Latest news with #HarborFreight
The Drive
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Want to Try Welding Cheaply? Check Out Eastwood's Huge Liquidation Sale
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › The latest car news, reviews, and features. is a great place to buy tools and garage gear, especially if you're looking for something a little more specialized than what's on the rack at AutoZone and maybe a little more high-quality than some wares at Harbor Freight. This week it's having a warehouse liquidation sale promising 'extreme savings' and 'epic deals.' I poked around and found myself a little inspired by some of the welder listings. I haven't welded since I took a shop class in 2006, but it's high on my list of skills I'd like to acquire. If you share a similar dream, you're probably on the lookout for cheap welders, too. Here are some cheaper rig options marked down to about $500 and even less, potentially saving you hundreds. Just make sure you do a little research first to confirm if you should be starting with TIG or MIG welding, and to see how much power you'll need. Broadly speaking, MIG is the move for learning and starting out. If you're not sure how much power you need, Eastwood has a handy guide on how to select a MIG welder. This MIG 180 unit, which can run off 120 or 240 volts and weld steel up to 5/16th thick, seems like a great all-around option for getting into the craft and it comes with a $50 rebate on future purchases even after this big $100.02 discount. See It I found a few more related sale items on Eastwood's site that might catch your interest as well, take a look. Eastwood 140 Amp MIG Welder for $349.97 (save $50.02) Eastwood 180 Amp MIG Welder with Included Spool Gun for $549.97 (save $100.02) Eastwood 200 Amp DC TIG Welder for $449.98 (save $150.01) Eastwood Versa Cut 40 Amp Plasma Cutter for $549.97 (save $100.02) And on top of all that, MIG welding gloves and a book on Farm and Workshop Welding are also on sale. We scour the web to bring you the best deals on big-name brands in tools, car parts, toys, electronics, watches, and everything else a gearhead could want.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Are Harbor Freight Batteries Compatible With DeWalt's Tools? Here's What We Found
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. It's the moment of hope that makes the disappointment all the more harsh. You look at the two things side by side, and they seem to be physically identical: a $110 DeWalt 20V Max 5Ah battery pack and a Harbor Freight (HF) Hercules battery with the same specs, but for $50. Wouldn't it be quite a coup if the HF battery worked on the DeWalt tool? But they won't work together, and it might not be a great idea even if they did. This is because the HF Hercules batteries, which the company itself compares to DeWalt tools, don't really stack up well to DeWalt's batteries in some important ways. While the construction of the Hercules batteries is actually quite good, the cells themselves seem to fall short of their own advertised capabilities. For example, tool and battery teardowns have shown that a 2.5Ah Hercules battery only delivers around 1.69Ah. There are ways to get cheaper batteries into your DeWalt tools, but they all have drawbacks -- sometimes, safety drawbacks. Toolmaker Mellif claims some compatibility with DeWalt batteries and plans for charger compatibility. You can also buy cheap knockoff batteries that appear to be fully compatible with DeWalt tools, and even counterfeit DeWalt tools and batteries on Amazon and elsewhere, and while some have reasonably good performance in terms of power delivery, they can be missing key features like overcurrent protection to protect against thermal runaway (the dangerous process that can cause lithium-ion batteries to catch fire). They can also lack mechanical protection and have subpar battery and tool protection. Read more: The 11 Best Affordable Harbor Freight Tools For Your Home (And 2 To Avoid Buying) They Don't Fit Together Physically, And Wouldn't Perform If They Did Out of the box, Harbor Freight batteries (including Harbor Freight's popular vaguely comparable Hercules power tool line) simply will not fit into DeWalt tools, and vice versa. They are designed this way intentionally, probably for both safety and profit-protection reasons. Although they are visually very similar, a close comparison reveals that the sliding rails and contact configurations of the batteries are different enough to render them incompatible. But even if you bypass the physical mechanisms that prevent HF batteries and DeWalt tools from working together, they still won't functionally work. Wiring a Hercules battery directly to the matching contacts on a DeWalt tool yields, well, nothing at all. Some have claimed that there are smart electronics that communicate directly between manufacturers' batteries and tools, so that mismatched components are prevented from working together. But the real mechanism turns out to be much simpler than that, as we explain below. However, any protective circuitry on the tool side might be missing on a mismatched tool, and create quite a hazard. In older Hercules batteries, at least, there's simply a different configuration for a safety mechanism that keeps them from being electronically compatible. It Can Be Done, But Don't There are two ways to make Harbor Freight batteries work with DeWalt 20-volt tools. YouTuber jimbob (@mosesdog2) figured out why the batteries weren't interchangeable: The mechanism by which the batteries report their temperatures to the tools uses different terminal pins and different scales. To get around this, you first need to use a tool like a Dremel to modify the Hercules battery so it mostly fits the tool. Then you'd disassemble the Hercules battery and solder a particular resistor between two of its contacts -- a delicate operation, given that you're heating a nickel strip attached to a battery technology prone to thermal runaway and catching fire when mishandled. Assuming the hack works for you, you'll gain an ill-fitting battery that powers your tool, but which also circumvents the thermal protection that makes lithium-ion batteries safe enough to use. There's one more avenue available to you to make Harbor Freight batteries work with DeWalt tools. Adapters for Harbor Freight's Bauer and Hercules batteries are available, like the TPDL Adapter for Bauer 20V Li-ion (which you can also find on eBay). But, since HF and DeWalt batteries' mechanisms are different, it's very unlikely that either adapter offers thermal protection. The Hercules adapter is described as having a multilevel protection function, with no specifics provided, but its product description does warn against using it in a high-temperature environment. This could be because the 3D-printed adapter is made of PLA or another temperature-sensitive material, or because it lacks built-in protection. The Bauer adapter doesn't mention any protections at all. On the whole, you might want to wait for a sale and just buy new DeWalt batteries. Enjoyed this article? Get expert home tips, DIY guides, and design inspiration by signing up to the House Digest newsletter! Read the original article on House Digest.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Own This Harbor Freight Power Station? Stop Using It Now
Own This Harbor Freight Power Station? Stop Using It Now originally appeared on Dengarden. A power station is a smart buy for anyone who wants peace of mind during power outages or off-grid adventures. Whether you're prepping for storms, working in the garage or just want a backup to keep phones and small appliances running, a power station offers quiet, rechargeable power without the fuss of gas. It's especially great for people who live in apartments or anyone who can't use a traditional generator. Bonus: many models are portable, so you can take them camping or use them tailgating. With all that said, Harbor Freight Tools is recallingPredator 2000-Watt Power Stations due to a shock hazard. Here's what you need to retailer is recalling roughly 6,500 of its Predator 2000 Watt Power Stations (SKU #70084, UPC #193175488718) due to a serious safety issue. When used in Emergency Power Supply (EPS) mode, the AC outlet wires are reversed, which can pose a shock hazard. If you have one, stop using it right away. You can find the SKU and UPC on the unit itself, and Harbor Freight is offering a free you think you have one of the recalled power stations, you can reach out to Harbor Freight for a free replacement. Call them toll-free at 800-444-3353 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT), email recall@ or visit their website at Just scroll down and click on "Recall & Safety" at the bottom of the page for all the details. So far, one complaint of the wires being reversed in EPS mode has been received, however no injuries have been reported yet. Still, it's important to stop using the power bank and get your free replacement. This particular power bank was sold at Harbor Freight Tools stores nationwide from February 2025 through April 2025. The cost was around $ This Harbor Freight Power Station? Stop Using It Now first appeared on Dengarden on Jul 4, 2025 This story was originally reported by Dengarden on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
You May Want To Reconsider Buying These Harbor Freight Icon Tools
Harbor Freight's reputation for selling subpar tools mostly comes from the inappropriate choices of professional tool-users. In the distant past, HF's offerings weren't really suitable for constant, heavy use. But in recent years, credible pro-quality tools are among the many brands of tools Harbor Freight owns — especially the Icon brand, which is often referred to as a challenger to Snap-On's high-priced hand tool supremacy. Icon is a premium hand tool brand, parallel to Harbor Freight's popular Hercules power tool line. But the brand is not perfect, and there are a few tools you might want to steer clear of, from relatively low-stakes items like screwdrivers and work lights to heavyweight tools like swivel impact sockets. And while you can certainly buy inferior products like much of the Pittsburgh line (and weird novelties like its ¼-inch hex drive "meme" ratchet set or the gold-plated items we'll discuss below), the company is also capable of brilliance. Consider the 10-piece 10-millimeter metric essential socket set, which gives you the common 10-millimeter socket size in every form factor you can think of. Genius. But the professional's bread and butter is performance at ordinary tasks with ordinary tools, and that's where Icon typically shines. The brand makes highly regarded torque wrenches, various ratchet styles, various wrench styles, and even knives. The kicker is that DIYers use pro tools, too, and Harbor Freight knows it. The Icon hex-bit ratchet isn't made for pros, after all, but for homeowners looking to stop assembling IKEA furniture with Allen wrenches. Now let's dig a little deeper. Read more: The 11 Best Affordable Harbor Freight Tools For Your Home (And 2 To Avoid Buying) Icon ratchets are well-known for their quality, even among mechanics who seem reluctant to admit it. But the one exception seems to be the Icon ¼-inch Drive Professional Low-Profile Ratchet, which has a couple of issues. One is that the force it takes to flip the directional switch is unusually high. And while that might not be an issue for you, the failure load — the amount of torque at which the ratchet fails — is fairly low for this ratchet. The Icon ratchet has a solid drive rather than a quick-release drive with a button to release your socket, and these are usually stronger. But in Project Farm's testing, the ¼-inch Icon fails with both the main gear stripping and the pawl breaking, suggesting the ratchet's internals aren't as strong as its drive. But the real problem with this ratchet — and the reason it has a sketchy reputation among online mechanics — is the amount of back drag it exhibits. If you've ever used a ratchet, you probably know what back drag is, even if you don't know the term. It's the amount of force it takes when reversing the ratchet for the pawl to release so that the handle moves freely without affecting the socket. High levels of back drag can make a ratchet tiring to use, but worse, it can frustratingly cause you to accidentally undo some of the progress you just made by turning the socket backward. And the Icon ¼-inch drive ratchet has an unseemly level of back drag. Other Icon ratchets also have back drag problems, but not in combination with the stiff directional switch and ease of failure. Harbor Freight offers the same ratchet and a ⅜-inch version in gold-plated special editions. The luxe versions are simply offered as pro-quality ratchets. Besides the Trump Towers vibe, the other big difference between the fold and chrome versions of these ratchets is the price: The ¼-inch drive chrome ratchet goes for $29.99, and while you shouldn't buy it, you certainly shouldn't consider the same ratchet in gold at $44.99. The ⅜-inch ratchets run $54.99 with gold and $39.99 without ... a strange upgrade, since gold plating is easily worn away even on casually worn jewelry. It's difficult to grok why anyone frugal enough to shop at Harbor Freight would bite on what is essentially a $50 gag gift. Reviewers seem to really love the gold versions, scoring both .2 stars higher than the chrome versions. Some reviewers don't seem to be aware that they're reviewing the gold-plated version, while others seem to think of it strictly as a gift, either as a novelty or a commemorative gift celebrating a retirement or similar. That would seem to be the most sensible reason for buying the special edition ratchets — to put them on a mantel and enjoy the memories of a long, knuckle-busting career. Harbor Freight wasn't the first to dream up this kind of thing. For its 75th anniversary, Craftsman issued a gold-plated ratchet in a wood display box, and it doubtless made a great gift as well. But what such a gift is not is a tool, and since that's what we're talking about here, we'll steer you in another direction for your ratchets. While we're talking about ratchets, let's share a skeptical word or two about Harbor Freight's impact-rated swivel socket sets, available in ½-inch drive and ⅜-inch drive versions. Impact-rated swivel sockets and universal joint adapters have a tough job. They're designed to transfer as much impact driver torque as possible through a wide range of angles, and typically through rather thin cross sections of steel that make up the universal joint ... and also constitute a possible point of failure. While the Icon swivel sockets are generally well-regarded by purchasers, testers have a few problems with these specific demands. YouTube's rigorous Torque Test Channel included an Icon swivel socket set in its evaluation of 14 brands, and it was the only one that actually broke during usability testing. At impact wrench speeds, jagged metal shrapnel is no joke. Torque Test also found the sockets had below-average torque transfer ... the second lowest in its testing. Other reviewers found that the sockets wear unusually quickly and several noted that the Icon socket sets tend to skip sizes or have a narrow range of sizes included in its sets, unlike the inexpensive GearWrench sets that are more complete. The Icon sockets are chrome molybdenum steel ... weaker than chrome vanadium, but not uncommon. The Icons also have thinner walls than a comparable Tekton set. But while that can indicate weakness, it's also considered an asset for sockets since some counterbores are not much larger than the bolt heads themselves. On the whole, all of this might add up to a negative for frequent or pro users of Icon's universal-joint sockets. At first glance, the Icon Slim Bar Work Light with its knurled aluminum base looks like it might be a more durable alternative to cheap plastic work lights ... and, at $39.99, the Icon isn't exactly cheap. But this work light suffers from all manner of ways that such a tool can have sub-par specs. According to Motor City Metal, it has more plastic and less flexibility than its swiveling Braun sibling at HF. The rechargeable battery in the Icon is not user-replaceable, which might turn out to not matter. That's because the work light might not last nearly as long as its battery. And possibly not as long as the battery's runtime, which is advertised as 3 hours at 800 lumens and comes reasonably close to that. The real problem with the Icon's longevity is its build quality, which YouTube's Torque Test Channel found to be comical. The Icon failed the channel's drop test on its first drop, something the tester had never seen before, which earned the work light an unprecedented 0 of 10 stars. Nothing is more fundamental to most mechanical work than the common screwdriver. But the common screwdriver is so, well, common that they seem to have become something of a commodity, with cheap, reasonably good screwdrivers available everywhere at very low costs. And this is exactly where the Icon Professional Mechanics Screwdriver Set bites itself on the shank. The infinitely fun YouTube car channel Donut did a comprehensive (and occasionally dangerous) series of tests on screwdriver sets, including sets from HF brands' Pittsburgh ($8 per set), Doyle ($25), and Icon ($50), alongside comparable sets from Husky ($22), Klein Tools ($50), and Snap-On ($200). The tests proved both that screwdrivers aren't (yet) commodities and that you don't necessarily get what you pay for. HF's Doyle screwdrivers outperformed the field overall and did better than Icon's offering in coating quality, driving screws, and torque testing. Doyle matched Icon in a prying test. And, speaking of screwdriver misuse, hammering the butt of a screwdriver isn't a good idea. But you do it anyway, so Donut does it too. And Icon beat the Doyle here, matching Snap-On and being bested by Klein Tools. In all, the Icon set performed admirably ... but the Doyle set from HF did better than any set overall, at half the price of the Icons and ⅛ the price of the Snap-Ons. So you might reasonably choose an Icon set, but the cheaper Doyle set would be a wiser choice. Enjoyed this article? Get expert home tips, DIY guides, and design inspiration by signing up to the House Digest newsletter! Read the original article on House Digest.
Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Epoch Times
Man Ordered to Stand Trial for Allegedly Cutting Down 13 Trees in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES—A man accused of using a chainsaw to cut down 13 trees—primarily in downtown Los Angeles—was ordered May 8 to stand trial on nearly a dozen vandalism charges. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli reduced two of the 11 felony counts against Samuel Patrick Groft to misdemeanor charges, agreeing with defense attorney Julieta Flores' argument that the prosecution had not proven that there was more than $400 in damage to the four trees involved in those two counts that were added to the case on May 7. Groft said, 'something about you're arresting me on Earth Day' and told police, 'I love trees. I love bark. I'm an arborist,' according to Los Angeles Police Department Detective Jose Hidalgo, who was among a team of officers who arrested the defendant April 22 at an encampment in the area of Custer Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, adjacent to the 101 Freeway and 110 Parkway, in downtown Los Angeles. A chainsaw that was originally red but had been spray-painted black was recovered at the scene, along with other items, including a bicycle, a baseball cap, and the chainsaw box that were seen in surveillance video footage, the detective testified. Authorities estimated last month that there was nearly $350,000 in damages. David Miranda, a street tree superintendent for the city of Los Angeles, testified that he estimated damage at just under $175,000 for trees that had been located on city-owned property, but said he did not do an assessment of replacement costs involving all of the trees—some of which he said were on private property. Related Stories 3/31/2025 3/3/2025 LAPD Detective Roberto Gutierrez testified Wednesday that he was told by a woman that three juniper trees reported to cost about $10,000 each were cut down April 14 in front of her business in the 700 block of West Temple Street. He said the woman provided surveillance video footage showing the suspect holding a chainsaw and cutting down trees while wearing black gloves. The charges involve 13 trees that were cut between April 13 and April 19, including one that had a limb chopped off in broad daylight. Los Angeles Police Detective Ryan Watterson—who said he was investigating a tip regarding a tree being vandalized on the afternoon of April 13 on the east side of Avenue 26 near Figueroa Street—testified that he determined a chainsaw seen on surveillance video footage was sold exclusively by Harbor Freight. He noted that surveillance video footage from the store showed the suspect paying for the chainsaw at the nearby Harbor Freight store and that Groft's name was on a receipt that day from the store. LAPD Officer Manuel Rojas told the judge he responded April 19 to a call about damaged trees at 350 S. Grand Ave. and 'saw three trees cut down and laying on the street.' He said video surveillance footage showed a suspect approaching with something in his hand, the suspect moving away and a tree falling. The officer testified that he subsequently saw another tree cut down further south on Grand Avenue along with an additional one on Hope Street just south of Ninth Street He said all of the trees were cut down in the same manner. Another officer testified that he responded to a report of a tree that was vandalized April 17 in the 500 block of North Broadway, saying the tree had been cut in half. Three other trees were vandalized April 18 in the 1500 block of 8th Street, Hidalgo testified. At his first court appearance last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa R. McGonigle denied Groft's request to be released on his own recognizance. She noted that he has an 'extensive criminal record.' He remains behind bars in lieu of $350,000 bail. 'What took years to grow only took minutes to destroy,' District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement after the case was filed last month. 'Trees not only provide shade and comfort but nourish those who live and work in our communities. Selfish and senseless acts that strip away a vital piece of our ecosystem are profoundly disturbing and my office will prosecute anyone who engages in such criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law.' City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents downtown neighborhoods, highlighted the way in which residents came together in the aftermath of what she described as a 'random act of violence.' 'Thanks to the generosity of various community organizations and community members that have reached out ... we're replacing the trees two to one,' Jurado said. LA Conservation Corps and North East Trees will donate new trees, she said.
