Customer Reviews

Trend Sports Heater Baseball Pitching Machine with 12 Ball Autofeeder

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We bought the heater combo and couldn't be happier. It throws very accurate at various speeds. My 5 year daughter likes to swing using the lowest settings, and my 12 year old daughter uses it to practice swinging at 40 to 50mph 12 inch softballs. It is great for adults as well. Get the ball feeder, but make sure you purchase the correct size dimple balls. Some oversized 12inch balls sold on ebay will not work. Go with brand name dimple balls and you won't be disappointed.

One of the screws did not initially tighten easily on one of the legs (same issue as described by another rater), but I did not find this to be a big issue. We use the heater almost every day and the legs go in and out easily.

I did purchase a 2300W pramac honda generator to run the heater pitching machine, and have no issues with power shutdown issues. I am told it will run on much less wattage.

Update: The promac is loud, so I have since purchased a 700W power inverter, a spare car battery and a car battery charger. It is a nice, quiet and cheap alternative to purchasing a generator - spend less than $100 for the battery, inverter and charger combined.

Great little machine for $400.... I bought 12 heater dimple balls with it and they work well. I later bought 2 doz leather balls which travel approx 10 mph faster, although less consistent placement.... actually more realistic. Used it last year for our Little League majors team and starting up again this year. It also throws the jugs lite-flite indoor balls very well, I have 2 doz of those. Eventually the leather balls will start to split seams, but the more balls you rotate through, the longer they will last. DO NOT use cheap synthetic balls, they tear apart, fly slower, and less consistently, and each time they are put thru the machine, some of the ball will melt onto the tire. Next thing you know, the tire will be covered with slick plastic and it won't throw anything right. Keep in mind - for most consistent flight, put the balls in the same way each time, 2 seam, 4 seam or mix it up for realism. I always hand feed the balls for the kids.

Occasionally clean the unit and condition the tire by using 100 grit sandpaper. turn the machine on low and allow the sandpaper to clean debris and crud off the tire.... I take the side panel off of the machine... At your own peril.. it's not my fault if you lodge your fingers in the machine. Also, slightly adjust the nuts with the rubber bushings, you may get a buzzing vibration - this will fix it... not too tight or you will have trouble adjusting the machine.

Keep tire pressure at 30-32 psi as the decal on the machine says. I forgot once and the tube slipped inside the tire, pulling the air valve inside the wheel throwing everything out of balance causing a bad vibration.

For onfield power, I first used a heavy duty deep cycle battery and 750 watt inverter - overkill and heavy... Later I built a compartmented plywood box with carry handle to contain the legs, 100 foot extension cord, much smaller 12 volt 18 AH battery and smaller inverter. It's a really trick setup and good for about an hour of constant runtime at level "8" throwing balls.

We puchased the 12" softball model (HTR6000SBC). The machine only comes with a single ball. You cannot use commonly available (synthetic) softballs, so we spent a fortune on 2 dozen of the proprietary Heater-brand yellow dimpled balls for it (we could not find them locally anywhere in California, so we had to have them shipped). After about 5 days of limited use (maybe an hour total running time), the wheel began to make a strange sound and spin slower than normal and after feeding in one more ball, stopped working entirely (no, the internal fuse did not pop). Yes, I had the tire inflated to the correct pressure. I suspect the wheel was not correctly balanced.

While it worked, it was a decent machine ([...]) and fairly accurate so long as we did not attach the 9-ball hopper. With the hopper attached, the extra weight would cause the machine to continually slip and aim higher and higher. The hand-tightened knob required cranking with a wrench to miminize the slippage, but then you must use the wrench to loosen for different angles (distances/speeds) which is a pain. I decided the hopper was more of a hassle than it was worth and just had a coach/parent feed balls one at a time for the hitter.

I've called the 800 number to report the failure and am waiting for a call back. I will update this review with the detailed result of the repair/replacement/refund - hopefully soon.

Update: The next day, the manufacturer called me back and offered to send out a new speed controller circuit board. I received the replacement circuit board in 2 days and replaced it (inside the main housing), but that did not fix the machine. I was then instructed to return it to the retailer (Dick's) and since they had one other in stock (their display), they agreed to swap it out for me. The next machine is working better and seems to throw harder than the first (which I suspect was not balanced correctly). Keeping the housing tight (pitches on target) is still a challenge as the tightening knob doesn't tighten very well and the housing wants to kick up after a few pitches, this is without the heavy ball feeder attached which just makes the problem worse.

Did as much research as I could for this price point... The key is buying the right balls. Wicked easy to assemble, but you have to check the tire (yes, tire) pressure. Was very excited to fire up when we got home as it does come with one ball and shot just fine. BUT the non-direction reader I am, found an addendum with a small notation that tire must be inflated to 35psi I believe. It was around 10-15 out of the box. Also, tighten rubber-incased screws prior to twisting main angle adjustment knob, as it will hold trajectory better/longer. If a ball hits it, re-adjust as next pitch will be off. Do not overload with balls as the rotating (ball inserter?) arm and associated motor have a tough time with the weight.
Tips: Move kid/plate/ backstop, not machine. 6-7 speed setting seems good for U6 & U8.
Must have allen wrench to access tire (to inflate).
Have two soft-ballers and they loved it, along with two hours + family time :)
Anyhow, it's great. VERY consistent, motor feels and sounds strong; welds are fine (I weld).

This machine works well with normal baseballs. My 10 year old son and 7 year old daughter use it often. I haven't had any problems with wild pitches or stray balls. I also purchased the 30' cage to keep the balls in the yard. My son batted over 640 this year!! My daughter didn't play organized ball but hits over 500 in the cage. Great buy!

Okay, cheesy headline...but I wanted to combat the "Not so Hot" one...

I purchased the Heater Combo Pitching Machine and an Xtender 30ft Batting Cage from Hookem Sports. I could not be happier! I was looking to put in a batting cage in our backyard for my daughters (4,8,9) to grow up with as they advanced through the levels of fast pitch softball. I chose the Combo so we could start with 11" softballs and move up to 12" as the girls got bigger.

The cage was a little tricky to set up by myself...I'm sure it would have been A LOT easier if I had an extra set of hands to help when installing the netting. But, nonetheless, I was able to get it done by myself, which is saying something as to the ease of setup!

The machine was very easy to get set up, and pitches unbelievably accurately! The whole package is perfect to help build their confidence and to improve their hitting ability. My 9 year old can't stay out of it! They all love it. It will even pitch wiffle balls to my 4 year old!

The machine is basic to use, and feels very safe. Speed adjustment is easy, and it's plenty fast! The speed dial goes to 10...at the 30 ft distance, around level 5 is perfect for my 9 year old. Level 4 is good for the 8 yr old. I fired a few balls through at levels 8,9, and 10...and I think I would have had a tough time hitting the higher levels at that distance. I know this machine and cage will really benefit the girls as they get older, making them quicker and quicker with their bat.

I only hope the machine and cage will last. But even if I have to replace one or both of them after a few years...it's still a bargain compared to what other backyard batting cage setups cost.

Curtis from Hookem Sports was very helpful. He answered several email questions from me quickly and accurately. Plus I feel he gave me a great price that included free shipping (available from most retailers on the Heater), but also a couple dozen Heater dimple balls that really do pitch amazingly straight!

Our "Heat" softball pitching machine "stripped" a layer of the softball off and jammed the machine. It eventually threw it out the front of the machine. Also the nut that holds the screw to tighten the leg just fell off. The welding was not well done at all. We rate it a 2 because once it was unjammed and up to speed, it did pitch the ball, but again it stripped the ball and jammed.