possible first blower?

[jpang115]

I have been a member of this site for a few months now and i would like to say that this site is great i have learned a lot over the past months reading threads on this site. until now i havent really had any questions. today i was in home depot and happend to end up in the outdoor power equipment section and came across a rebuilt echo pb403 back blower for $220 and a one year "full" warrenty my question is have any of you had problems with this blower and do you think this blower would be a a good first blower to purchase.



almost forgot im a landscape contracting student and i work full time for a landscaping company in the summer this blower would be used to do fall and spring cleanups and blow the drive ways off of grass of the 5 yards i cut on the side

 

[CHRIS MELROSE]

The reason why most go with a bp blower is for power....The 403t is not much more powerful than alot of handheld blowers....Go Big! Spend the extra $180 and go with the PB-620 or The Stihl BR-550...What's $180 bucks? Better to have more power than not enough.

 

[lawnboy dan]

i disagree-this would make a good first blower. these blowers are ok and the desighn has proven to be reliable. its a good buy for that price. it should be adiquate for your needs.

 

[ed2hess]

That little Echo is just fine we had our fill of the big HEAVY blowers and will not buy any more. They are very heavy and use a lot of fuel and require a lot of maintenance. And they are very difficult to get into the trailer cages!!

 

[jpang115]

thanks for the quick replys........ I think im going to pick one up after i get paid tommorow

 

[WalkerMike98]

Buy the strongest blower you can find. Whether or not you need the extra power is irrelevant. Having the power when it is needed is. I say start with the best stick with the best. The time you save over the useful life of a strong blower will be unbelieveable. I know this because when I started, I purchased a Stihl 340. For blowing dry grass clippings it is ok, for anything else it is useless. The stronger the blower, the faster the job is completed. Even if only a minute hear minute there over a season it adds up.

 

[john_incircuit]

We started out with a small Kawasaki and Stihl blowers and thought that we did OK. The Echo pb403 is certainly a larger unit.

We thought we did OK till we purchased the Stihl 550/600. There is just no comparison. We must have looked like fools doing leaves with those little things...

If I would do it over again, I would get the large Stihl and be done with it. The challenge often is how to know what the right tool is at the very beginning. This is, where you just have to trust the folks that are in the business for a while.

A $200 difference can not make a brake a business. Go high end, you will be impressed and so will be your customers.

John

 

[Signature Landscaping1]

Echo PB751

 

[CHRIS MELROSE]

That little Echo is just fine we had our fill of the big HEAVY blowers and will not buy any more. They are very heavy and use a lot of fuel and require a lot of maintenance. And they are very difficult to get into the trailer cages!!

The pb-620 weighs less then a pound more and the br-550 weighs the same
as the 403t...So weight/size isn't the issue. Spend a little more and have something that can handle light and heavy jobs...

 

[JLL25]

Go with Echo for blowers they have more cfm's, go with Stihl for chainsaws. I wouldnt buy anything smaller than a 550 either, maybe even the 650 with the extra air filter on top of it.