seeking advice on a good backpack blower

[djdicetn]

Did you forget to include a link to the thread? I think this is the thread you are talking about: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/commercial-residential-lawn-mowing/13094-stihl-br-200-br-blower.html. (Most of the info about the blower after Ric purchased it is on pages 2 and 3.)

lmf,

Thanks for the link...I think I had seen that thread earlier on the forums, but I've been away from the forums for a while, slept several times and just jumped on this thread about blowers:0)

ric,
Thanks, as that does seem to be a very good backpack blower for the wife but you mentioned several times to some users on that thread that if you were wanting to move leaves to go with the bigger 350 or 500 models. As I said earlier "my" main use of a blower would be to clean the leaves out of the gutters with a gutter kit tube attachment. Cleaning them by hand on a ladder is for the birds!!! So, in your opinion, would the Stihl 200 be able to use a gutter tube extension and have enough power for getting gutters full of leaves cleaned out? The price ain't bad and I would hesitate spending < $300 on a good unit. I'm certain the wife would love the BR200 for cleaning the driveway & sidewalk I just want to be certain what I get will clean the gutters as well. Of course I'm not 100% sure the Poulan hand-held mentioned earlier would handle the gutter cleaning either.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

This is just my opinion, but I think the BR-200 would be able to handle gutter cleaning. It might take a bit longer than with the 500, but I think it should be able to do it. But I would wait for Ric's response since he is the one who has used the blower!

 

[Ric]

lmf,

Thanks for the link...I think I had seen that thread earlier on the forums, but I've been away from the forums for a while, slept several times and just jumped on this thread about blowers:0)

ric,
Thanks, as that does seem to be a very good backpack blower for the wife but you mentioned several times to some users on that thread that if you were wanting to move leaves to go with the bigger 350 or 500 models. As I said earlier "my" main use of a blower would be to clean the leaves out of the gutters with a gutter kit tube attachment. Cleaning them by hand on a ladder is for the birds!!! So, in your opinion, would the Stihl 200 be able to use a gutter tube extension and have enough power for getting gutters full of leaves cleaned out? The price ain't bad and I would hesitate spending < $300 on a good unit. I'm certain the wife would love the BR200 for cleaning the driveway & sidewalk I just want to be certain what I get will clean the gutters as well. Of course I'm not 100% sure the Poulan hand-held mentioned earlier would handle the gutter cleaning either.

The BR 200 is a good little back pack and it would probably be all you would need to clean driveways and walkways but if your main use of a blower would be to clean the leaves out of the gutters with a gutter kit tube attachment my suggestion would be to by the BG-66 or the BG-86 hand held unit because you can get the gutter kit with either of them and with all the Stihl Hand Held units. To my knowledge the gutter kits are not available with any of the Stihl back pack units.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

To my knowledge the gutter kits are not available with any of the Stihl back pack units.

You are correct....the gutter cleaning kits are only made for the handheld units: Frequently Asked Questions about STIHL Blowers | STIHL USA.

But you could always make one for a backpack blower...I am assuming this guy made one himself since Stihl does not make any kits for backpack blowers.

Echo also makes a kit.

 

[ghessler26]

I would recommend the Redmax HB281 with the gutter kit!!

 

[djdicetn]

You are correct....the gutter cleaning kits are only made for the handheld units: Frequently Asked Questions about STIHL Blowers | STIHL USA.
View attachment 11475
But you could always make one for a backpack blower...I am assuming this guy made one himself since Stihl does not make any kits for backpack blowers.

Echo also makes a kit.
View attachment 11474

ric/lmf,

Thanks for the advice guys!!! From a consumer perspective, I don't really understand why Stihl limits the gutter kits to the hand-held models only. And the mention by lmf that Echo makes a gutter kit led me to check out their website. Lo & behold when checking their blower accessories it states that the gutter kit 99944100025 as "RAIN GUTTER CLEANING KIT (ALL ECHO BLOWERS WITH POSI-LOC PIPES EXCEPT PB-770H/T). The PB770H/T is their 'top" backpack model, but all of the backpack models I looked at had the "Posi-Loc pipes" on them which tells me the gutter kit would work. Their entry-level tube-mounted throttle backpack blower(PB-500T) @ $329 seems to have good specs(465cfm/195mph/50cc engine/61oz fuel tank/5 yr warranty) although it is kinda heavy compared to the Stihls(21.8lbs versus 12.6lbs @ $270 for the Stihl BR200). Sure wish the Stihl backpack blowers would handle a gutter kit:0( I am going to continue researching and check out the Redmax brand suggested.

P.S.
A quick gander at the Redmax website lists the GK-280 gutter kit as a "Backpack And Handheld Blower Attachment" in their online brochure. I couldn't find anything that specifically said it would/wouldn't work on a Backpack model, so I guess I'd need to check with a dealer.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

A quick gander at the Redmax website lists the GK-280 gutter kit as a "Backpack And Handheld Blower Attachment" in their online brochure. I couldn't find anything that specifically said it would/wouldn't work on a Backpack model, so I guess I'd need to check with a dealer.

Yeah, I would check your local dealer. Maybe check out the Redmax's, Echo's, and Stihl's to get more info on all three of them.

Dealer Locator:
.........Dealer Locator | RedMax

........Find an ECHO Dealer, Nearest ECHO Dealer Location | ECHO USA

.........Locate Dealer | STIHL USA

 

[Ric]

ric/lmf,

Thanks for the advice guys!!! From a consumer perspective, I don't really understand why Stihl limits the gutter kits to the hand-held models only. And the mention by lmf that Echo makes a gutter kit led me to check out their website. Lo & behold when checking their blower accessories it states that the gutter kit 99944100025 as "RAIN GUTTER CLEANING KIT (ALL ECHO BLOWERS WITH POSI-LOC PIPES EXCEPT PB-770H/T). The PB770H/T is their 'top" backpack model, but all of the backpack models I looked at had the "Posi-Loc pipes" on them which tells me the gutter kit would work. Their entry-level tube-mounted throttle backpack blower(PB-500T) @ $329 seems to have good specs(465cfm/195mph/50cc engine/61oz fuel tank/5 yr warranty) although it is kinda heavy compared to the Stihls(21.8lbs versus 12.6lbs @ $270 for the Stihl BR200). Sure wish the Stihl backpack blowers would handle a gutter kit:0( I am going to continue researching and check out the Redmax brand suggested.

P.S.
A quick gander at the Redmax website lists the GK-280 gutter kit as a "Backpack And Handheld Blower Attachment" in their online brochure. I couldn't find anything that specifically said it would/wouldn't work on a Backpack model, so I guess I'd need to check with a dealer.

If you really like the BR 200 you may want to call your Stihl dealer and check with them and see if any of their Back Pack blowers have the adaptability of the gutter kit. You never know how up to date some of the sites are.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

You never know how up to date some of the sites are.

Yeah that's true!

 

[Ric]

You are correct....the gutter cleaning kits are only made for the handheld units: Frequently Asked Questions about STIHL Blowers | STIHL USA.
View attachment 11475
But you could always make one for a backpack blower...I am assuming this guy made one himself since Stihl does not make any kits for backpack blowers.

Echo also makes a kit.
View attachment 11474

Ya know I'll bet you could manufacture something and make that Echo gutter kit work with a Stihl.