My Echo blower gets a little brother

MowerMike

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Just got this little Hitachi RB24EAP to keep my Echo PB-250LN company. The Hitachi was on sale for under $105 from Amazon (30% off MSRP) with free shipping, and it's about 1 pound lighter, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's not as quiet (69 db(A) .vs. 65 db(A)) and vibrates a bit more, but it's just as powerful and less fatiguing to hold for long periods. Also, the shorter blower tube suits me better, since I'm quite short at only 5'-3". On the negative side it does lack a throttle lock (cruise control), but on the positive side it does have a momentary off switch so you don't have to remember to switch it back on before the next start. It started up very easily and hot re-started on one easy pull. It seems to be a bit cheap in comparison with the Echo, so time will tell how well it will last.
 

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Ric

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I hope the Hitachi blowers work better than there Hitachi drills because the drills are crap, worst purchase I ever made in a cordless drill, went back and purchased the DeWalt.
 

MowerMike

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I hope the Hitachi blowers work better than there Hitachi drills because the drills are crap, worst purchase I ever made in a cordless drill, went back and purchased the DeWalt.

Hitachi blowers are the same as Tanaka, which has a decent reputation. They've sold a bunch of the Hitachis and there are hundreds of reviews that are mostly good. The main reported problems have been disconnected fuel lines to the primer bulb and fuel line deterioration, mostly due to ethanol in the gas. Since I use TruFuel synthetic and ethanol-free premixed fuel/oil, I don't expect to have premature fuel line or carb problems. The one I got had no initial defects and has started easily and run problem free for several uses and about one hour total so far. Initially it vibrated quite a bit, but has smoothed out a lot after getting some break-in time on the motor. It's louder than my 65 bd(A) Echo PB-250LN, but quieter than a Stihl and quiet enough not to require ear protection. It is certainly a light duty blower for a homeowner like myself, and would probably not stand up well to commercial use and abuse. Anyway, for the price I paid ($104.49) and the 7 year warranty on major engine failure, I'm not too concerned about its long term durability.
 

metz12

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I hope the Hitachi blowers work better than there Hitachi drills because the drills are crap, worst purchase I ever made in a cordless drill, went back and purchased the DeWalt.

I agree 100%. hitachis drill are junk. i would rather have a craftsman then one of those. i also have a dewalt 18v cordless. i want a makita impact driver.
 
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For anyone who doesn't have an Echo blower, you can see in the picture of it (in the original post), it has the Rotational Control tube. Here is proof that it works in reducing fatique from it rotating when you press in the throttle:

(video by EchoToolGuy)
 

MowerMike

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For anyone who doesn't have an Echo blower, you can see in the picture of it (in the original post), it has the Rotational Control tube. Here is proof that it works in reducing fatique from it rotating when you press in the throttle:

(video by EchoToolGuy)

I don't think that video proves much regarding rotational effects. The two Stihl blowers that are moving a lot should be rotating in the opposite direction, and their movement is due mostly to a lot of vibration at idle. My Echo vibrates a lot more at idle than the Hitachi, so it actually moves a lot more on concrete than the Hitachi does. You really don't get a lot of torque reaction from the air flow until you give it at least half throttle. The torque reaction on the Hitachi is very small even at full throttle, and is hardly noticeable or fatiguing.
 
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