up to the sky(tearing my rotator cuff). I can just give 2-3 nice easy pulls and it starts right up. This is what I expect from a new piece of equipment. Plus there is a nice spot on the crank to install a drill(w/special tool) and start this way as well.
 
Originally Posted by Char Baby
The Hitachi brand seem to be pretty good according to CR in their test. Not a bad price!


The Hitachi is a good deal for normal home use. I have been using one for about 8 years with only minimal complaints. Maintenance is also pretty easy; I have only needed to replace the plug, the fuel lines, and clean the carb. As with all motors, it runs best with E0 gas. Here are the pros/cons IMO.

Pros
1. Cheap
2. Lightweight and fairly well balanced.
3. Usually starts on second pull (if the carb is clean and plug is good).
4. Enough power for most home applications (leaves, sidewalks, clearing snow off car, drying car after washing, clearing the kids' trash from inside the car, clearing the garage).

Cons
1. The original fuel line cracked after 1.5 years; the replacement has been fine for 5+ years.
2. The tip on the blower tube always loosens and has to be re tightened.
 
Hi Ryan,
Since I haven't used E0 in over 20 years(since E10 has been introduced), can you explain how the engine runs better or different with E0 compared to E10?

Years ago before E10, all of my OPE only ran fair on E0.
I have never noticed any performance differences with E10 in anything we use it in. Everything seems to operate well but I don't have anything to compare to.

Does the OPE noticeably start up faster, run smoother & stronger?.
 
"can you explain how the engine runs better or different with E0 compared to E10?"
Slightly more power with E0.
E10 and above tend to soften and erode rubber parts like fuel lines, seals and gaskets.
It also tends to corrode a good deal more in carburetors and gum up small passages when
left for periods of time. Over winter storage certainly but in some cases just a 'dry spell' of
non use for a week or two. E10 also attracts water out of the atmosphere while E0 doesn't seem
to do that to any great degree.


My 2¢
 
I got tired of my 2 cycle blower. I end up with a corded electric blower. I am so much happy.I already had an electric B&D edger so the cord was out
along the drive way. Went to a battery weed trimmer and a 4 cycle wheeled weed trimmer. Chainsaws are the only 2 cycle engines I have left. My pole saw is electric. I use my generator with it.
 
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Originally Posted by Char Baby
Hi Ryan,
Since I haven't used E0 in over 20 years(since E10 has been introduced), can you explain how the engine runs better or different with E0 compared to E10?

Years ago before E10, all of my OPE only ran fair on E0.
I have never noticed any performance differences with E10 in anything we use it in. Everything seems to operate well but I don't have anything to compare to.

Does the OPE noticeably start up faster, run smoother & stronger?.


I recently switched to E0 in a Honda lawn mower (1997) a Little Wonder edger (Briggs & Stratton, 1978), Hitachi blower (2012), Hitachi trimmer (2012). I previously used E10 in all of these. The Honda mower was the greatest change. It is easy to start with E10 or E0. However, it did not have quite as much power and did not run as smoothly with E10 as it does with E0. Carb was new a few months before I switched, so that was not the problem. The Little Wonder takes a few pulls to start regardless of E0 or E10, and I haven't really noticed much difference with it. I never run it at full throttle, so i dont know for sure. Both the Hitachi units seem to respond slightly quicker to the throttle but I didn't really notice any overall power increase.
 
Originally Posted by passgas55
I got tired of my 2 cycle blower. I end up with a corded electric blower. I am so much happy.I already had an electric B&D edger so the cord was out
along the drive way. Went to a battery weed trimmer and a 4 cycle wheeled weed trimmer. Chainsaws are the only 2 cycle engines I have left. My pole saw is electric. I use my generator with it.


Yeah, I wish!
I need gasoline power and I use my blower throughout the Autumn season. I have a great many leaves to move back into the woods from which they came. They are many and they can often be wet & heavy. I often use the blower for about 1.5-2 hrs/wk at a time turing the Fall. In the summer, I only use the blower to clean off the driveway, walkway & patio.

Maybe I should have gotten a backpack model but I like the handheld units just fine.
 
Originally Posted by dwendt44
E10 also attracts water out of the atmosphere while E0 doesn't seem
to do that to any great degree.


My 2¢



Guess your 2¢ is more valid and tested than Mercury's engineers when they said this in an online webcast back in 2011.......

[Linked Image]


But I know you're correct, just another that knows more than persons educated in a subject.

Fact is.....ethanol doesn't pull water from the air in any amount to do anything.
 
Just to follow up DaleRider's post, i agree that the suggestion that E10 attracts water appears to be somewhat speculative. My brother claims it is true and uses stabilizer religiously. On the other hand, I have never used stabilizer and never noticed any difference in E10 performance regardless of whether it was left in the tank for 1 day or 4 months. However, E0 has always performed better in my mower (as I described above), but I don't know whether it is just better fuel overall, or if it has some magical hydrophobic properties. Either way, I think E0 is worth the extra $1/gal for my purposes. YMMV
 
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Take it back, get get the $129 Hitachi/Tanaka from Lowes.

Craftsman sucks.

A tool is only as good as the person behind it.
 
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