Echo vs Stihl

A co-worker of mine decided to try the lawn care business on the side. I told him about what I was doing and gave him some advise about starting up. He was looking for some side equipment a trimmer and edger so I sold him my Echo for just about what I paid for it last year... Not too bad. Then I was going to up grade to either better Echo equipment or go with Stihl. I decided to go with the Stihl. I found it was alot more expensive then I though. When I started it up the new 4 mix is different then the Echo 2 cycle. Anybody out there use both can tell me which is they think is better? Right now I am still undecided but I hope I don't get buyers remorse with my Stihl.

[musician/lawnman]

Lawn care business tips

I run all Echo, My father-in-law runs stihls & loves them, I find them heavy for one, awkward as far as the way they are balanced (when your holding them). Plenty of power I suppose but I was not impressed enough to buy one! I prefer the echo gear. Just my opinion though, I'm sure others may disagree.

__________________
AAA QUALITY CLEAN CUT, LLC.
LAWN CARE & LANDSCAPING
Visit us here:

Last summer I picked up a echo now replaced by the PB-620ST (I use all stihl power tools) just to try, it cost $399 We used it 2 times and the 550 BLOW IT AWAY! I gave it BLEAVE IT OR NOT I gave it away to a trade buddy because he like echo and after he used it he said the same thing "this thing is a piece of JUNK" Echo chokes down the output tube to make up the difference in the amount of air flow output it has and they do this to ALL their BLOWERS.

Now here's WHY: When the airflow output tube is choked down it causes arm and elbow fatigue or other wise known as tennis elbow from the amount of back pressure it produces at the handle and it has no more air speed (185)using a small tube than the 550.


Stihl Specs:
BR 550 Backpack Blower Specifications
DISPLACEMENT 64.8 cc (3.95 cu. in.)
ENGINE POWER 3.0 kW (4.0 bhp)
WEIGHT 9.9 kg (21.8 Ibs)
FUEL CAPACITY 1400 cc (47.3 oz)
AIR VOLUME
With tube
Without tube
900 m³/h (530 cfm)
1490 m³/h (877 cfm)
AIR VELOCITY 89 m/sec. (199 mph)
SOUND PRESSURE RATING
73 dB(A)
Measured per
ANSI B175.2


ECHO SPECS:
Type Backpack
Engine Displacement (cc)58.2
Carburetor (w/Purge Pump)Butterfly-Valve Diaphragm Starting System Standard Fuel Capacity (fl. oz.)64See-Through Fuel Tank Standard Helper Handle Standard
Average Air Volume (cfm-pipe) 530
Average Air Volume (cfm-housing) 900
Maximum Air Speed (mph-pipe)185dB(A)*72 Dry Weight (lb)
**20.9 Consumer Warranty 5 years
Commercial Warranty 2 years
Rental Warranty 90 days
* Per ANSI B175.2-2002 ** With standard pipes


Now I let the specs and reputation of stihl Speak for itself.

Good Luck!

[musician/lawnman]

Ok, I guess we didn't specify......

Trimmers I run all Echo......(that's what I was reffering to above)
Blowers ... I have 3:
an Echo PB-251 Handheld Blower ** Piece of Crap, I hate it.
Stihl BG55 - Love it, Best one I've owned, Reliable & It intakes air for the right side Which is awesome as I am right handed, it doesn't suck on my pant legs.
Shindiawa EB2510 four stroke- Good power, possibly a bit more thatn the stihl but weighs a little more too. hense I use mostly the stihl blower.

[Little's]

Echo weed eaters and blowers. Stihl chainsaws. Never used the 4 stroke products of either.

[lawn-guy]

stihl



i love my stihl productsi have both and to be honest my echos sit in the garage as back ups i use a stihl 55 trimmer and it is designed for rsidential and light profeshional use and it has way more power than the echo same with the blowers i HAD a br550 and loved it it was powerful smooth and always fired right up since i had it stolen from me i just replaces it with a small echo back pack that i found on sale for cheap and it is extremely weak so my vote is for stihl yes it is a little more pricey but you get what you pay for in the long run. stihl is top of line the best of best with echo behindslightly there are others also like shindawa husquvarnia to look into also

Originally Posted by realhuntin

Stihl Specs:
BR 550 Backpack Blower Specifications
DISPLACEMENT 64.8 cc (3.95 cu. in.)
ENGINE POWER 3.0 kW (4.0 bhp)
WEIGHT 9.9 kg (21.8 Ibs)
FUEL CAPACITY 1400 cc (47.3 oz)
AIR VOLUME
With tube
Without tube
900 m³/h (530 cfm)
1490 m³/h (877 cfm)
AIR VELOCITY 89 m/sec. (199 mph)
SOUND PRESSURE RATING
73 dB(A)
Measured per
ANSI B175.2


ECHO SPECS:
Type Backpack
Engine Displacement (cc)58.2
Carburetor (w/Purge Pump)Butterfly-Valve Diaphragm Starting System Standard Fuel Capacity (fl. oz.)64See-Through Fuel Tank Standard Helper Handle Standard
Average Air Volume (cfm-pipe) 530
Average Air Volume (cfm-housing) 900
Maximum Air Speed (mph-pipe)185dB(A)*72 Dry Weight (lb)
**20.9 Consumer Warranty 5 years
Commercial Warranty 2 years
Rental Warranty 90 days
* Per ANSI B175.2-2002 ** With standard pipes


Now I let the specs and reputation of stihl Speak for itself.

Good Luck!

True, but compare your stihl to this: http://www.shindaiwa.com/usa/en/prod...wers/eb802.php

And no, I am not a Shindaiwa Dealer at this time. But I am a big believer in Shindaiwa equipment. There is a reason why Shindaiwa is (and has been for years) the preferred choice with landscapers like you guys (especially their trimmers). I know that not every Shindaiwa model is a better model than their competitors but I believe if you look at the models available you will decide they are as a whole better.

From a mechanic's point of view, Stihl (sorry guys) is living off name a lot any more. They still have good products but not all are. Among those I don't particularly care for are their trimmers. Some of their equipment is designed poorly. Some of it is designed purely like a piece of junk. Shindaiwa and I think most of Echo are Professional quality. Period. Stihl and some other brands have their consumer/"light commercial" crap.... what does that mean??? to me that means it is consumer grade and that it will not last long if you use it as a commercial product.

I would not own a Husqvarana or Jonsered trimmer or blower but would not back away from their saws. I would prefer any Shindaiwa over the Husky or Jonsered though.

Redmax is fast becoming a contender in the commercial market as well. Their products are good quality and can definitely be depended on. I am not sure about Redmax's warranty but I do know that no one can beat Echo's warranty right now.

Back to the topic of blowers, remember if you are going to compare blowers (or other products for that matter) make sure that you compare them to products of their own size/type (i.e. don't compare a 4 stroke blower to a similar size 2 stroke, there is a difference). I have a customer who owns several stihl blowers including a BR500C (or BR550C) which is a compensated unit. This means that they designed the blower tube to be "sound compensated" or quieter. Due to the design associated with making it quieter they also reduced it effectiveness and increased it weight slightly. The employees said they would rather use the older and smaller units than this one because of it performance. So this is one more reason to make sure you compare to a truly "comparable" unit.

Originally Posted by lawn-guy

i had it stolen from me i just replaces it with a small echo back pack that i found on sale for cheap and it is extremely weak

Remember to be fair, compare only to a similar size product. You can not fault the Echo for not being as powerful when it is indeed smaller. Now it is possible that you ended up with a unit that is truly a weak model but like I said, you can't compare it to a larger unit.

That would be like comparing my little 1991 Nissan pickup to a full size 3/4 ton Dodge with a Cummins diesel in it.....

Originally Posted by lawn-guy

stihl is top of line the best of best with echo behind slightly there are others also like shindaiwa husquvarnia to look into also

See my post above. I know you may disagree, but there is a reason why the stats are as they are. I believe from my mechanic's perspective that this is due in large part to the mechanical design. I am not saying that Stihl products are all junk, but they are definitely not all

top of line the best of best

. Some Stihl saws are great, but many of their models are purely consumer grade. Most trimmers are light light commercial at best. Terrible cosmetic design that also doubles as terrible design for cooling which effects its EPA rating (but that is a whole other topic).

But if you like Stihl, use it. I am a big believer in "a man convinced against his will is under the same opinion still".

The best to you,
Eli

Well, I think I am going to stick with my Stihl this year. The Echo stuff was good no doubt but I want to move up to the next level. The 4 Mix seems to be a really powerfull engine. I'll see how it goes. The Shindaiwa Dealer here told me his backpack blowers are great but really heavy, and can slow you down. Its Stihl for me.

Originally Posted by tomcat172002

The 4 Mix seems to be a really powerfull engine. I'll see how it goes.

You know that is a very interesting subject in and of itself. If you compare the 4 cycle engines with the 2 cycle engines in the cc to hp ratio you will find that invariably (at least in my research) the 4 stroke will have a lower ratio (meaning you get less hp from the same CC displacement) and they also tend to be heavier. I think it has a lot to do with the extra baggage that is required to make a 4 cycle work. 2 Cycles can literally operate on almost no moving parts other than the piston, rod and crankshaft where 4 cycles normally need at least several additional parts like a cam and valves.

Originally Posted by tomcat172002

The Shindaiwa Dealer here told me his backpack blowers are great but really heavy, and can slow you down.

Yes, especially when you compare the older ones. I compared one model that was about 5 lbs heavier and was less powerful than a certain model Stihl or Echo (not sure which) but then I found that the newest Shindaiwa backpack blower actually weighs only about a pound more than a Stihl of a similar weight and packs a lot more punch: more HP, 200+ more cfm, 25+ more mph, etc....

All that being said, and despite my opinion, apparently not all models of Stihl (or any other major brand) are complete heaps of junk because if all models of a particular brand were junk then you would find that the brand would no longer be a "major brand"......