Post Harbor Freight Fails

[dhp123166]

I have reached the end of my tether with this junk store masquerading as a bona fide new tool store.

 

The last straw was this soldering iron I just purchased on which the tip did not heat properly.

 

It only got up to temp on the side and it turned the whole job I did with it into a time consuming non-functioning mess.

 

Here is a list of other Chinese made garbage which I paid money for;

 

1. Heavy duty scissors; used once before the center hinge failed

2. Rivet gun; used once before the center hinge failed

3. Painters tape; way too sticky, removes surface finish on which it is applied

4. Portable grinders; last for 3 months if not less but I understood them to be disposable

5. Chargeable Dremel type mototool; battery packs are good for 3 months if not less

6. Packaging tape; tears unevenly from the sides of the roll leadling to immense waste.

 

If you have a Harbor Freight success story by all means post it, you are probably in the minority.

 

I guess the fact that I returned to shop there after so many fails proves that like most Americans I want something for nothing and I am assuming that is their demographic.

 

How else do they stay in business?

 

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Good topic.

 

Their air hose quick disconnect couplings are junk. I have found that sometimes the male end just doesn't fit into the female end.

 

The grinders are disposable. I used to buy them and throw them away, but then after a bad one left me stranded, I only buy Milwaukee brand.

 

The electric pumps they sell for the parts washers have failed on me and are downright dangerous.

 

Cutoff wheels from them don't work well or last long.

 

I have a hand truck I bought from them and used once before it bent in the middle.

 

The steel they use in their shop tools is usually thinner and substandard/low strength. Which is probably why the hand truck bent.

 

I'm sure I will think of more Harbor Freight fails.

[Just Joel]

Kinda old news yeah? They sell Chinese junk... No secret. I've used some odd specialty tools from Harbor freight that have gotten me through some tricky situations without specialty tool expenses... Dunno, common sense should definitely be exercised when considering what your buying.

 

1) how many times you plan to use the tool?

2) is it a precision piece that requires small tolerances to function properly?

3) is cost a factor of your over all satisfactory with the process?

 

I still use a slide hammer, a low profile jack and car wheel dollies I bought years ago with great success.

[hobbes_the_cat]

I bought a set 1/2" drive impact sockets on the way to the junkyard because I forgot mine at home. $16 bucks on sale I think. They have been great. I even used one of them many times to smash over theft proof lug nuts that I didn't have the key for. Super happy with em. Also happy with the 1.5 ton aluminum floor jack for $69 and torque wrenches... other stuff too.

 

Also agree that tape is terrible and their grinders are disposable but what do you expect for $9.99. They even come with a bag of extra brushes. Dead giveaway.

 

With cheap prices it's a bit of a gamble.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I don't think too much about it on certain items. I just assume they will be junk and then if they last a long time or work well, then I am pleasantly surprised.

 

I don't go there expecting to buy quality tools.

[flatcat19]

What I find funny...the $0.99 scissors you complain about-I have a pair in my toolbox for work. 

Been using the same pair for over 5 years. Love 'em. 

 

 

Everything there is so hit-or-miss. 

 

And their electric stuff is a pure gamble. Always has been. 

[datrod]

I purchased a 1/2 breaker bar from Harbor Freight about 6 years ago. I still have it, It works great. I broke many Craftsman breaker bars. Power tools I would never buy from them,

Gloves, Casters, Storage bins, Sand paper, Aluminum floor jack, All this stuff I've never had an issue with.

 

But it is Harbor Freight so you should know what to expect from anything you buy from them.

[shacks510]

Three wheel engine stand held a complete L16 for a few hours and didn't break off. My L20 short block has been on it for two years too. So far so good. Other little things I've bought there are holding up fine.

[datsunaholic]

We used the hell out of their warranty on a "heavy duty" drill.  After burning up a high-price (and no warranty) drill trying to bore a 3 foot, 2 1/2 inch diameter hole in the bottom of a boat (for the shaft log) we bought a HF drill.  It lasted about 10 minutes (the high-price non HF drill lasted 15).  We exchanged it...  4 times in one day.  Each lasted between 10-20 minutes. 

 

I too have had no luck with their air fittings- they just leak.  But I got a great deal on a hose there- 50 foot black air hose, was actually a Goodyear hose.  Don't know why they had that, but their normal orange hoses explode often.

[danfiveten]

Guess you never understood what harbor freight is there for, you said it in a few of your one liners  ( ONE USE)  which is what truthfully harbor freight tools are known for, ONE USE!  Instead of going to sears and paying 80-100  for the tool i need, i can spend around 20 bucks at harbor freight and get the one use i needed that tool for, if it lasts, cool, if not then bye bye.    Truthfully i have had many things last from there, my lil 3 gallon air tank still works, my torque wrench (which worked better than craftsman) and a few other lil wrenches ive needed for some really funky jobs.  

[danfiveten]

Forgot my jack i bought from them, my old lil yellow one still works thats about 10 years old, and my new low profile jack i got from them still works great. 

[q-tip]

Out of all the junk I've purchased from harbor freight, they're pneumatic and electric tools are the only things I've had trouble with.

 

The thing you have to realize is that Chinese manufacturers will cheapen a cheap product just to make it cheap for them to produce. They will do this on their own without consent from the buyer. Harbor freight goes to china with a tool design says make it like this. Chinese say OK no problem, then make it extra shitty because the feel like it. That do this shit all the time, its their way of business.

[dr.feltersnatch]

Harbour freight is great for some consumables like rubber gloves and razor blades. I have a set of their end wrenches and have been happy with them.

[wayno]

I have bought a lot of stuff from them over the years, the newer stuff is crap, can't get a good set of magnetic tow lights from them, I bought a compression tester in the last couple years to test my diesel engine, it worked once, but I had 4 cylinders to test :(, I took it back. :)

I also bought a mig welder from them back in the 90s, it works great to this day, the only issue I have with it is that I have to buy parts from HF, even the tips.

So far the old stuff I bought a long time ago works great.

There air fittings are crap, that actually pisses me off sometimes, I hate air leaks.

I also have a great HF torque wrench I inherited from my dad, but it was bought decades ago.

[flatcat19]

For the most part, you get what you pay for.

 

But they have come a long way on many of their items.

 

 

 

Not the first HF thread around these parts.

Yet, it's the same song.

[bananahamuck]

I know this is supposed to be a how much i hate Harbor Freight.

 

BUT

I bought quite a few things but the best thing are the safety glasses,,, hell you can buy 4 pair for the price of one pair at the local hardware..  So much easier to find a pair in a dark garage ( fluorescents take forever to light in winter) when you have bunch,,, rather than ,,,, one lost pair.

[Laecaon]

My angle grinder has never hiccuped in the last 5 years.

 

I have put my jack handle over my through hole ratchet, for extra leverage, It still works.

 

Havent had my HF air compressor for long enough to thoroughly test it.

 

I put HF casters on my creeper, they are failing ish, but then again I did put some considerable weight on the thing using it as a dolly.

 

I do like their heavy duty gloves.

 

I dont trust anything from them as far as drill bits and cutting wheels go. I have personally seen a cut off wheel from them explode into many pieces, yet my dewalt wheels (which last forever), I have taken a chunk out of straight to the metal ring in the center without the wheel exploding.

 

 

 

[MicroMachinery]

[RTB]

My 1.5 ton jack has been great. Same with breaker bar. And I had to buy a massive socket, over 2 inches in diameter to use one time and it was far cheaper than anywhere else.

[wayno]

Stuff like the big sockets, HF is a good call, they can get really expensive at other places.

I have went a different route when it comes to floor jacks, I use these air jacks.

My 1.5 ton jack has been great. Same with breaker bar. And I had to buy a massive socket, over 2 inches in diameter to use one time and it was far cheaper than anywhere else.

[HRH]

Yeah, it takes common sense to shop at harbor freight.  I love them.  There are a lot of things that I only occasionally use and a lot of stuff that is heavier casting because of the cheapness and it works well.

 

Big 1/2 impact sockets work fine, cracked all the 3/8s ones, but the 1/2 have lasted since '05

Their electric impacts work fine, the batteries go tits up after 3 years or so I've found.

Metal cutting saw, a little weak but works fine.

Long handle diagonal nips, had since '05, still my favorite nips.

 

The drill press I bought from Lowes because the motor quality is better and the slop in the action was much less than the harbor freight comparison.  Damn near the same thing looks wise, but you have to check the little differences.

 

Their jacks work okay, but aren't great.  On the jacks, innards really do count.  Most of them use the same plates pieces for the outer shell, but the ram material and quality differs vastly.  I have a 3 ton NAPA jack that cost even me an arm and a leg, and it's so much farther above the 3 ton HF jack that looks identical, it's not even funny.

[flatcat19]

I have all the HF long reach pliers. Love them. Use daily. 

 

Big 1/2" impact sockets. 27-36mm. Don't use daily, but beat the shit out of them when they do get used. Had for 10+ years?

 

 

Their bigger tool boxes are kinda nice. Price point makes them really good. 

Had the 5 drawer cart and the 40" box. Good stuff. Overloaded them for a few years. 

[datsunfreak]

Their plastic tool carts are a great value.    :thumbup:

 

And they have a cup holder!

 

 

 

That's the only thing I've ever really been impressed with.   ^_^

[MicroMachinery]

The cup holder?

[maltese]

I got a set of Pittsburgh ratchet wrenches there, about 5 years ago. Never had one fail. Smoother operating than my Gear Wrenches, too.

 

Otherwise, I don't have much else from them.

 

At least they don't pretend to sell top quality tools, unlike some other retailers.