~$300 backpack blower for homeowner, 3/4 acre

[Dave88LX]

Originally Posted by Brules

HAHAHAHAHA AWESOME! Same one I have......

My only tip is run high quality oil in the mix.....my dealer said he had several crews start to use them and they were running their Stihl mix through the Husqys and the engines were burning up as they run much hotter than a lot of the other units. He wasn't selling me oil as he said use anything rated equal to the Husqy mix and I would be fine.

Enjoy it! It is a beast!

Make the extra $ back by blowing some other yards around you if you have to.

I got the "XP Professional" oil to run in it. Place said that stuff would be good to go, yes? Had to get a separate jug since it's different thatn my Echo string trimmer.

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

Dave-
you'll find that it is a LOT more comfortable to run (especially for longer periods) if you take the pistol grip off, and flip it upside down and reverse it so that it is sitting above the tube instead of down along side it.

Alright cool, I will have to mess around with it...thank you.


Here's a question: He asked if I wanted the one on display that was already assembled. I said sure. All it came with was the instruction manual and a little tool. There isn't anything else that it was supposed to come with was it? Waist belt and the flat blade attachment are for the 580?

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by Brules

HAHAHAHAHA AWESOME! Same one I have......

My only tip is run high quality oil in the mix.....my dealer said he had several crews start to use them and they were running their Stihl mix through the Husqys and the engines were burning up as they run much hotter than a lot of the other units. He wasn't selling me oil as he said use anything rated equal to the Husqy mix and I would be fine.

Enjoy it! It is a beast!

Make the extra $ back by blowing some other yards around you if you have to.

Your dealer is full of it. The Husky 570's don't run any hotter than any other 2 stroke, and in fact mine seems to run a little cooler than my stihl 2 stroke does. Since it is a 2 stroke, and quality oil will work OK, even stihl orange bottle which I have used as well as their HP Ultra. Then I switched to amsoil Saber, and will never use anything else again if I can help it. It is worlds ahead of the other stuff including husky's own semi synthetic oil. The RM version of the 580 had some over heating issues at first, but that has been taken care of as of earlier this year. Maybe your dealer had a few 580's that were running hot due to the same problem, but I have yet to hear anyone with a 580 complain about that issue.

[Dave88LX]

Originally Posted by Will P.C.

Nice garage floor Dave. When did you do it? I did mine in the tan color about 5-6 years ago and it is starting to wear in places. I will be doing it again.

Congrats on the blower

Thank you! I did it about 4 years ago. Product I used is called Wolverine Coatings, purchased through Alpha Garage: http://www.alphagarage.com/ My garage is their thumbnail for Gallery 3. Both the company an the product are phenomenal. 100% solids epoxy.

What kind of epoxy did you use? I can't see this stuff wearing through. IIRC, it has a 5-7 mil primer, ~15 mil color coat, and 5-7 mil top coat.

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by Dave88LX

I got the "XP Professional" oil to run in it. Place said that stuff would be good to go, yes? Had to get a separate jug since it's different thatn my Echo string trimmer.

Alright cool, I will have to mess around with it...thank you.


Here's a question: He asked if I wanted the one on display that was already assembled. I said sure. All it came with was the instruction manual and a little tool. There isn't anything else that it was supposed to come with was it? Waist belt and the flat blade attachment are for the 580?

That oil is semi-synthetic and is pretty good stuff but Amsoil Saber is a LOT cheaper to use and buy, and is full synthetic rated to 100:1 mix. Like I said, I run it at 80:1 and do so in everything but my saws. I go through a lot of mix in a season and I couldn't be happier with the performance. It is about the most highly regarded oil by most LCO's.

I received a bottle of oil, and special tool and instructions with my blower when I bought it, and I watched them open my box fresh of the shipping pallet. I put it together right there in the store.

[Darryl G]

Ridin': As far as running full throttle for extended periods when new, that's what my dealer tells me for any new handheld and I know I've read it in a number of manuals. He said it has to do with things seating, etc. and not wanting excessive heat while things are settling in. Maybe it doesn't apply to these units? Who needs full throttle on these things anyway, lol.

[Ridin' Green]

Something else to remember-
keep an eye on all the screws on the entire blower, and tighten them as often as needed. They tend to loosen up a bit, and it doesn't take a long time to do it. I don't mean they get sloppy loose, or anything like that, but they do get looser with use and I don't like to have even one go missing, so I keep an eye on them, and check them every fourth or fifth time out.

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by Darryl G

Ridin': As far as running full throttle for extended periods when new, that's what my dealer tells me for any new handheld and I know I've read it in a number of manuals. He said it has to do with things seating, etc. and not wanting excessive heat while things are settling in. Maybe it doesn't apply to these units? Who needs full throttle on these things anyway, lol.

I heard that. I run the thing with the throttle lock set at about 3/4 and use the rest as a booster shot when needed.

Here is a link to what Stihl answered in their FAQ's. I can't seem to find it in the Husky info at the moment-

Q-"My instruction manual says not to run the product at full throttle for the first 2 to 3 tanks of fuel mix. Why is this?"

A- "This can cause internal engine damage. STIHL recommends that you do not run your engine at wide open throttle without a load. A blower is under a load at all times, a trimmer is under a load as long as the trimmer head is in place and the line is to the correct length, while a chain saw is under a load when the bar and chain are in a cut."

It's the first FAQ in this link-

http://www.stihlusa.com/faq/general/

[Darryl G]

Yeah the flat tube and waist belt are on the 580. The high velocity flat tube is pretty useless since it torques the tube downward really hard. You shouldn't need one with your unit anyway since it has the tapered end tube which should give you plenty of velocity. The 580 has a different end tube for moving bulky debris better while sacrificing some velocity.

[Darryl G]

Originally Posted by Dave88LX

Thanks for the tips Darryl. I'll take it easy. Yessir, picked it up after work today. The more I read and researched, the more I was sold on one of these higher grade units.

My wife asked how much it was, I said "4 something", which, without tax, is accurate! Then her jaw dropped and I got the "You spent $400 dollars on that thing! Said that it's more cost effective for me to work and make the money to pay for it than I would be for days out there raking. Called me a dork, Ghostbuster, and a few other names, and went about our business.

Nice try on the work thing but you took the wrong angle...it's a "quality of life" thing...so you can spend more time with her and the kids. Hey it worked for me when I wanted a $20,000 tractor, lol.

P.S. - And your yard will probably improve now that you can keep it free of debris....seriously.

[Will P.C.]

Originally Posted by Dave88LX

Thank you! I did it about 4 years ago. Product I used is called Wolverine Coatings, purchased through Alpha Garage: http://www.alphagarage.com/ My garage is their thumbnail for Gallery 3. Both the company an the product are phenomenal. 100% solids epoxy.

What kind of epoxy did you use? I can't see this stuff wearing through. IIRC, it has a 5-7 mil primer, ~15 mil color coat, and 5-7 mil top coat.

Thanks for the link, Dave. I used whatever they had at Home Depot which I was not pleased with. My neighbor did his the same time as me and has already re done it twice, but his garage gets 10X more traffic than mine. Same stuff from Home Depot. I also have about 1/4 of the specks as you.