# Bigger * IS * Better.....New Yard Toys



## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Ok guys,

Bought a RedMax 7500 last month and love it. However at times I found myself wishing for more power. So what to do? Put the new 7500 up for sale and buy the new wicked way more super duper powerful 8560, of course!!

I looked long and hard and watched more videos and read more posts about that vs the new Echo 9010. After talking with my wicked awesome dealer who had both is stock, he confirmed the RedMax was the way to go for what I wanted.

Here are some pics comparing the two.

Oh, and yes that is a new Lesco 80# in the shots as well.


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## LawnChief19 (Aug 27, 2020)

I have that spreader. Works like a charm. My lawn has some hills to it. I get a great cardio workout pushing 80# around.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

LawnChief19 said:


> I have that spreader. Works like a charm. My lawn has some hills to it. I get a great cardio workout pushing 80# around.


Can't wait to try it to lay some Carbon tomorrow.

I went into research crazy-OCD mode and it seems like there is no real mid-level spreaders. There is light consumer grade (Earthway's, Echo's, etc) of which I have previously owned and not been that impressed with, and the pro level.

I went back and forth between this and the Spyker and decided to just do it right the first time and buy this vs. buying a cheaper one knowing that I would end up not being happy and buying this one sooner or later. So I actually SAVED money doing it this way!1 LOL

They kept trying to tell me to go with the 50# Lesco, but after seeing them side by side there was no way I was going to do the 50# over the 80#. It's just a whole different league of unit.


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## GPO Man (11 mo ago)

Very nice, OP. I also just bought an 80# Lesco for $200 on Offer Up. It's literally brand new with deflector and instruction book.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

GPO Man said:


> Very nice, OP. I also just bought an 80# Lesco for $200 on Offer Up. It's literally brand new with deflector and instruction book.


Yeah - your post got me thinking. I got a deal on my new one though certainly not as good as. yours.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> I went into research crazy-OCD mode and it seems like there is no real mid-level spreaders.


This condition is so annoying. It's why I don't really feel bad about recommending the Echo RB60. On the low end, you just pick your poison and live with it.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

ionicatoms said:


> DFW_Zoysia said:
> 
> 
> > I went into research crazy-OCD mode and it seems like there is no real mid-level spreaders.
> ...


I was heavily considering the Echo and I'm sure it would have worked great. Except I would always have this little voice in the back of my head......


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Totally understandable


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## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> Except I would always have this little voice in the back of my head......


I hope your little voice doesn't start saying Andersons or PB-9010!  :lol:


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

TulsaFan said:


> DFW_Zoysia said:
> 
> 
> > Except I would always have this little voice in the back of my head......
> ...


LOL. Don't say SR 2000 to me. LOL

Looked and seriously considered the PB 9010 as I *love* all my Echo gear. After MEGA research, trying them both in person, and talking with my very trusted dealer who has never led me wrong, I stayed in the RedMax family for backpack blowers with the 8650. Basically identical performance between the two but I felt the RedMax had some clear advantages over the Echo.


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## GPO Man (11 mo ago)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> GPO Man said:
> 
> 
> > Very nice, OP. I also just bought an 80# Lesco for $200 on Offer Up. It's literally brand new with deflector and instruction book.
> ...


One thing I've noticed on Offer Up is a lot of smaller landscape businesses sell their equipment here. Whether they're upgrading or going out of business. No reason to buy new if you are patient.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

I'm surprised no one has commented on the blowers and instead all the love is for the spreader.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> I'm surprised no one has commented on the blowers and instead all the love is for the spreader.


I think RedMax is sort of in the same tier as brands like Maruyama and Shindaiwa. Good products and their owners like them, but they'll just never garner the widespread interest or adoption of the big two - Stihl and Echo.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Ware said:


> DFW_Zoysia said:
> 
> 
> > I'm surprised no one has commented on the blowers and instead all the love is for the spreader.
> ...


Could be. They are by far - in terms of blowers - the choice of all the landscapers here in DFW. Even both the dealers I use say the RedMax (for blowers) far outsell Stihl and Echo. Their trimmers on the other hand not so much.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

This hurts my soul @DFW_Zoysia I thought we could be friends after the Kobota Mower and Lesco spreader, but Echo and Redmax. Come on man, now we have to be sworn enemies. :lol: :thumbup:

Fwiw I just last week picked up the BR 600 from the Orange guys. I opted for the lower weight and same motor over the BR 700, and lower weight vs electric start of the BR 800.

I'm honestly not missing the extra power.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Amoo316 said:


> This hurts my soul @DFW_Zoysia I thought we could be friends after the Kobota Mower and Lesco spreader, but Echo and Redmax. Come on man, now we have to be sworn enemies. :lol: :thumbup:
> 
> Fwiw I just last week picked up the BR 600 from the Orange guys. I opted for the lower weight and same motor over the BR 700, and lower weight vs electric start of the BR 800.
> 
> I'm honestly not missing the extra power.


The BR 600 is plenty of power for most applications. Just like the RM 7500 was. But I've never been one to employ logic when it comes to buying equipment. 

I think the uniqueness of me having the Kubota mower offsets the negatives of the Echo - so we can still be friends.


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## San (Jun 21, 2021)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> GPO Man said:
> 
> 
> > ...
> ...


Can you share the deal? Looking to get one as well.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Ware said:


> DFW_Zoysia said:
> 
> 
> > I'm surprised no one has commented on the blowers and instead all the love is for the spreader.
> ...


They were THE string trimmers to have for awhile too. The blowers offered power for sure, but lacked some of the attention to ergonomics and noise that the Stihl BR500/550/600/700/800 blowers got. A lot of guys (commercial cutters) were running BR600's for daily use and broke out the big RedMax units for leaf season.

RedMax is also under the Husqvarna umbrella now, and I feel like that hasn't helped growth of the brand. The tech that RedMax/Zenoah brought to the table (stratified charge two-stroke engines) is now found in many Husqvarna and Stihl products, even a couple Dolmar/Makita saw engines. For chainsaws, looks like Husky simply re-labeled the Jonsered line and called it a day. After killing off the Jonsered name of course. These days, it looks like it's marketed more towards fleet buyers looking for a package deal, but I'm not sure how that's going to work since most of the big players already have huge national purchase contracts in place.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> I'm surprised no one has commented on the blowers and instead all the love is for the spreader.


Well, these days, the spreader sells for almost as much as the blowers.... :nod:


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> The BR 600 is plenty of power for most applications. Just like the RM 7500 was. But I've never been one to employ logic when it comes to buying equipment.
> 
> I think the uniqueness of me having the Kubota mower offsets the negatives of the Echo - so we can still be friends.


See, I guess we can still be friends. I typically employ the same Logic, which is why I have the largest commercial Kombi you can buy.

I for once decided 5 lbs and electric start wasn't worth $200 when comparing price vs performance. It didn't help I had to go spend another $250 that day on fertilizer for the yard :lol:  I also don't have to deal with leaves, so without that as a consideration, yeah I "cheaped out".


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

MasterMech said:


> These days, it looks like it's marketed more towards fleet buyers looking for a package deal, but I'm not sure how that's going to work since most of the big players already have huge national purchase contracts in place.


I can't remember the last time I went anywhere and saw a whole fleet of Redmax. I see Hilti more often then I see Redmax, and that's already exceedingly rare to begin with.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Amoo316 said:


> ...It didn't help I had to go spend another $250 that day on fertilizer for the yard :lol:


And here I was down about spending $236.62. :lol:


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

Amoo316 said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > These days, it looks like it's marketed more towards fleet buyers looking for a package deal, but I'm not sure how that's going to work since most of the big players already have huge national purchase contracts in place.
> ...


I think it's regional. They are everywhere here in DFW.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

Ware said:


> Amoo316 said:
> 
> 
> > ...It didn't help I had to go spend another $250 that day on fertilizer for the yard :lol:
> ...


LOL tbf I don't remember the exact price of the fertilizer, I just buy the 5 bags get 20% of of 30-0-10 from Lowes and call it a day. I do know it was over $50/bag that day.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Amoo316 said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > These days, it looks like it's marketed more towards fleet buyers looking for a package deal, but I'm not sure how that's going to work since most of the big players already have huge national purchase contracts in place.
> ...


Even though Husky is offering up Redmax ZTR's, Lawn Tractors, Snow Blowers, etc - I've yet to see one in person myself.

And having everything the same colors isn't usually all that important to the small to large commercial crews. It's the Brightviews of the industry that are looking for huge fleet deals and they are already in deep with brands like Deere, Exmark, Scag and their national contract pricing.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

MasterMech said:


> Even though Husky is offering up Redmax ZTR's, Lawn Tractors, Snow Blowers, etc - I've yet to see one in person myself.
> 
> And having everything the same colors isn't usually all that important to the small to large commercial crews. It's the Brightviews of the industry that are looking for huge fleet deals and they are already in deep with brands like Deere, Exmark, Scag and their national contract pricing.


Are they doing a TTI Milwaukee, Rigid, Ryobi thing or are they trying to keep it as it's own separate entity?


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Amoo316 said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > Even though Husky is offering up Redmax ZTR's, Lawn Tractors, Snow Blowers, etc - I've yet to see one in person myself.
> ...


Neither. And it puzzles me a bit too because they could easily do the same under the Husqvarna name. I don't think the RedMax name carries THAT much clout from the blowers. More likely to see a Husqvarna ZTR on the average truck than a RedMax just due to the number of dealers selling Husky vs the RedMax line.

It's mostly just re-labeled equipment from the various divisions of Husky (No staggered quality like we see in power tools) marketed to a certain region or customer group. Peeking at the website, there doesn't seem to be a huge allocation for marketing either. Basic, functional, no flash. The only machines that are truly Redmax are the blowers and the trimmers. Everything else is just re-branded. Usually from the Husky products. The saws look a lot like Jonsereds. I wonder if the front handle design carried over? That was a subtle difference between the Husqvarna and Jonsered saws. The saw chassis and engines should be common to Husky models still.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

MasterMech said:


> It's the Brightviews of the industry that are looking for huge fleet deals and they are already in deep with brands like Deere, Exmark, Scag and their national contract pricing.


Brightview around here runs Deer Zero turns and Exmark walk behinds with sulky's for their crews.


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## Shuffinator (May 2, 2017)

DFW_Zoysia said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> > DFW_Zoysia said:
> ...


Back when I was in high school working for a lawn crew for summer football conditioning, we had a redmax trimmer and that think was an absolute beast! I never wanted to use the Stihl's that we had, just give me the RM with some good music and I wasgood to go!


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## jsams22 (Apr 20, 2021)

@DFW_Zoysia Great choice with the Redmax. My family store is a Redmax dealer and the 8560 was a no brainer for me. I have 5 Chestnut Oaks in my front yard and the 8560 is a workhorse.

FWIW my dad said that Redmax had one of the last EPA compliant 2cyc carbs on the market. Husq could not redesign theirs to be compliant. They instead bought Redmax for rights to their carb. There are some units that are not different other than red/orange plastic. Some items they kept in their existing product lines.


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## DFW_Zoysia (May 31, 2019)

jsams22 said:


> @DFW_Zoysia Great choice with the Redmax. My family store is a Redmax dealer and the 8560 was a no brainer for me. I have 5 Chestnut Oaks in my front yard and the 8560 is a workhorse.
> 
> FWIW my dad said that Redmax had one of the last EPA compliant 2cyc carbs on the market. Husq could not redesign theirs to be compliant. They instead bought Redmax for rights to their carb. There are some units that are not different other than red/orange plastic. Some items they kept in their existing product lines.


Thanks! I used the 8560 again today. It is an absolute beast of a blower. SOOOO much more powerful - in everyday useful ways - than the 7500.

Three landscape companies did my neighbors today while I was in the yard. Two of the three used Redmax.


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