Hi guys!
I'm in need of a new backpack blower, previously we've made do with a bottom of the range McCullough backpack blower which was bought on a small budget when I first started up. It's now gone way past the time to upgrade it but I'll be the first to admit I'm not mechanically minded at all so for all the staring at specs and reading previous posts on here I'm still not sure.
I've been looking mainly at
Stihl 450 ( I know someone on here was a big fan of theirs compared to the 600 but would obviously appreciate any other views)
Husqvarna 360BT
Stihl 600
I don't really need something as powerful the stihl 800 or the larger echos etc as I only have a couple of large sized properties / acerages it would be used at weekly, but reliability wise for someone whose not the best with tinkering around with things if they go wrong I'd love any recommendations for these or other alternatives anyone else uses!
TIA!
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Replies
I'm A fan of the stihl br450.
If your an occasional user or look after smaller gardens It might be worth considering a hand held blower which are much lighter and most likely more powerful than than your mcullough blower.
I actually run two blowers. The br450 is for autumn and for clearing up after lawn scarification. The other is a husqvarna 525bx hand held which I use for quick tidying. I used to use the stihl bg86 but decided to try the 525bx this year because its more powerful and more comfortable than the bg86.
We rate Echo, have a lot of their kit, one backpack blower lasted 25 years without a spanner on it. We run Echo PB 8010's which I appreciate will be too big for your needs but we also have Echo PB 770's which we use as our everyday blowers , compact and powerful go second pull every time and have been utterly reliable.
I would have a BR450 over a BR600 as you won't have issues with adjusting the valves every 100 hours or so...
However the BR800's are an absloute beast of a machine.
The BR600/800's also have much better padding - depends on how many hours a day you are likely to be usint them for.
To be honest and I expect you'll agree, the valve adjustment is pretty simple (much better than on my Honda bike!) ....... once you've done itonce, next time its about a 15 minute job..... and even someone not "mechanically minded" should be able to do it fairly easily with a Youtube video assistance. I've had my BR700 for several years.............. check the valve clearance twice in all that time and they've only needed a fractional adjustment if at all so I wouldn't let that put you off..................... I reckon they're being a bit over cautious when they say to check them every 100 hours I'm guessing though that if you took it into a dealer to get it done, would be at least £50 so worth bearing in mind if you don't fancy doing it yourself.
Morning
I bought a husky 570 in the spring. I'm really pleased with it. The only down side is the choke switch and the handle aren't the best quality. I bought it off a local supplier so it made sense to get that over the Stihl. In all honesty I don't think there's alot of difference between all the makes so go with what the local dealer has.
I only ever use all Stihl stuff , apart from my mowers .
I use a 56's for everyday use , and a Br800 at the end of the year . A bit heavy for some people , but really powerful and makes short work of some bigger jobs .Was laughing the other week watching another gardener using one . It was clearly too much for him . .
I would echo what some of the others have said. The 450 should be plenty for most work. The 430 is the same performance and a fair bit lighter, but doesn't have the electric start or adjustable tube so would depend on what is more important to you. We have had the 800 for a few years now and it's brilliant, but overkill unless doing some serious shifting of leaves. The padding and straps are fantastic and noticeably better than the 4 series ones, but then it is £200 more.