Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

5030 · Dec 13, 2019

hunt4570 said:
Who made your gas one?

Ryobi. You want it? It won't stay running. Been that way since new. Probably should have bought a Stihl (looking back) but I figure the Portland is a good alternative. Not overly fond of a corded pole trimmer but I can put my Inverter genny in the bed of the side by side with a short cord and use it anywhere I could use the gas powered one. Spent more time pulling the starter cord on the Ryobi than using it....

And when it did manage to stay running, it was very weak power wise. Maybe I got a lemon, not sure.

Looking at the Portland, it has a Oregon low kickback chain and Oregon sprocket nose bar and the nose is greaseable, something I like on a sprocket nose bar. Bar oil capacity is rather small but not an issue, I'll just have to fill it often. Time will tell how good it is. I have a lot of trimming to do.

lostcreekranch · Dec 13, 2019

5030 said:
Ryobi. You want it? It won't stay running. Been that way since new. Probably should have bought a Stihl (looking back) but I figure the Portland is a good alternative. Not overly fond of a corded pole trimmer but I can put my Inverter genny in the bed of the side by side with a short cord and use it anywhere I could use the gas powered one. Spent more time pulling the starter cord on the Ryobi than using it.... And when it did manage to stay running, it was very weak power wise. Maybe I got a lemon, not sure.

Looking at the Portland, it has a Oregon low kickback chain and Oregon sprocket nose bar and the nose is greaseable, something I like on a sprocket nose bar. Bar oil capacity is rather small but not an issue, I'll just have to fill it often. Time will tell how good it is. I have a lot of trimming to do.

The Lynxx 40Volt pole saw and chain saw are great with much longer battery life than I expected. The first chain saw I bought had a leaky oil reservoir .... returned it and the HF mgr. told me to just keep the charger and battery so I now have a spare. I got the Lynxx 40 Volt blower too.

My gas chain saw, pole saw, brush trimmer, and backpack blower are all Echo.

Wasmeneh · Dec 13, 2019

Before throwing away your gas chain trimmer, pull,the carb off and get a new one for about 10 bucks on Amazon or EBay. I replaved mine on a cheep string trimmer and runs better than new.

When you get it running just use ethanol free or at least empty the gas tank and run it dry when your finished.

hunt4570 · Dec 13, 2019

5030 said:
Ryobi. You want it? It won't stay running. Been that way since new. Probably should have bought a Stihl (looking back) but I figure the Portland is a good alternative. Not overly fond of a corded pole trimmer but I can put my Inverter genny in the bed of the side by side with a short cord and use it anywhere I could use the gas powered one. Spent more time pulling the starter cord on the Ryobi than using it.... And when it did manage to stay running, it was very weak power wise. Maybe I got a lemon, not sure.

Looking at the Portland, it has a Oregon low kickback chain and Oregon sprocket nose bar and the nose is greaseable, something I like on a sprocket nose bar. Bar oil capacity is rather small but not an issue, I'll just have to fill it often. Time will tell how good it is. I have a lot of trimming to do.

I do not want it, just curious is all, I would not buy/own anything Ryobi.. junk in my book! Again just curious, I've a nice Stihl that works great and has had no issues. Only complaint might be is its a bit heavy for these aging arms of mine.

Oaktree · Dec 13, 2019

Travelover said:
What? You want it free AND good? :laughing:

I've noticed that HF is really weaning us off the free stuff. For awhile there, you could choose from about ten items. I've also noticed that everything is not perpetually on sale - this may be a result of the class action suit which said their "regular prices" were bogus. It does make the percent off coupons a lot less attractive, though. 20% off a "regular" price is not as much of a bargain.

When did HF let you use % off coupons on "sale" items? If they did, it was before we ever had a store nearby.
As far as "sale" vs 20% off, seems to be hit or miss...sometimes the 20% off is cheaper than the sale/coupon price, other times not.

I hear ya on the decreasing free stuff...it's pretty much just the blue flashlights now, with occasional onesy-twosey items on special weekends. I'm sure the trade war/tariffs are making a dent in HF's bottom line.

hunt4570 said:
I do not want it, just curious is all, I would not buy/own anything Ryobi.. junk in my book!

I dunno, never gave them much thought until someone gave me a couple of their 20V tools. I've picked up a few more, no problems with them whatsoever. I've also got an AC miter/chop saw, again no problems. Are they pro quality, no but they'll do everything I need.

mpsmith60 · Dec 13, 2019

My latest HF tool that doesn't suck is the Chicago Electric Welding Cabinet (Item #62275). I was very pleasantly surprised at how sturdy and well-designed it is. It has three drawers. The top one has nice metal dividers for consumables like tips and such, but it doesn't pull out as far as the others. There is a storage bin in the bottom perfect for a welding helmet. It also has a platform on the back for a gas bottle.

For anyone interested, I made a video covering the specs, assembly and my first impressions of it:

I'll do an update on it down the road to report how it's holding up.

hunt4570 · Dec 13, 2019

Oaktree said:
When did HF let you use % off coupons on "sale" items? If they did, it was before we ever had a store nearby.
As far as "sale" vs 20% off, seems to be hit or miss...sometimes the 20% off is cheaper than the sale/coupon price, other times not.

I hear ya on the decreasing free stuff...it's pretty much just the blue flashlights now, with occasional onesy-twosey items on special weekends. I'm sure the trade war/tariffs are making a dent in HF's bottom line.

I dunno, never gave them much thought until someone gave me a couple of their 20V tools. I've picked up a few more, no problems with them whatsoever. I've also got an AC miter/chop saw, again no problems. Are they pro quality, no but they'll do everything I need.

Years ago I ran a big deer ranch down in Texas , bought half a dozen chainsaws and some other Ryobi stuff (they were available locally in town), none of them lasted much more than a year! Replaced with Stihl.. have one of those MS260's still and its doing fine.. One thing I don't usually do is go cheap on tools, ALWAYS costs you in the end!

Travelover · Dec 13, 2019

Oaktree said:
When did HF let you use % off coupons on "sale" items? If they did, it was before we ever had a store nearby..............................

I moved to Washington from Metro Detroit 2 1/2 years ago. The stores in Metro Detroit all took 20% off sale prices and the stores here (Portland and Vancouver, WA), do as well. This seems to be up to the manager of the store.

PhysAssist · Dec 13, 2019

flyerdan said:
That is a fundamental difference between men and women. Men are practical and would welcome any gift that helped them accomplish a task quicker, easier, or in a better way, be it a vacuum, shop tool or kitchen appliance.

True that- I have oft been the happy recipient of HF, TSC, and other tool store gift cards, knives, machetes, and even clothes like socks, and t-shirts, that my SWMBO knew would fit my worldview [e.g., more beer, guns, tools, and duct tape], whereas, she has explicitly told me [repeatedly] don't buy me clothes, dishes, or household appliances for any occasion.

OTOH, she is happy with pretty much anything schmaltzy/sappy/kitschy [misspelled that and had to trust Chrome's spell checker for correction] [then I misspelled misspelled :confused3:], and she was very happy when I bought her a thumbhole/pistol grip stock for her rifle- this is one of the main differences I have found between spousal units #1 and this one [#2 and final].

Current [and final] SWMBO is fairly straight forward in her communication of wants/needs and the opposite, whereas #1 was arbitrary and whimsical- and not in any good way...

I'm currently waiting for a good coupon to use for their 12-volt air compressor/tire inflator [either- 12V 1 PSI High Volume Air Inflator or 12V 15 PSI Compact Air Compressor] does anyone have anything good or bad to say about either of them?

I'm leaning toward the 150# model despite the ^ cost, because of the possibility of needing to use it for the F-350's tires some day.

I just saw the 25% off coupon for this weekend, so I'll probably use that- if it's not excluded- I'd like to get 2 of them, so I'll either have to cycle back into the store, or have SWMBO come in with me for one of them.

bcp · Dec 13, 2019

Travelover said:
I moved to Washington from Metro Detroit 2 1/2 years ago. The stores in Metro Detroit all took 20% off sale prices and the stores here (Portland and Vancouver, WA), do as well. This seems to be up to the manager of the store.

I was told they can't take two coupons for one item, but if the sale price doesn't require a coupon, then the 20% off coupon will work.

Bruce