[Derek Whittemor]

I'm in the market for a new reversible plate compactor. Northern Tool and Equipment has one at a good price with Honda engine , but how good is it? Can anyone recommend a dependable reversible plate compactor.

I also want to say that I bought a cutoff saw from Northern Tool and it had a couple of issues, but works ok. It's not a brand name (just like the plate compactor I'm looking at) but the price was/is good.

Thanks for any help you can provide. You can also contact me at my e-mail address., dwhittemore@embarqmail.com., website is Derek Whittemore Landscape Construction - Home

Derek W.

[Orchard Ex]

Read my review on the northern site before you buy it.
The short of it is I returned it and bought a Wacker 3050. I have a forward plate from northern that I like a lot (Robin engine, ~3800 lb force, made in Korea) but this reversible one was not up to par.

edit: I forgot to add that I'm very happy with the BPU 3050. I got the Wacker engine model. The Wacker engine is made by Robin and they give an extra year warranty on the machine with their engine. I demo'd the Honda version and it was fine also, I just have had excellent service from my Robin engines.

Good luck with your search.

[Stonehenge]

My recommendation is that you get what you pay for, and a well built compactor can last decades. I would want to stick with a brand name like Bomag or Wacker, or maybe Stone.

If you can't quite a afford a name brand, rent until you can.

[natural12]

I have a bobcat brand tamper. I believe they have two sizes to choose from. Check out triangle equipment company if you are interested. There is one in Durham and Raleigh. I cant remember what I paid for it. It works great, starts on the first pull still and it is 3 years old. Has a honda engine.
I would stick with a brand name even if it means paying a couple of hundred more.

[Pelican]

I have two Mikasa plate tampers that are some of the best investments I've made. I bought them used from an asphalt paving company and rand them hard for 5 years when the Robyn engines blew. I've put Honda replacements on them and am still using them. They've taken a hell of a beating and have come back for more. Theses are just small single direction tampers, but should be indicative of the quality of this brand.

[uniscaper]

We use a Dynapac and are very satisfied with it. You can take a look at dynapac.com
Very dependable and the hardest hitting for it's size.

[alcland1]

we run 3 wackers and 1 stone ,the stone is for heaver work. the 1550 wacker low vibe
goes to slow for me.