done with stihl also. poor quality materials and parts. also outdated policy of dealer only parts. my next blower will be a maruyama
Handheld blower recommendation
- Thread starter Huie83
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted by Fatboymoe
Echo PB 2620 is a great handheld blower. Comes with 2 nozzle ends and has more power than my Stihl BG86. Wipes the snow of my snowblower with ease. Not the lightest handheld, but has really good air speed. My neighbor bought the Hitachi blower mentioned above and he really likes it. It really is a good deal also !!
Another Echo that is a workhorse is the PB250LN. It is one of their least expensive models, but starts easy and is very reliable. Even in a cold garage it starts up to blow off vehicles of snow. Going on 5 years with it and haven't even replaced plug or fuel filter on it. Bought it at Home depot for under a hundred. Our school district uses this exact model as well for custodians to use for leaf blowing, etc.
I also have the refurb Hitachi blower (basically a Tanaka) and it works well also. Doesn't start on the first or second pull like my Echo, but has a little bit more power. Paid 75 for that in factory refurbished condition.
Echo PB 2620 is a great handheld blower. Comes with 2 nozzle ends and has more power than my Stihl BG86. Wipes the snow of my snowblower with ease. Not the lightest handheld, but has really good air speed. My neighbor bought the Hitachi blower mentioned above and he really likes it. It really is a good deal also !!
Another Echo that is a workhorse is the PB250LN. It is one of their least expensive models, but starts easy and is very reliable. Even in a cold garage it starts up to blow off vehicles of snow. Going on 5 years with it and haven't even replaced plug or fuel filter on it. Bought it at Home depot for under a hundred. Our school district uses this exact model as well for custodians to use for leaf blowing, etc.
I also have the refurb Hitachi blower (basically a Tanaka) and it works well also. Doesn't start on the first or second pull like my Echo, but has a little bit more power. Paid 75 for that in factory refurbished condition.
Last edited:
Originally Posted by super20dan
done with stihl also. poor quality materials and parts. also outdated policy of dealer only parts. my next blower will be a maruyama
Yeah, quite a few of my commercial customers have stopped using them because of this. Hopefully they realize the business they are losing and turn things around.
done with stihl also. poor quality materials and parts. also outdated policy of dealer only parts. my next blower will be a maruyama
Yeah, quite a few of my commercial customers have stopped using them because of this. Hopefully they realize the business they are losing and turn things around.
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2016
- Messages
- 1,237
Get a backpack blower. I had the same Stihl Blower you had for two weeks, returned it for the same reason and got a commercial Stilh backpack unit and it is everything I could expect and more.
Shindaiwa is a very good brand. Some pro gardeners swear by them. Echo bought Shindaiwa.
I had two large trees cut down the tree company which was a small company uses all Stihl. The guys were like gnats up in the tree cutting limbs and that's what they used. They used large Stihls to low cut the stumps and fell the trunks. The blowers were Stihl too. I asked the owner he said it's commercial grade stuff. They are always in use.
I had two large trees cut down the tree company which was a small company uses all Stihl. The guys were like gnats up in the tree cutting limbs and that's what they used. They used large Stihls to low cut the stumps and fell the trunks. The blowers were Stihl too. I asked the owner he said it's commercial grade stuff. They are always in use.
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
Don't get the "commercial grade" Stihl BG86. My parents have the 85 and it's awesome. Not sure what happened with this model, but it's terrible.
Husqvarna has a commercial model that's equal to this I've thought about looking into. I just don't want to spend the money right now.
Husqvarna has a commercial model that's equal to this I've thought about looking into. I just don't want to spend the money right now.
Originally Posted by super20dan
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
Last edited:
My Wife got me the Hitachi RB24EAP for Christmas. Very good reviews plus it has a 7 year homeowner warranty.
L8R,
Matt
L8R,
Matt
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
Originally Posted by D1dad
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
They used to be quite good, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. A lot of my commercial customers have gone to Husqvarna/Jonsered, and Echo for their equipment.
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
They used to be quite good, but unfortunately that is no longer the case. A lot of my commercial customers have gone to Husqvarna/Jonsered, and Echo for their equipment.
I have been in the lawn biz 45 years and owned just about every brand of hand held 2 stroke gear. by far the most unreliable is STIHL and husky next worst. I also do all my own repairs soo know good build vs poor. the Japanese stuff is far superior .
Originally Posted by dlundblad
Originally Posted by super20dan
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
The smaller Maruyama saws are Echo, the 50cc is Dolmar. There are some reviews (blower shootout) and some Maruyama models are mechanically spitting image of Echo.
Originally Posted by super20dan
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
The smaller Maruyama saws are Echo, the 50cc is Dolmar. There are some reviews (blower shootout) and some Maruyama models are mechanically spitting image of Echo.
Originally Posted by D1dad
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
It's surprising they look the license. The dealer I bought my Kubota from sells Stihl. They have a dealership in the same town as a Big R, who also sells Stihl.
You'd think they'd know to keep a dealer around for warranty work vs. a bogus box store.
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
It's surprising they look the license. The dealer I bought my Kubota from sells Stihl. They have a dealership in the same town as a Big R, who also sells Stihl.
You'd think they'd know to keep a dealer around for warranty work vs. a bogus box store.
Originally Posted by FastGame
Originally Posted by dlundblad
Originally Posted by super20dan
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
The smaller Maruyama saws are Echo, the 50cc is Dolmar. There are some reviews (blower shootout) and some Maruyama models are mechanically spitting image of Echo.
My 1995 Makita DCS5200i chain saw is made by Dolmar. Best saw I've ever owned, and it has only had the chain, bar, spark plug, and air filter replaced, everything else is original. Still fires on the first or second pull after sitting in the shed for months.
Originally Posted by dlundblad
Originally Posted by super20dan
shindawia is gone. all products except their large back pac blower are now rebadged echo. just cause a commercial company uses a product dosnt make it the best. stihl has exclusive rrights at many commercial dealers that companys deal with and there fore buy their products. i have been in the commercial lawn buisnes for 45 yers and i wont buy stihl any more . why because their quality SUCKS. their policy of no internet sales of parts SUCKS. who has time to drive to a dealer and hope the parts counter person is competent and they will actually have the part in stock. not me. I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made. desighn is from the mid 1980,s. real high quality product. no one company makes the best product line across the board. shindawia came close . a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
It's my understanding that their chainsaws are Japanese made, but perhaps Echo stuff is Japanese made too.
My parents had an Echo blower when I was a kid. Dad bought the Stihl and I ummm... dismantled the Echo.
The smaller Maruyama saws are Echo, the 50cc is Dolmar. There are some reviews (blower shootout) and some Maruyama models are mechanically spitting image of Echo.
My 1995 Makita DCS5200i chain saw is made by Dolmar. Best saw I've ever owned, and it has only had the chain, bar, spark plug, and air filter replaced, everything else is original. Still fires on the first or second pull after sitting in the shed for months.
I agree. It was a 2nd generation dealer and they pulled the rug. I'm happy with the jonsered/husqvarna purchase but it breaks my heart to think of all the business we did with this place as did everyone else. Grasshopper zero turns, snapper walk behinds and stihl handhelds was all that was in the trailers. Unless some new guy flooded or straight gassed them I can't remember a failure. When they were taken out of service they were donated to church sales and are probably still running.
quote=dlundblad]
Originally Posted by D1dad
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
It's surprising they look the license. The dealer I bought my Kubota from sells Stihl. They have a dealership in the same town as a Big R, who also sells Stihl.
You'd think they'd know to keep a dealer around for warranty work vs. a bogus box store. [/quote]
quote=dlundblad]
Originally Posted by D1dad
My family had a lawn care business for 40 yrs. If you want reliability and strength than stihl is the only name. With that being said, I just replaced an 11 yr old bg55 with a jonsered and my fs 55 weed whip with a husquvarna and am happy. Not much of a savings but Stihl took our long time dealers license after 40 yrs because of a rural king. Ill never buy stihl again now
It's surprising they look the license. The dealer I bought my Kubota from sells Stihl. They have a dealership in the same town as a Big R, who also sells Stihl.
You'd think they'd know to keep a dealer around for warranty work vs. a bogus box store. [/quote]
Originally Posted by super20dan
I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made.
+1
Originally Posted by super20dan
a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
Maruyama has been manufacturing superior quality products for many years, first producing the best high pressure pumps, and then handheld OPE products in the early 90s. I was one of the first OPE dealers in the state to sell Maruyama products.
When the Maruyama sales rep came to my store to try and sell me on the products, at first I wasn't interested in selling them because I was already selling Echo, Shindaiwa, and Tanaka products. I took an ML23S (22.5cc) straight-shaft trimmer/brushcutter home to evaluate before deciding to sell and promote them. I still have it today and the only thing that I have ever done to it is replace the primer bulb, air filter, and spark plug. It was then, and still is today, the easiest trimmer to start that I have ever used. I sold a lot of them to homeowners because of this. After using them and tearing them down, I was convinced that they were superior to all the other products that I was selling. The ML23S was also the lightest weight commercial grade straight-shaft trimmer available... lighter, more powerful, more durable, and priced lower than the legendary Shindaiwa LT20 (I sold truckloads of LT20s). When I started selling Maruyama trimmers to my commercial customers, everyone that tried them switched over.
If you can find a dealer that sells Maruyama products, I urge you to take a close look. Maruyama products come with a 5 year commercial-use warranty, pretty much unheard-of in the industry.
I just pulled down my last new echo pb210e blower bought 20 years ago from the wall and placed it into service. new carb kit and away she goes. hands down the best hand blower ever made.
+1
Originally Posted by super20dan
a unheard of company called maruyama now makes the very best lawn care products. its what the pros in the know use today.
Maruyama has been manufacturing superior quality products for many years, first producing the best high pressure pumps, and then handheld OPE products in the early 90s. I was one of the first OPE dealers in the state to sell Maruyama products.
When the Maruyama sales rep came to my store to try and sell me on the products, at first I wasn't interested in selling them because I was already selling Echo, Shindaiwa, and Tanaka products. I took an ML23S (22.5cc) straight-shaft trimmer/brushcutter home to evaluate before deciding to sell and promote them. I still have it today and the only thing that I have ever done to it is replace the primer bulb, air filter, and spark plug. It was then, and still is today, the easiest trimmer to start that I have ever used. I sold a lot of them to homeowners because of this. After using them and tearing them down, I was convinced that they were superior to all the other products that I was selling. The ML23S was also the lightest weight commercial grade straight-shaft trimmer available... lighter, more powerful, more durable, and priced lower than the legendary Shindaiwa LT20 (I sold truckloads of LT20s). When I started selling Maruyama trimmers to my commercial customers, everyone that tried them switched over.
If you can find a dealer that sells Maruyama products, I urge you to take a close look. Maruyama products come with a 5 year commercial-use warranty, pretty much unheard-of in the industry.
Sorry but all these people ripping on stihl is just wrong. I worked for a tree service in high school and 2 years in college and stihl is the only saw 90% of pros use outside of the husky 372xp which was one of the best saws ever made. Echo is so underpowered and slow it's rediculous. We used the ms200 top handles 8hrs a day along with the 440 and some 360's. I still cut about 2 cords a year and my 361 pops off every time. My dad rest his soul cut 3-4 cord a year with an ms250 which was basically a homeowner saw and it still runs like new. I haven't bought anything new from stihl since I bought my 361 so maybe things have changed but to compare echos power to stihls is flat out wrong. I will give the weed whip category to echo for smoothness and I do see lots of lawn companies using them but never see a professional tree service with an echo.
Originally Posted by D1dad
Sorry but all these people ripping on stihl is just wrong. I worked for a tree service in high school and 2 years in college and stihl is the only saw 90% of pros use outside of the husky 372xp which was one of the best saws ever made. Echo is so underpowered and slow it's rediculous. We used the ms200 top handles 8hrs a day along with the 440 and some 360's. I still cut about 2 cords a year and my 361 pops off every time. My dad rest his soul cut 3-4 cord a year with an ms250 which was basically a homeowner saw and it still runs like new. I haven't bought anything new from stihl since I bought my 361 so maybe things have changed but to compare echos power to stihls is flat out wrong. I will give the weed whip category to echo for smoothness and I do see lots of lawn companies using them but never see a professional tree service with an echo.
Just because someone uses a product (because they like the brand for example) doesn't mean they know anything about it. Many of those Stihl lovers have loved them until they needed to fix them and found out parts were only available to dealers. Maybe if Stihl stood behind their products and supported customers instead of just marketing themselves as an amazing brand there wouldn't be the negativity.
As someone who has actually repaired many Stihls and felt the pain customers of mine have gone through with dealers, warranty, parts, etc, with the company itself, I will never own a Stihl product unless they start changing their ways.
Sorry but all these people ripping on stihl is just wrong. I worked for a tree service in high school and 2 years in college and stihl is the only saw 90% of pros use outside of the husky 372xp which was one of the best saws ever made. Echo is so underpowered and slow it's rediculous. We used the ms200 top handles 8hrs a day along with the 440 and some 360's. I still cut about 2 cords a year and my 361 pops off every time. My dad rest his soul cut 3-4 cord a year with an ms250 which was basically a homeowner saw and it still runs like new. I haven't bought anything new from stihl since I bought my 361 so maybe things have changed but to compare echos power to stihls is flat out wrong. I will give the weed whip category to echo for smoothness and I do see lots of lawn companies using them but never see a professional tree service with an echo.
Just because someone uses a product (because they like the brand for example) doesn't mean they know anything about it. Many of those Stihl lovers have loved them until they needed to fix them and found out parts were only available to dealers. Maybe if Stihl stood behind their products and supported customers instead of just marketing themselves as an amazing brand there wouldn't be the negativity.
As someone who has actually repaired many Stihls and felt the pain customers of mine have gone through with dealers, warranty, parts, etc, with the company itself, I will never own a Stihl product unless they start changing their ways.
- Status