Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[sixdogs]

For the guys looking for those 15 and 30 gallon plastic barrels, they are used for a wide range of detergent and sanitizing chemical uses. A good source, especially in rural NY state would be dairy farms. They use them for disinfectant and I'll bet have lots they can't get rid of. Schools, commercial cleaners come to mind as well. I've seen lots of them at all three places. Farms buy herbicides in them. They can't get rid of them all.
Another good place for a metal 15 gallon barrel is grease and the specialty oils used in some garages. They are probably still metal, and were as of a couple of years ago but the metal barrel is rugged and if the lid is not removed, very durable and leak proof.

I use a bigger 150 gallon tank, and have posted pics earlier but have mine on a simple wooden platform with four swivel roller wheels. It makes moving around a breeze and if I ever had an emergency I could just push it out the door. If you have a container of say, 55 or more gallons the weight makes the base more stable and you can have a longer hose without fear of tipping it over.

 

[joefromga]

The local sausage factory gives them away and theirs have screw on lids.

 

[DFB]

So here it is...HF electric 1/2 impact wrench torque test


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3tl2CEEUTI

HF website shows 3 different part numbers on these but only one model the 68099 looks to have the same style rocker switch.

 

[sixdogs]

So here it is...HF electric 1/2 impact wrench torque test


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3tl2CEEUTI

HF website shows 3 different part numbers on these but only one model the 68099 looks to have the same style rocker switch.

Outstanding review. It's required reading for anyone buying a corded impact wrench. While each has it's use and price you do get what you pay for.

 

[bcp]

Kobalt $149

HF $49

Bruce

 

[joefromga]

He should have talked about price, stated torque vs measured, and electrical amperage consumption so we could tell of these are supposed to be the same tool for different prices.

 

[DFB]

I was quite surprised that the HF Chicago Electric tool tested that much higher than the rated spec.

A real apples to apples comparison would have been with the K-tool wrench that lowes also sells. That one has pretty much the same specs as the HF. Shop K Tool International 7-Amp 0.5-in Drive Variable Speed Corded Impact Wrench at Lowes.com

But it aint a perfect world.

Yet there are many poor reviews posted at HF so that still has to makes one wonder on real world performance.

Add an extension bar or socket adapter and the peak torque values will decrease considerably. Real Tool also did a video on that aspect a while back too using the Skidmore.

And one of the youtube commenters made a joking post about power loss via users adding additional lengths of extension cord...100ft of 16 ga. to be exact, :laughing: I never gave that point much thought but I'll bet many people would at least use a 50 ft extension cord with one more often than not.

Another thing is bolt size and thread pitch it seems to make a difference in achieving some stated torque values. There was another Real Tool video done with the Milwaukee 2763 High Torque cordless impact wrench when many people claimed it couldn't meet published tightening specs on the low setting (mode 1) It did...but only achieved with a certain size fastener per manufacturer spec.

So no doubt the Kobalt can probably get the job done better but for additional money spent.

Even so at $150 for the Kobalt corded tool, plus some deep well sockets and storage case it is still quite a bit less than just a bare tool 2763 Milwaukee (shown in the video for size comparison) that would easily add another $70. Plus of course you would still need a battery and charger too. And the fancy protective rubber boot seen on that tool is another $25

As for the HF if someone has no air or expensive cordless tools for the money its still an option especially at $39 with coupon.

So now we need a Skidmore test and review on the Chicago Electric #60380 cordless 1/2" impact wrench.

 

[California]

I didn't understand that comparison vid. First, why is he testing bolt tension then dividing by 70 to express bolt tension as ft lbs? The user will want to torque to torque spec, not research the pure bolt tension, convert for thread pitch, factor for oiled/unoiled etc, to derive a torque spec for his application.

Then I looked through some of the other videos. He has a chart showing inch lbs vs ft lbs with a 12:1 ratio between the two columns but he expresses this as numbers you shouldn't forget. Maybe its just me but I visualize the difference as applying 1 lb of force an inch out on a breaker bar vs applying the same 1 lb, applied 12 inches out. He never mentions that simple physics concept, just 'memorize this chart'. Seems to me by declaring memorization as his only suggestion, he dumbs down a more general physics lesson that applies to Metric specs and general unrelated applications such as leverage.

Finally, his fancy test rig may be appropriate for product development or something but my own torque testing has been much simpler: tighten a large nut to maximum then use my beam torque wrench to see how much force is needed to tighten further - or loosen. Seems to me measuring what it takes to tighten further closely matches the real question: can this tool overtighten beyond what that application specifies and risk warping a rotor or snapping a bolt. Testing what it takes to loosen a torqued nut is a close equivalent to verifying it is capable of removing lugnuts (or other components) under real-world conditions. His fancy machine that measures bolt tension (with special grease for every run!) seems unnecessarily complex. The maximum torque attained when the tool stalls is the only measure relevant to how the tool will be used, out in the real world. Maybe my version of the test should include oiled threads or anti-seize if the application's specs declare this, but particularly for removing old rusted bolts, only the maximum torque available is relevant.

Summary: the comparison of the $39 vs $150 tools was valid (but I wish he had mentioned prices). But torque to break loose a nut I think is just as easily measured by comparison to a beam torque wrench. Also - He reported torque for the HF tool far higher than my own 20 year old HF measured. It won't consistently break loose lugnuts.

 

[Garandman]

An 18 or 20V cordless DeWalt will generate more than either, apparently.

 

[DFB]

This is an interesting video using a skidmore and testing the difference between using a clean and lubed fastener as opposed a dry and slightly rusty one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O96AUlIBkU8

Looks like using all that lube is to insure that that all the tools power (torque) is going toward tensioning the bolt and not being lost just to overcome friction. On the other hand I would believe there could be extreme torque losses trying to undo a heavily corroded fastener also...so much greater power would have to applied.

You can always find a vid online where different impact tools are shown in action being used to loosen a fastener that was first tightened using a torque wrench. But for tightening stuff usually the general advice given out is not to fully tighten down critical fasteners using an impact tool just because you don't have that exacting kind of control. And to use an torque wrench instead for the final tightening.

Mostly the rocker style switch electric impacts are either on or off and go right up into full RPM and full IPM pretty much instantly. And about the only way to try to control tightening something is just with the duration of the impacting action. so you could easily overtighten and stretch fasteners or strip something. There are other electric impacts on the market with variable speed triggers so one can feather up the speed and IPM.

And with most pneumatic stuff you can also dial up or down the air flow for some control too.

The first round of cordless battery impact tools were pretty much just variable speed triggers. The latest technology uses electronic limiters and usually 2 or more settings for better control. The AC Delco 1/2 cordless has 6 settings. The new Gen 2 Milwaukee's have 4 mode settings now with a one sec stop feature in position 4 which I think is a pretty good feature (cant possibly over tighten anything that way. )

Seeing this has taken a turn slightly towards a decent and economically priced impact wrench right now I think the RYOBI P1830 kit is a serious bargain when it comes to a cordless battery impact wrench. It is $50 more than the HF cordless wrench kit and is lithium ion powered where as the Chicago Electric is still a Ni Cad unit. Of course it is nowhere as powerful as the big High Torque cordless wrenches on the market but amazingly it is listed for even more ft lbs of torque than the similar sized Milwaukee Fuel or Makita LXT 3 speed compact 1/2" brushless impact wrenches...go figure! Plus the entire kit (one battery and charger) is under $200 at HD. Watch it in action here I would like to try one. I might seriously think of getting one for the job and leave the Fuels home.