Stark USA 6.5HP Plate Compactor 21 x 21 inch Plate Gas-Powered 196cc Vibratory Plate Construction Concrete Tamper Machine Power Paver

Did the job it said it would. was easy to use and held up well.

I was skeptical at first because of the price of this machine. But my fears were totally unnecessary. This is a workhorse. I've used it a lot since it was purchased and very happy with it. The only problem I've had is when you try and use it on an angle it stalls. Knowing that, you can avoid it happening to you. Otherwise it's a great tool for outdoor work.

When I finally received the second box of 2, it looked liked the manufacturer or shipping company used the box for batting practice. The package was falling apart, open at three ends and loosely taped back together as if the driver lost the box on the freeway. Indeed, there was a trail of parts from the street to my porch where the box was finally laid to rest. At this point, I didn't hold out much hope, but decided to try and piece the machine together. I opened one of the boxes and the first thing I noticed was a crushed air filter, a bent rod of some sort, and a damaged handle. Nonetheless I continued with my effort to piece the plate compactor together. I opened the instructions supplied with the machine and it was virtually unreadable. Fortunately (sort of), I was able to find the owner's manual online with images that I could actually see. This was hopeful. However, once I dug into the instructions they were virtually useless. Amusingly, one of the instructions was written as follows, "Note you should adjust the position to make the dust shield plate in the right way." This was followed by "Screw up four M12 locknut to fix the engine support plate." Well something was screwed up alright. So, after numerous trips to the hardware store to try and find replacements for missing bolts and nuts, I finally had the machine assembled only to find out the engine operation manual was as cryptic as the owners manual. I then spent the next two hours trying to start the engine to no avail. Perhaps it is all my fault as I was dumb enough to by an expensive piece of equipment from an online retailer.

This machine is very nice and very compact and small and does the job okay. The bad thing is that it leaks oil from the vibration box. Otherwise works well. Only works good for small jobs

As an independent electrical contractor this compactor works great. Easy to assemble and runs like a top. I use a jumping jack in the trench and finish the asphalt with the compactor.

NOTE: I have not been able to start this thing yet. However, I received on box, partially assembled unit. Minor shipping damage (to unit), box was damaged. It came with extra parts, no idea what some of them are as there are NO ASSEMBLY Instructions. In this add the motor is listed as a 7hp 212cc, motor is actually 6.5 hp 196cc. Recommended oil for the engine is 30w 40-125 deg, 10w30 0-40 deg. There is nothing on the oil visc. for the vibrating motor. I will update my review if/after I get it running ref the oil leakage. I do know that my box had a 3.5 oz bottle of 10w30 that was undamaged and the unit was dry (internally/externally). So keep that in mind when looking at photos of wet shipping boxes. I did try calling the listed phone number for "Excellent Customer Service!" It went to VM and the the listed Email address did not work. The "Operators" manual referenced "WEN" as the warranty provider. So, figure that out!Update:Got it to run, very few pulls. Carb needs adjustment (accurate manual would be helpful), no oil leak issues using 10w30 after over an hour of running. So I am bumping it to 3 stars.

We love the one that we have And we also pull it around with our poor track, which works great. Highly recommend it. We'll buy another one if this one goes bad. It's that good. Have had it for a couple of years and work. perfect.

Could not get the engine to start tried for like an hour pulled spark plug out grounded it it only sparked once and then would not spark again found a wire not connected to the oil level sensor plugged it in and it started right up and ran good