Customer Reviews

Hitachi EC119SA 15 amp 2.5-Horsepower 4-Gallon Twin-Stack Air Compressor

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased one of these units and was very pleased for about 3 months. The unit ran great and was very quiet for a compressor due to the induction motor. Running it indoors you can actually talk over top when its running and hear the other person. At 3 months the unit stopped working and would only hum without kicking on. After replacing with a new unit I was ok for about 3 weeks and the same problem happened. The issue is the oil level. Hitachi supplies a small bottle of 5w-50 oil and the instructions are to fill on a level surface to a point between the notch on the dip stick. The first time I over filled slightly using about 4/5 of the oil supplied. on the second unit I filled to the required level or about 2/3 of the oil supplied. Both units eventually seized. After speaking with a customer service I found out the supplied oil is premeasured and ALL THE OIL SHOULD BE ADDED. I found Hitachi to have very good customer service, the first unit was replaced and the second serviced at no cost. My opinion is this is a very good unit with a small design flaw on the oil pickup system and instructions which should tell you to add all the oil. Also note, when they say don't operate at more than 10 degrees angle, they mean it. The oil will not get to the crank and the unit will seize. This unit is very small, very portable, extremely quiet unit and supplies 4.cfm @ 90psi all of which is a great combination. I would have given 5 stars except for the lost time and effort of not properly addressing the oil issue for this unit. At the end of the day I purchased a dewalt D55146 oil free unit for a backup as jobsite reliability is key for me. I hope the Dewalt performs better over the long run.

I ordered this compressor and was excited to recieve it. UPS does it again. The release valve was snapped off. I will give a full review when I talk to Hitachi and get a new one.

Update: Had to pay a machinest to tap out the broken value. Hitachi customer service was awesome and sent me the replacement parts for free but now the compressor is leaking at the plastic hose that uses a preasure fitting to hold it in. I buy a lot of tools and never have had an issue. I would not take my experience as a negetive. Hitachi is great I just got a lemon.

This is the first air compressor that I've purchased, although I've used them on-and-off for years. After a lot of research, I concluded that the quality level of unit that I wanted, I could not afford. There is a significant jump in build/design quality when you go from the $125/$300 range to the $300/$500 range. I need one only for home remodeling/garage use, but I didn't want to buy junk. When I found this unit factory reconditioned, I bought one immediately. After 1 week of use, I am very happy with my decision. It is well made, easy to use, fairly quiet, has a very low tank fill time and recovery time, and is a notch above homeowner-grade tools. The unit isn't light, about 65 lbs, but that's due to the liberal use of metals instead of plastics. It arrived in almost like-new condition. It looks as though is was only used once or twice, then returned. You can download the manuals that originally came with it from Hitachi's website. Highly recommended.

This compressor is good when it is running, but in cooler weather, it starts exceptionally hard.

I have had this air compressor in my workshop for two years. I have used it maybe 20 hours. I started it up and was blowing some wood dust and pop something broke. I found a plastic cap and spring that had blown off the back of the pressure manifold. This should never have been made of cheap plastic. I own many tools and have had them for years without a problem. They all look like new. I brought this one in for repair and the man said it must still be under warranty it looks new. Take my advice do not buy Hitachi.

I have had this unit for a couple years, with only occasional use filling tires, blowing sawdust out of chainsaws, etc. MAYBE 10 or 12 hours of total continuous run time. Recently the pressure reducer/regulator control failed - I have rarely made changes to the delivered pressure, so I think the part was just defective from the beginning. As others have noted, in cold weather the unit does not start up easily- either trips it's internal breaker or the house breaker. It can take some time playing with it to get it going. In warmer temps this is not a problem.

I bought one of these air compressors last year, during the summer. It worked fine for a few days, then died on me. A replacement was shipped to me and I was told to keep the old one. They didn't want it back. The new one worked good and I used it on everything from framing up homes to trim work. It's on the heavy side, but not impossible to carry around. It is very loud, but it can keep up with a pair of framing nail guns.

When the weather cooled off after summer, the compressor started having trouble starting up. It would either trip it's own breaker, or the house breaker. I had to be sure to find a 20 amp plug to run it, and then play games of starting it and turning off real quick to get it warmed up enough to use. This went on all winter long!!! Then this past summer, when it got hot out again, it worked perfectly.

Now that Fall is hear and temps are down into the 60's in the morning, it's tripping breakers again. Some days I spend half an hour just getting the stupid thing to work. Once it gets going, it works fine for the rest of the day.

I do this for a living and have to have an air compressor that works. This thing is too unreliable for me and I'm giving it to my Father In Law. He has time to play with it, I don't.

Once the machine starts it works great and provides ample air, but it fialed to start several times when I first got it, kicking the reset button. It would take numerous tries to get it started. After I ran it for a couple hours, it seemed to be working correctly.

I got this from Lowes. Worked fine for a day... hose broke. took it back. Got replacement. Started it in store. Died on site. Got a third. Started and ran well in store. Took home. In the summer heat it tripped circuit breaker after 3 minutes. Restarted and did it again. But after repeating this process it ran great. Held pressure for DAYS. Ran good for 12 months. As others said, pressure control shot off. It was repaired but now want hold pressure for more than an hour. Great disappointment.