Hitachi Rotary owners...

[SuperBee364]

How do you like the Hitachi SP18VA?



It seemed like there were a bunch of guys around here that were very excited for this machine to be released, then nothing but silence afterward. There`s been a few sporadic posts about it, and it seems like the primary complaint has been problems with the trigger.



I`m currently without a spare rotary, and it`s making me nervous, so I need to decide between the Hitachi and the Makita.

[imported_weekendwarrior]

gmblack3a had one, and sold it to me. I have a Makita, and I bought his Hitachi to compare to my Makita. I liked my Makita better. It just felt more solid, and better built. I ended up selling it.



I am a firm believer in not buying cheap tools....but if I were looking solely for a back-up, I`d look at this buffer below. I know a few people that own them, and LOVE them.



Vector Professional Circular Polisher

[Barry Theal]

not sure about that one hitachi lol but 3 months ago my dewalt carbon brushes got low and was messing with the spin on a sunday. so i was in a jam and want to pepboys lol and they have a black and decker one. its great and was like 60 dollars or so! it finished my job nicely!

[imported_rydawg]

I had a Hitachi, and it had a mind of it`s own. The first time I smoked it was only after a week. had it fixed and wworked for a month and then had problems with the speed dial, trigger, another busted gear. Had it fixed again and put it aside for back-up. I ended up melting the gears in my Metabo badly:laugh: and went to the Hitachi thinking it was all perfect and plugged it in and it will not shut off, so I had to hook it up to a power strip and use the swith on the strip with my foot to turn it on/off.



Hitachi:nomore:



I ended up picking up a Makita and all is good now.



I am gonna get the parts for my metabo and fix it and keep the Makita as a back-up. You ALWAYS need a back-up. I have killed atleast 30 rotaries and got stuck a few times.

[romar]

I`ve had mine for about two years now and still prefer the Hitachi to my DW849.

The "soft start" feature quit working after the 1st few months, but hasn`t bothered me enough to have the unit serviced.

[SuperBee364]

Thanks for the input, guys, I think I`ll save up for the Makita, then.

[honkeybizkit]

I have had the Hitachi SP18VA for over 2 years. I detail part-time, spring thru fall. I have yet to even have an issue with mine. I sold my Milwaukee when I bought the Hitachi and NEVER looked back. The makita is a solid tool as well, but I love my Hitachi.



There were 2 things I didn`t like when I recieved it. (1) You really have to CRANK on the bolts to get the D handle to be tight (not a big deal) and (2) While it was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter than my Milwaukee, there was a bit of a growl to the gearbox on the Hitachi. I opened it up (4 screws, I think) and saw all of the grease was whipped off of the gears and was clinging to the walls of the case. I removed the OEM grease and re-greased it with whatever synthetic grease I had laying around, it was either Mobil 1 grease, Redline Grease or Valvoline Synpower (my 3 favs) I have also re-greased the gearbox at the end of the year, just for preventative maint.



My unit still functions as new; slow start, variable trigger, dial and all.

[steck]

My unit still functions as new; slow start, variable trigger, dial and all.

ditto...mine too

[SuperBee364]

I have had the Hitachi SP18VA for over 2 years. I detail part-time, spring thru fall. I have yet to even have an issue with mine. I sold my Milwaukee when I bought the Hitachi and NEVER looked back. The makita is a solid tool as well, but I love my Hitachi.



There were 2 things I didn`t like when I recieved it. (1) You really have to CRANK on the bolts to get the D handle to be tight (not a big deal) and (2) While it was SIGNIFICANTLY quieter than my Milwaukee, there was a bit of a growl to the gearbox on the Hitachi. I opened it up (4 screws, I think) and saw all of the grease was whipped off of the gears and was clinging to the walls of the case. I removed the OEM grease and re-greased it with whatever synthetic grease I had laying around, it was either Mobil 1 grease, Redline Grease or Valvoline Synpower (my 3 favs) I have also re-greased the gearbox at the end of the year, just for preventative maint.



My unit still functions as new; slow start, variable trigger, dial and all.

Great information, thank you!

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Thanks for the input, guys, I think I`ll save up for the Makita, then.

haha man Supe have you been reading my mind lately?! I was just searching around online for a good deal on a Makita just to have as a backup to my current Makita...



I`ve debated before between Hitachi and Makita but after 3 years of `enough` polishing I`ve only had the power cord fail from too much bending but it was a 5 min replacement and cost $15-20 iirc



If you find a good deal on one let me know!



EDIT: Oh and +1 on the Vector... I have that as my current backup/pad dryer and I`ve yet to have an issue in over 4 years (it doesn`t get used too much obviously) so if you want it purely as a backup, meaning if the Makita fails you`ll order a new Makita the next day and use this polisher for that week or two, then I would recommend spending the $60 on Vector.

[SuperBee364]

Since it`s just a backup, I am thinking more about the Vector.



I can`t seem to find a good price on a Makita anywhere. Just a few months ago, you could get one for 150. Now it`s hard to find them under 200.

[PorscheGuy997]

Have you tried eBay?



I`ve bought two Makita 9927C`s without a problem.



Since you already have a Makita, I would go for a Dewalt as a spare.





Doesn`t the Hitachi have a very touchy overload sensor, too?

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Since it`s just a backup, I am thinking more about the Vector.



I can`t seem to find a good price on a Makita anywhere. Just a few months ago, you could get one for 150. Now it`s hard to find them under 200.

Yea haha and idk what`s up with CMA raising prices on the Vector... went from $60ish to $100!! This is the best deal I found on the Makita from a quick search the other day... Makita 9227 7" Polisher with gloves,bag and 4 Microfiber towels - eToolDirect

[SuperBee364]

Have you tried eBay?



I`ve bought two Makita 9927C`s without a problem.



Since you already have a Makita, I would go for a Dewalt as a spare.





Doesn`t the Hitachi have a very touchy overload sensor, too?

I`m actually using a Flex 3403 rotary as my primary machine right now, but it doesn`t like the pressure of the KBM; it`s thermaled on me several times, and now it stutters a bit.



Last I checked ebay, the prices werent bad, but the shipping brought the total out of pocket passed etailer prices. Guess I should look again.

Yea haha and idk what`s up with CMA raising prices on the Vector... went from $60ish to $100!! This is the best deal I found on the Makita from a quick search the other day... Makita 9227 7" Polisher with gloves,bag and 4 Microfiber towels - eToolDirect

That is a good price. Inlcudes shipping, too.

[imported_Denzil]

Try a Metabo Supe.