Hey guys do any of you have this rotary it states its 6.4 lbs which is less than the Makita 9227 CX3 it also says it uses an 11 amp motor which is more power than most rotaries. It also says it comes with a 5 year warranty from Hitachi. Not only that it starts at 600 rpms like the 9227. So with all that is it really too good to be true or it it actually a good rotary I'd like to see what everyone thinks see link below I mean for $150 I think its great. Hitachi SP18VA 7" Polisher & Light Sander
It's decent but not great. I had one a few years ago. Much better than a Harbor Freight one or one of the no names off eBay but not as good as the Makita. Now if you aren't going to be using it a lot just sporadically then I think it's a perfect machine but in the long run if you use it a lot you'll want a Makita.
have it, use it sometimes, great machine, just dont use rotary all that much to have any indept feedback, and i dont use it with foam pads, only wiht purple wool pads got it from same website, its the cheapest price i found
thats weird, i have one and mine has soft start. or at least i can soft start it LOL. i think it is a better machine than the dewalt. the dewalts i've used have been so noisy that i couldnt stand it. the hitachi is nice and quiet, works smooth, works all day with out a problem.
Can you give me more details on why its not good to run it for long periods, like does it get hot, does it shut down, does operation start to change i.e. the rpms move up or down on its own. Hey... I knew I recognized your member name, I know you from Modded Mustangs. Really it actually say it does have a soft start feature, at least I have seen it listed on with that feature on several sites. Does it really not have it? Why dont you use foam pads on it? Does it not have a smooth operation? This is what I have been reading they claim its better than the dewalt. Have you ever had any issues with it ever since you have purchased it like the ones I listed to JL Detailing? And do you use it once in a while or does it get used often? Thanks guys I was hoping to get some feed back, I just need some more to make a final decision wether to get Hitachi SP18VA or the Makita 9227 CX3.
Danny, i have never had any problems with mine. in everything manufactured you will have doa's(dead on arrival) the lower the percent the better. but no company has 0% return rate. i just used mine at least 18 hours in the last 3 days and it worked with out a hitch. it does get hot, but so does my flex. they all do because you are causing electric current to flow to make the motor rotate. BTW i've owned it for the last 3 years
I've owned one for about two years. I bought it used from FMINUS. I'm not sure how long he's had it, but it couldn't have been longer than a year. I used it maybe 8 times a year for 1-2 day details, and it eventually went bad on me. I picked up a Makita afterwards. The Hitachi is slightly lighter, I like the RPM scale better, and quieter. The Makita is supposedly more reliable, and dial feels of better quality. The weight difference is negligible to me, and I'm not a very big guy. With a 5 year warranty, I don't see how you can go wrong with the Hitachi. It's roughly the same for me. The transition was smooth because well, they're nearly identical machines. I don't use it nearly as much as the pros on here do. Either way, I wouldn't be polishing without something to reduce noise anyway. If I were you, I'd get the Hitachi.
Thanks advs1 I appreciate you letting me know your experience with it. SpecC thank you, did you ever get the hitachi replaced after it went bad since it should of still been under the 5 year manufactures warranty? Also when you say it went bad what happened to it?
I'm not a professional detailer, however... After three years, not a single problem or dislike. Well-balanced, reliable and durable, without being too heavy.
I love my SP18VA. I have the Dewalt also and the Hitachi is ALOT better than the delwalt. The Hitachi has a great soft start feature.
Thanks man I appreciate your response Nice to know thanks. I think I have seen your work on MM, you have a red GT and did a red charger correct? The reason I ask is the name sounded familiar.
I didn't know it had warranty, and I was unsure of whether I would qualify. Oh well. I'm not sure exactly what happened but something controlling the speeds began to get bad and inconsistent. I'd be polishing around 1700, and it'd suddenly speed up to something likely dangerous for polishing cars. After 4 tries of that, I binned it and got the Makita.
Cool I have an 04 Black Mustang GT so I'll go look around. Oh well that stinks, but thank you for letting me know what happened to it. All this info is helping me make a decision.
I had a makita and sold it to buy that Flex we all "had" to have. When I decided to get another rotary I decided against the makita for 2 reasons: first, a good friend had to spend 80 bucks on his 2 months after warranty ran out, and I did a little work for a body shop that had a makita and a dewalt, the dewalt was older but still sounded fine, the makita sounded like the bearings were about to come out. I bought the dewalt and that fat backing plate from CG, got a deal for myself at Christmas. THe dewalt feels balanced and smooth, I honestly couldn't tell it was any heavier than that makita i use to have.
I went with the Makita its great I like it alot. I have used the Dewalt its too heavy when using on vertical panels at least for me.
I've had my Hitachi for about 6 or 7 years now and absolutely love it. I have experienced what SpecC referred to with an occasional "overspeed" fly off however haven't had that happen in over a year. I've noticed that happens when it overheats a bit and if I let it sit for a minute and cool down it's fine after. In my opinion it's a great machine for that price. I also got mine from that same vendor. Good luck with whatever you decide.
