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Harbor Freight — Parallax Forums

Harbor Freight

UnknownUnknown
edited 2010-09-06 22:39 in General Discussion
I tried shopping at Harbor Freight and bought a sump pump for $39.99. I is a half horsepower sump pump by the brand name Pacific Hydrostar and it had to be primed. Nothing on the box or the instructions said it had to be primed and I had tested the unit in a tub. It has one of those float switches so if it has to be primed then they are wasting their time with a float switch.

For those of you trying to help others by recommending Harbor Freight, thanks. But the reason some items are low cost is because they don't perform.

Comments

  • IroneIrone Posts: 116
    edited 2010-09-05 06:26
    How Ya Doin'?
    Sump pumps should be located in a hole in the floor. If the float switch is high enough there will still be water in the hole and you should not lose your prime. You do have a point though, you get what you pay for.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-09-05 06:47
    HF products are what they are. They're cheap but they won't hold up as well as more expensive brands. But if you only use a tool occasionally, the HF cheapie can be a much more sensible choice.

    Like Irone said, sump pumps are designed to be placed in a hole in the floor (the sump part of the name) and to come on only when the hole fills with water, which is what primes them, so you probably would have the same experience with a similar product by any other brand.
  • Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
    edited 2010-09-05 06:49
    Harbor Freight is a mixed bag. Some items are decent and cheaper than overpriced equivalent items at other stores.

    Many other items are just junk. Buyer beware...
  • ChetChet Posts: 150
    edited 2010-09-05 08:42
    You can make the pump self priming by making a small vent hole in the discharge line that is gigher than the top of the impeller. This hole will allow the water to enter and flood the impeller. Whan the pump starts. These types of pumps will not "lift" at startup but have to have the impeller submerged.

    Hope this helps

    Regards

    Chet
  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2010-09-05 15:32
    I always enjoyed shopping at Harbor Freight.
    I miss it.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-09-05 16:44
    I'd say about 75% of the stuff in HF is garbage, and that may be too generous.

    If it is made of plastic, is electronic or involves anything but the most basic mechanisms, then there is an extremely high chance that the product will under perform or not last long.

    Many of the things that I have purchased there I have done so with the mindset that I am just getting the materials to make what I want. If you are willing to put in some of your own time, some of the stuff can me made to work well.

    The only thing that I can recall that has worked well out of the box for many years is the metal cutting bandsaw. I have had it for over ten years and have never had a problem with it, nor have I had to modify it or correct a defect.

    Rich H
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2010-09-05 23:51
    Their tools are certainly not for industrial use. But I've gotten my money's worth out of my $20 Chicago Sawz-all that cut through 2" steel pipes under my house, shaved my concrete foundation and is still going strong.

    And their $15 cordless drills are a must-have. Even if you use it a lot and kill it in a year, buying a whole replacement is still less than just a replacement battery for a Craftsman or Ryobi, which often go bad in a year or two.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2010-09-06 01:58
    If you divide your shopping in to two kinds, HF might be useful.

    1. Exploring possibilities in a cheap fashion - try HF
    2. Acquiring good solid equipment to be used over the long haul - forget it.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-09-06 10:32
    I've used one of HF's benchtop drill presses (albeit with a better chuck) and their cheapest horizontal bandsaw for more than 20 years. Both have served admirably.

    -Phil
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-09-06 11:25
    I have had the MIG 151 for 8 years its a not a $1K Miller but its done me good with no headaches .
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-09-06 14:44
    HF reminds me of some advice I saw years and years ago in a photography magazine, discussing inexpensive 3rd party SLR lenses (for 35mm film natch, showing my age here). The reviewer said basically, "nobody sets out to make a bad lens." His point being that if you buy a fancy bleeding edge 9:1 ratio zoom from a sketchy house they're likely to mess it up, but if you get a plain 200mm telephoto that's not outrageously fast it's likely to perform fine. Similarly, HF does fine with things they've been doing a long time or that were easy; their cordless drills are a superb bargain, and for the price things like side grinders and saws do what they need to do. The high end machine tools will probably need some adjustment and TLC. (I have one of their mini-lathes, and spent more than I did on the lathe getting it workable. But it does work.) And some of the more unusual or novelty stuff they don't sell as much of, well, that's just going to be parts.

    I recently had a need to polish some small stone slabs; generally this is done with a flat lap, which is a large machine that needs several large expensive wheels or a lot of care with abrasive grit. I got the idea of trying the plasticized pads that are used to polish granite countertop edges. These are meant to be mounted on rotary grinding heads that feed water through the center of the spindle, and those things are pricey. But I got HF's cheapest little sander, mounted a plastic block under it with some plumbing channels drilled and more hook-and-loop, and for under $20 got it polishing. I wasn't bothered by destroying the sander to try the experiment because it was under $20; the cheapest similar item from a more respectable local store was over $40. It's for things like that HF really can't be beaten.
  • UnsoundcodeUnsoundcode Posts: 1,532
    edited 2010-09-06 18:33
    I agree you have to be selective but there are some genuine bargains to be had at Harbor Freight.

    I'm not impressed with their cutting tools such as a drill index , dremel like attachments or router bits etc. and would not buy them there.

    They do get a thumbs up for a small utility trailer I recently bought and 5 stars for their pneumatic flooring stapler/nailer , when I bought the nailer I got it for $99 in one of their sales ( a similar Bostich unit is almost $500 ) , it worked flawlessly on 1000 square feet of 3/4 hardwood flooring.

    Jeff T.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2010-09-06 20:21
    Anybody try their solar panels?
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-09-06 21:00
    I have . I used the 5 Watt ones there Built well IMHO .
    the Brackets were nice . Amorphous so there not great on the Power to size but I used 3 Of them with a Ibook G3 Clamshell on a camping vacation .To run right off the sun for days !

    the collection box as a diode in it and some Nice studs to attach the wire of your choice.
    I payed like 24 per panel . not bad IMHO
  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2010-09-06 22:39
    I like the really cheap multimeters.
    I bought several yellow ones that
    have LED backlighting. They were
    3 dollars I think, and they work
    very well. The only thing they needed
    was a continuity test setting with an
    audible tone...I use that a lot. They also sell
    a nice clamp meter for about 10 dollars
    and they are pretty accurate when
    measuring AC amperage.
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