Harbor Freight Tools... Inverter Generator
I received a new sale paper from Harbor Freight the other day and see that thay have a NEW inverter generator: Predator brand 2500 max./2200 rated watts 125 cc Red in color Lot # 61169 $499.99...
Forum Discussion
The American consumer has been conditioned to believe that price=quality, ie, if it costs more it has to be better, and the HF corrolary, if it's that cheap it has to be junk.
I recently shopped for a HF drill press. Look in Lowe's , HD, etc, and you will see the EXACT machine branded as Skil, Porter Cable, etc., just as was reported with the angle grinder in the above post.
The reason HF power tools are so cheap is that they use designs that are aold and whatever patents covered them have expired. Last year I bought a portable band saw for $69. The Milwaukee was $299 and featured stuff like tool-less blade change etc that the HF did not have. The HF is identical to an older model Milwaukee that didn't have cool new patented features.
I have found the HF Pittsburgh hand tools to be every bit as good as Craftsman, Kobalt or Husky. In fact some magazine just ran a test of torque wrenches and found that the HF model performed just as well and was just as accurate as the Snap-on wrench.
What I have found to be junk are any kind of blade for anything. I put a Milwaukee blade in that portable band saw (61 5/8" blade size, exactly the same, go figure...) and it drops through 1/4" steel like an electric carving knife through warm butter. I am hard pressed to see what I get for $299 vs $69. Yes, if I was in the trades and I relied on my portable band saw to get the job done and put food on my table, I would probably buy the Milwaukee. But I'm not and I don't, and for the # of times I need a portable band saw it works fine.
I recently shopped for a HF drill press. Look in Lowe's , HD, etc, and you will see the EXACT machine branded as Skil, Porter Cable, etc., just as was reported with the angle grinder in the above post.
The reason HF power tools are so cheap is that they use designs that are aold and whatever patents covered them have expired. Last year I bought a portable band saw for $69. The Milwaukee was $299 and featured stuff like tool-less blade change etc that the HF did not have. The HF is identical to an older model Milwaukee that didn't have cool new patented features.
I have found the HF Pittsburgh hand tools to be every bit as good as Craftsman, Kobalt or Husky. In fact some magazine just ran a test of torque wrenches and found that the HF model performed just as well and was just as accurate as the Snap-on wrench.
What I have found to be junk are any kind of blade for anything. I put a Milwaukee blade in that portable band saw (61 5/8" blade size, exactly the same, go figure...) and it drops through 1/4" steel like an electric carving knife through warm butter. I am hard pressed to see what I get for $299 vs $69. Yes, if I was in the trades and I relied on my portable band saw to get the job done and put food on my table, I would probably buy the Milwaukee. But I'm not and I don't, and for the # of times I need a portable band saw it works fine.
