Gasoline leaf blower

[QRTRHRS]

Finally bit the bullet so to speak and bought a Stihl BR600 blower on Friday. It was almost dark when I got home so I got a few minutes to play. It seemed a bit sluggish. Reading over the manual, I see that Stihl recommends 89 octane where as I had been running 87 in my other Stihl equipment.

Along with the saw, I picked up some of the synthetice oil to try. I had been using the mineral oil. The dealer had some gas in to check out the blower but I don't know if he used 87 or 89 octane. There was not much left so I just filled it with 89 that I picked up.

I got about an hour in and the blower is working really well. Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed better with a full tank of gas. Maybe my imagination was running wild. Anyway, this thing is a beast power wise. Blows the black walnuts that I missed around like nothing.

We had cold temps and snow squalls along with a bit of rain lately so many of the leafs are frozen to the ground. Between that and the oak trees, I guess a few passes are in the future.

 

[WH401]

Finally bit the bullet so to speak and bought a Stihl BR600 blower on Friday. It was almost dark when I got home so I got a few minutes to play. It seemed a bit sluggish. Reading over the manual, I see that Stihl recommends 89 octane where as I had been running 87 in my other Stihl equipment.

Along with the saw, I picked up some of the synthetice oil to try. I had been using the mineral oil. The dealer had some gas in to check out the blower but I don't know if he used 87 or 89 octane. There was not much left so I just filled it with 89 that I picked up.

I got about an hour in and the blower is working really well. Maybe it was just my imagination but it seemed better with a full tank of gas. Maybe my imagination was running wild. Anyway, this thing is a beast power wise. Blows the black walnuts that I missed around like nothing.

We had cold temps and snow squalls along with a bit of rain lately so many of the leafs are frozen to the ground. Between that and the oak trees, I guess a few passes are in the future.

Sounds like your already pleased with yours. I bought the same one in mid October and I agree, the power from it is unbelievable. I had the same problem from my dealer with the mix already in the tank. It gave me a few hiccups on the first tank which I believe was due to the dealer mix. I figure they probably mixed 87 with the regular Stihl HP (dino) oil (as thats the type of oil they gave me and I know the 4 mix engines require a synthetic) and the blower didn't like it that much. The second and all subsequent tanks after that, that I have run through it, have been 89 mixed with Amsoil Saber 2-stroke oil at 80:1. Right off the bat I noticed it ran alot better with this combination and has been great on it since. I have put about 6 tanks through it so far and have not had a problem since.

The biggest enemy to these things is carbon buildup. When they first came out with them, Stihl had problems with them dropping valves. They found out the problem was in running the Stihl HP oil in conjunction with the new 4 mix engines, it caused excessive carbon buildup. Not too long after, Stihl developed there Ultra oil, a full synthetic, specifically for the 4-Mix engine. If the dealer had given me Ultra, I would have used that up before starting on the Amsoil but I don't think they even had any in stock. If you get the chance, try out the Amsoil, it's worth it.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The dealer did in fact recommend the ultra to me to use with the blower but never elaborated. Since most of my small engine use is on an as needed basis with occasional periods of sitting idle, I am a great believer in synthetics for those applications so I agreed to try it.

Upon reading how your experiance was similar, I guess that I was not imagining the engine running poorly at all. I used the blower again today and it seems to be breaking in and running better. The only thing I noticed is an occasional stall out when I release the throttle lock.

I will have to try the Amsoil.

 

[WH401]

The dealer did in fact recommend the ultra to me to use with the blower but never elaborated. Since most of my small engine use is on an as needed basis with occasional periods of sitting idle, I am a great believer in synthetics for those applications so I agreed to try it.

Upon reading how your experiance was similar, I guess that I was not imagining the engine running poorly at all. I used the blower again today and it seems to be breaking in and running better. The only thing I noticed is an occasional stall out when I release the throttle lock.

I will have to try the Amsoil.

I have the same problem with the throttle lock, you have to be very precise or you can easily cut the thing off. I have gotten into the habit of using two hands, one for the trigger and one for the lock so that the throttle isn't just suddenly cut. Though today I was just using one hand to do both and it seemed like the lock was loosening up with use. It also seems like the stall happens less frequently as well.

It ran great today in high 20/low30 degree weather, I can't say enough great things about it.