Features:

  • Class leading air volume at 441 CFM for excellent debris movement
  • Lightweight (only 8.6 lbs) & well-balanced for comfortable use and less fatigue
  • 23.9 cc Commercial grade 2-stroke engine for outstanding power & longer life
  • Industry leading warranty- 7-year consumer use, 2-year commercial use, 1-year rental use
  • Produces an impressive air velocity of 170 MPH (with taper nozzle)
  • Large two-finger throttle lever for easier operation; Fuel Tank Capacity: 17.6 fl. oz.
  • Features PureFire low emission 2-stroke engine technology for a better environment
  • NOTE: Refer User Guide on Technical Specification before use
As Advertised. Worthwhile purchase. Very happy with purchase.

As Advertised. I used the Hitachi for the Fall 2017 leaf season. I have about an acre of mowed yard; not counting house and trees. So this is a fairly large area, and I knew going in that his was a small leaf blower. I have been raking the yard by hand for some 16 years, and I never really mind raking all that much. First - use over ear noise protection. Rake vs Leaf Blower -For big dry leaves, the Hitachi is a clear winner. Saves time and cleans yard nearly completely. -For other dry leaves, the Hitachi is a better choice. Saves time, but Rake cleans yard better. Rake gets almost all leaves. -For wet leaves, the Rake wins. -For leaves on taller grass, the Rake is a better choice. -For Driveway, Patio, or Deck, the Hitachi is the clear winner. Upsides: -The Hitachi was easy to start and easy to use. -Allows one to work longer without getting tired. Downsides: -Holding the leafblower for a lengthy period of time is not comfortable. The balance in my hand was not the best for me. Obvious: -Small for a larger yard - my issue, not fault of this item

Happy but for those who aren’t

Great blower...If you are one of the dissatisfied with the unit and need it to operate take it to a Tanaka dealer they are the same unit...Better than it sitting collecting dust than blowing leaves...On year 3 never a problem....ButI drain it and run it dry when not used for off season...But have even used it to blow snow (If powder type)...As I said good unit...

and the reviews happened to be so good that I couldn't resist buying it

Honestly, I rarely leave reviews, but I felt it was necessary in this case. I was looking for a blower that wouldn't break the bank, but would be powerful enough to blow leaves, dirt and everything else. I looked and looked and found a bunch of them, but most people complained about the handheld ones being weaker than the advertised. I stumbled upon this one, and the reviews happened to be so good that I couldn't resist buying it. Boy am I glad I did! Not only is it incredibly easy to setup and use, but this thing has an immense amount of power for being the size that it is. Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to be this powerful, but it is. I have no problem at all blowing debris. In addition to that, it's not very heavy, and it really doesn't vibrate your hands that much. I've used a lot of blowers in my life, but for the money, this is hands down the best blower I've ever purchased!

A Venerable Blower

Over the decades I have tried 4-cycle, 2-cycle, and electric leaf blowers. I bought this blower from Amazon October of 2011, after my 4-cycle Sears Craftsman prematurely bit the dust. The Hitachi RB24EAP has been, by far, the best blower I have used. I always use gasoline by Mobil or BP paired with Stabil fuel stabilizer. I never empty the gas tank, except at the beginning of each winter. Despite this, I have never had problems with deteriorating fuel lines, as other reviewers have mentioned. Until recently, this blower has always started on the first or second pull. This year, however, it wouldn't start. To resolve this, I needed to remove the carburetor so that I could re-tighten the two screws securing the intake manifold to the cylinder. Years of typical 2-cycle engine vibration had loosened those two screws on the intake manifold. But after tightening those two screws, it starts and runs strongly after the first pull. The only other problem I've had with this model is that a slight amount of gas would dribble when I used the priming bulb. That was cured simply by pushing the primer's fuel line back into the fuel tank's rubber grommet. That fuel line had backed out of the rubber grommet, presumably from years of typical 2-cycle engine vibration. I absolutely love this blower, and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to use top-tier gas with fuel stabilizer on each tank. It's powerful, well balanced, light, and reasonably quiet for a gas-powered blower.

Great Machine 3 1/2 Years In!

I rely heavily on my leaf blower in the fall and spring and less so the rest of the year. In the past I have relied on Craftsman and then Husqvarna blowers both of which almost always failed in less than one year. The Husqvarna blowers would simply work well until they didn't. I would take them for repair and Husqvarna would not honor their warranty always blaming ethanol in the gas for destroying the engine. The repairs always cost more than a new one. Finally I gave up on Husqvarna - a no integrity company who wouldn't honor their warranty - and bought one of these not expecting much. Sears would at least honor their warranty and replace the blowers - which would also quickly fail. The Hitachi is cheaper looking than the Husqvarna but has just as much power and, guess what? I'm two years in and have not had one problem! I will say that it doesn't 'look as nice' as the others. The plastic appears cheaper, the blower tube doesn't extend out as far and there is no mechanism to lock the blower on at working speeds so you must continually hold in the trigger. But it starts easily every time, has plenty of power, works without issues on ethanol gas and just keeps on running. I recommend 89 octane gas (or higher) for small engines as they run hotter. Two years may not seem like a long time but we have dozens of oak, maple and pine trees, shrubs and lazy neighbors that don't clean their yards and let everything blow into our yard. Blowing debris into the woods is my #1 means of cleanup. This machine gets heavy duty use. I was happy enough with this that I bought another one here on Amazon for the inevitable day it fails but so far I'm over twice the use that I got out of Husqvarna blowers before they failed.and it's still going strong. Don't be put off but the name. I've never heard of Hitachi making yard tools but apparently they know how to make them well based on my experience with this. UPDATE OCTOBER 2018 - Now 3 1/2 years of heavy use and still zero problems. By FAR the best blower I've ever owned! Great machine! UPDATE NOVEMBER 2018 - Jinxed it. Gas started leaking from the tube that brings the gas from the tank to the carburetor. Opened and used the spare blower I bought a couple of years ago. I’ll report on my experience with the 7 year warranty after I take it for repair. Even if I tossed it at this point I got my money’s worth. It was used a LOT.

Really nice for any homeowner looking for a gas powered blower

I like how light and well balanced this feels when I'm using it. It moves an unbelievable volume of air for its size. It's perfect for any homeowner in my opinion. Following the instructions, it started on the first pull. My only complaint is that the choke does not automatically open after pulling the trigger the first time after starting it. My previous blower (a cheap Ryobi) had this feature and it was actually nice. It's not a big deal, but I just have to remember to open it up after it starts up. Overall, this unit feels lighter and more powerful than my Ryobi. For what its worth, I used a the same premix fuel that I use in my Stihl weed wacker. (Stihl Motomix) As others mentioned, I would recommend using a premix that does not contain Ethanol. I just can't find any ethanol free fuel by me, and even if I could find it, it's not worth my time. I bought a six pack of the Motomix and I'm into my 3rd year of going through it and its still fine. Your local hardware store should carry various brands of premixed fuel. Well worth it, unless you have ethanol-free fuel available in your area. Before purchasing, I took advice I read here and checked Hitachi's website to see if I had local service centers nearby. Luckily I have several to choose from in case I ever need them. (It seems that you legally can't ship this after you out fuel in it, so your service options might be limited...) Speaking of service, I really like the fact that this comes with a 7 year consumer warranty. That's really unheard of nowadays!

Best in class! Don't let the name scare you.

I have owned or trialed every major handheld leaf blower on the market. Homelite/Toro/Husqy/ etc. This one by far is the easiest and most powerful of them all. Forget about wind speed and other details some manufacturers like to boast about. None of them are accurate. The only way to get an edge on buying these gas powered leaf blowers is by the word-of-mouth. The name Hitachi bothered me but thought what do I have to lose. I could just send it back. I've had it all summer long and have used it 20 to 30 times. It's lightweight, well balanced and feels great in your hand. Of course there are other more heavy duty commercial grade blowers but for the average household this is the one. It does run a little louder then both the Homelite and Husquevarna but not a big issue. I have heard of others complaining about difficulty starting it and I have not experienced this yet. I have not had any mechanical issues so far. Don't let the name scare you.

BE GONE, LEAF!

Dude, this thing rocks. The air impact is very strong. I have a large wooded property with tons of mature trees. I also rock a long lawn, so leaves tend to get embedded in the lawn. This thing has the impact to get the leaves out of the grass with ease. Wet leaves? Not a problem. Almost preferable because wet leaves don't drift away in the wind. Piece of cake to start. Fuel mixture is 25:1 - 50:1. So, if you don't get the mix perfect, the unit doesn't really care. If you have an old blower that you are replacing, save the shoulder strap! This does not come with one and they help with the weight A LOT. Also, this unit does not come with 2-cycle oil. (Know whats the best oil? Royal Purple. Shhhhh). So if you buy this unit, also pick up some synthetic 2-cycle oil and a shoulder strap. The air intake is indeed on the left of the unit. That means if you hold it with your right hand, the air intake will sometimes suck your pants in. To be honest, even when that happens, it doesn't really reduce the power much. I don't worry about that at all and the unit works just dandy for me. I would buy it again! Hitachi makes good stuff, and this product is more of the same.

EXCELLENT Leaf Blower

This is my second purchase of this GREAT leaf blower. I purchased my first one 6 years ago and used that blower a LOT and sometimes not very gently. That first blower ALWAYS worked very well for me. It always started very easily (usually with one pull or no more than two pulls) and was very powerful. In the fall, I sometimes ran that blower for two hours straight on high speed to blow leaves with NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. After 6 years of very heavy use, that first blower started to make a small "clanking" noise while running and then sadly died. I didn't hesitate for one moment to buy this second one which is just like the first one. As a matter of fact, this second one I bought was about $10.00 LESS than the cost of the first one and is the newer model of the exact same blower. I have been using this new/second blower for about two months now and it is every bit as GREAT as the first one (so far). As a matter of fact, my brother bought this same blower 4 years ago by my recommendation and he also likes his a LOT and thinks it is a GREAT blower too. I would highly recommend this blower.

Already Own One; Buying a Second One

I bought my first unit in 2011 and I am getting ready to buy my second unit for another home. I have used the first unit for everything from drying my motorcycles after washing to blowing out my garages to blowing fine snow off my decks to some actual leaf blowing. I regret having to buy a second unit, but after buying something else because I needed a blower and didn't want to wait for Amazon to deliver I now own a leaf blower that is nowhere near as convenient as this one. I bought a corded unit, thinking it would be just as powerful, almost as convenient and much quieter... I learned I was wrong. My little Hitachi has run well. I did have to service it at one point because a screw had come loose and was rattling around in the starter assembly, but it wasn't a big deal. I plan on using this one in a home with 100% porcelain tile floors to do some floor cleaning. I will get a set of ear protectors to avoid all the noise, but expect it to work well for this new task. I believe that these units will last for a decade if I just provide them with just a minimal amount of care.

Full Reviews