Br 600 magnum

[XSKIER]

I went to look at a couple of used blowers yesterday. These were beat to death commercial units represented by an office lady who swore the guys had no problems with them in December. The first I couldn't get started, it felt like no compression. The second pulled over with a couple of pulses with some creaking noise in the recoil starter, then rolled over with no pulses. Did I break the cam gear by pulling it over slowly? Do they have an automatic compression release? Should I just save the aggravation and anxiety and be looking for a different model?

 

[bigredd]

Bought my BR600 new in 2010. It's never missed a beat and always starts in 1-2 pulls after setting choke and pressing primer bulb. I would avoid used commercial units like the plague.

 

[XSKIER]

Do you have an opinion on the BR 600 MAGNUM verses the BR 600?

 

[bigredd]

Do you have an opinion on the BR 600 MAGNUM verses the BR 600?

The only real difference is the Magnum has two fuel pickup lines/filters in the tank instead of one. Fuel pickup with the BR600 is not a problem as long as it's kept horizonal on your back, as designed.

 

[Ridin' Green]

I just sold my as new 2010 BR600M. I never had any problem using the entire tank regardless of what position I was in. The only reason I got rid of it is that I couldn't keep the stupid shoulder straps on my shoulders, and I am not a round shouldered guy in any way. Just a crappy design in where the straps are mounted and the way they pull out and away from the body IMO. I had a hard time ever picking it up anyway ever since buying a Husky 570 BTS when they first came out in late 2011. Way more comfortable for long periods of use, and way stronger blower to boot.

 

[XSKIER]

Is the Husqy a 2T?

 

[Ridin' Green]

Is the Husqy a 2T?

Yep. It is the same exact blower as the Redmax 7500, but it has a much better shoulder harness and a cross shest strap that really holds the machine in place, especially when bending down to pick up debris/trash.

 

[XSKIER]

I need a quick verification on a BR 600 non MAGNUM, so I'm posting here. Sorry for diluting the chainsaw thread with bs blower talk, but here goes:

My dealer mentioned that the new specified valve clearance is:
Intake: .10 mm
Exhaust: .20 mm

This is contradictory to the service manual I have of .10mm for both. Can somebody confirm or deny this?

 

[XSKIER]

So here's the rest of the story. Yesterday morning I bought a seemingly lightly homeowner used BR 600. It had a leak at the fuel pickup which turned out to be not fully seated in the tank. I'm a sucker for elastostart handles, so I installed one. While into it I decided to check the valve clearances. I decided to use .10mm on the Intake and .20mm on the Exhaust. Here's where the real fun started. I was trying to use a crescent wrench to get the valves into adjustment and ended up busting off the rocker cover mount. Being that the crankcase and valve train are in the intake tract (for lubrication purposes) the rocker cover must be sealed tightly in order to run. So what I ended up doing was forming some 6mm threads in the little bit of cylinder metal that was left. It passed a 20 minute stress test, so I'll let it ride until it fails. If it does fail the motor will just quit like the carb was removed. At that point I would disassemble the engine and weld the broken piece back on or sell it for parts and try a 2T blower. I really like the 4-MIX sound though.

[video=youtube;eldMX5iMHAA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eldMX5iMHAA[/video]

 

[indiansprings]

I always set both at .10mm at the shop, the BR600 has been bulletproof the last several years, it got off to a rough start, but the issues were quickly remedied. We prolly sell close to 20 a year and just don't see them come back in. We also sell Echo but will sell less than five backpack units a year. The dual pickup imho is a must, especially if you operate on properties with hills or slopes.

 

[XSKIER]

To answer the original question, yes the BR 500 550 600 and magnum have a mechanical automatic compression release.

 

[Coen]

Backpack blower

There is a local Stihl dealer with the 600 blower sitting on the shelf, but i plan on traveling 45 minutes away to buy a Shindiawa 854 instead. I've just heard too much back and forth on the 600. If you have anything that might sway my purchase, can you please post it?

 

[XSKIER]

Not really. The shinny has a hybrid4 engine similar to the stihl 4-MIX. The 854 specs a little better on paper too. If I was a regular with shinny equipment I would seriously consider one. My local shinny dealer switched over to echo though.

 

[bigredd]

There is a local Stihl dealer with the 600 blower sitting on the shelf, but i plan on traveling 45 minutes away to buy a Shindiawa 854 instead. I've just heard too much back and forth on the 600. If you have anything that might sway my purchase, can you please post it?

Why not avoid possible problems with 4-mix and get the Shindaiwa EB802, which are true 2-cycle engines, and proven reliability.

 

[Coen]

Blower

Sounds like good advice. I'll start my research. Thanks

 

[Ridin' Green]

There's been plenty of negative stuff posted about Shindy 2/4 strokes over the last several years. I would definitely go with the 802 over the 854. The 802 has an excellent record. Go over to Lawnsite and do some reading and asking.

The best bang for the buck though, will be the Husky 570 BTS. It is quite a bit stronger than the Echo 770, Shindy 802 or BR 600M, and is pure 2 stroke in design. I flat out love mine.