How many decibels is an ECHO leaf blower?
An ECHO gas leaf blower lists between 64 and 80 dB(A) at 50 feet under ANSI B175.2, from the PB-255LN handheld at the bottom to the PB-9010 backpack at the top.
ECHO's ratings at 50 feet, lowest first, from its US pages and manuals:
- PB-255LN, handheld: 64 dB(A) on the spec row, 65 in a footnote and the catalog
- PB-265LN, backpack: 65 on the page, 64 in the 2013 manual
- PB-760LNH and PB-760LNT, backpack: 65
- PB-2520 and PB-2620, handheld: 70
- ES-250 Shred 'N' Vac: 70
- PB-580H and PB-580T, backpack: 70
- PB-755SH and PB-755ST, backpack: 74
- PB-770H and PB-770T, backpack: 74 on the page, 73 in the manual
- PB-5810H and PB-5810T, backpack: 75, in the manual only
- PB-7910H and PB-7910T, backpack: 76
- PB-9010H and PB-9010T, backpack: 80 on the page, 79.3 in the manual
Handhelds and backpacks share one list because every figure in it is gas, taken at the same distance under the same standard. The PB-9510, ECHO's biggest blower at 1,200 CFM, has no dB(A) row, and the only document on its page, a quick start guide, prints none.
Other brands rated the same way appear among the quietest leaf blowers and quietest backpack leaf blowers.
Which ECHO blowers are low noise?
ECHO's low-noise blowers are the three LN models: the PB-255LN handheld and the PB-265LN and PB-760LN backpacks, each rated 64 or 65 dB(A) at 50 feet, five or more below any other ECHO blower.
ECHO markets them at noise rules directly. The PB-265LN page says it lets users "abide noise regulations while blowing through long to-do lists", and ECHO describes the PB-760LNH as "the perfect tool for big jobs in quiet neighborhoods". ECHO's blower catalog adds "Low noise output for noise sensitive environments" to the PB-760LN's feature list.
Two of the three give up air for it. The PB-255LN moves 354 CFM and the PB-265LN 375, against 453 for the 70 dB(A) PB-2520. The PB-760LNT breaks that pattern: 535 CFM and 21 N, against 517 CFM and 22 N for the PB-580T, which lists 70. ECHO does not explain on these pages what makes the LN models quieter.
Why do ECHO's page, manual and catalog disagree?
ECHO's page, manual and catalog disagree on four blowers, by a decibel or less each time, and ECHO explains none of the gaps, so this page prints both numbers wherever they differ.
- PB-255LN: 64 on the spec row and catalog chart, 65 in the page footnote and catalog text
- PB-265LN: 65 on the page and in the catalog, 64 in the 2013 manual
- PB-770H and PB-770T: 74 on the page and in the catalog, 73 in the 10/23 manual
- PB-9010H and PB-9010T: 80 on the page and in the catalog, 79.3 in all three manuals ECHO posts, the newest dated 08/26
The PB-9010 gap is not a rounding step, since 79.3 rounds to 79. Where a dealer quotes one of these blowers, ask which ECHO document the number came from.
How loud is an ECHO blower for the person wearing it?
ECHO's US pages and manuals give no operator figure for any blower. Its UK site lists a sound pressure for two models also sold in the US: 94.9 dB(A) for the PB-2520 and 105.8 for the PB-9010T.
The same UK rows give a "Sound power level (dB(A))" of 105.8 for the PB-2520 and 112.4 for the PB-9010T. Neither page says where the sound pressure was taken, which standard applies, or if the sound power is measured or guaranteed, so these four numbers stay apart from the 50 foot ratings and are never ranked against them.
The gap between 70 dB(A) for the PB-2520 at 50 feet and 94.9 on its UK page is two different measurements of one machine, which our sound power and sound pressure explainer untangles. ECHO UK also lists the ES-250ES at 77.1, but that model code differs from the US ES-250, so we leave it out. Its PB-2620, PB-580 and PB-770 pages list vibration and no sound rows.
Is an ECHO battery blower quieter than a gas one?
No ECHO figure can settle it: none of the eight 56V battery blowers ECHO sells in the US carries a decibel rating on echo-usa.com, in the manuals we read, or on ECHO's UK site.
The eight are the DPB-2500 handheld from $149.99, the pink DPB-2500LE at $219.99, the X Series DPB-2610 from $199.99, the 800 CFM DPB-2810 and DPB-2910 handhelds, and three backpacks: the DPB-5800T from $399.99, the DPB-5900T from $449.99 and the 850 CFM DPB-7700T from $749.99.
The DPB-2500, DPB-5800T, DPB-5900T and DPB-7700T manuals list voltage, air volume, air speed and weight, but no sound level. The three backpack manuals do carry ECHO's usual warning, "Remember, the higher the engine speed, the louder the blower noise." The DPB-2610's manual link returned an error page, and the DPB-2810, DPB-2910 and DPB-2500LE pages post no documents.
Does ECHO publish decibels for its trimmers, hedge trimmers and chainsaws?
ECHO publishes no decibel figure for trimmers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, edgers, pruners or mowers on its US pages, though its UK site lists figures for three models sold in the US under identical names.
On ECHO UK, the DHCS-2800 battery hedge trimmer lists 89.6 dB(A) of sound pressure and 97.6 of sound power. The CS-4010 gas chainsaw lists 100.4 and 109.4, and the CS-4920 lists 102.5 and 111.8. Like the blower rows there, they name no standard, and a hedge trimmer and a chainsaw never rank against each other.
The US manuals we sampled, for the DHC-2200 and DHC-2800, DSRM-2100, GT-225, SRM-225U and HC-2020, print no sound level. ECHO UK rates a DHC-2200R at 86.0 and a DHC-2800R at 86.2, but the R suffix does not match the US DHC-2200 and DHC-2800, so those figures are not used here.
Two gas mowers, the LM-2116SPLN and LM-2119SPLN, promise "Up to 50% Less Noise with QPT™ Quiet Power Technology" from a Briggs & Stratton EXi725-QPT engine in the 163cc model. ECHO gives no decibel figure behind that claim on the page or in the manual.
Does a hip or tube throttle change an ECHO blower's rating?
No. ECHO lists one figure for both the hip (H) and tube (T) throttle versions of every backpack sold in pairs, from 70 dB(A) for the PB-580H and PB-580T to 80 for the PB-9010H and PB-9010T.
Prices match within each pair as well. Only the weights move, by a fraction of a pound: 26.5 lbs for the PB-760LNH against 26.2 for the PB-760LNT, and 22.9 for the PB-580H against 22.7 for the PB-580T. The choice comes down to which hand you want on the throttle, not to noise.
Which is the most powerful ECHO blower, and how loud is it?
The most powerful ECHO blower is the PB-9510, at 1,200 CFM and 56 N, and ECHO prints no decibel figure for it. The PB-9010 moves 1,110 CFM with 48 N and lists 80 dB(A) at 50 feet.
Air volume alone does not set an ECHO rating. The PB-760LNT and PB-580T move nearly the same air, 535 and 517 CFM, yet sit five decibels apart. On the battery side, the 850 CFM DPB-7700T has more air than any ECHO gas blower but the PB-9010 and PB-9510, and no figure.
