Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[dragoneggs]

I learned something a while back that is fundamental psychology: hoarding or clutter are the evidence of decisions deferred.

As I get older and still have some of the clutter inherited from parents and inlaws I recognize a strong need to cut through this mess and discard vigorously. I don't want to reach elderly buried in mountains of useless, pointless 'stuff' that others couldn't make up their minds about. It's a real job to go through and make the decisions that I and my predecessors put off for when we had more time; this item by item decision-making is a waste of my retirement years when I'd rather be out on the tractor or building something that I always meant to do.

The hard thing for me was inheriting my mom and dad's treasures from their respective hobbies. While I admired them and treasure their passion for their hobbies and the collections of stuff left to carry on but... I am not doing those collections justice other than lack luster attempt in preserving them. Maybe the next generation will appreciate my efforts or lack there of to dispose of them?

 

[California]

I don't think whole collections serve well as mementos of people gone. Maybe Lionel trains or something that some future kid will enjoy using for his own pleasure, but not the sort of stuff that simply represent someone's hobby.

I occasionally think back to Alex Haley's Roots, and think that what is worth keeping forever is a few items that will serve as the foundation for storytelling. We had the rusted fragmentary remains of a flintlock rifle - just the primer cup, flintholder, and the firing spring assembly - that my grandfather had found in old mine tailings that were being reworked. To be so rusted the object must have been abandoned in the Lewis&Clark era by the pelt hunters who were the only armed pepole here in the California mountains that far back, 30 years before the Gold Rush brought civilization to the region. Passing this around was the basis for family storytelling. Likewise the walrus tusk from that grandfather's time in the Alaska mines, and a similar tusk from my other grandfather that has scrimshaw carving. Sadly no one knows the history of that second one.

Beyond some notable keepsakes like this that can keep family history alive in the future, I'm not convinced that saving a lot of stuff for the next generation is helpful to them.

 

[dragoneggs]

Way off topic of HF tools not sucking... I hear you Cali, but trying to decide what to whittle away can be prone to error. Case in point, this past weekend my son proposed to his girlfriend and subsequently had the immediate family over to reveal the news. His grandmother presented him a plastic school bus piggy bank (full of coins but not the point). Apparently this stupid plastic bus meant a bunch to my son... I had no idea.

If she would have passed and I was responsible for the dissolution of her belongings, he never would have had the precious memory. I still don't remember what was the connection? :confused3: :ashamed:

 

[California]

Yes, everybody should have a chance to see everything in an estate before anything is disposed of. My sister did a great job acting like an auctioneer, talking up every item, when we finally got all our adult kids together to review Mom's stuff. Thankfully there was almost no overlap in what people wanted. That day resolved years of speculation guessing what others were thinking. It turned out well.

Anyway - it's the middle of the night and I'm signing off. We should hand this forum back to those with more on-topic posts to make! :drink:

 

[newbury]

Nothing more comforting that having a potentially explosive Harbor Freight battery in your glove box. What could go wrong? :hot:

Li-ion batts like to overheat and explode.. There is a charge/discharge controller circuit built into the batteries to help with that, but sometimes they fail, are not right to begin with, or the battery itself is damaged causing an internal short. Usually you get what you pay for in all of these regards.

C'mon guys do you have ANY IDEA what your writing about? These batteries are Lithium iron phosphate. Think lithium ion IRON instead of lithium ion COBALT. No bang.

From the wicki:

lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, also called LFP battery (with "LFP" standing for "lithium ferrophosphate"), is a type of rechargeable battery, specifically a lithium-ion battery, which uses LiFePO4 as a cathode material.
LiFePO4 batteries have somewhat lower energy density than the more common LiCoO2 design found in consumer electronics, but offer longer lifetimes, better power density (the rate that energy can be drawn from them) and are inherently safer.

They DON"T explode as easily, they are much safer. On the down side they store a little less power.

 

[Travelover]

........They DON"T explode as easily, they are much safer. .............

Thanks. I feel SO much better. :laughing:

 

[California]

One last addition to my rambling of yesterday: As dragoneggs said " My rationale on HF or other vs. 'top Brand' quality is based on my expected frequency of use".

The '99 Subaru in my photo above is an example where buying quality anticipating heavy use, was worth what it cost. After 17 years its still in excellent condition.
Photos 2007, 2009, 2009, 2014.

 

[PhysAssist]

He's got a point, Li-Ion batts are actually very dangerous..

I'm not sure that LFP batteries have the same explosive potential- their stability and safety are their selling points.

"LFP's major commercial advantages are that it does not have safety concerns such as overheating and explosion, has 4 to 5 times longer cycle lifetimes, 8 to 10 times higher power density and has a wider operating temperature range." From Wikpedia

http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/202184/202184.pdf

 

[Midniteoyl]

C'mon guys do you have ANY IDEA what your writing about? These batteries are Lithium iron phosphate. Think lithium ion IRON instead of lithium ion COBALT. No bang.

From the wicki:

They DON"T explode as easily, they are much safer. On the down side they store a little less power.

Yes, I do... But thats ok.

 

[newbury]

HF's Black Friday ad ia out at Harbor Freight Black Friday Ad for Harbor Freight Black Friday 216 at BFAds.net - Page 4.

Of note is the 2,500 pound winch for $49.