I believe between the two that Echo is your best choice. I personally use Stihl, but I know quite a few people who use Echo and love them. If mph and cfm's were an issue then I would say go with the Husky, but as you say both are overkill so what does it matter. I believe when it comes to getting the unit serviced/repaired in the future you would be better off with the Echo. Just my two cents.. I'm sure a few others have a totally different point of view.

 

for home owner use i would go for the echo.$30 difference and you get 3 more years with echo warranty. ps the cfm on the husq.that's rated at the housing.real numbers at the pipe are 494.

 

we sell both and i couldn't believe the power of the 150's. I should have stocked them sooner. for $300 bucks, it's unreal, and i'm a die hard echo guy.

The 150 is the redmax ebz5000

 

I've got the little BT125 Husqvarna and it starts around the 3rd pull every time. Priming is not usually necessary. Just choke it and pull 3 times with the throttle locked in the middle position and when it starts turn off the choke. With the non-user adjustable carbs on the newer Echo's may not be as user friendly. My SRM-210 Echo trimmer is a pain to get started and it cools down quickly and has to be re-primed almost between yards. Husqvarna is what I would choose. Mine has been very reliable. Only changed plugs on it once in 3 or more years.

 

the 150 is an amazing machine extremley comfortable, doesnt weigh very much, never broke on me after servicing about 700 yards these past 2 years but do use 93 octane

 

i would suggest buying your blower from a dealer so that you will have someone to work on it

 

Husqvarna any day I have the bt150 and husqvarna 323l trimmer and a echo 225 trimmer and echo 225 edger. The echo stuff is hard to start has no power and pia to put string on. My husqvarna is super easy to start blower starts in less then a full pull and I take the choke off as soon as it starts and go. Only bad thing about the husqvarna stuff is I have to buy from lowes because the dealer is like 30 minutes from me and lowes is like 2.

 

Thanks for all of the input. I think I'm going to go with the Husqvarna.
tallimeca: What do you mean when you say The 150 is the redmax ebz5000?

 

Thanks for all of the input. I think I'm going to go with the Husqvarna.
tallimeca: What do you mean when you say The 150 is the redmax ebz5000?

I believe he means they are both made by the same manufacturer I believe the same company that owns husqvarna owns redmax now. The husqvarna and red max share the same engine and alot of other parts.

 

The 150BT is the better choice. For 300$, it the best blower in that price range. As others have mentioned it starts very easily compared to the Echo. I would say buy from a dealer if one is close by if not just buy it from Lowes you won't have any problem with it.

 

I just bought my blower on the way home from work today. I got the Husqvarna 150BT, but I bought it at Lowes. What are the benefits of buying from the dealer? Will they not work on it if it was purchased somewhere else? There is a dealer 4 miles from my house, so I could always return the one I got from Lowes and buy a new one from the dealer if its worth it.

 

some people seem to think if you buy from them they will repair it faster then if you get it from lowes. It probable is true but to hell with it I would probable just buy a new blower because I would need a back up for the down one anyway.

 

I have one of each. I prefer using the Husq, my father prefers using the Echo. Both have never let us down, both have plenty of power. The Husq goes through fuel faster than the Echo.

 

Moneypit, how about a review now that you bought the Husqvarna?

 

I have the 150bt, so far it has been awesome. Strong, durable, plenty of power. Took off screen and metal plate on the muffler and it's a world of difference.

 

My vote is Husky 150Bt. This and the Redmax same blower dominates in my area. It is a very well proven work horse. Echo is a brand new model. New is not necessary good now-a-days!!!! That is putting it mildly, with all the carb crap!!!! The price is $299, very reasonable.

 

Buying it from a dealer is alway your best option as opposed the lowes and home depot. Why pay basically the same money when you can get it from a dealer, set up and running, and you can get parts from then and bring it to them if you have a problem. Despite some posts on this board, not all dealers are idiots (although some of the stories I hear, I understand the stereo type). Plus, can't be any worse then trying to have depot or lowes send it out for repair and not see it for a month plus.

Husqvarna owns Redmax. The 150 is now called the 350 by the way, and it is a redmax built blower. Husqvarna is going be intergrading more and more Redmax stuff this year and Redmax is going to be seeing some major changes from the top down from what I understand.

 

A lot of good info here and other posts. I am reviving the thread since I am in the same boat as the original poster and have a few more questions. I have to blow a good amount of oak leaves. I am considering the Echo PB500 and Husky 150BT, but I am leaning toward the Husky because of the power. I have a few concerns though: I read some reliability problems with the Redmax engine (not sure if the the Kawasaki engine or Redmax). Is the 150BT a Redmax design and not a cost reduced Husky? What is the difference with Husky 350 BT , it has slightly different specs? Is oil quality more critical in the Husky? Any feedback on the Echo PB500 reliability, since this is a new engine? Thanks

 

I've owned an Echo PB2000 (now PB200) since new and is now in it's tenth year of use. I replaced the spark plug for the fourth time this spring and the thing just won't die. Best $227 (Canadian $ with taxes) I ever spent. If I had to estimate, I'd put a solid 500-600hours on the machine. The only thing I replaced was the screen in the muffler (three times). For the last 6 years I've been running Amsoil Saber 100:1 mix with NO problems and no more excess oil coming out the exhaust.

 

we sell both and i couldn't believe the power of the 150's. I should have stocked them sooner. for $300 bucks, it's unreal, and i'm a die hard echo guy.

The 150 is the redmax ebz5000

I have the redmax ebz5000 as a backup - still very very new but I have to say although it is not as good as my 8001 - it would suit my needs very well - the price was much more friendly too - I got out the door for $269 from local irrigation place that had a sale on them.

I have not used the echo backpack blower - just sharing my experience and hope that helps you

 

I have the redmax ebz5000 as a backup - still very very new but I have to say although it is not as good as my 8001 - it would suit my needs very well - the price was much more friendly too - I got out the door for $269 from local irrigation place that had a sale on them.

I have not used the echo backpack blower - just sharing my experience and hope that helps you

I'll take the 150Bt/EBZ5000 any time of the day. It is cheaper hear and 50% of the LCO here use either one of them. The Echo is too new with new engine. New is not good in this CARB enviroment.

 

Go with echo, like some one said, 5 year warranty, uses less fuel. you wont be disappointed!!!!!

 

I did some reading of past posts and found some starting and power problems with Redmax Strato engines about 1-2 years ago. The problems were tough to diagnose and fix. Looks like all the Redmax blower engines are Strato now including the 150BT/ebz5000. Anyone know if these problems have been sorted out? I am sure other brands have had problems, but this looked to be common problem with the RM Strato engines.

 

Thinker, go with the Husky. We're gradually reducing our Echo equipment and replacing it with more Husqvarna.

Found one an older 145 laying around in storage the other week. Thought I'd pull it out and see if it would start. Added a little fresh fuel to it, started on the second pull. Probably hadn't been run in 2 years.

If you need the power, go with the 180 - AWESOME!

 

I did some reading of past posts and found some starting and power problems with Redmax Strato engines about 1-2 years ago. The problems were tough to diagnose and fix. Looks like all the Redmax blower engines are Strato now including the 150BT/ebz5000. Anyone know if these problems have been sorted out? I am sure other brands have had problems, but this looked to be common problem with the RM Strato engines.

I think other brands have the same issue due to the CARB!!! The 4 cycle blowers don't have that particular issue but them do have their share of complains.....take your poison!!! As I said, a loooooot of LCO in my area use either of these two. Can't be that wrong!!! for the money($299) and the power (496cfm), don't think you have anything can beat that.