Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[John_Mc]

Expelling fuel to be replaced with o2 never made any sense to me. A thin film of fuel will varnish far faster on surfaces than a full bowl with less oxygen. Not too unlike paint in a can.

I always mix my fuel from non-ethanol gas, and add a fuel stabilizer. (I only have to go about a mile out of my way to get non-ethanol, so it's not an inconvenience to use it, and it's a fact that it has significantly longer shelf life than E10 gas.) If the saw is going to be used in the next couple of days, it gets put away with whatever fuel is in the tank when I shut it down. If it's going to be a bit longer than that, I fill the tank.

For long term storage, I run the tank dry. Yes, that thin film of fuel will evaporate more quickly, but the very minimal residue left behind in the tank or carb has never yet been a problem. The residue from allowing a full carbs' worth of fuel to evaporate can be more of a problem. I absolutely will not store a saw long term with E10 gas in it. The ethanol will actually pull moisture out of the air and combine with it. When enough of this has happened, Phase Separation occurs: the ethanol/water mix settles out of the fuel. This is a corrosive mixture, and can ruin the carb and bottom end of your saw if you let it sit for too long. I have actually seen the results of this on two saws sitting partially disassembled at a local repair shop. The shop owner actually kept one of them around to show people why he recommended that "if you use E10 gas, use it up quickly, and don't leave it sitting in your saw. If you are not turning it over quickly, or may forget to drain your saw and run it dry before extended storage, use non-ethanol gas."

 

[John_Mc]

Cute little tractor.......

difficult to comprehend how my benign post offended you that much. Whatever, but thanks for that enlightening reply. Upon further review I think your post might be up there with dyck head post of the year Congrats!

Huh?

IF that was meant as an insult (it's not clear to me that it was), don't let it get to you. There are always those who are totally fixated on the whole "bigger is better thing". I prefer not to use my 8 pound sledge hammer to drive in a picture hook, just as I prefer not to use my ancient Craftsman Garden Tractor to skid large logs. You match the tool to the job.

When buying a tractor, I was looking for something that would best fit the majority of my anticipated needs at the time. This means it's a bit on the big side for some jobs, and a bit on the small size for others. In the 18 years I've owned my current tractor, my needs have shifted a bit to the larger end, but not enough so that I've decided to dump my current tractor. I occasionally wish for heavier lift capacity, or that I could handle a larger logging winch, but what I have is still meeting the vast majority of my needs. If my needs haven't changed by the time this one is ready to be replaced, I may go slightly bigger (I'm sure if I do that there will be times I'm cursing myself thinking "crap, I could have fit my old tractor in here.)

BTW... the post did prompt me to look at the videos in your signature. It looks as though you are getting some pretty good throw distance on the snow in the one where you are blowing off your rink.

 

[5030]

Huh?

IF that was meant as an insult (it's not clear to me that it was),

It wasn't on my part. Nice machine. Wish I could get by with a machine like that. I cannot.

Lots of posters on this site (and others) are way to thin skinned.

I even put a smiley face after my comment. Guess you missed that... Huh?

 

[Ford850]

difficult to comprehend how my benign post offended you that much. Whatever, but thanks for that enlightening reply. Upon further review I think your post might be up there with dyck head post of the year Congrats!

I don't think he meant it as a negative, but was commenting on your videos in your signature. I know I just had a look at them, and thought something similar. I have a 2 wheel BCS that I've used to blow off ice for hockey on some large ponds. I also have a larger tractor with FEL plow for my driveway etc. It can get cold and snow covered using either one with no cabs. Seeing yours with a cab, and yet small and maneuverable, made me envious. :thumbsup:

 

[Jaylegger]

Sorry ya'll,

 

[MinnesotaEric]

As a follow-up, I compared my old Snap-On hammer to the new, replacement $120 Snap-On hammer. Thankfully, Stanley Tools still makes my old Snap-On hammer under their branding that is available at Amazon in both at 32 oz. https://amzn.to/37YRskX and a 24 oz. version https://amzn.to/37ZyUkr

 

[5030]

Well, at least you don't have lame music on your video....:thumbsup:

I bet the Snap On one is imported..............:thumbdown:

 

[KubotainNH]

We kinda strayed off HF a bit here. Interesting info though except for the ethanol detour, plenty of threads on that.

As for the "little tractor" comment, I wasn't sure how to take that either, smiley or not. Kinda seemed like a my tractor is bigger than yours comment with a smirk at the end. Glad to read it wasn't meant that way. Text can be hard to read into.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I haven't seen any issue with ethanol in modern fuel injected vehicles, carburated engines yes.
My plow/sander truck sits all summer with the batteries disconnected and fires right off when needed.
One of the farms older pickups sits for a week to a month at times it may need a boost to get started but it runs fine,
it has had ethanol bleded fuel all it's life.

My 2 cars sat for 8 months when I worked in London and both cranked and ran fine with the ethanol blend fuel. I think any fuel injected engine will do ok, but not carbed ones. Only thing I needed to do was charge the battery on my wifes Bravado but my Silverado cranked up fine albeit a bit week in the battery. This was all before I started using battery tenders.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Back the HF tools that dont suck.

I have been using my new HF 5 speed drill press a lot and it works fine but will slip the belt if I force it too hard while it is penetrating the steel. I guess this is OK since it doesn't break the bit. I would rather the belt slip than twist off my bit (been there/done that with hand held 1/2" drill motors). The only other electrical tools I have from HF are grinders, 4.5" and 9" and they are all still working fine after 10 years. Havent released the smoke from any of the 6 that I have. I did take the final drive gears off and grease them when I got them since the "wax" that China used for grease was hardened and doing nothing for lubrication.
I have impact sockets and wrench sets, whole 3/4" drive tool sets in SAE and Metric that are still working. Only problem I had was with a ratchet that the ball retainer for the socket popped out and they gave me a new ratchet for that no questions asked.

My only issue with HF is now that they aren't much if any cheaper than what I can get from Lowes for their Kobalt brand of tools. Walmart's new HART brand is also similarly priced to HF tools at my local HF store.