Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[PhysAssist]

I've been following them for a while. They are Honda clones. Not much is known yet about the twin but the singles are good from what I see. They are either good or bad right from the start. If you have any problem, exchange it for a good one. Lots of people are repowering old stuff with them. They are used in all their generators and they sell a ton of generators .... at least my store does.

Subaru and Kawasaki appear to be on top right now in high end stuff.

Edit: The Honda clones are popular with go cart crowd because performance parts are available.

About 8 years ago, the B&S horizontal gas engine that came originally on our old style DR Brush and Field Mower finally bit the dust, and after looking all over for an affordable and similarly rated replacement, I had run out of time and needed the mower to be running, so I went against my usual caution and bought one of the big HF Predator 1cylinder engines, and after fabbing up some new motor mounts and braces, it ran like a go-devil.

It continues to do so, although twice in the past two years, my F-I-L borrowed it in late fall and stored it without clearing the gasahol out of the tank and engine, which led to fouling and lacquering of the carb and required it to be disassembled and cleaned out and reassembled, but afterwards it returned to start after one pull reliability it has always had.

Likewise the smaller Predator which we put on our Heathkit hydraulic log splitter when that B&S died from ethanol poisoning.

When we traded up to a bigger splitter, we gifted the little Heathkit to my nephew and he continues to use it in good health.

As always, YMMV!

 

[dragoneggs]

That's not the smell of new plastic... It's the smell of cheap.

I can't side with that. My better half lives for the dollar store, goodwill, Ross, etc. if I buy her some thing nice that cost too much in her mind, she returns it. I'm a lucky guy. She will spend $20 in gas though to shop to save $10. Go figure. With her it is hunt I guess.

 

[PhysAssist]

yes, you are correct. I didn't see that until I looked closer at the manual. The DR has a very similar pin that attaches the mower accessory to the base power unit that pin is just to hold the two parts together. The DR mower accessory is powered via a belt.

I'm trying to figure out whether the HF version can pivot or if the PTO is a rigid connection. The DR pivots (that is the point of the pin) which is nice when working on uneven terrain.

Still, at $600, the HF is by far the cheapest walk behind brush mower out there.

I don't know if you have the DR Brush and Field Mower, but I do, and it has a horizontal shaft belt drive.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't know if you have the DR Brush and Field Mower, but I do, and it has a horizontal shaft belt drive.

Yes I do. 13 HP version. About twelve years old but looks exactly like current model. Mine is belt drive. I assumed vertical shaft engine as the belt loop is parallel to the ground.

 

[PhysAssist]

Yes I do. 13 HP version. About twelve years old but looks exactly like current model. Mine is belt drive. I assumed vertical shaft engine as the belt loop is parallel to the ground.

Hi IT,

I hope I didn't sound snarky, I didn't mean to...

Mine has a horizontal drive shaft with 2 pulleys on it, one for the blade and one for the drive gearbox. The blade belt makes a 90 degree twist to drive the blade.

Mine is considerably older than yours and came with a sticker on that said manufactured by Batchold Brothers.

It also has a 36-inch "finish mower" deck, but on our rough lawn, the blade and deck flexed into each other too much.

I think they came out with the models with reverse and all terrain/floatation tires 2 years at most after we bought ours.

This is what ours looks like:

 

[MossRoad]

Yes the DR belt drive will slip if necessary. Not as necessary as on a tractor though as you are mowing at walking speed with a clear view and unlikely to not see a stump or big rock. I did a lot of mowing with my DR and don't recall ever needing to rely on slipping the belt.

I do agree that HF plays games with their reviews. I have submitted negative reviews on a few items that were never posted.

You'd be surprised how small a buried rock or stump it takes to shear something and how invisible they are in thick grass. I know. Our Power Trac PT425 has the brush cutter out front where its easy to see. I've tossed blades when the blade bolt head shears off on a rock. Ain't pretty.

Now that HF brush cutter has the bolt in the center of a single blade, so the bolt head will most likely spin on something rather than be sheared off by hitting something, whereas my blade bolts are 6" from the center of the rotation, so they are bashed against things.

But they have a single 21" blade that can't swing if it hits an obstruction like a bush hog blade. So either the blade bolt will break, one of those shafts will break, one of the gears, etc.... only time and use will tell.

 

[MossRoad]

Hi IT,

I hope I didn't sound snarky, I didn't mean to...

Mine has a horizontal drive shaft with 2 pulleys on it, one for the blade and one for the drive gearbox. The blade belt makes a 90 degree twist to drive the blade.

Mine is considerably older than yours and came with a sticker on that said manufactured by Batchold Brothers.

It also has a 36-inch "finish mower" deck, but on our rough lawn, the blade and deck flexed into each other too much.

I think they came out with the models with reverse and all terrain/floatation tires 2 years at most after we bought ours.

This is what ours looks like:View attachment 442489

That's cool! :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

There was a recall on some of those early models....

CPSC, Bachtold Brothers Inc. Announce Recall of Brush Cutters | CPSC.gov

 

[TomSeller]

It's funny, cause I mentioned to the wife this past weekend that Harbor Freight is the only company I know of that lists it's 3 out of 5 star reviews right on the coupon. Which pretty much sums up the company very well "we know where not great, but we are good enough, and cheap and not ashamed"

Right. Cheap is why they are popular. To each his own.

 

[crazyal]

Even if a factory makes two identical looking products, one for a top name company and another for a discount company, the differences usually are that the top name company will set quality standards. That's why with HF tools and equipment are hit and miss. If you get enough parts that the name brand company would have rejected you get a dud. Companies like HF have just decided that they will take the hit on their name and replace the duds while Honda doesn't want this. Then, of course, is the question of longevity. I have 30 year old Briggs that still run just fine. I have several Honda engines that are about15 years old and still run great. I have a HF water pump with a 98cc engine, after 3 years it starts fine and runs smoothy. It doesn't get much use. Will it still be running great in another 12 years, who knows.