Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[dirt ditch]

Got a 6V/12V 50 amp battery tester #93784 for $10 and a 10/2/55 amp battery charger and engine starter #03418 for $30 last weekend. Been having problems with sons truck not starting. Used the tester and found out it was a bad alternator. Cant get one until this weekend so he is using the charger every night to top off the battery so he can drive to school. Could not go any where else and get a tester and charger for $40 bucks.
Also picked up a pliers set and a hammer to hang on the back of the tractor. They will work fine for that, and if one gets lost I can replace it with a shiny new one.

 

[SpringHollow]

$2.99 for the multi-tester (volt meter etc) is the best bargain anywhere. I have them all over the place. And the little $6.99 laser thermometer is a great toy. I aim it up at the a/c vent at home for a remote reading. On the tractor the lower block shows 150 degrees, head 185, water outlet and top radiator tank 190. I expect it would diagnose a plugged radiator core ok.

I bought a bunch of those multitesters when they had them on a great sale. Nice to have them everywhere and gave some to friends.

I bought one of the cheap IR thermometers also. It has come in handy for troubleshooting or verifying the operation of cooolers, etc.. A few days ago, I played around with it at the house. The outside temp measured 3 degrees F. The house wall was 5 -8 (you could tell when you had it aimed at a stud or poorly insulated area - I was impressed). Center of a casement window measured about 10, a french door 18, plywood panel above my window air conditioner 27 - maybe it is time to take it out but we are having a heat wave this weekend since it might get up to 34.

For a few bucks, it was worth it.

Ken

 

[billbill1]

If you are the type that "isn't happy with anything", don't buy Harbor Frieght stuff, you won't be happy!!

 

[awlchu]

I purchased the 20 ton hydraulic press and have been happy with it.

Also, purchased the large crescent wrench (15inches in length). Works as well as an expensive Craftsman wrench.

Metal cutting blades are a good deal and work well.

Has anyone purchased the hydraulic 12 ton gear puller?

 

[beersngars]

I didn't see it mentioned above, but the 8.99 three pack of step drill bits are hard to beat. I have bought 6 or so sets and give them away to friends who think you need to spend 5 times as much on the Irwins. Not saying they are as good, but for light home use mine have done great.

 

[patrick_g]

4.5" grinder discs i have noticed a diffrence in. the dewalt ones cut a lot better (but they both last about the same amount of time) but the 1/8" cut off wheels dont last as long as the name brand ones. (if you ratio'd the price diffrence, and applied it to the life span... it would be a positive number... ie if they cost half as much they last more than half as long)

A few months ago I bought a trailer load (overload?) of used pipe and had to cut it up for transport. I went through just a few 14 inch abrasive blades. It reconfirmed my previous observation. The cheap (especially on sale) HF blades do not last as long as "BRAND" blades but are the best price/performance ratio by quite a margin. Changing blades is trivial and quick so if I use 5 HF blades instead of 2-3 DeWalt blades I am way ahead on $.

(Numbers quoted for effect and may not be my actual results. Your results may vary with varying circumstances and will not be considered prima facie evidence for any liability action.)

Pat

 

[bjr]

I've bought manual tire changer; bubble balancer; tire irons; steel air hose ends (don't recommend the brass thee pack connections); air regulator; pnuematic DA sander; electric 4-1/2" angle grinder; electric 1/2" hammer drill (don't recommend the cement hammer bits);18 volt cordless screw driver/ drill; one ton chain fall; The cat 1 quick hitch; pipe threading dies; electric extention chords; digital calipers; A Lot of sockets screw drivers & end wrenches various hammers & pry bars cheap leather gloves. I've burn up 3 or 4 small 4-1/2" grinders snapped the head off the air sander (I don't like the sanding stickem paper they have though). I bent the bottom hooks on the Quick Hitch. All this to keep a couple 35 Hp tractors running and repair about a dozen pieces of cat 1 implemnts usable and building a house. Most every thing I get at HF is worth what I buy it for and am satisfied with the performance of the tool. I just have to pinch nikels and HF helps a lot for the hobby farmer/ DIYer. The cordless driver drill took a tumble off the rafters and hit concrete and exploded into thousand pieces, just glad it wasn't a $150 Dewalt or Makita. bjr

 

[dfkrug]

The cordless driver drill took a tumble off the rafters and hit concrete and exploded into thousand pieces, just glad it wasn't a $150 Dewalt or Makita.

Years ago I saw a framing guy I hired drop (twice!) one of those Makita
impact screw guns off my 20' scaffold with no damage. I bought my own
after that, but not from HF.

I bought the diamond polishing pad set from HF to do a couple of bullnoses
on my new granite counters. They worked great, except the velcro failed
by the end of the project. A fantastic deal.

I use the 36" bolt cutters for cutting and crimping. How can HF sell that for
only $20?

 

[okie350]

"I bought an electric breaker hammer and cut off one of the chisels and welded a metal cup on the end. It makes a fair T-Post driver when powered by a portable generator. It may take a while but it will drive a T-Post when trying to drive it with the FEL fails and manual labor with a HD manual driver is too slow going and too much work."

I did the same thing, it is a 70# hammer that i use out of the bucket. does get heavy after a while

 

[AlanB]

We have a pretty fair amount of HF stuff. For us, the $ value is very good.
As others have said, you get what you pay for, and for us, HF quality is often fine.

We have lots of hand tools (hate having rusty hunks of junk in the bottom of the wifes mowing truck box that say "craftsman" or "snap-on" on them.

At one point, I was buying the dang claw hammers in bulk I think and just leaving a couple in every room we worked in.

Big stuff, I have the 14" chainsaw type concrete saw, the concrete mixer, the vibe compactor etc. etc. We could not afford to have bought the "good" brands, and we can buy and have them around cheaper then rent.

I think most the folks that have problems, and get aggravated tend to think they will be as good as the name brand stuff. I expect the stuff too work (and they have been great at replacing or refunding with zero hassle when it did not) but I do not expect it to be as nice as a name brand tool.