I have a nice Stihl. I have not pulled the rope on it since I got a Powermate Cyclone walk behind. Over twice the air, takes all the work out of leaves

 

IMOP, Redmax, Hands down.
http://www.redmax.com/products/blowers/

 

I have no experience with any other, but I really like my BT150, Lowes had them on sale last year for like $100 off, and by the specs it was a smoking deal. Found the three way tool defective, torx end was misshapen, but I have a drawer full of torx bits so not a problem, guessing that was the reason for the sale.

I clear leaves from about 1.5 acres completely surrounded by old growth oak, it has no problem with the task. Complaints: it is very loud, as the specs indicate, the motor has some vibration at low speed which is not surprising given the displacement, and it's pretty thirsty.

 

Stihl. Every time this comes up there is one answer. Stihl. Stihl. Stihl.

 

I have a Stihl blower that was given to me that was great. It finally gave up and I bought the Husqvarna. I like it but it does not seems to be as "strong" as the Stihl. I have a Husqvarna zero turn mower and chainsaw which are great.

 

Red Max are very powerful, I usually recommend My customers go to a local dealer and buy a Sthil.

FYI I have a walk behind blower that I will be getting ready to sell soon.

 

Stihl, Echo would be OK too, but if I had my way Stihl. Be sure to use ethanol free gas in whatever you use. A Stihl or Echo will last a VERY long time if being used at home.

 

Shindawa makes some really strong back pack blowers that I really like alot.. Stihl, redmax, and echo would also be much higher on the list than Husqvarna.... if you are going to buy a BP blower dont get one of the homeowner models from lowes or hd. The bt150 is a homeowner model that cost almost as much as a pro model.

 

Another vote for Stihl. I've been using a BR340 for 11 years now with zero issues. Drink the orange kool-aid.

 

....y'all did see the article about backpack bombs today, right? "Backpack blowers."

I thought that some people developed my incredibly morbid sense of humor. Oh, well.

 

Where did you get those numbers on the Husqvarna 150bt?
I see 434 cfm / 251 mph. Msrp $299.

The Stihl BR350 is 436 cfm / 201 mph. Msrp $350.

Check out the Echo pb-580T. 510 cfm / 215 mph. Msrp $329.99, on sale right now at dealers for $299 during the Echo national sales event.

You can't go wrong with any of the three listed, but I would go with the Echo in this price range. More cfm, large fuel tank, thick padded harness, and operator cooling from the vented back plate. Go check one out at your local dealer.

 

A few options to get into the 700+ cfm range,

Husqvarna 580bts 908 cfm/ 206 mph, $579
Echo PB770t, 756 cfm / 234 mph, $499
Stihl BR600, 677 cfm / 238 mph, $499
Stihl BR700, 912 cfm / 197 mph, $549


I would go with the new Stihl BR700, and its a couple pounds lighter than the Husqvarna.

 

Stihl

 

I have 2 stihl blowers, one a handheld and one a backpack. I also have a little wonder was behind. I use the backpack and walk behind at the same time once the leaves start falling heavy. It'll carry them twice as far with less effort. I've been using stihl equipment for 20 years and wouldn't recommend anything else. But in case you wanna spend more money that what a stihl Costs, go buy a Redmax

 

Oh, stihl has an electric start model back pack blower also

 

Where did you get those numbers on the Husqvarna 150bt?

Lowes website. I kinda figured there must be a typo since nothing else was even close in CFM. I'll check out Stihl since I get a discount from a vendor in town. Appreciate the input here so far. A walk behind is out of the question given my yard's uneven terrain.

 

I figured a big box store had the numbers wrong. There are self propelled walk behind blowers also, but they are fairly expensive. A commercial backpack blower should get the job done.

 

Powermate Cyclone 150 mph 1200 CFM, $350

 

Stihl

 

Redmax makes a good blower. My Stihl doesnt want to run well unless i feed it premium mixed gas.

 

I thought those little engines specify higher octane gas. I've got two Stihl blowers, but too lazy to look it up. I just fill my tanks with 89 octane no ethanol since that's the only no ethanol available.

 

I have an older Echo PB650 and it has been the best gas powered tool I've owned. It's at least 8 years old now and always cranks on first or second pull. My dad has an at least 15 year old Stihl BR400 that has been great also. I also have one of the tiny Husqvarna back pack blowers from Lowes I bought so the kids could help out with leaves that's been pretty good.

 

I can say nothing bad about Echo. I own a 27 year old Echo string trimmer I bought new. I have to do VooDoo incantations to get it started, but otherwise, I can't kill it.

 

I have a Stihl 600 and the Husqvarna 580 and the husky will blow the pile of leaves after the Stihl won't move them anymore. The Husky will move them even wet

 

The Husqvarna 580 is nice. Moves some serious air according to the specs. It's unfortunately out of my budget.

 

Stihl or shindaiwa are my recommendations. Had one of the husky's handhelds and it didn't last long and never again after figuring out it didn't have a air filter in it from the factory and was reason! I could not believe someone would build something that runs in a dusty environment and not put a air filter in one or sell one for it.

 

A few options to get into the 700+ cfm range,

Husqvarna 580bts 908 cfm/ 206 mph, $579
Echo PB770t, 756 cfm / 234 mph, $499
Stihl BR600, 677 cfm / 238 mph, $499
Stihl BR700, 912 cfm / 197 mph, $549

I would go with the new Stihl BR700, and its a couple pounds lighter than the Husqvarna.

Wow! Stihl finally came out with a new flagship blower. I've had a BR 600 for at least the last 8 years or so. I guess it's time for an upgrade. Thanks.

 

Stihl and Husqvarna are the only two I would even consider. My first choice would be Stihl but I've had some Husky tools that did just as well. Basically, you want something orange....