The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[Zrexxer]

I don't buy much from Harbor Freight lately, but I needed a pump to do some partial water changes on a swimming pool, and I didn't want to wait days to pump out 5,000 gallons at a time. I checked into renting, but when rental rates looked like they were going to be about $45 a day and I'd need it three times over several weeks, I looked at HF.

The "Pacific Hydrostar" 69774 2" Clear Water Pump was on sale for $189, and with a 20% coupon from the weekly junk mail bundle, it came to about $152. After having used it three times, this thing exceeded all my expectations. It's been AMAZING. I had to buy suction and discharge hoses elsewhere of course - HF doesn't sell suction hose??? - but there's nothing about this pump I don't like for $152.

The Predator (Honda-clone) engine starts on the first pull, runs strong, and the 2" centrifugal pump is easy to prime and moves some serious water. It's spec'd at 9,000 gph, and if it's not doing that, it's damn close. I'll go so far as to say it's probably the best thing I've ever bought at HF. Definitely a PASS.

 

[monomach]

Went to help my father do the brakes on his truck. He had a shiny new toy to play with:

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-electric-impact-wrench-68099.html

1/2 In. Electric Impact Wrench
Item# 68099

Rated at 230 ft/lbs, but it couldn't handle lug nuts...had to get the breaker bar I keep behind the seat of my truck.

I even gave this thing a second chance; I tried again right after putting the lugs back on with a torque wrench @ 100 ft/lbs. They didn't budge.

That's a big ol' fail. I told him to return it if he was still within the 90 days.

 

[dragonballz]

Anybody know how loud the impacting air ratchet is? As loud as regular air ratchets? I wear ears when I use regular ones

 

[marinepride]

The earthquake is as loud as a normal one

 

[woodturner9]

1/2 In. Electric Impact Wrench
Item# 68099

Rated at 230 ft/lbs, but it couldn't handle lug nuts...had to get the breaker bar I keep behind the seat of my truck.

Were you possibly using this with an extension cord, and/or on a 15 A receptacle? To achieve full power, you will need a 20A circuit and no extension cord. You might get by with a 15A circuit but , but anything smaller than about a 6 gauge extension cord has too much drop for this impact.

Used without an extension cord on a 20A circuit, this tool does achieve the rated torque.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Were you possibly using this with an extension cord, and/or on a 15 A receptacle? To achieve full power, you will need a 20A circuit and no extension cord. You might get by with a 15A circuit but , but anything smaller than about a 6 gauge extension cord has too much drop for this impact.

Used without an extension cord on a 20A circuit, this tool does achieve the rated torque.

This is a good point for any corded tool. I have fried several electric tools over the years running them off a 25 ft extension cord on a 15 amp circuit. They really needed 15 amps and would not work at 13 or 12. Some tools will work but not at full power. Others will just burn up and smoke, like mine did. You can get a big 12 gauge extension cord, but even then, shorter lengths are best for the high amp tools. Not saying this is what happened above, just good general info to know. I think every GJ'er should own a 12 gauge wire extension cord. Never use a 16 gauge! 14 is better, but 12 is best. Worth the one time investment to buy one. - Paul

 

[wildbill23c]

I don't buy much from Harbor Freight lately, but I needed a pump to do some partial water changes on a swimming pool, and I didn't want to wait days to pump out 5,000 gallons at a time. I checked into renting, but when rental rates looked like they were going to be about $45 a day and I'd need it three times over several weeks, I looked at HF.

The "Pacific Hydrostar" 69774 2" Clear Water Pump was on sale for $189, and with a 20% coupon from the weekly junk mail bundle, it came to about $152. After having used it three times, this thing exceeded all my expectations. It's been AMAZING. I had to buy suction and discharge hoses elsewhere of course - HF doesn't sell suction hose??? - but there's nothing about this pump I don't like for $152.

The Predator (Honda-clone) engine starts on the first pull, runs strong, and the 2" centrifugal pump is easy to prime and moves some serious water. It's spec'd at 9,000 gph, and if it's not doing that, it's damn close. I'll go so far as to say it's probably the best thing I've ever bought at HF. Definitely a PASS.

This is good timing, I'm going to be picking one of these up soon I think. Need to run some sprinklers off the irrigation and I think this will be a great item to use.

 

[SQ is the SQUAD]

Went to help my father do the brakes on his truck. He had a shiny new toy to play with:

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-electric-impact-wrench-68099.html

1/2 In. Electric Impact Wrench
Item# 68099

Rated at 230 ft/lbs, but it couldn't handle lug nuts...had to get the breaker bar I keep behind the seat of my truck.

I even gave this thing a second chance; I tried again right after putting the lugs back on with a torque wrench @ 100 ft/lbs. They didn't budge.

That's a big ol' fail. I told him to return it if he was still within the 90 days.

i have this gun. i have disassembled whole cars with it (yes, even at its size). this is def not a fail. i don't expect it to zap off my truck lugs. there isent much that it cant do. even my air guns certain lugs i gotta get the breaker bar for. this gun is a work horse. you can always tell the better HF items by the number of reviews it gets. the revies on this one speak for itself.

 

[LG63]

This is good timing, I'm going to be picking one of these up soon I think. Need to run some sprinklers off the irrigation and I think this will be a great item to use.

Keep in mind this is a transfer pump and thus relatively low pressure. Max is 42 PSI, probably about 20 PSI at rated flow.

 

[BikerDad]

This is a good point for any corded tool. I have fried several electric tools over the years running them off a 25 ft extension cord on a 15 amp circuit. They really needed 15 amps and would not work at 13 or 12. Some tools will work but not at full power. Others will just burn up and smoke, like mine did. You can get a big 12 gauge extension cord, but even then, shorter lengths are best for the high amp tools. Not saying this is what happened above, just good general info to know. I think every GJ'er should own a 12 gauge wire extension cord. Never use a 16 gauge! 14 is better, but 12 is best. Worth the one time investment to buy one. - Paul

Agree, but just bite the bullet and go for a 10g. They ARE expensive, but your tools will never be begging for more juice. And have extension cords in different lengths, always use the shortest possible.

 

[thefultonhow]

i have this gun. i have disassembled whole cars with it (yes, even at its size). this is def not a fail. i don't expect it to zap off my truck lugs. there isent much that it cant do. even my air guns certain lugs i gotta get the breaker bar for. this gun is a work horse. you can always tell the better HF items by the number of reviews it gets. the revies on this one speak for itself.

Agreed. Bought mine in 2006. Used the hell out of it until 2012, when I got a 30-gallon compressor and HF Earthquake 1/2" air impact. Honestly, the HF electric impact worked better in a lot of cases.

I got a few of the new 18V tools recently:

Impact driver: PASS but the combo phillips/slotted bit it came with fails. Stripped that thing out with a quickness.

Hammer drill: mostly PASS, although I have not used the hammer function. For $1 more than the regular drill, why not? The stabilizing handle FAILs -- the collar can't take much pressure and broke after using it for 20 minutes. And the combo bit once again fails.

Circular saw: TBD, have not used.

My favorite HF tools:

1. 1/2" drive extendable-handle ratchet. It's a ratchet that turns into a breaker bar! Never had problems with mine, and I've been using it heavily for probably 5-6 years now.
2. 12" sliding compound miter saw. Built most of my basement with it so far.

All of their air ratchets I have ever used, including the 3/8" Earthquake one, are FAILs, even if the bolt isn't torqued down that much. Same with the 3/8" butterfly impact. Also FAILs: 4.5" angle grinder metal cutoff wheels (disintegrated dangerously on me), J-shaped prybar (broke off one of the teeth).

 

[wildbill23c]

Keep in mind this is a transfer pump and thus relatively low pressure. Max is 42 PSI, probably about 20 PSI at rated flow.

Then it will flood irrigate just fine for me then, no need to buy any sprinklers . This is the only way I can get water on certain parts of my property, and the electric irrigation pumps are $250+.

 

[Breen11]

Go Thru Socket Set - #67974 PASS. Iv used this set lots of times for the last few months, & its held up well.

 

[stage20]

It could. BE the tool or extension cord. I've got old orange one and with 50ft 12ga cord no issues. My dewalt 18v is stronger but I don't want to wear it out when not needed. I torqued down some 3/4 bolts to 250....then put turn on them with breaker bar. Im sure it was tight. Hf wouldn't do it. Dewalt 18v hit loose on first touch of trigger

 

[Alchymist]

Were you possibly using this with an extension cord, and/or on a 15 A receptacle? To achieve full power, you will need a 20A circuit and no extension cord. You might get by with a 15A circuit but , but anything smaller than about a 6 gauge extension cord has too much drop for this impact.

Used without an extension cord on a 20A circuit, this tool does achieve the rated torque.

Nobody uses a 6 gauge extension cord for hand power tools. A 12 gauge cord will be plenty heavy for this. The tool in question only draws 7 amps. 6 gauge wire is good for 60 amps.

 

[monomach]

Were you possibly using this with an extension cord, and/or on a 15 A receptacle? To achieve full power, you will need a 20A circuit and no extension cord. You might get by with a 15A circuit but , but anything smaller than about a 6 gauge extension cord has too much drop for this impact.

Used without an extension cord on a 20A circuit, this tool does achieve the rated torque.

I don't know what the receptacle was, but the extension cord was a all-weather 25 foot 12 gauge.

You have to use an extension cord with it. The cord attached to it would only work if you parked in a one car garage with an outlet every three feet.

6 gauge? What was this thing made for? Working in power plants?

Still a huge fail. 12g extension cord, can't break loose lugs at exactly 100 lbs.

 

[M-technik-3]

Opinions on their 72 inch box? I have a Matco 56" 4S in the garage that I have out grown and was going add this to the back wall.

http://www.harborfreight.com/72-in-18-drawer-glossy-red-industrial-roller-cabinet-61656.html

 

[SASORacing]

Red 5 drawer = pass.

sunex shelf is new addition today!

 

[mgb4tim]

Agreed. Also FAILs: 4.5" angle grinder metal cutoff wheels (disintegrated dangerously on me), J-shaped prybar (broke off one of the teeth).

I've used the 4 5" HF cutoff wheels for as long as I can remember and have never had a problem with them.

 

[dchawk81]

18v Cordless Impact, pass.

24" breaker bar, pass.

3/8" torque wrench, pass.

1/2" Pittsburgh Professional branded impact sockets, pass.

1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" Pittsburgh Professional branded socket extensions, pass.

87 cent yellow razor blade holder, pass. Lol.

3 ton low profile floor jack, pass.

Small orange (400lbs I think) ratchet straps, pass.

 

[dchawk81]

I don't know what the receptacle was, but the extension cord was a all-weather 25 foot 12 gauge.

You have to use an extension cord with it. The cord attached to it would only work if you parked in a one car garage with an outlet every three feet.

6 gauge? What was this thing made for? Working in power plants?

Still a huge fail. 12g extension cord, can't break loose lugs at exactly 100 lbs.

The battery one must be better. I broke loose 6 lug nuts on an E350 on the side of the interstate without much effort, put the spare on, and replaced all 6 lugs again without much effort. No idea what they were torqued at when I took them off but they obviously hadn't been removed in a good long time.

It eats battery but that's about it. Can't call it a fail for that. The only thing it hadn't broken for me so far was a cross member bolt on a 1997 ****** that I was stripping, but I strained my groin getting leverage even with the 24" breaker on that one.

 

[DrNBody]

This thread is awesome!

 

[kage860]

The V-Groove Industrial combination wrenches, pass.

http://www.harborfreight.com/sae-v-groove-combination-wrench-set-14-pc-61399.html

I'm almost positive these are made by Sunex. I've seen these branded under different brands, always more expensive. I got these for $35 - 25% so like 27 or something, a great price with a lifetime warranty. It's my backup set at work for when people don't put the name brand wrenches where they belong.

Here's the $60 Sunex Set:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LQEW3E/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[asmasm]

It looks like drillmaster refreshed it's lineup again. Has anyone had a chance to try out their new 18v cordless tools? I have one of their older 1/4" impact drivers (red battery) and the chargers for them are garbage.

 

[asmasm]

Went to help my father do the brakes on his truck. He had a shiny new toy to play with:

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-electric-impact-wrench-68099.html

1/2 In. Electric Impact Wrench
Item# 68099

Rated at 230 ft/lbs, but it couldn't handle lug nuts...had to get the breaker bar I keep behind the seat of my truck.

I even gave this thing a second chance; I tried again right after putting the lugs back on with a torque wrench @ 100 ft/lbs. They didn't budge.

That's a big ol' fail. I told him to return it if he was still within the 90 days.

Your impact must have been defective- I have this wrench I was able to zip off 29mm hub nuts that were torqued to 150 ft/lb without bending out the detent that keeps them from moving.

 

[b-body-bob]

Poulan pro 18" chain saw = PASS. With the 20% off coupon it's a great deal for a homeowner quality tool. http://www.harborfreight.com/42cc-18-in-gas-chain-saw-60729.html

1.5 HP Electric Pole Saw = Partial PASS. It works great as long as you can keep the chain on it. Eventually noticed it was missing a C-clip that holds the drive gear on, so on ours it walks off to one side until it throws the chain. Making a trip to the hardware store soon to correct that. So much for Chinese quality control. http://www.harborfreight.com/15-hp-electric-pole-saw-68862.html

 

[rice rocket]

Poulan pro 18" chain saw = PASS. With the 20% off coupon it's a great deal for a homeowner quality tool. http://www.harborfreight.com/42cc-18-in-gas-chain-saw-60729.html

Oh good point. I never thought of using the 20% coupon w/ that. I ended up getting the 50cc 20" Poulan Pro, which is the same as the Craftsman 50cc 20" with some Sears points instead.

 

[burnedonice]

Mine was the same way! atleast 3 years of going strong!

till it got stolen. bought a new one, worked for 2 cuts and the sucker quit. returned and got another, did the same. it might be a fail now.. returning it today, and hoping for the best.

For about three and a half years, I've had a #65570 "6 Amp Reciprocating Saw With Rotating Handle."

It's been my outdoor sawzall for that whole time. If I have to expose one of my sawzalls to wet wood, extreme humidity, dew, insects, overheating while cutting hardened bolts, drops, etc...this is the one that gets the beating.

I believe I paid $20 with a coupon back when I got it. I don't know how many hours of run-time it's had, but it's demoed two large sheds, two workbenches, a gazebo, most of a roof, a big pool deck, a few dozen hardwood pallets, and it's done the leaf spring shackle bolts on six trucks.

Today, I dropped it from 14 feet up. It hit concrete. That was pretty dismaying. I ran down to grab it...nothing happening when pulling the trigger. I figured "well, ***** that I'll never know how long that would have lasted. I'm definitely buying another one, though."

As I was walking it toward the trash can, I saw it had come out of the extension cord. I plugged it in, changed the bent blade, and worked for another half hour.

Unbelieveable. It can't be killed. With that drop, I've now done just about everything to it that you can do to abuse a sawzall other than submerge it in water.

...which begs the question...why do I even bother having a nice one for indoor work?

PASS, PASS, PASS...A MILLION TIMES PASS.
A+, 100%, GRADE A TOOL

 

[stage20]

I've got an old orange saws all I can't kill. Drop it throw it run it in the sand to cut small stumps and roots. Best 10 bucks I've spent there I think.

 

[ecotec]

This thread is awesome!

Was it the groin strain?

 

[monomach]

My nephew asked for an impact gun for his birthday. I went down to get the 1/2" Earthquake everyone loves and...

I was kind of shocked to see that it is NOT made in China as I had always assumed, but rather in Taiwan.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

From Wikipedia.. "Taiwan...officially the Republic of China .."

As compared to The Republic of China, or it is alternatively known as "The Peoples Republic of China" or simply China.

This may be old news to this thread, but I've only just started to read it today.

Cheers..
Dennis

 

[subarub4]

Has anyone tried those Smith Jones motors? Not sure if I should try that or just wait for Monday and stop at Granger and get a replacement Dayton motor, commercial exhaust motor has been dead for over 10 years and I'm making my rounds finding stuff that needs to be replaced.

It's 1/4 HP 1725 RPM

 

[paigej]

I have that motor on a drill press. Works fine

 

[subarub4]

This is going to be outside exposed to weather for a commercial exhaust fan

 

[monomach]

From Wikipedia.. "Taiwan...officially the Republic of China .."

As compared to The Republic of China, or it is alternatively known as "The Peoples Republic of China" or simply China.

This may be old news to this thread, but I've only just started to read it today.

Cheers..
Dennis

Your high school world history teacher should be probably be fired. Both governments claim to be the rightful government of both China and Taiwan. They were the two sides of the Chinese revolution. The guys who ended up in Taiwan lost, obviously.

One thing, though...China as we know it is never referred to as Republic as China, especially not in any official capacity. It is solely the People's Republic of China. They're not alternative names for one government.

Republic of China without the People's before it is always Taiwan.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Your high school world history teacher should be probably be fired. Both governments claim to be the rightful government of both China and Taiwan. They were the two sides of the Chinese revolution. The guys who ended up in Taiwan lost, obviously.

One thing, though...China as we know it is never referred to as Republic as China, especially not in any official capacity. It is solely the People's Republic of China. They're not alternative names for one government.

Republic of China without the People's before it is always Taiwan.

It is not my high school teacher's fault, it's simply my weak understanding and memory of this conflict (due in part to the number of years since I was taught this history, and my subsequent lack of attentiveness). Couple that with my poor and misguided Wiki research, and we have what I wrote.

Thank you for pointing that out. I will be refreshing my understanding on this henceforth and will not speak of this subject on this thread again.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[stage20]

so i built a franken ratchet or whatever. it worked great today for busting bolts loose with ease. im glad i went and got the parts.

the downside is the flex works like a wore out ratchet. its not near as tight as i think it should be, but the handle is pretty heavy.

also need a warning about the spring and the ball bearing detent. almost lost them out of the gate. 2 different ball bearing sizes and also one allen and one torx screw on my pieces.

makes a good pry bar for popping in a quick disconnect line in my oil cooler on my truck too.

 

[dchawk81]

Your high school world history teacher should be probably be fired. Both governments claim to be the rightful government of both China and Taiwan. They were the two sides of the Chinese revolution. The guys who ended up in Taiwan lost, obviously.

One thing, though...China as we know it is never referred to as Republic as China, especially not in any official capacity. It is solely the People's Republic of China. They're not alternative names for one government.

Republic of China without the People's before it is always Taiwan.

Edit:

Never mind. You were clearing up his confusion of China with Taiwan. Took a re-read to see it.

 

[dchawk81]

so i built a franken ratchet or whatever. it worked great today for busting bolts loose with ease. im glad i went and got the parts.

the downside is the flex works like a wore out ratchet. its not near as tight as i think it should be, but the handle is pretty heavy.

also need a warning about the spring and the ball bearing detent. almost lost them out of the gate. 2 different ball bearing sizes and also one allen and one torx screw on my pieces.

makes a good pry bar for popping in a quick disconnect line in my oil cooler on my truck too.

Pics of said Frankenratchet?