HF bubble balancer not level

[plain garage]

I recently purchased a HF bubble balancer to balance my winter tires. When I opened the package, the tip of the spindle was rusted, so I took some paint thinner and rubbed it down. After I finally placed the balancer on the spindle and let it come to rest, I noticed the air bubble is not in the center. In fact, it's quite a ways outside the black circle. I measured the floor where I placed the base, and the floor is level, I also tried slowly rotating the balancer head and the air bubble would follow the rotation, meaning the same section on the balancer is lighter not matter which way it spins.

I see there're a couple of set screws where the bubble level is set inside the head, is that calibrated out of the factory? The user manual doesn't mention adjusting the air bubble. If I adjust the air bubble so it's in the middle wouldn't that just mask the fact the head is not balanced, therefore my tires would be mis-balanced?

Does anyone have experience with this HF balancer? Is this defective, should I return/exchange it?

 

[ovrrdrive]

edited for lack of reading comprehension.. lol

 

[pepi]

Oh NO say it ain't true ..............

 

[finn]

It’s from Harbor Freight........

 

[zendriver]

If I opened a brand new item - even if it was from Snap ON, it was rusty and would not function properly, without some undetermined adjustment, I'd say it's defective and needs to be returned to the store, for refund or replacement.

Once looked at the bubble balance at a HF store. It was leveled, so I assume they have at least one that works.

 

[doctordirt]

Found video on youtube harbour freight bubble balancer set up. Sorry do not know how to link youtube videos. Vid covers how to adjust and inspection.

 

[gnpenning]

Doesn't it have adjustable feet on the bottom so you can level it to the floor?

 

[kythri]

Oh NO say it ain't true ..............

It’s from Harbor Freight........

Thank you both for your contribution. It's incredibly helpful. Seriously. I meant it. Great work.

Found video on youtube harbour freight bubble balancer set up. Sorry do not know how to link youtube videos. Vid covers how to adjust and inspection.

Just copy/paste the link/url of the video into your message - the forum software will automatically hyperlink it.

 

[notlob]

This may help:

 

[engineer2]

A bubble balancer will only statically balance a tire, so results won't be perfect. For low speeds, it's probably not noticeable. Works OK on skinny tires too.

 

[A-R-K]

Yes, you use those set screws to "zero" the level before you put the wheel on.

Good luck. I went through two of those before giving up. As mentioned before, static balance isn't really appropriate for modern tires. Besides that, the biggest issue with this device is that the included bubble level is very insensitive. A lot of weights make very little movement of the bubble. I replaced it with a more sensitive one, then even a digital level, just to find out it's almost impossible to get a consistent placement of the wheel with that spring mechanism.

My advicve if you want to try, lube the **** out of everything. Especially the pivot. Maybe yours will move better than mine. After a lot of lube, I did see a measurable improvement. Both got returned.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Well, if it's from HF it might only read correctly in China...

Yes, you need to calibrate it before use. I used to use a similar item to balance lawnmower blades. After about the 400 or 500th one, I stopped. Never had anyone complain about "vibration"...

Tommy

 

[engineer2]

Remembered an old story from back in the day...
Working for Bear and the Goodyear crew balancing tires for Indy cars.
A team brings a tire in because the driver is complaining about severe vibration.
Goodyear is horrified, and asks if we put 8 ounce of lead on the outside of the rim.
We say no way! Anything over 3 ounces per side and the tire/rim goes back for evaluation.
A team member admits they balanced it, but their bubble balancer is brand new, so it should be good, right?

 

[Flat-rate]

Geez, I just tossed a 1960's bubble balancer in the metal dumpster. Worked perfect and 3 legs with adjustments to level.
Nobody wanted it even for free.