Customer Reviews

Hitachi RB24EAP 23.9cc 2 Stroke 170 MPH Gas Powered Handheld Blower (CARB Compliant)

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

I agree with all of the excellent reviews. I would add just one tip: This blower is equivalent to the Tanaka TRB24EAP. The only differences are the the extra "T" in the model number, color, the name on the label, AND where you can get it serviced under that great 7-year warranty. They are even priced the same on Amazon as of this review.

Tip: Take a few minutes to search the HitachiPowerTools.com and Tanaka-USA.com web sites to see which make has the most convenient certified repair shops for you.

I managed to break the fuel pipe while moving things around in the shed in a hurry (my fault). I'm in a major metropolitan area with several small engine repair shops within a short drive, but the nearest certified Hitachi repair shop is an hour away. In contrast, the nearest Tanaka repair shop is 5 minutes away (there seem to be more Tanaka dealers in general). I'm going to pay for the repair out-of-pocket rather than driving 2 hours round trip or taking the time to mail the thing back to the factory for service.

Very good blower. Light weight, quiet and very easy to start. Very powerful at blowing leaves. My last WeedEater blower refused to start after 5 years of use. It was very poor in comparison to this Hitachi unit. The Hitachi comes with a 7 year warranty so i assume it is built to last a while. It uses 89 octane grade petrol with a 50 to 1 oil mix. I bought a separate petrol can just for the hitachi blower so as not to invalidate the warranty. The only down side is the hand trigger throttle control, it's OK but incremental throttle steps would make it so much easier to use. I would highly recommend this blower, you will not be disappointed.

I've used the Stihl and Echo handheld blowers and the Hitachi RB24EAP is much more powerful. I was truly amazed by the CFM (441).

Even though the Hitachi doesnt have cruise control, you really don't miss having it because you get the job done FAST! This blower is lightweight, easy to start, and comes with a $30 mail in rebate. Plus - 7 year warranty!

[...]

This is a quality machine - and is the same as the Tanaka, a brand used by many pro gardeners and landscape maintenance persons. I've had McCulloch, Ryobi and a Sears Craftsman (that I returned after the first use). This machine is lighter, runs much quieter, and has quite a bit more power than any of the others. It isn't really in the same league. This one runs flawlessly, has a ton of power, and a quality feel.

Be aware of the mph ratings on some of these yard blowers. They get those ratings by including a worthless little tiny nozzle. That's how the Craftsman got its impressive ratings. But the thing had very poor real-world performance. This Hitachi doesn't come with gimmicky nozzles. You get ONE nozzle, that you always leave on, and that one works very well. For normal yard cleanup where you can't justify one of the expensive backpack units, this one has plenty of grunt.

I originally wanted a blower-vac. No longer. The vac units all get mediocre reviews at best. The Sears blower I had for week was a poor performer, and the vac feature was useless. If you're like me and think you need the vac, re-think it. You probably don't need that worthless feature, and besides, it is a pain on most of these to convert from blower to vacuum. I suggest that you will be much happier with a quality blower-only.

Some of the newer machines have a trigger lock so that you don't always have to hold the trigger. Unless you have a huge yard and are going to use the blower for an hour nonstop, that's another feature that you don't need. In this case it would be nice to have, but don't base your buying decision on it.

I think this one is a great choice. It's not too much money - actually about $25 less money than the Echo at the local home improvement store, has a 7 year consumer warranty, starts easy hot or cold, and really moves some air.

I was skeptical about the performance of this blower even after reading other reviews. Epinions lacked reviews. With the sale price as it was, I couldn't pass this blower up. I found the Hitachi RB24EAP quite powerfull, able to blow small rocks and sweet gum balls as well as leaves. I was worried that the blower would overpower me since one review stated the blower went to one side at high power (I assume the effect of centrifical force). I found this to be only a slight push. If you can pick up a bowling ball, you can use this blower without much trouble. Overall, I would rate this blower excellent and would highly recomend it.

I bought this blower to replace my leaky 20 year-old McCulloch Eager Beaver IV. It's quite a bit smaller physically, but has easily double the power. It also weighs about 3 pounds less at 8.6 pounds. Faster, lighter, cheaper. With the benefit of a 7 year consumer warranty, its Tanaka heritage, a $30 rebate at the Hitachi website [...] through 12/31/10, and Amazon's characteristic great service, it was a no brainer for me.

Just as some other have written, there is a possibility of defect out of the box with this item, which is otherwise a great blower.
From the box, my unit would not start. After fiddling with it for over an hour as I noticed that no fuel was getting in the bulb or line (I got to drink some fuel blowing in lines, yummy!) I checked other small engines I owned, read some entries on this machine (Thanks S. McLean), looked at the schematics and found that a small line that goes from the carb should have ended at the back side of the bulb primer. A spring inside the fuel line that keeps it from kinking must have pushed it off the nipple where it belongs. Once connected, it ran like a charm.

Hello, I drive a big truck, and I bought this to blow out reefer trailers, when they are empty. It used to take me 15-20min. to try and sweep out a trailer, when empty. Now it takes me about 5min.,and it always starts easily.It has plenty of power, and also blow drys out any water, if there is some. I would recommend this leaf blower to anyone. As a side note: I use premixed TRUFUEL, it comes in it's own premixed can, so I don't need a gas can, and it contains no ethanol. 2cycle engines have major problems with ethanol based fuel.

I own an Echo backpack blower and a small handheld Weedeater blower. I live on 5 acres with a 300 foot long concrete driveway and hundreds of pine trees and many oaks. As it turns out, the oaks are close to the driveway. On any given fall day, after a good wind, I can find 5" of leaves on the driveway. I have always used the Echo for serious leaf moving and the Weedeater for smaller stuff. A few days ago, the Weedeater quit and I started looking for another "smaller stuff" blower.

The Hitachi (also sold as a Tanaka) came tonight and I just returned from cleaning off the driveway, the front and back porch and a few flower beds in about 1/2 the time it would have taken with the Echo backpack blower. I wouldn't have taken on that much of a workload with the Weedeater (even if it was willing to run).

This blower is powerful, light and easy to control. It putts along at idle and is effective enough to take care of leaves in delicate flower beds. At anything above idle, you have complete control all the way up to blasting a wall of leaves without losing control of the direction of the pile. If I could give this thing 10 stars, I would.

I bought this because my Hitachi string trimmer is so good and I haven't been disappointed. Previously I went to a battery operated string trimmer after I gave up on my gas unit after two paid service calls that fixed it so it would start for 3 weeks. When the batteries died after two years I tried the Hitachi based upon reviews and the 7 year warranty.

Like the trimmer, the blower starts every time, the second pull out of the box, first time each time since. The air velocity is notably better and stronger than the neighbor's brand X and it's of course much more convenient than my previous corded electric version. It easily moves leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips and slivers from chain sawing two large trees.

Although there are only three pieces to assemble, assembly was difficult. The end piece on the two piece nozzle is a tight fit and the nozzle to the motor housing is an equally tight fit. It was a two person job and still difficult. I would not want to have to disassemble and reassemble it for every use.

5 stars because it's powerful and starts easily every time.

Added after a year of use. Still strong and always starts. If you're right handed, you have to hold it away from your body or you'll block the air inlet. If you're blowing a yard full of leaves, that can get tiresome. Holding it in your left hand isn't a problem, the exhaust is aimed forward. There's no strap or place to hook one, so you can't hang it over your shoulder. Just observations, still very happy with this.