This is definately the board for this question. I wore out a Weedeater Blower after 6 years of USE. It lasted many more years than I ever expected and looking at reviews it may have been worthy of the Weedeater Featherlite museum after what I put it through.

Now it is time to get another, and have narrowed it down to two. The Stihl BG65 or the Echo PB251. Reviews on the net have pros and cons for each, and I have read the specs, and will be visiting a dealer for both this week.

Has anyone here had personal experience with both, or either one?

Input would be appreciated.

I wish I had one of those to review for you. I have a Homelite and it's starting to leak gas/oil from somewhere after four seasons of use. That and I had to put screws in all the plastic ducting to keep it from falling off.

I don't have model specific experience on either, but I do have experience with each manufacturer.

Stihl - Great engines, runs forever. My parents bought a Stihl weedeater in '88 that is still running strong. And yes, it does get used. When I was in school I used it on their yard and 6 or 7 other yards I cut every week. It was being used 5 days a week and never gave us any trouble.

Echo - We have an Echo weedeater and a chainsaw that we use on the deer lease. No real complaints with either one. The chainsaw can be a little finicky to start, but what chainsaw isn't. You also have to keep in mind that with 7 guys using on the lease, the preventive maintenance is not the greatest.

If I had to choose, I would go with the Stihl.

JMHO.

check out Husqvarna, very good quality small engines.

I'm getting ready to buy a blower as well and was looking at the Echo's. There is a blower and then for $30 more a blower/leaf vacuum. Anyone have any experience with these?

Thanks.

I have the BG65 (birthday present in '06), and it's the best piece of yard equipment I own. I also have the Stihl weedeater that's in that same level or line of equipment, and it's near-perfect as well.

Over the years, I've had probably a dozen different trimmers, blowers, edgers, etc. The Stihl line beats them all, hands down. Spend the money, and don't think twice about it.

I bought an Echo handheld blower in 1995 and it still runs good. The priming bulb finally cracked and it's a pain to start but works fine. I have run the snot out of it and still use it weekly. I must be lucky but my Ryobi straight shaft weedeater and Honday Harmony mower went twelve years before I sold them to buy new.

I bought an Echo leaf blower about five years ago, use it often and have never even changed the spark plug. It cranked right up yesterday on the second pull and ran perfect as usual.

I'm a Stihl dealer, so I'm a little biased. Stihl machines always have a 2 ring piston, echo usually only does that on their larger machines. This pushes the Stihl far ahead. The Stihl is manufactured in Virginia by Americans, Echo is made in Canada by Canadians. The BG65 weighs a little less. Echo makes a good machine, Stihl makes a great machine.

One important thing to consider is with which arm you hold the blower. All the Echo blowers I've seen suck air from the left side of the machine. If you tend to hold the blower with your right hand, like 11 out of 12 Americans do....your pants leg will impede its ability to suck air. The Stihl sucks from the right side, which means you'll have more trouble if you hold the blower in your left hand.

I have the Stihl one and it's fantastic...I also have a Stihl weedeater and love it too.

My uncle is a Stihl dealer and we've had 1 blower and 2 weedeaters from the time I can remember doing the yard (~15 years ago) until now...my dad still uses them both every week.

Would like to thank everyone's input to my question. We have a dealer in town that sells both. He was very informative and gave the pros cons of both in respect to eachother, but mostly with the Stihl BG55, as that was more in the price range I was looking for.

Ended up going with the Echo PB251, but is was not an easy decision by any means. The warranty was five years on the Echo, and the units' CFM and MPH were almost identical In addition the variable speed cruise on the PB251 was nice and the BG55 only had wide open. In addition, Echo had a promotion for about $39 more if the PB251 is purchased(regularly $99)that added an attachment called Yard Shield that is used to kill mosquitos that will cover much more area faster than my fogger and with a half acre yard a real plus.

Used it tonight and it did an excellent job blowing edging clippings and the damp dirt from me trenching the edges of my driveway and sidewalks. My old one would have had me out there sweeping the dirt...into the evening.

PS: He also had the same price as Home Depot, which is not running the promo.

[This message has been edited by Old Sarge (edited 7/2/2008 9:32p).]

my dad has that echo blower and he loves it...i've used it before and it was strong..it has some type of counter-balance system that makes the blower torque away from your body when you hit the loud button...keeps it off of your body

i own a pretty basic echo trimmer and it is great...its the SRM-210...small motor for an echo but lots of power for basic residential use...

my blower is a troy-built and so far has been pretty good

Alwayshungry,

I am now lookikng at the SRM-210SB, that allows the interchangeable attachments, and the PAS30 which is a little higher grade.

When you say good for residential use what examples can you give? I have a half acre yard that takes about and hour of trimming and another 45 minutes for complete edging.

I have a Ryobi 32cc with attachments I have been using for six years. I use it hard, but don't abuse it. I'm wondering if either of the Echo's will have the same power. I know the quality will be better.

The Ryobi I have must be unique, as it is still running and everyone else seems to think they don't last.

Husqvarna is the best period.

quote:

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I am now lookikng at the SRM-210SB, that allows the interchangeable attachments...

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Once again, I would recommend a Stihl. I'm not sure about the hp rating on the srm-210sb, but I've used one and the KM55R feels to have quite a bit more than the 210 engine. If you're willing to pony up the extra $$$, the KM90R is worth every penny. The 4 mix engine has been around for 3-4 years now, and has been overly reliable and bulletproof.

The main thing I dislike about the split shaft echo trimmers is how the shaft fits together. It is rickety and loose. The Stihl split shaft trimmers fit together beautifully. You wouldn't know the difference between a split shaft and a solid shaft as there is zero wobble in the joint.

You mentioned a longer warranty on the Echo. I can think of a good quote from Tommy Boy that will explain that phenomenon.

Wunderbrad,

Where are you located?

I'm looking to buy a KM 90 either today or early next week. Will that be enough power to run a pole saw attachment when I add one in the future? Is there any disadvantage to getting individual tools as opposed to going with the KombiSystem?

Thanks in advance.

I am located at Round Top(between Brenham and La Grange). The KM90R has plenty of power to pull the pole saw attachement, or any other one Stihl makes. It actually only has .03 hp less than the standard pole saw. Don't ask me why Stihl makes 2 separate engines with that small difference in horsepower.

The advantage of using the kombitool system is that you can have a variety of tools with only one engine to maintain. If you have a separate trimmer, edger, pole saw, and blower...you're going to spend more money overall on repairs(mostly due to the equipment sitting up not getting used rather than the other way around). The disadvantage of having only one engine pulling a variety of tools is that if the engine won't start, you're stuck doing nothing.

Like I mentioned before, the 4 mix engines are reliable and bulletproof. They generally start and run on the first to third pull, even if they've been sitting. I've sold a bundle of them, and very rarely see them for any kind of service other than regular tune ups. I had one a couple of weeks ago that I sold new a few years ago that he said had been sitting in his garage unused for a little over 2 years - he had some health problems and was unable to use the equipment. I cleaned out the tank, replaced the fuel filter, primed the carburetor, and it started and ran after 2 pulls.

Thanks so much Wunderbrad! I was pretty much sold on the KM90R, but you've sealed the deal.

I'm jealous of your location. I may have to make the drive up from Houston to buy it from you so I can visit that part of the country again.

Round Top area is pretty awesome. That's why I'm here. Round Top actually has the oldest 4th of July parade West of the Mississippi.

You can look me up at www.roundtoprepairshop.com