Handheld blower recommendation

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Ended up picking up the Hitachi off Amazon. Couldn't find a better rated and reviewed blower for the price. ($124 and I had a $50 Amazon gift card!)

The similar Echo is $185. If it had a intake on the right side I would of paid that, but because I was already compromising with the left side intake, I went with the less expensive Hitachi.

The only thing I could find were hundreds of negative reviews around the gas lines going bad quickly. Could be they are using fuel with ethanol in it, i'm not sure. I ordered extra quality gas line for a few dollars and will replace it right off the bat just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all the input!
 
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I have that Hitachi and it's better than any Echo or Stihl handheld blower I've ever used. It's a beast. Mine is 5 or 6 years old at this point and the fuel lines are in perfect condition with nothing wrong with them. I'd run it as it comes out of the box.
 
I'm only on year 2 with my Hitachi, but no fuel line, primer bulb, etc. issues at all. I've been buying zero ethanol "recreational fuel" for my OPE for a few years now since the gas station up the road started selling it. Those cans of TruFuel are pretty sweet too if you don't use too much premix.
 
Good to know about the fuel lines, I'll keep the extra on hand I guess and reevaluate next spring after it's been used a bit.

I've used the TruFuel, it's very convenient!
 
Originally Posted by Huie83
Ended up picking up the Hitachi off Amazon. Couldn't find a better rated and reviewed blower for the price. ($124 and I had a $50 Amazon gift card!)

The similar Echo is $185. If it had a intake on the right side I would of paid that, but because I was already compromising with the left side intake, I went with the less expensive Hitachi.

The only thing I could find were hundreds of negative reviews around the gas lines going bad quickly. Could be they are using fuel with ethanol in it, i'm not sure. I ordered extra quality gas line for a few dollars and will replace it right off the bat just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for all the input!

Originally Posted by bubbatime
I have that Hitachi and it's better than any Echo or Stihl handheld blower I've ever used. It's a beast. Mine is 5 or 6 years old at this point and the fuel lines are in perfect condition with nothing wrong with them. I'd run it as it comes out of the box.



I've had no issues with fuel lines on my Hitachi . I do use stabil for winter storage, amsoil sabre 2 cycle oil.
 
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Originally Posted by Donald
My problems with gas lines are 50% age and 50% mice.


Quite the combo! I would go with a backpack (Stihl BR600, Echo PB-770 or 8010) personally, but "Mouse Magic" is a really good product for keeping rodents away from chewing automotive wiring/OPE. Peppermint oil concentrate in a little teabag, you can get it at most hardware stores. People come in all the time to my work from the GM dealer across the street on recommendation for it!
 
I have a Stihl BG50 and I love it. It's smaller than the one you sold, light, easy to start, and uh.... blows stuff. I'd recommend it to about anyone. I use it on my sidewalks after mowing and edging and whatever blower related duties I can think of. My dog absolutely loves it. I've done considerable studies regarding the aerodynamic properties of Siberian Husky's.
 
I have an Echo shredder/vac. Love it this time of the year. I can suck up the leaves that are around the house and not have to rake. Big time saver. It cranks right up and powers on!
 
Originally Posted by Rat407
I have an Echo shredder/vac. Love it this time of the year. I can suck up the leaves that are around the house and not have to rake. Big time saver. It cranks right up and powers on!

I have one of these too. Love it, starts easy, warms up fast. Will idle for many minutes bowing air in the burn pile to help it burn.

Rod
 
Originally Posted by JTK
For an excellent low cost leaf blower, I would recommend a Hitachi 2-stroke. When my old Echo PB2000 locked up, I mail-ordered one of these Hitachis for under $100 shipped. It was a refurb, but I couldn't tell that it was. It has a lot more power than my Echo had.

https://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-RB24...eaf+blower&qid=1570116937&sr=8-6

Have same for 8-9 years. Bought back in the recession along with a straight trimmer and a tiny chainsaw, all with rebates, I think the chainsaw was $50 after rebates. Trouble free (except for replacing gas lines last year) very light and fast! Have ethanol fuel in it year round, possible reason for gas line failure, to blow out the garage but whatever. IIRC, it was the black return line that failed, but replaced all. Starts 1-2 pulls, year round.
 
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How are the vibrations on the Hitachi? I have a handheld Echo and a backpack Redmax. The Echo makes my hand tingle quite a bit after a short amount of usage. Maybe I'm just sensitive to those things but it's annoying. Any real leaf cleanup is much better with the Redmax. 3.9 HP will torque my body pretty good at full throttle as well as blow leaves with a fury.
 
I wear gloves with the blower, but i just don't notice vibrations being a problem with the hitachi. I use it for a good while each fall. I have even blown dry snow with it ,when its really cold.
 
Vibrations are similar between other handhelds and the Hitachi. I wouldn't say they are bad but noticeable (I can't speak to how it compares to the echo model described above). I use mine for about 10-15 min at a time...any longer and I get tired of carrying it around. If I had a large yard I would get a backpack.
 
STIHL -- all day everyday!!!
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted by BAJA_05
STIHL -- all day everyday!!!
wink.gif



Until you need parts, which are no longer available. Planned obsolescence, no more garbage Stihl products for me.
 
Originally Posted by Clayslayer
I have a Stihl BG50 and I love it. It's smaller than the one you sold, light, easy to start, and uh.... blows stuff. I'd recommend it to about anyone. I use it on my sidewalks after mowing and edging and whatever blower related duties I can think of. My dog absolutely loves it. I've done considerable studies regarding the aerodynamic properties of Siberian Husky's.

+1 but no Husky to play with
21.gif
 
I know you get a lot of opinion and just plain BS when you ask for recommendations, but the guy who posted about the lack of parts from Stihl was spot on. That's one of the reasons I quit buying Stihl altogether. They do seem to be planning the lifespan of their equipment, not to mention they are nowhere near the machines they were 20-30 years ago. I hate to diss them, but they've chosen their path.
I switched to Echo, blower, chainsaws, etc and couldn't be happier. I have two Echo chainsaws I use on my 7 acre wooded lot, and they are fantastic, far outpacing my old Stihls. I still have a Husqvarna trimmer that is also darn amazing that simply runs and runs and runs, without any problem whatsoever, so it hasn't been replaced obviously.
I have the Echo handheld blower with the left side inlet, and have used it a lot, it's a quick starter and never lets me down. I run the crap out of it. Most of the time I start it run it full blast for several seconds to blow out the building and driveway, and stop it, the worst case for a 2 cycle, it hardly ever warms up til fall when leaf season comes and it gets run non stop then, still no problems.
 
I happen to have a Kawasaki gas powered blower and a Dewalt 20V electric blower. Very rarely do i bother firing up the gas blower when the dewalt is instantly on and roughly the same output as a handheld gas. The electric i use all the time for lots of little cleaning tasks inside and out because, instant on and no fumes.
 
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 !!
 
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