Looking to buy Handheld Blower Echo PB-2520 vs PB-255ln or others ?

[z71bill]

i have a Makita that is great like ALL the other Makita tools that use the SAME batteries + cheaper gernerics are available!! be aware blowers use a lot of power, + having several batteries is great!! bought my first Makita tool, a chain saw 18V battery + charger tbat gets used with any of my other tools + bought several generic batteries from amazon at 1/2 the price that ALL work!!

I have a blower and cordless drill that use the same battery.

I discovered a while back - when a battery gets old enough that it only lasts a few minutes in the blower - I can still use it to drill dozens of holes and install many wood screws.

Could be the power usage of the drill is not continuous - but I was surprised.

Last time I needed a new battery for the blower it was cheaper to buy a new blower that included a battery than it was to just buy the battery.

 

[edge10]

I own both of the blowers you are asking about. I would hands down get the PB-255LN as the power-to-noise ratio wins! I would not recommend ommiting ear plugs, but it is so quiet and produces a low tone, it is able to be used briefly should you forget them.

The PB-255LN does have a much improved air filter over the PB-2520. Also a big negative is the PB-2520 has a fused gas tank that is part of the blower housing and cannot be replaced should it spring a leak. The PB-255LN has a replaceable fuel tank. I say this as sometime accidents happen, like it takes a 2 hour ride in the back of your truck and something rubs a hole in it.

I can confirm with jeepman3071 that the echos have ALWAYS started the easiest of any brand of OPE. Stihl is super hard to start, and Husky / Johnsered seem to develop starting issues with age.

Is there much difference in blowing power between the two? The PB-255LN has a 190 mph with about 100 lower cfm with 354 cfm and pb-2520 has 170 mph and 453 cfm. The PB-255LN has a flared tube, which could have more restriction, but does increase the air speed.

Do you happen know the outside diameter of the blower tube at the housing? I'm trying to find out if my Echo yardshield mister will fit without a mod.

I agree about the fused fuel tank on the PB-2520, than is a concern with impact, vibration, dropping etc. and the bond/glue at the seam is not going to get better with age.

The IPL shows that they each have different carbs. The PB-255ln has a Zama RB-K11 and the PB-2520 has Z011, not sure what the difference between them though.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I have both tubes at camp. I swap them out as needed for the job. I don't notice the difference.

The PB-255LN seems to take a bit longer at WOT to run up and stop "4 stroking". I run my blowers only in the cold weather and run the carbs just a touch rich, so with that the crankcase take a bit to warm up. What seems like forever is really 2-3 minutes.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I also am not a fan of the Husqvarna 125B handhelds. I know how to work on them with my eyes closed and even if you can get a phenominal deal on one, I cannot endorse them for 2 reasons. 1.) The crankcase is split in a way that the cylinder is half of the crankcase, and a small curved end cap is the other. It is held together by 4 torx screws and they do vibrate and break loose. Some even snap off. When I do a tear down, I make my own grade 8 studs and use high heat loctite, follwed by nuts and lock washers also with high heat loctite. 2.) What is more common is, should someone not use Red Armor or Husqvarna XP oils, and use some non premium oil, the piston ring will firmly get stuck to the piston and its game over. Requires a full teardown and a lot of patience to free the ring. No amount of chemical soaking will free it. I have tried many.

Love working on the 125B for other people, but would absolutly not own one.........

 

[gasman556]

I’ve got a makita gas powered backpack blower. It uses regular gas and I think is actually a 4 stroke iirc.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I have a blower and cordless drill that use the same battery.

I discovered a while back - when a battery gets old enough that it only lasts a few minutes in the blower - I can still use it to drill dozens of holes and install many wood screws.

Could be the power usage of the drill is not continuous - but I was surprised.

Last time I needed a new battery for the blower it was cheaper to buy a new blower that included a battery than it was to just buy the battery.

As battery equipment moved past drilling/driving and into other applications, the power requirements went up dramatically. A 1.5 amp hr battery is plenty for a standard drill, but it takes 5 to 8 amp hours to run a circular saw, blower, vacuum, sawzall, angle grinder, etc. for even half or a quarter the length of time as that 1.5 amp hour battery will run the drill.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I got a PB 255 type Echo for free (about 10 yrs old by my estimation), just needed a new carb and fuel lines. I echo (no pun intended) the time delay for getting out of four cycling mode, but adjusting the carb seems to help this. A solid blower and I have my larger Husqvarna backpack blower in storage as it's not needed for my current suburban lot, the handheld takes care of my corner lot and a ton of sidewalk just fine.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

Just got back from an afternoon of neighborhood cleanup with the PB251. What a solid machine. Got about an hour of use out of one tank, 16 oz. Not bad.

 

[Cujet]

Not that it matters but I have 2 Stihl BG86 blowers. The other day I used them together to clean the driveway just to compare the stock one with the muffler-mod one.

The one with the muffler mod is clearly much faster to spool up, runs a far higher RPM and makes much more thrust.

Maybe if I have time, I'll take a video of the two.