New Stihl Blower?

[joed]

Anyone know if Stihl plans to introduce a new blower to compete with the Shindaiwa, Red Max and Echo beasts that are now on the market. The BR420 seems to lag behind the best the other 3 offer.

Thanks

[scagman]

I always love more power, but alot of times that mean more weight on my poor back and more $$$ for the spendy mixed gas. I love my STIHL BR 400 for these reasons and it has plenty of power for all my needs. It would be good for the stihl lovers that want more power.

[Richard Martin]

I have heard rumors from 2 different dealers that Stihl will be releasing a new blower soon to compete with the monster blowers that are available from others. Let's hope it's light in weight.

[lakegastonla]

I still have an e-mail from a technical services rep at stihl. I would post it if I knew how. I later called him and talked about it. Stihl is in the process of bringing a "biggest of the big" backpack blower to market. I can forward the e-mail to someone, if they can post it.

[trimmer]

If they are planning on going that big they need to make one in between.

[joed]

Well fellows I just got an e-mail back from Stihl Canada. The rep told me that a new Stihl BR420 Magnum is on its way this spring. It is supposed to have 520 CFM's at the pipe, uses a 57 CC engine and weighs 19.6 pounds. So, it seems like this will enable Stihl to compete with an Echo PB630 but for now it seems like no one is even close to the Echo PB650.

[lawnkid]

I probably would consider a blower like that. Did the rep say anything about what month approximately it might come out? Do you know anything about the price and d.B.A. If you could tell me, that would be great if he would tell you. Thanks joed

[Richard Martin]

Joed,
This news is actually a big disappointment. 520 cfm is only 44 more than the current offering and is way less than Echo's 650 cfm. The engine specs are identical to the current BR400/420 and this sounds like nothing more than a fine tuning of the current blower. Stihl has a long way to go to catch up to Shindaiwa, Echo and Redmax.

[joed]

Lawnkid,
That's all the information I have right now about the new Stihl blower. They would not give me anything else. Sorry.

Richard,
I agree with your comments. This seems like nothing else but a fine-tuning of the BR420 so that it can better compete with the Echo PB603. I too am disappointed and had hoped that a Stihl blowe to compete with the PB650 would be on the way soon. Stihl surely has the technology to do so but the desire seems to be lacking. Perhaps the strict EPA air pollution standards taking effect in 2003 and 2005 may have something to do with it. Some have said that these standards will virtually eliminate the 2 stroke motor as we know it.

[fshrdan]

The local dealer had a Pro Day today, and I talked to the Stihl rep. The only difference between the 420 and 420 magnum is the size of the pipe. So now it gets 518 cfm and 172 mph.

The PB-603 gets 535 cfm and 190 mph and is one pound heavier and 13 dollars more. Plus the throttle control is on the tube, which is the only reason I liked Stihl in the first place. I think I'm making the switch to Echo. I love their PAS-260, it starts quick and has stayed strong, so I think I'll give their blowers a go.

[Richard Martin]

A wind speed of 172! That's a decrease of 8 mph. That means it'll move sightly more leaves a shorter distance. Crap, now it's an even bigger disappointment.

[MikeLT1Z28]

not sure about a new one but i just bought the 420 and i love it. one thing about the monster blowers is they won't be efficient for grass season, too much fuel consumption. the big ones will be good for leaves though.