Ozito 700W 410mm Electric Pole PHT-410

Far Too Heavy – This trimmer is far too heavy to use. Even at its shortest it is really unbalanced and head heavy making it impossible to control unless you are an olympic weightlifter. I am returning this for a refund Show details

Brushes wearing out also destroys the commutator – Bought this second hand. Got one hedge trim out of it before the brushes died. While replacing those, noticed a slightly wider than should be gap on commutator. A more expert friend thought it wouldn't be a problem. Sadly, it was a problem. Worked OK for 30 seconds before dying again. On inspection that commutator gap was a lot wider, the segment… Read more

warped. It's that brass casing with the too -powerful spring on it that is the problem. Once the brush is exhausted, the brass casing is ripping the commutator apart. Disappointing, after all the hassle and expense. Up until this happened, I was pleased with it, even though it wasn't versatile. Having read the excellent review outlining the design fault that causes the brushes wear problem, I bought two sets of replacement brushes that are now useless. $ 40 down the drain, plus purchase price of course. Will approach Ozito for return/ refund on the untouched spare brush set. Fingers crossed they are honourable. FOLLOW-UP. they are not honourable.

makes pruning trees easy – After reading these reviews I was worried that the product would be too heavy and awkward to use, but the shoulder strap and keeping the pole to the minimum length needed, solved these concerns. After reading the instructions I thought it might also be dangerous to use due to the potential kickback, but I followed the instructions closely and… Read more

didn't get any kickback. I was pleasantly surprised that it made a quick, easy job of cutting back tree branches. They cut through in seconds. I was thinking of buying a chainsaw as well, but found that this product could double up as one to cut pieces of timber and small logs. I'm impressed, especially given the affordable price. I didn't give it 5 stars as I've just bought it and don't know how it will go with time.

Ozito 900W Electric Pole Hedge trimmer – Top heavy making it difficult to use. Blades dont grip properly, have to go over the hedges 2-3 times to get clean cut. Its too awkward to use and control the blades at full length, to balance you need to grip the bar but then it becomes difficult to keep the power button on. Poor design. Returned back to bunnings.  Show details

Ozito pole trimmer PHT-410 – These are very well made but I suggest having one assembled and shown before buying. I found them very top heavy and awkward to use especially working on a ladder. I bought mine to get over the top of hedges as opposed to their height. Having worked on many power tools I removed the top pole section and put the cutting head on the lower section.… Read more

(some engineering is required). It now has a very useful reach of 1.5 m and does the job well. Of course I voided the warranty.

This machine would have been a lot handier if the top pole section could be easily removed as part of it's features.

Didn't last long. Motor design problems – It worked fairly well for around 3 years but this was a total of only about 20-30 running hours All of a sudden, it wouldn't turn on, but 5 mins later it wouldn't restart again. Faulty motor. Just out of warranty. The next bit is for those people who would like to know the exact reason and know the hazards of pulling electrical appliances… Read more

apart. All came down to poorly designed and manufactured motor carbon brushes. In 40 yrs I have never seen such a basic fault as this.

A metal spring is soldered to the top of the brush assy and pushes on the carbon brush so that wear on the brush is accounted for. At the top of the spring is a washer to which a flexible wire runs down to carry the current to the carbon brush The length of this wire is set so that the carbon brush does not totally wear away leaving the spring running on the commutator. On this Ozito product the length of this wire was too long and the motor was running on the spring / wire / what was left of the carbon brush.

Also the brush assy did not have not have the washer and the top of the wire was simply spot soldered onto the top of the spring. On the other side of the motor, the situation wasn't as bad but would have got there soon as the same manufacturing faults existed

The end result of all the above resulted in a burnt out commutator and motor failure after 20-30 hrs. I think the Ozito design engineers should go back to university. On the other hand, it failed out of warranty so "who cares". The customer will have to buy another one.

As a comparison, at the same time, I had to pull apart a Hoover upright vacuum cleaner, (built in Australia), because something had jammed in the impeller. The vacuum was 50 years old and the motor was in very good condition. Motor brushes and commutator in excellent condition considering age. Removed the piece of jewellery and the vacuum was back to full running order.

If you get to the end of my diatribe, thank you for listening.

Does the job for power and price – Had this few years now. Not much use, minutes a year like most trimmers. Brought on power and the open fingers of the cutter blade. Has not disappointed. Used abusively on viburnum and lilly pilly, just hope into it. It will chew into the bigger bits quite well. For the price it's good. Read the other lower rated postings but mine has been good. The silver push thing has jammed, and removed on shaft join but clamp holds it good.  Show details

Lasted less than 20 seconds before motor burnt out – Purchased from Bunnings. Took about 20 mins to assemble and about 20 seconds for the motor to burn out on first run. Returned to Bunnings same day and replaced with a Ryobi. Staff member said this was not first unit to be returned with a burnt out motor. Does Ozito have quality control? Maybe I just got a dud...  Show details

poor build – after little use machine stopped going , i found a [ lot] of saw dust in the gear box and i mean a lot, and some in the motor . is going ok but the bar oil is running out when in storage , a lot of trouble with machine for a small amount of use  Show details

Worked ok for a couple of years, then end of motor shaft broke off – It worked OK for a couple of years but today I was pruning our Lemon-scented Darwinia and hit a thicker branch (1cm?) which it couldn't cut through and there was a mechanical noise and the blades stopped working. On disassembly I found that the end of the motor shaft, which is a small worm gear driving the larger output shaft, has broken off.… Read more

There seems to be a sacrificial coupling a little further along the output shaft that should have given way but it didn't causing the more serious failure. It has been quite good up until now for what I need and I will try to get a replacement armature but I suspect it will cost more than replacing the unit or won't be available.

Can't beat it for price and performance – After looking at a few different hedge trimmers, I bought it from Bunning s and have not looked back. The swivel head and rotating motor/hand grip mean you can cut on any angle in pretty much any situation. The fingers are quite wide meaning You can cut pretty thick branches for a hedge trimmer. The only disappointment is that you can't connect… Read more

the cutting head to the main motor without the pole extension. This would have been a pretty easy design change and would have made it very versatile.

Recommended!

Great job, low cost!! – Thankyou for your comments. I purchased one today from bunnings for $149. I am so impressed. I have a Ryobi petrol trimmer, which has a lot of power but I do not have the muscle to hold it above my shoulders for extended time periods. Today, I worked from after lunch to 6pm. I put it together, as some assembly was needed and Thereafter the ozito… Read more

went all that time.

Our 10m x 2m tall murraya hedge looks awesome. It easily ate through thicker branches....it hedged my gardenias, camellia hedges...that are all above my head...the photinia hedge was a breeze and lastly...the one I was worried about my 15mx1.5m high Lilly Pilly hedge. We live in the mountains, my husband has built many retaining walls....which I have planted with many hedges....the long reach arm of the ozito is awesome for wide, but not so tall hedges like my Lilly Pilly.

Looking forward to keeping my garden under maintenance, as my arms are a bit sore tonight. My husband was very impressed that I managed so easily and how fab the garden looks. To think, I was contemplating buying a stihl?

Thanks so much for your advice and I hope this comment also helps other people decide too. I liked that the salesman at bunnings endorsed the ozito and the previous reviews were helpful. I liked the cost, the way I could easily trim above my head height for long periods of time and how easy it was the adjust the hedger blade angle. I had to reposition the handle using the Allen key a few times and it fell out somewhere. Would have liked if this was easier, but there is no way I should complain today. I'm thrilled with the purchase and the results of this great tool on our garden.

Good pole trimmer for city sized blocks where a power cord works – After buying an Ozito HTR-550 I was comfy enough with the Bunnings brand for harder to reach branches. Compared to professional or name brand equivalents, at $149 RRP it is very competitive. Like most pole trimmers it is a bit heavy for those not fit. The motor is on the bottom (trigger end) which somewhat mitigates the weight and balance… Read more ·  1

problem. The supplied neck strap is far too light weight to be useful. Assembly no worries although the pole handle needs a (supplied) allen key to adjust it. It would have made sense for thumb knobs and manufacturing costs would have been similar. There is a decent range of adjustments for the pole against handle, and on the trimmer blade head. The dead man's switch is a lockout that is inconvenient - I can see someone taping it at their own peril. It comes with a 2-year swap out warranty. Pay double or triple for a high quality professional or petrol powered product? Will your hedges be any better off? The 900W electric motor beats the cordless ones for grunt, and is in my opinion a no-brainer for city sized lots where a power lead is practical. Inexpensive, good range of adjustments, 2-year swap out warranty Weight and balance requires some muscle, but not the worst of pole trimmers