Hitachi Rotary owners...

SuperBee364

SuperBee364

New member
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.
 
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
 
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!
 
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.:rofl



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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
SR20det said:
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.
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Great information, thank you!
 
SuperBee364 said:
Thanks for the input, guys, I think I'll save up for the Makita, then.
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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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
SuperBee364 said:
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.
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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
 
PorscheGuy997 said:
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?
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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.



lecchilo said:
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
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That is a good price. Inlcudes shipping, too.
 
Sbee, the prices on makitas for dealers rose again. I just got mine for 175 which is cost but they sell for much more as you're aware now.
 
Denzil said:
Try a Metabo Supe. :)
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The Metabo is excellent.



It was the only machine I have had in 20 years that did not blow up in under a year. It went atleast 16 months till I smoked the gears and main shaft to dust.



I know it has a 5 year warranty on it, but that only covers faulty broken parts and not worn out shafts.



I took it apart and i will tell you it is built like a tank with such precise quality.

It has a round plastic housing wrapped around the shaft that is packed with grease. All the metal fragments get caught in the grease packed housing so they do not escape the machine and cause damage. Brilliant!!!!!:bigups
 
3yrs with my hitachi and everything is still good to go. It's not my only polisher but it is my only rotary and has been for the past 3 years. I have nothing but praises for its work thus far.
 
08xB said:
Doesn't the Hitachi have a 5 year manufacturers warranty?
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I am fairly certain it does. I bought mine either last spring or the fall before that. It has been a good buffer for me so far.



My wife's Honda has really soft, grabby paint. The Hitachi got hot doing that job, but usually runs fine. I have used it on two different trucks and 2 cars besides the Honda, it stayed cool on those jobs.



Having a rotary saves *me* lots of time, with the PC I was never satisfied of my results for the time it took.





As a final thought, after reading this thread I am not certain I would buy the Hitachi over the Makita but I am happy for now.
 
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