Thanks for your replies. It was the Stihl blower, I think the BR55? one , that I read about being hard starting. Also I've talked to people saying their Stihl chainsaws were also hard starting. I just figured that the trimmers were also hard starting. My Echo PB251 has a couple of seasons on it and it still starts with 2 pulls every time unless I mess up the procedure. I'm glad to hear that blowers require more power than trimmers. I just figured that with some models that accept attachments they would require more power. I am more interested in whether 21.2cc's would be enough for St. Augustine grass. I really don't see why it wouldn't be. I agree, I'd love to get the 230 because it has two rings instead of one but I have to draw the line somewhere. Besides, I'm only using it for home use. I figure if my Mexican made Homelite one ring edger/trimmer is still going strong after 8 years of hard use then a quality brand like Echo should last just as long if not longer. Hopefully that is . I hope their new less friction design engine doesn't have durability flaws. Most of the time I just use medium to low throttle so I don't damage the shrubs and trees. I only used to use full throttle when I used the edging feature on the Homelite. The Stihl trimmer looked like a nice unit and the the sales guy said it was made in Germany. I thought Stihl was a Swede company. The Echo is made in Japan. I think Japanese quality and design is probably better than German. The Japanese cars seem to last better than German cars although the German parts are probably tougher. I've worked in Germany before on trains and the German's are kind of hacks and hardheaded in their own way. I also worked with the Japanese on their Boston trolley cars and they were very meticulous and quality minded. As far as the Swedes go, I worked on Saabs in a dealership and what can I say, they were also meticulous and quality minded but they were also dicks. Then again, I'm Norwegian and they hate Norwegians. I think Saabs are one of the crappiest designed cars I've ever worked on. I like the feel of the Echo units as they feel fairly light and balanced. I can't remember how the Stihl felt. There is a local shop that sells both so I'll have to see them side by side. It would be nice to try them out but most places don't have units to start. The one thing I do like about Echo is their website. It has all resources including manuals and parts diagrams. Stihl keeps you in the dark. Maybe it has something to do with the Dark Ages in Europe. My gut feeling is that the Stihl is probably a tougher, stronger unit even though the warranty isn't as good as the Echo. I've read where these new ignition modules are touchy and they are not cheap to replace so a longer warranty is nice. If it weren't for the hard starting problems Ive heard about I'd probably go for the Stihl. It's also 20 dollars less than the Echo. Thanks again for your replies.

I bought the RedMax hand blower on line for $200 out the door. It weighs 8lbs (lighter than all the other hand helds] and you won't believe the power it has. I sold my Echo back pack blower to buy it. I coudn't stand humping the 26lbs on and off my back every time I had to restart it. I'm very satisfied with the RedMax, I also wanted to buy something better, but I also wanted something light with good power.

i've been using ethanol gas for a long time. for my 2 strokes, i don't mix more fuel than i can use within a reasonable time, don't let it sit. when i had a little lawn service business, i could mix a gal at a time without it going bad. since i've cut back on customers i can get by mixing only what i'll use. when i'm mixing small amounts i mix 8oz gas to 1 tsp oil. i buy and sell a lot of "broken" lawn equipment, more often than not the problem is fuel related. gummed up carbs, deteriorated lines. usually because the owner stored the machine with fuel in it. the gas you bye in cans (premix) is fail safe but expensive. if you like to store fuel, google "pure fuel" or ethanol free fuel in my area, there might be stations still selling real gas. there are people that swear by fuel stabilizers but i don't use them.

I installed a spark tester, which installs between the spark plug wire and the plug itself. There's a small bulb that lights when you pull the cord. I verified the tester works correctly on my Echo trimmer. I also removed my coil and tested it with an ohm meter. It read within spec for the coil, assuming my information was correct about the spec. However, this morning I read on this forum that someone said a resistance test using multi meter is inadequate for newer coils that have ignition circuits embedded into the coil. I need to rule out the kill switch, but thinking that there is no other option other than the coil. The fact that the coil is 1/3 the cost of the blower really stinks.