Harbor Frieght Plate Compactors

[MuirView Design]

I have the 6.5 hp tamper from harbour freight and it runs like a beast. The throttle setup is a little flimsy, but for an extra $80, they'll give you a one year full replacement warranty. i think $150 for 2 years. If you have any problems, you take it back and they'll give you a brand spanking new one. Mine starts first pull every time and compacts just as good as the smaller Stone and Whacker tampers I've used. I bought it because it was cheap and I thought it would be good for the final couple lifts and tamping pavers. I'd like to get a bigger reversible tamper sometime this season, but for now, I'll be renting those for bigger jobs. I was talking to another guy who does just concrete, and he liked them so much, he went and bought 4 of them...one for each truck. Can't beat the price!

[mckeeland]

i bought their 10" tile saw for $199 with a one year replacement on it. the mk was over $800. i could buy 4 of them for that price. the only problem i have had is the belt we-tn, i replaced because it stretched and the guys kept running it loose.

[bigvictu]

Mckee i have the honda engine on both my tampers. i've had to change the plugs, that's it. my honda on the stone compactor I bought I think 4 years ago it is a complete beast. i think the one drawback with the harbor freight tampers are that the plate is a little smaller. But I am probably gonna buy the reversible instead of a whacker, i need something that will do 4" lifts and I think in the catalog its rated at around 6000 #. MCKEELAND is their a Harborfreight in south jersey, is it all the same products as the Northern Tool catalog?

[STLPONDS]

We had a few Honda WB at our School dist and we had to replace them every six months it seemed like. Our distributor had a truckload of them for this reason.

McKee how does that 10" tile saw cut? What type of tile do you cut with it?

I also wonder how the Chicago Electric 14" concrete saw is for $399

[JZap]

If you're buying this compactor from a distributor that sells pavers, ask if they'll credit anything for pavers. We had a whole bunch of half pallets and got credit minus a restocking fee (some pavers were not credited) but it cleaned our yard and we ended up getting a compactor and other tools with our credit.

[JRSLawn]

I think I am going to bite the bullet and buy a pair of compactors from them. Even if they only last a few year I can keep them for parts/backup I dont think they have them at thier stores but they do have them online.

[mckeeland]

we have on right here in town, that and a TSC. they are great when your are fabricating up ur latest projects.

my personal favorite is the Kohler command. our 15hp walk behind engines run forever, until someone ran it low on oil one day. it still fired back up and ran, but the main bearing is shot so it freezes up eventually.

we bought the 10" for cutting bull nose, i am not a big table saw guy and didnt want to spend the money on a big azz saw that will get used a couple of times a year. it cuts pavers just fine, so it would do great on tile i assume.

[Majland]

they are fine they are remans just painted with new engine and parts

[HRLand]

I was just at a horrible freight store the other day and saw the small plate. It had a flimsy folding handle on it like a cheap mower. Great if you're working out of the trunk of your car. Seriously though, I would buy a good used one before buying that new.

[CMSStoneworks]

bringing back an old topic....Ordered the 26 inch reversible yesterday. should be here in a week or two just in time. Looked into renting one....100 bucks a day (plus time and fuel wasted to go pick it up and return) it. I'll need it for around 4 days on this project.....had a 20% off coupon and got the 26 inch for 900 something. if it does its job, its good enough for me.