Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[handirifle]

Oak tree to be sure, I have the motorcycle floor jack, not the lift. If the bike is in the air it should be strapped down, and no theyvdo not bolt to the floor. They roll around on steel wheels.

This one to be exact. 15 lbs. Capacity ATV/Motorcycle Lift

 

[whitepine2]

I haven't seen one set up in the store, but from the pictures in the flyer it looks like it might be tippy/wobbly. Does it bolt to the floor?



I don't have that one, but I do (did) have one of their smaller ones, and I'd put it in the "sucks" category. In full sunlight it only puts out ~12.8V, which is barely above a battery's own voltage. No danger of overcharging that's for sure!
Mine failed completely after a couple months, took it apart and the wires were just held onto the panel with some sort of snot, and one wire wasn't making any connection at all. Neither the crappy wire nor the panel itself would accept solder, so I just tossed it.

This is true useless

 

[caver]

Do any of you have the 100 Watt solar RV charging system? I just bought a 28' travel trailer and I'm thinking about adding some solar backup power to it to keep the pair of Interstate batteries pushed up during the day.

I bought a folding 180 watt panel about the size of a small folding table that had a built in controller on the back. This was from a company called Solar Blvd but seems they have disappeared. I already had two Trojan T105's in series so just rigged up a plug to use the trailer umbilical. I would get a panel from a reputable company.

 

[plumberroy]

I run a electric fence around my garden. I keep it charged with solar power . The battery and controller where picked up second hand very cheap when researching for a panel it was quickly apparent harbor freight isn't the best best to buy panels.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I bought a folding 180 watt panel about the size of a small folding table that had a built in controller on the back. This was from a company called Solar Blvd but seems they have disappeared. I already had two Trojan T105's in series so just rigged up a plug to use the trailer umbilical. I would get a panel from a reputable company.

Part of my problem is that I'm cheap.

The part of the problem is that I'm a boarder line idiot to the mechanics of solar charging RVs.

I just bought my first camper last week and it has a solar ready port in the side. My assumption is that it's a dumb plug and simply passes whatever is put in to that plug to wires going to the battery.

But I'm reading and watching video and it sounds as if you actually need a charger controller and some other kind of box... And some form of battery in/out recorder to actually make this junk all work together and give you enough information to know where you stand.

It can't be simple.... Buy a $28,000 camper that is "solar ready", buy a 100w panel and plug it in and the trailer company put all of the electric guts in there too control, monitor and feed you info. What exactly is solar ready if it comes with nothing required to actually use a solar panel.

There is nothing solar ready in the thing other than the sticker.

 

[sixdogs]

I bought a couple of the plastic handle hatchets to chop roots in the dirt where I didn't want to use my good I.E. estwing and fiskars hatchets. Any axe/hatchet under $100 will need the edge shaped to the right profile to cut decent. Once I started working on them on the belt sander ,it became apparent that they had better steel than the fiskars and estwing hatchets. I have since bought the firemans hatchet and modified it to a decent all around medium axe . You do need to look them over and pick out the ones handled decent. By the way the 1 x30 belt sander I use is harbor freight too. I have reprofiled dozens of hatchets, axes and machetes on it.

Any more commentary on the 1" belt sander?
I could use one and not sure if I should go HF or a step-up and a few $$ more to Lowe's.

 

[plumberroy]

Any more commentary on the 1" belt sander?
I could use one and not sure if I should go HF or a step-up and a few $$ more to Lowe's.

I use it 90% of the time for reprofiling cutting tools I have had it for over a year. I have no complaints. It saves me a lot of file work

 

[Jim Nelson]

Any more commentary on the 1" belt sander?
I could use one and not sure if I should go HF or a step-up and a few $$ more to Lowe's.

I've had a H.F. 1" sander for 6 or 7 years and it's probably the handiest tool in my shop. I use it mainly to sharpen the blades on my Bearcat 5" PTO chipper and it does a great job. I also sharpen lopper and shear blades as well as a lot of rust removal etc.

Like most H.F. tools it takes a little fine tuning to make it work like the slots for the table adjustment had to be lengthened a little to get the right angle for the chipper blades. Also I use a small protractor to set the angle.

I'm very happy with mine and would buy it again if needed.

 

[sixdogs]

I'm sold. 1" belt sander is on the short list.
Is it something that goes "on sale" frequently?

 

[plumberroy]

I'm sold. 1" belt sander is on the short list.
Is it something that goes "on sale" frequently?

Fairly often and you can use the 20% of coupon on the sale price too.