Stihl BR 500, 550 or 600

[Darryl G]

Keep in mind that the weight given for the Makita is without the tubes on...why they'd do that I have no idea but that's what it says in the manual. Also add the weight of the oil which is always going to be in the crankcase (7.4 fl oz) and consider that those cfm numbers are at the housing...it's only 526 at the tube. Sounds to me like you get a big, heavy wimpy blower.

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/...aspx?ID=349733

[Darryl G]

Hmmm...I just caluclated the power index for the Makita and Husky and the Husky comes out to be 82% more powerfull...that's a lot!

[snow4me]

Originally Posted by Ridin' Green

..........And if it had a much better shoulder harness like the Husky's do, it wouldn't bother you having to wear it for 3 or more hours like the Stihl can even if it is lighter.

Ridin' have you used both the 580BTS and BR600? You may be talking me into switching brands...how does the Husky strap system work? Does is include two cross straps one for hip and chest? How is the padding?

The only complaint I have with the BR600 is it does get uncomfortable wearing for more than 2 hours. I also do not like the fact they charge you extra for the hip belt.

[Darryl G]

Ridin' has the 570. The 570 doesn't have a waist strap, just a chest strap. I have a 580 that I bought in 2011 when they first came out, so it has seen 2 leaf cleanup seasons and one mowing season. The Husky 580 has both a chest strap and a padded hip belt. It does a really nice job of allowing you to transfer the weight to you hips, chest or shoulders depending on preference. I tend to snug the waist strap up pretty good and just use the chest strap to keep the shoulder straps in place. It's an excellent harness system that makes using such a big heavy blower more comfortable than my old Shindaiwa EB630s. It's every bit as nice as found on mountaineering backpacks (I'm a 3,000+ mile backpacker). BTW, I don't know who the models were for their strap sizes but the chest strap is barely long enough to go across my chest and I have a long tail of waist strap. I put up a picture of the 580 harness in this thread...see post #10.http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.p...hlight=harness

Mine is showing some wear from the blower tube rubbing against it now but not like it's falling apart.

[snow4me]

Originally Posted by Darryl G

Ridin' has the 570. The 570 doesn't have a waist strap, just a chest strap. I have a 580 that I bought in 2011 when they first came out, so it has seen 2 leaf cleanup seasons and one mowing season. The Husky 580 has both a chest strap and a padded hip belt. It does a really nice job of allowing you to transfer the weight to you hips, chest or shoulders depending on preference. I tend to snug the waist strap up pretty good and just use the chest strap to keep the shoulder straps in place. It's an excellent harness system that makes using such a big heavy blower more comfortable than my old Shindaiwa EB630s. It's every bit as nice as found on mountaineering backpacks (I'm a 3,000+ mile backpacker). BTW, I don't know who the models were for their strap sizes but the chest strap is barely long enough to go across my chest and I have a long tail of waist strap. I put up a picture of the 580 harness in this thread...see post #10.http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.p...hlight=harness


Mine is showing some wear from the blower tube rubbing against it now but not like it's falling apart.

Darryl,

Thanks for the info and link to the pic. I have a similar less padded version of that shoulder strap harness system on a 5 gallon back pack sprayer and I like the stability of having the strap across my chest and waist.

When I'm ready to buy another blower I will give the Husky dealer a call and try one out. I'm glad I chimed in on this thread.., knowledge gained on here has helped me a lot.

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by snow4me

Ridin' have you used both the 580BTS and BR600? You may be talking me into switching brands...how does the Husky strap system work? Does is include two cross straps one for hip and chest? How is the padding?

The only complaint I have with the BR600 is it does get uncomfortable wearing for more than 2 hours. I also do not like the fact they charge you extra for the hip belt.

Darryl is correct. I have the 570. I also bought my 570 when they first came out in late fall 2011. I looked at both the 570 and 580 when I bought it, but I preferred the 570 to the 580 for the higher MPH it has, since it has plenty of CFM. The higher MPH helps me out when scouring wet stuck down debris. I use my blowers for more than just leaf and grass removal.

I also have the BR600M. It is a great blower with good power and very light, but the shoulder straps tend to want to work their way off your shoulders when using it for more than say 15 minutes. For just a quick clean off of a drive or walkway somewwhere, it is fine. It starts very easily, hot or cold- every time. But, when it comes to shear blowing power, the Husky is a lot stronger.

The Husky shoulder straps look flat/thin at first glance, but they are extremely comfortable to use/wear for long periods of time. It has ears on each side of your waste that hold the blower right in place without having the waste belt. The 570 has a very good crosss chest strap that holds the blower in place exceptionally well. You can bend over to pick up stuff and it stays right where it should on your back. I really can't say enough good stuff about the Husky.

My chest bstrap is plenty long on my 570, even with a heavy coat on in late fall, and Darryl and I are very close in size.

[Darryl G]

It's my big manly chest! LOL, actually last I knew I wore a 44 long jacket or tall men's large, so not like I'm all that big of a guy.

[cpllawncare]

I would say that even going to a husky blower isn't going to cut down the time so much as to make a difference. A 3 hr job isn't going to turn into an 1.5 hr job just by going to the husky so it ain't worth it to me. I still don't get the shoulder harness thing stihls harness is fine for me

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by cpllawncare

I would say that even going to a husky blower isn't going to cut down the time so much as to make a difference. A 3 hr job isn't going to turn into an 1.5 hr job just by going to the husky so it ain't worth it to me. I still don't get the shoulder harness thing stihls harness is fine for me

Don't take it as a critisizm of your blower choice. It isn't, at least not from me. Like I said, I own both. There's simply no comparison between them comfortwise. The Stihl is a fine blower, the Husky even more so. My 570 weighs 3 lbs more than my Stihl, which isn't all that much, but it feels a LOT lighter after more than 15-20 minutes of continual use due to it's superior harness system.

It won't cut a 3 hour job down to 1.5, but it can easily cut it down to 2.5 and even 2 if the debris is heavy enough to where the Stihl can't move it fast enough, or it gets to the point that the Stihl won't move it at all anymore, because the Husky will keep on going for a while yet.

[snow4me]

Originally Posted by cpllawncare

I would say that even going to a husky blower isn't going to cut down the time so much as to make a difference. A 3 hr job isn't going to turn into an 1.5 hr job just by going to the husky so it ain't worth it to me. I still don't get the shoulder harness thing stihls harness is fine for me

I love when guys say something like this... to which I alaway reply let's do the math on that.

Lets say you are using a blower maybe 1 hour a day x 5 days week x 32 weeks (Illinois season) = 160 hours each year.

If you go by CFM or volume of air moved a Stihl BR600 712CFM divided by Husky 580BFS 908CFM = .784 x 160hours = 125.44 hours worked using Husky minus 160 with Stihl = 34.56 hours saved in one year. I dunno about you but I pay myself more than $10 per hour but lets just use ten as a figure you will then save $354.60 per year by using the Husky blower over the Stihl.

That to me seems like money well spent