Which Blower? BG85 / BG86 / HB280

[nmurph]

i stand corrected (partially) on the cat. there are C models for Cal that are cat. as for the vibes, i still stand by my statement. if you have Raynaud's you are a special case.

 

[Woodie]

i stand corrected (partially) on the cat. there are C models for Cal that are cat. as for the vibes, i still stand by my statement. if you have Raynaud's you are a special case.

Mine was purchased in Michigan. Cat and all.

I do not have Raynauds, and I can run saws all the live long day with nary an issue.


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[RAYINTOMBALL]

Hey Brad I've had the bg86 for about 6 months now and love it. Plenty of power to blow leaves in the Fall and the anti -vibe is nice. Also man is it quite. I don't know if you have seen one but the muffler has a mod already with a little pipe sticking out ,kind of cool. The only problem I have is I'm left handed and the air intake wants to suck my pant leg in because it moves so much air. If you can get one for 189.00 I would be all over that like white on rice IMO. I think I paid 229.00 for mine in Oct. Good luck with your search and your new mod business. RAY

 

[blsnelling]

Thanks Ray. Fortunately, my dealer has a demo HBZ2601 and will fuel up a BG86 for me as well. I'm going to go check them both out tonight.

 

[Brad101]

I don't know if your dealer told you or not but the Redmax HB280 is really a Husqvarna 125B that is red and costs more. My salesman stated they were not yet availible as of a couple weeks ago.

 

[blsnelling]

I don't know if your dealer told you or not but the Redmax HB280 is really a Husqvarna 125B that is red and costs more. My salesman stated they were not yet availible as of a couple weeks ago.

I'm don't know if he knows that or not. They only picked up the line to support a large commercial customer that wants the Redmax product. I've decided against the HB280 anyway because of the clamshell design. It looks like it'll be the HBZ2500 or 2601 and remove the restrictor plate in front of the muffler.

 

[belgian]

A BG85 vibrates far, far more than a saw. Running skip chain in dry oak does not even compare to the vibes from a BG85. Not even close.

It's the reason why Stihl had to design an antivibe system for the 86. The 85 would soon have been illegal for sale in Europe.

As it is, the UK regulations limit BG85 usage to short periods of time in any one day due to the vibes.

If I run mine more than 10 minutes in a day, my hands hurt, and I can't do any woodworking because I lose too much in the way of fine motor skills.



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I have the BG85 (actually the SH version) and I believe you stretch the vibes issue by a mile. I've used mine for small jobs too but have not experienced yet any serious issues with the vibrations. The unit is very good for what it's designed for, and starts real easy.

The only bad thing on the BG85 is the tube attachment system, which really sucks for a brand like Stihl :rant: For that reason alone, I would go for the BG86 over the 85. Can't comment on the redmax model as I have never seen or run one.

 

[scotclayshooter]

Yep Woodie the local council guys can use a BG85 for 20 mins a day!
Mine has plenty power and way more blow than a BG55
The 85 will give you a sore elbow after a lot of use.
A tank of fuel wont last 20 mins the tanks are tiny.

The 55 and 85 have been replaced with BG86 BG56 and a new low noise BG66 where the exhaust exits out of the blowere pipe.

Would i buy another BG85.....
Without a doubt yes!

 

[Woodie]

I have the BG85 (actually the SH version) and I believe you stretch the vibes issue by a mile.

Not stretching it one inch. Read what Scots says...it sounds like I've got plenty of company.

Not only is it painful for more than ten minutes at a time, but like I said, I cannot play piano nor do any precision woodworking. (No chisel work, no planing, no handtools.)


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[Lakeside53]

The last few BG85 we had/have did not have CAT in WA..

 

[blsnelling]

The last few BG85 we had/have did not have CAT in WA..

Am I correct that the BG86C has a cat and the BG86 does not, and that it is a stratofied clamshell engine?

 

[nmurph]

Not stretching it one inch. Read what Scots says...it sounds like I've got plenty of company.

Not only is it painful for more than ten minutes at a time, but like I said, I cannot play piano nor do any precision woodworking. (No chisel work, no planing, no handtools.)


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and you can run a chainsaw all day and not have similar problems????????hmmmmmmm, OK.

 

[2000ssm6]

Not stretching it one inch. Read what Scots says...it sounds like I've got plenty of company.

Not only is it painful for more than ten minutes at a time, but like I said, I cannot play piano nor do any precision woodworking. (No chisel work, no planing, no handtools.)


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They are not that bad, you are stretching it. btw, we at Stihl would like to thank you for the purchase.

 

[joatmon]

They are not that bad, you are stretching it. btw, we at Stihl would like to thank you for the purchase.

Brian,

Not so fast! Did Woodie's check clear?

Joat

 

[Woodie]

and you can run a chainsaw all day and not have similar problems????????hmmmmmmm, OK.

Yup.

Keep in mind, though...I run Jonnys.



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[Woodie]

They are not that bad, you are stretching it. btw, we at Stihl would like to thank you for the purchase.

"We at Stihl"? "We"?

Didn't know you owned stock in the company.

Of course, neither did anyone else in the Stihl family...


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[2000ssm6]

"We at Stihl"? "We"?

Didn't know you owned stock in the company.

Of course, neither did anyone else in the Stihl family...


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How wood you know?

 

[2000ssm6]

Brian,

Not so fast! Did Woodie's check clear?

Joat

Nope, bounced like a basketball.

 

[tamadrummer]

Absolutely incorrect.

A BG85 vibrates far, far more than a saw. Running skip chain in dry oak does not even compare to the vibes from a BG85. Not even close.

It's the reason why Stihl had to design an antivibe system for the 86. The 85 would soon have been illegal for sale in Europe.

As it is, the UK regulations limit BG85 usage to short periods of time in any one day due to the vibes.

If I run mine more than 10 minutes in a day, my hands hurt, and I can't do any woodworking because I lose too much in the way of fine motor skills.



.[/QUOTE/]

If an employee of mine came to me and told me they could not run a blower for more than X number of minutes a day and it was less than 360 minutes I would open hand slap them and send them on their way.

Switch hands if your hand hurts, what other job is better, line trimming, trimming hedges, edging?

do the dog'on job and get it over with so we can go home.....

 

[Woodie]

If an employee of mine came to me and told me they could not run a blower for more than X number of minutes a day and it was less than 360 minutes I would open hand slap them and send them on their way.

You sound like the kind of knuckle-dragger who would probably give your employees chitty equipment, then blame them when it broke. (Or they did.)

Assuming anyone would work for you in the first place.


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