Backpack blower

[Northwest]

I am going to by a backpack blower and was wondering about any problems owners have had with the three most recommended.<br>Red Max EB6200<br>Shidawia EB6300<br>Stihl BR400<br>

[little green guy]

I have stihl and redmax. On my stihl the choke knobe falls of all the time and the spark plug boot gets worn out. Thats pretty much it, nothing major. Oh ya on the red max some of the bolts on the trottle are vibrate lose.That's all i can think of now.

[Keith]

I have used the BR400 for about seven years. Like LGG said, the choke knobs like to fall off on the older ones. Thats not even a bid deal. My newest one (9 months) has not had that problem...maybe they discovered glue :) Other than that they have been pretty good. I am sure the Shindaiwa and Redmax are quality pieces too. I don't think you would go wrong buying any of them.

[MowerUp]

I have a Red Max EB6200. I haven't had it long, but I demoed almost every type blower at a landscape show and Red Max was the best.<br>

[bob]

I have a new Shindaiwa EB630 that I haven't put through the paces yet. I also have a 2 year old Red Max 6200. The only problem I had with the Red Max was the choke lever started to move to the &quot;choke-on&quot; position when the blower was being used. It would choke out the blower. A turn of the screwdriver fixed that. Both blowers have a lot of power. The Red Max has 2 blower tubes and the Shindaiwa has 3 tubes. I had to remove a tube on the Shindaiwa because it was too long for me. I also have a hand held Stihl bg75 thats pretty good.

[accuratelawn]

I have used a BR 400 for three years. Choke knob falling off is the only problem I have had.

[accuratelawn]

I have used a BR 400 for three years. Choke knob falling off is the only problem I have had.

[Eric ELM]

I have used the EB 6200 Red Max for one season and have been very impressed with it. I have had no problems with it. The extra power is nice to have especially when the driveways and sidewalks are wet. You can blow the clippings off lots easier with it.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[geogunn]

this is my fourth year for my br-400. I wish I knew how many hours I had on it. blowing leaves in the fall really racks up the hours. no problem so far.<p>choke knob has never been a problem.<p>I demoed several, the throttle response on the br-400 was the fastest of all and power seemed just as good as any (in the $400 range) paying less doesn't get you enough blower, paying more...I don't know. it's hard to beat this blower. good luck.<p>GEO

[Lazer]

We have 5 Stihls and really like them.<p>I don't know if anybody else has had this problem, but we have a problem with the choke knobs falling off.<p>You'd think after all the replacement knobs they sold, they'd make a change or offer free knobs?<p>Stihls start with less choking than other brands I've used, so that helps.

[Jim Buessing]

The Stihl br400 is an excellent blower and right now the best on the market. Now all of you who complained about choke knobs breaking off, there has been a cure for a year now. This tells me that you are going to very poor mechanincs that keep selling you parts to make money and not help your situtation, The new part number for the low profile choke knob is 4203 182 9501. These do not break of when starter handle hits them.

[Lazer]

Well it doesn't exactly say a whole lot for Stihl. We've bought 10 Stihl blowers over the past 2 years and have never been notified. We've asked the dealer, they said they didn't know anything about it.<p>I'm not sure part of the responsibility doesn't lie with the manufacturer.<p>Anyway, thanx for the updated part number, we'll be sure to specify that one.<p>PS: When they start as good as a Stihl, you don't need choke anyway! ;)

[richard]

i have a br400 and a shin eb480 from 96 i think brs like stop and go better than shins but if i was going to blow off a very large building the shin has a bigger gas tank and a farther reach with air it is alot heavier, if i was in and out of the truck all day go br - if i was at one location all day gotta go shin...alot of the time we run both, shins spark arrester needs cleaning about every 30 hours or so- depending...

[goose]

Our choke knobs fall off like everybody elses. What we did to fix the problem is take the knobs off all the blowers and replaced them with a 1 1/2 &quot; long fuel line.<br>who ever maintains your equipment should have the right diameter that you will need. Let me know what you think.Good luck

[Northwest]

Thanks for the info, ordered a RedMax EB 6200 from Alamia.com would have got the Stihl from Russo $318 and saved $81.00-shipping but they have an agreement with Stihl and can't ship them. Also got a Shindawia T230 from alamia $239.00 (209.00 at Russo but got free shipping ($30.00 really) at alamia for light trim work (have a Stihl FS85 for the tuff stuff) Thanks everyone for the info.