Powerland PDZ1550W 25-inch x 18-inch 6.5 HP OHV Gas Powered Landscaping Plate Compactor With Water Tank & Wheel Kit

Let give you the circumstances for this order & my background. First, I purchased this & shipping was free with my Amazon Prime membership, this was delivered in 4 days via ABF lift gate inside delivery. If you're unfamiliar with freight services, this was about this most expensive you could have, & I'm serious when I say the ABF driver wiped the dust off the compactor box before taking it off the dolly!!! So I couldn't tell you how the packaging/merchandise would fair in normal freight conditions. I can tell you there is no inner crate or wooden structure just triple wall cardboard. My reason for purchasing this compactor, is for a 6' x 50' L shaped retaining wall, I currently have an electric Evolution compactor, which is great for flowerbeds or getting sand down in between pavers but that's about it. I've been using a friends wacker packer (dunno the model) which has seen better days, but none the less it's still runs. This Powerland compactor arrived fine except the motor shifted slightly during shipping & I thought it would be best to go ahead align it & set the belt tension. Of course this is a Chinese or an import of some kinda, hence it's all metric in hardware & design, no real problem though. In the few hours I've used it, i can see there's a need to loctite the whole machine. The performance of it has been perfect, strong compression, not loud, & it compacts better than the wacker packer, yet it weighs ~50lbs. less. Additionally this compactor's belt & pulley setup is far enough apart you could modify it for reverse with an idler pulley & control linkage. Lastly, the wheels are a godsend, they're nylon glass filled caster wheels & the steel plate has a good high curve in the front & back, which makes me wonder if they have a similar model that has reverse. I've seen other reviews of Power-land compactors & would say they don't represent what I've purchased. A plate compactor is, for the average person, loud, obnoxious, heavy, & hard to maneuver. They are not fun & I could think of lots of things I'd like to buy for $799, but when HDepot rents them for $62 a day it'lll quickly add up. So far I'm tickled with this unit. I will update after I finish the wall...****Update 06/24/13*** This past spring, as I was getting everything ready for the season, I began looking at this compactor & noticed I still had loose bolts, additionally the plate had some corrosion and a few other places as well. Since I couldn't stroke buying another one if something were to happen to this one. I decided to break it down, clean, repair & reassemble. The muffler on this one is the same as all small engie mufflers, they begin to rust & look like crap but they work nevertheless. I stipped all the paint off & powdercoated, bought stainless hardware, because the black oxide hardware was rusting as well. Reassembled & works the same, starts on the first pull usually & never misses a beat. I never could figure out how to reverse the rotation of the weight so for now it's only forward motion but for the price I'll live with it.*******

The delivery was iffy. It was in a cardboard box that was delivered upside down. The machine had no apparent damage but the wheels you see in the picture were not included. I would be pissed, but the tiny wheels that should have been included would not work over gravel or grass anyway, so I move the machine with a regular large tired hand truck.As for performance, it started right up and just worked.

Came in half height, strong cardboard box with a 1/8 inch section of plywood protecting top. Box in good condition - no crumples or tear-aways. The handle was folded in half for shipping, and unfolded and bolted and locked after unboxing.Compactor looks brand new and clean, which it should since I bought a new unit.Comes with spare air filter and pulley belt. I pulled off the pulley cover to make sure I didn't have to install the spare belt.Comes with small toolkit - spark plug wrench, Philips screwdriver, open end wrench 8mm and 10mm.Comes with operators manual for the compactor and a manual for the engine itself.Does NOT include assembly instructions for included wheels, which are mounted on a frame. I figured it out from the product images on its webpage.Wheel installation hint: buy a tool-and-die tap 12M-1.75 to clean out the threaded holes on the wheels frame. When I originally tried to thread the 12M-1.75 bolts into the wheels frame, the bolts seized up tightly. The black painted wheels frame has paint sprayed into threaded holes. Once cleaned out with the tap, a $7.50 purchase, the bolts no longer seized.Haven't started it yet. Gas: 3.6 L @ 90 octane or above. Oil: 0.6 L @ SAE 10W-30 (four stroke)Update: 2015 Aug 27 After trying to use last summer, winterizing, then trying to use it this summer, I've found the motor on this compactor very unsatisfying. It ran too slowly last summer to propel the machine forward. This summer, after adding oil and gas, I couldn't get it to start. I pulled out the spark plug and it was coated in oil. This machine has been a dismal failure.

I have used this compactor for several months and it is well built and does the job very well. Now instead of renting for my next block wall or patio I already own the machine for the money I would have spent renting!

My plate compactor was damaged during shipping, very poor packaging, basically the compactor sits loose in a carton box (mind you the compactor weights over 180lbs. and there is not wooden crate or nothing, just cardboard) with extra things like bolts etc. just thrown inside loose as well. Amazon wanted me to ship the whole thing back, because of the weight and the fact that only the belt cover was cracked (and all the mounting bolts were missing) wanted to try to contact the manufacturer first to see if they could ship me just the damaged/missing parts. Well, good luck with that, 1-888-807-6660 number listed on the manual is useless, left over 30 voice messages over the last two months (all in different areas including sales, support, etc.), no one has yet to call me back. If you buy this item, keep in mind it is disposable and once you have any problems, don't expect to get any support from Powerland, including warranty or purchase of replacement parts. My last purchase of any Powerland labeled equipment (they only brand label Chinese made stuff, are not a manufacturing company). Maybe Powerland should proof-read their manuals since they slap their name on them (hopefully some one at Powerland speaks English), it looks like some Chinese guy used the Google translator since they use English words but don't make much sense (phrases like: "The jockey is not allowed to stand on the downgrade." or "Operation or replacing fuel of engine are very dangerous.", "Do not juggle the parameter." and literally hundreds more). Apparently, PowerLand has no pride in their brand name and does not care. Any one needs a 180lbs. boat anchor? I have one available.