Harbor Freight - what sucks and what doesn't list

arceeguy

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Since we all like to tinker with mechanical things like our motorized bikes, and do it on a "low budget" - I thought it would be helpful to post which tools sold at HFT are good, and which ones are not.

I have found that most of the tools are OK if you are not a professional contractor/mechanic that depends on them every day - but there are some items that aren't worth the shipping from China. There's a reason why some have nicknamed them "horror freight". When I placed my first catalog order from them several years ago, they were "Harbor Freight Salvage". Where did the "salvage" go? I can risk $25 on a 4.5" grinder, but I wouldn't trust a HFT pacemaker!

Post your experiences both good and bad!

Also - let's not get into China bashing. It's all about getting cool tools cheap. For example, a HFT auto feed wire welder for 90 bucks can get a fellow MB enthusiast making custom frames where they wouldn't be able to afford the $500 Miller or Lincoln.


The Good-

Central Pneumatics 2HP pancake compressor. - I've had mine for several years now. It is oil lubricated with cast iron cylinder. Great for dusting things off with compressed air, and to run small air tools. I even run my IR 230C impact gun with it. (in short bursts, enough to knock off lug nuts with ease!) Can be had for $89 on sale.

4.5" Grinder - Had mine for about 5 years. It hasn't failed me yet! Gearbox is noisy, but my buddies Home Depot Ryobi is worse.

Bench Grinder w/flex shaft - I use this one a lot. I had to replace the brushes already! (it is about 3 years old)

3/8" butterfly impact wrench - Great for automotive work. Knocking off oil drain plugs, caliper bolts, etc. Small enough to fit in most spots, powerful enough to break small fasteners (less than 15mm bolt head) loose.

Electronic Fly Swatter - yep, this one is silly, but they had a pile of them on sale for $2.99. Kills flies and yellow jackets with a hearty "SNAP" and a bright blue spark.

Engine cleaning gun - add compressed air with some detergent mix and end up with a sparkling clean engine. (cars, lawn mowers, etc.) Works great on alloy rims blasting away brake dust with ease. I do have to crank up my 220V compressor to run it continuously, as the little HFT compressor cannot keep up.

6.5 HP Horizontal Shaft Engine - we beat the living carp out of these Honda GX clones and they keep coming back for more. Disable the governor, and keep it under 5000RPM! The ones I've purchased had the "Central Machinery" brand and were made by Lifan in China - a large motorcycle/scooter manufacturer. "Greyhound" is a new trade name for HFT. I have one of their new 2.5HP engines, but haven't powered anything with it yet. (it is going on a rack mount motorized bike project)

The Bad -

1/2" drive impact extension set - The metal is too soft and considerable energy is lost in the extension and not applied to the nut or bolt you are trying to hammer off. My Craftsman impact extensions are hard enough to transfer the power, yet not shatter like a standard extension would. The HFT set is the one I will loan out. :devil2: (Golden Rule #1 - Never loan out tools you actually want back!)

Anything cordless. (and less than say $35) The chargers are most likely overnight trickle chargers, the batteries self discharge in a week, the motors are not too powerful.

1/2" Drive Electric Impact Wrench - Rated at 240 lb/ft, I doubt it exceeds 120 lb/ft. Very disappointed. Another one to loan out. :)

1/2" Drive Impact Wrench - This one is kind of a toss up. For 20 bucks did I really expect it to deliver 250 lb/ft of torque? It doesn't, but I do use it quite a bit. I'll pull out the Ingersoll Rand impact if this one doesn't have the balls to do the job.
 
Anybody bought one of the Chicago generators?? How do they hold up?

I have one of the small (100 dollars) generators.

Haven't even taken it oput of the box yet. It's for emergencies and I haven't had one yet. LOL

Bought it because the neighbor also has one. He has had his for over 6 years. It has always been reliable for him. (Even though he doesn't do anywhere near to normal maintenance.)

It runs his welder (110v wire-feed) all the time.
 
Not that I trust this for 400#'s, but has anyone bought this:

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=40765

For say 100-180 pounds???

Pablo,

Sorry for getting back to this after so long a time.

If you mount one of those properly, and add one more block pulley, (Available at HF for about 3 dollars), you can lift the front end of a pickup truck, off the ground.

I wouldn't leave it hanging there, but it does pick one up.

If you replace the small cable with a larger diameter cable, and add the extra block pulley, (And it is mounted properly.), I'd say you could pick up 400 pounds and leav it hanging almost indefinitely.

Note: "Mounted properly" Doesn't necessarily mean using the cheapo 'straps' they include with it. I bolted mine directly to a 6x12 beam. I use LARGE washers, followed by the standard 3/8" washers, to eliminate any tear-through.

Also, if you are going to lift anything more than about 200 pounds, do not hook the end hook, or extra block pulley to the hole they provide in the sheet metal. Make up a stronger attachment point somewhere else. I used a cast 'eye-bolt', bolted through the beam. But you could just loop a chain across the beam, and use that.
 
Okay,
I'm not gonna go back and wade through gobs of threads (been away a while) to see if anyone posted about these, but the ultra-sonic cleaners they offer will clean anything in the way of small parts. I've had one for a while and have cleaned fuel injectors with INCREDIBLE results. So why not throw your dis-assembled carb. in there too? These things will clean the little passage ways that you could NEVER get to. With the advent of ETHANOL and all the crud that this stuff can do if left for a while, the carb. and fuel system can get mighty gummy. Actually, small engines HATE that sh-tuff! You can add either solvents or inert type cleaners like butyl or other water-soluble de-greasers, etc. or just mineral spirits or water!
They cost ~ $40US or you could go all out for $80, but why?
Also, for non-US markets, Wally World sells 'em too under the Haier name.

Side note: they will also clean jewelery (go figure), eyglasses (exceptional) and other little trinkets and such.

http://www.harborfreight.com/ultrasonic-cleaner-3305.html

OR: http://www.harborfreight.com/25-liter-ultrasonic-cleaner-95563.html

I just got done cleaning a deuce from a Briggs & Stratton (constant surging due to over-rich mixture and NO (as in ZERO) carb adjustment! yeah, NO SCREWS! AND GOVERNED to BOOT!--pressure washer) that I could not get to the passages even with compressed air. Put the carb back on and VIOLA! no more surging! Well, it could have been anything, but I blame the ultrasonic cleaner!
Well, that's my story, and I"m sticking to it!
Crud, just go out and get one; you can use it on ANYTHING!
Cheers!
NUTZ
 
I've been using one of those for years. It has a built in heater too.
My model warns "Not for use with petroleum based solvents. Use water based, non sudsing cleaners only". It is still worth every penny I paid for it.

The model I really wanted was out of stock and back ordered. You could put any kind of solution you wanted into it and it is twice the capacity of the cleaner I have.
 
I didn't buy one of these, but harbor freight sells them. I made my own out of a single burner propane camp stove.

It allows you to refill the 1lb propane canister using a 20lb gas grill tank.

here is a video of a guy using the Harbor Freight adapter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCYIOnxwkg
 
Anybody bought one of the Chicago generators?? How do they hold up?

I bought a 13 hp unit for 470 dollars. It starts on the second pull consistently, has a cast iron sleeve, runs smooth. Bought a 2 year replacement warranty on it for 89 bucks. They will replace it for ANY reason. I have a HF 2.5 Greyhound too. Another good motor.
 
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