Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Fallon]

One thing I've found - the oval Fresh Step buckets are intentionally biodegradable. After a few years a chunk will break off if you pick it up by the edge.

Most of my plastic buckets do that after sitting outside in the Colorado sun for a couple years.

 

[Threepoint]

I wish hey still sold it in those buckets.

Sam's Club's private label cat litter still comes in buckets.


I agree with California, though, that bags make more sense for this type of product.

 

[California]

re Kitty Litter in buckets or bags - I just got Amazon Prime for free with five $30 Metro-by-TMobile lines. Amazon notes that Prime's free delivery includes big heavy bags of pet food and presumably kitty litter. I expect many people will take advantage of this free delivery.

Amazon and Harbor Freight's new methods illustrate the most important thing I learned in business school: 'Expect constant change so surf the inevitable wave of change instead of being dunked by it'. These two recent businesses illustrate this as they replace, for example, Sears and Craftsman.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

They have cat litter on prime. Smaller containers, I’m not sure the cost advantage is there.

Amazon costs more than Costco. And the exact same size and type is not on prime.

 

[stuckmotor]

I'm in charge of buying the cat litter and hauling it home. Walmart has Purina Tidy Cats in buckets. They seem to alternate between those with a one piece lid that keeps rain out well, and a hinged lid that leaks. Next time they have the one piece jobs, I think I'll get enough to last through the hinged lid cycle.

 

[stuckmotor]

I got a Ryobi 1/4" impact that seems to work well on Phillips, Square and Torx. Put some 3" drywall screws through 2xs into 4x4s with no effort. I've taken a few out and put them back in with no head damage.

Thank you. I'll check them out.

 

[California]

I got a Ryobi 1/4" impact that seems to work well on Phillips, Square and Torx. Put some 3" drywall screws through 2xs into 4x4s with no effort. I've taken a few out and put them back in with no head damage.

Thank you. I'll check them out.

Ditto. The little Ryobi impact driver did fine when I replaced 2x6 planks in a deck driving in 3.5" 'square' (Robertson?)-bit deck screws. The Ryobi also worked well taking out the old Phillips screws after I learned to put all my weight on it. But I snapped off as many screws as I stripped, about 10% overall.

After a while I tried something different. A lot of weight on an 18 inch Phillips screwdriver worked better to loosen the old Phillips deck screws delicately without destroying their slots or snapping them. Then after that first quarter turn, I switched to the Ryobi to back the screws out quickly. Far fewer stripped or snapped screws after that.

 

[John_Mc]

Kitty Litter in biodegradable bags instead of plastic buckets makes more sense when you think about it.

Maybe for the seller, but if you have a use for buckets, it makes sense to package in something reusable.

 

[hunt4570]

Sam's Club's private label cat litter still comes in buckets.
View attachment 629203

I agree with California, though, that bags make more sense for this type of product.

Sure, and no plastic straws to go in the plastic cups!!???

 

[Threepoint]

I got a Ryobi 1/4" impact that seems to work well on Phillips, Square and Torx. Put some 3" drywall screws through 2xs into 4x4s with no effort. I've taken a few out and put them back in with no head damage.

My problem is that I have a maroon Chicago Electric 1/4" impact (18v nicad) that's several years old that does this, too. Also have the matching reciprocating saw and circular saw, and the batteries and chargers that came with them. When I recharge, I plug into mechanical timers to prevent overcharging. The tools just keep going and going. It's a bit frustrating, because I just can't seem to justify switching them out for the new 20v lithium tools, like the Bauer and the Hercules. :laughing: And yesterday HF sent me an email proclaiming "Bauer Days Going On Now," with a coupon for an additional 10% off for any Bauer Tool.

I have all the Lynxx 40v lithium outdoor tools, so I know how good the lithium-powered tools are. But I'm staying strong, for now.

 

[Diggin It]

The coupon site is all messed up. The 'free' page only shows 4 coupons, no tarps, but one is a welder (with a $349 price showing on it)?

 

[Diggin It]

Still no free tarp coupons? I gotta go by there Friday and was hoping to pick one up.

 

[LD48750]

Only free coupon around here for the last few months has been the blue flashlite.

 

[ultrarunner]

I recently purchases a new garden hose and was eager to replace an old leaky one that came with the house.

It was during the summer and I watered as usual the flower beds... the next day the flowers were all but dead... I kept watering but with a different hose because I needed/moved the new hose to driveway to wash cars..

Slowly the flowers started to come back... over several weeks.

Last week I moved the new hose back the garden and watered... it was about 75... the next day the flowers were all but dead again???

Then it dawned on me that just prior to the die-backs I had used the "New" 50' garden hose... this is a new style with larger aluminum hose ends and not the typical black Craftsman hoses I normally buy with solid brass fittings.

The only other thing I noted is when I first used the new hose the water was a cloudy white at first flow.

Started doing research and could not find anything specific to Harbor Freight but I did find a 2016 report on toxins in gardens hoses... some were clean and some tested high in bad things... the report went on to say that some hoses use recycled e-waste in their composition... which included heavy metals and plasticizers The clean ones are generally labeled drinking water safe...

Here is one except for googling...

The Toxic Soup in Your Garden Hose. 38% of the hoses also contained bromine and antimony, chemicals that can lead to thyroid, kidney and liver damage with prolonged exposure. The hoses were also tested for phthalates, a class of chemicals added to plastics and cosmetic products to keep them soft and flexible

Is Your Garden Hose Toxic?

Harmful Chemicals: Is Your Garden Hose Toxic? | TIME.com

As kids we always drank from the hose without giving it a second thought...

 

[KubotainNH]

Seems to be some new stuff out. Example is the 3 in 1 quick connect light, doesn't look like it's worth $50 and the picture makes it look like there's 3 units. They are advertising wooden toys now but I don't think I'd want my grandson chewing on those. The Bauer angle grinder on the more coupons section looks pretty nice at $35. It has a trigger grip and quick adjust guard. I also see the LED light bar that I bought for $20 is now $26 with a coupon. Hopefully that will drop back down as I'd like more.


HARBOR FREIGHT.

 

[KubotainNH]

The Toxic Soup in Your Garden Hose. 38% of the hoses also contained bromine and antimony, chemicals that can lead to thyroid, kidney and liver damage with prolonged exposure. The hoses were also tested for phthalates, a class of chemicals added to plastics and cosmetic products to keep them soft and flexible

As kids we always drank from the hose without giving it a second thought...

Crap, nothing like polluting your own soil by watering it.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Funny u should mention the hose chemicals..
My neighbor & I have gardens close to each other.. HIS would produce mounds of veggies while mine was stagnant..
We got to talking & he said, "its your hose." HUH??
He said, "seriously.. go by a hose marked for "POTABLE WATER"..{drinking}
& I did.. wow what a difference THAT made.!!!

 

[hunt4570]

Funny u should mention the hose chemicals..
My neighbor & I have gardens close to each other.. HIS would produce mounds of veggies while mine was stagnant..
We got to talking & he said, "its your hose." HUH??
He said, "seriously.. go by a hose marked for "POTABLE WATER"..{drinking}
& I did.. wow what a difference THAT made.!!!

I've never seen a hose with that "potable water" label on it, I'll have to have a look next time I'm shopping.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I've never seen a hose with that "potable water" label on it, I'll have to have a look next time I'm shopping.

RV hoses for the drinking water side... Look up the Camco brand hoses on Amazon. The white is potable, the orangish red is for flushing the poop tanks.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I've never seen a hose with that "potable water" label on it, I'll have to have a look next time I'm shopping.

Here’s a good one.


Flexzilla Garden Hose, 5/8 in. x 50 ft., Heavy Duty, Lightweight, Drinking Water Safe - HFZG550YW Robot Check

Camco makes drinking water safe hoses too.