Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[5030]

Off topic a bit but I finally got to Lowe's and the swap wasn't too bad. They had to do some paperwork that took some time. Sadly I gave them a US made ratchet and got back one made in China. The other item was a 15mm deep socket but my luck would have it that the bin for this size was empty. The rest were full. My guess is that is also China. No more Craftsman tools getting purchased by me I guess. May as well buy hand tools from HF.

Pretty typical today. Why I tend to purchase HF tools. You already know where they come from. I have yet to wear out a Snap-On ratchet. I have a couple Cracksman ones that are 'pranged' out however.

 

[TMGT]

You can still find some of the old USA made revuild kits for the craftsman ratchets from time to time.

Snap-On ratchets hold up better then and others I've used, I worked as a auto tech for a number of years and for certain tools I prefer certain brands due to reliability and functionality.
Ratchets, combination wrenches and non-impact sockets I stick with snap-on.

(I did break a tooth off a 3/8th snap-on ratch once but it had been so abused it's a wonder it lasted as long as it did! Quick pawl change on the truck and it was back in business)

 

[greif]

12V 15 PSI Compact Air Compressor
Anyone have this 12 v air compressor? How is it, does it last for infrequent use?

 

[AllByteNoBark]

I asked a few weeks ago about the 2" trash pump. Bought one and have been using it and thought I would throw my $0.02 worth in. The pump has so far worked very well. I am pumping water from a pond that has issues and it has done a great job. Starts easy, pump primes easy and does what it is supposed to. I am running through 125 feet of hose on the output with about a 12 foot head. Pump has been running an average of 1 hour 20 minutes per tank of fuel.

So far I would recommend it if you need a method of moving lots of water fairly efficiently. Got it on sale for $189. The hoses cost more than the pump even using 20% off coupons and picking one up at a time.

 

[rangerfredbob]

12V 15 PSI Compact Air Compressor
Anyone have this 12 v air compressor? How is it, does it last for infrequent use?

I've had two, lost the first somehow so I bought another, two friends have them as well. They work very well, all have been used and abused. Both of mine have melted the fuse holder, need to put new spade connectors on and redo the new one... One of my friends had a rod bearing fail on his after a few years... Takes about 5-10 minutes tops to get a 35" tire (15" wheel) from say 6psi to 25psi for the drive home. For me it's $65 well spent, sure better names are better but I've had good luck...

 

[stuckmotor]

I asked a few weeks ago about the 2" trash pump. Bought one and have been using it and thought I would throw my $0.02 worth in. The pump has so far worked very well. I am pumping water from a pond that has issues and it has done a great job. Starts easy, pump primes easy and does what it is supposed to. I am running through 125 feet of hose on the output with about a 12 foot head. Pump has been running an average of 1 hour 20 minutes per tank of fuel.

So far I would recommend it if you need a method of moving lots of water fairly efficiently. Got it on sale for $189. The hoses cost more than the pump even using 20% off coupons and picking one up at a time.

Does the engine cut off when the pump runs dry or is it safe to run the pump when it's dry?

 

[K5lwq]

Does the engine cut off when the pump runs dry or is it safe to run the pump when it's dry?

I don't like running pumps dry. If it doesn't have auto shutdown, that is a easy feature to add. You just need a pressure switch and a toggle switch to make it work.

 

[Alan W.]

12V 15 PSI Compact Air Compressor
Anyone have this 12 v air compressor? How is it, does it last for infrequent use?

Bought one for my son while he was in high school. He used it on and off with no problems.
Someone ,as a prank, let the air out of one tire on his and three of his buddies trucks. He pumped all of them up to pressure without a break. It must be pretty good not to have melted down. He is about to graduate college and still uses the same one.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

Does the engine cut off when the pump runs dry or is it safe to run the pump when it's dry?

No it does not have an auto shut off. Not to much of a problem for my use but could see where it could cause issues.

 

[5030]

Bought one for my son while he was in high school. He used it on and off with no problems.
Someone ,as a prank, let the air out of one tire on his and three of his buddies trucks. He pumped all of them up to pressure without a break. It must be pretty good not to have melted down. He is about to graduate college and still uses the same one.

Have to look for that. All I saw last time was the plastic ones that I'm sure would suffer from meltdown.

 

[rangerfredbob]

The big ones are sometimes in a different area than the little yellow plastic ones... I have both sizes of the bigger ones and they both work pretty good, the biggest one is just like 2 times faster than the next step down...

 

[5030]

Have to do better looking around next week. Love HF.

 

[4get gto]

Have to do better looking around next week. Love HF.

Reminds of an auction I was to last week. Gentlemen had passed away and they were selling all his stuff and I swear he had one of everything HF ever sold including their BH.

Never seen that many HF items in one place outside the store..!

 

[5030]

Reminds of an auction I was to last week. Gentlemen had passed away and they were selling all his stuff and I swear he had one of everything HF ever sold including their BH.

Never seen that many HF items in one place outside the store..!

I have to say I did buy one HF tool that was fairly expensive that turned out to be a turd. A while ago I bought the HF refrigerated compressed air dryer and it has been continuous issues. First the plumbing on the water separator leaked, had to redo that. Then the automatic drain plugged up. Had to redo that, then the compressor quit. Haven't fixed that yet. I believe the start capacitor crapped out. Have to take it apart and put a new one in. pretty disgusted with it at this point. Should have just bit the bullet and bought the IR unit.

Only issue I've ever had other than finding the smoke in the cheap corded tools. Bauer stuff is still going strong, no smoke yet. The air dryer is a rock right now..... expensive rock.

 

[4get gto]

I have to say I did buy one HF tool that was fairly expensive that turned out to be a turd. A while ago I bought the HF refrigerated compressed air dryer and it has been continuous issues. First the plumbing on the water separator leaked, had to redo that. Then the automatic drain plugged up. Had to redo that, then the compressor quit. Haven't fixed that yet. I believe the start capacitor crapped out. Have to take it apart and put a new one in. pretty disgusted with it at this point. Should have just bit the bullet and bought the IR unit.

Only issue I've ever had other than finding the smoke in the cheap corded tools. Bauer stuff is still going strong, no smoke yet. The air dryer is a rock right now..... expensive rock.

The HF backhoe that was sold at sale went for ( thinking) $475. And was in very nice condition. Quite a savings for the guy that bought it.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have to say I did buy one HF tool that was fairly expensive that turned out to be a turd. A while ago I bought the HF refrigerated compressed air dryer and it has been continuous issues. First the plumbing on the water separator leaked, had to redo that. Then the automatic drain plugged up. Had to redo that, then the compressor quit. Haven't fixed that yet. I believe the start capacitor crapped out. Have to take it apart and put a new one in. pretty disgusted with it at this point. Should have just bit the bullet and bought the IR unit.

Only issue I've ever had other than finding the smoke in the cheap corded tools. Bauer stuff is still going strong, no smoke yet. The air dryer is a rock right now..... expensive rock.

Hey, hey hey, Daryl! Wrong thread... with your pet rock! Post this in the HF DO suck thread. Only supposed to be singing the praises of HF tools here!

Seriously though... been wondering about these air dryers.

 

[5030]

Hey, hey hey, Daryl! Wrong thread... with your pet rock! Post this in the HF DO suck thread. Only supposed to be singing the praises of HF tools here!

Seriously though... been wondering about these air dryers.

My recommendation is... Buy the IR. Is the only HF 'tool' I'm disappointed with. I actually posted a very negative review about it on the HF site and they responded but told me they could not take it back because I was past the 30 day warranty. I'll fix it ( capacitor) but it has been an ongoing lemon. Sometimes I think I should put it on the curb and get the IR and let some 'lucky soul' scarf it up and deal with it. Bet it won't last 5 minutes on the curb. $350 buck rock. Very poor quality all around.

 

[5030]

The HF backhoe that was sold at sale went for ( thinking) $475. And was in very nice condition. Quite a savings for the guy that bought it.

Was a thread on here about one and I read all of it. Impressive little machine. Needs some tweaking though but a ton cheaper than anything else for those once in a while jobs. Last time I needed to run a water line I almost rented a backhoe but rented a self propelled trencher instead. Was 10 times faster and less cleanup (backfill). Backfilled the trench (was 150 feet long) with a shovel, raked it and was done with it.

 

[John_Mc]

Hey, hey hey, Daryl! Wrong thread... with your pet rock! Post this in the HF DO suck thread. Only supposed to be singing the praises of HF tools here!

Personally, I like having both ends of the spectrum in one thread. At any rate, this thread has been used for both since long before the "do suck" thread was started.

 

[dragoneggs]

Personally, I like having both ends of the spectrum in one thread. At any rate, this thread has been used for both since long before the "do suck" thread was started.

Relax, I was just giving him a friendly hard time.