Hitachi Gas-Powered Handheld Blower and $30 Mail-In Rebate Offer

Hello again AMAZON fans everywhere!! August 27, 2016 After 3+ years of use I wanted to give an update of this machine. In my original review (below) I gave it 3 stars which was more a reflection of how the unit arrived and the lack of any documentation (mine is a refurbished unit). Rating it now on just its performance over the last three years though and it gets a easy 5 stars. My only real gripe about it is the design having the air intake where it is; if you're a lefty it wont matter because the air will be sucked in away from your body. If you are right handed though you will probably have to either keep switching to your left hand or pulling it away from you as it sucks your right pant leg towards it. After 3 years it still starts by the second pull without fail every time; often even on the first pull. Yes, it is a bit loud; I havent found a leaf blower yet in this category that wasnt. I just had to make my first repair. One of the fuel lines; the one returning gas from the bulb to the tank, broke and using the bulb caused gas to spray everywhere. No worries though; I found a universal fuel line repair kit at a big box DIY store for less than $5.50 that included a piece that fit so it was a easy fix and it includes a bunch of others so if another goes I will have what I need there too.. The blower I have is used quite often and isnt treated with kid gloves. Aside from the clear vinyl cover that came off the 'OFF' switch the first day I got it this thing has held up remarkably well and is still very powerful, no complaints there at all, it really makes my fall clean up easier. Having dependable tools to work with makes all he difference when you're trying to get your chores done. If you are a simple DIY guy like me or a landscaping pro I dont think you can go wrong here; it is a very very good machine. ***************************************************************** Original review from July 2013 Nice but not perfect. After years of coaxing one more season out of my old Homelite leaf blower, this year it done did die. Heck; I got it after pulling it out of a dumpster, so it didn't owe me anything. For the last couple of years, when I thought that 'Homey' was pushing its last leaf, I eyed getting one of these Hatachi's. So when Homey finally went on to meet that great carburetor in the sky I knew what I wanted and where to go. Originally I had not noticed that there were refurbished ones available and was happy to see that option now so I could save a few bucks. I have over the years bought numerous refurbed items from various vendors and overall I have had pretty good luck as well. This vendor had decent feedback so I felt comfortable taking a chance here too. Shipping was very very fast. The blower arrived in a very sturdy box with minimal packing materials and no literature, ie no user manual or warranty info; I got just a blower motor and the solid hose attachments. There was evidence of some fuel already in the system, looking at the primer bubble, probably a result of them test starting it, and so I tried starting it without adding more & it started immediately. It quickly ran itself out so I then added fresh fuel, it again started quickly with minimal effort and that has not changed. There were two pauses for concern after I filled it with the fuel and used it for the first time: the first was after it had ran a few minutes; the unit started smoking quiet a bit, this turned out to be due to oil that was on the outside of the motor burning off. No harm no foul; it may have been oil placed there to keep it from rusting while in storage, but the amount of smoke had me concerned about a possible malfunction and so I quickly shut it off. Which was when I encountered the second issue. The off switch is one of those that has a vinyl cover over it to keep out moisture, dirt, etc - that cover fell off when I shut off the blower because of the smoke. Overall it is a nice machine and I am happy with it; it starts with minimal effort, runs very smoothly, and is reasonably powerful; not as powerful as old Homey, which was a little larger and had a larger impellor as well, but it still gets the job done. So, why only three stars? It should have come with some paperwork; a simple print out of the original instruction manual, which I am sure must be online somewhere, a warranty card with the contact info if there is a problem, something with do's and dont's such as make sure you don't use straight gas but a oil/gas mix. I have more than once come across some pretty smart people who burned up tools such as this because they had no idea what a 2 cycle motor was. Personally I suspect that many pieces of equipment such as this are returned as defective, later to be resold as refurbed, simply because the original buyer had no clue how to use it. With that in mind, some dummy proof instructions could go a long; possibly helping vendors avoid having to take back perfectly good equipment, as well as helping newbie buyers from destroying their new toys The 2nd reason: The cover coming off the off switch. Its one of those things that are too minor to have to deal with the hassle and expense of sending it back, yet, on the other hand, leaves you questioning the quality control process. Would I recommend it? Yes. Despite the issues laid out above, having used it a dozen times or so now, I do not have any serious concerns about the product. I just think a couple of things could have been handled better......like maybe a warning that the unit is probably gonna scare the heck out of ya when it starts smoking a whole lot during the first 15 minutes or so of use....... Have a Magical Day!