Harbor Freight - what happened to the 20% off coupons

This morning I received an email from HF.... guess what, the free trinkets are back ! LED flashlight,masks,tarps. Not that I'm going to go for one on it's own, but if I should need something, I'll certainly take my freebie

SAR Tracker wrote:
And how many cordless tool ads are labeled "Tool Only" meaning you have to buy a battery separately? Example: 20v Hypermax™ Lithium-Ion Cordless 1/2 In. Drill/Driver - Tool Only $44.99. So you have to buy a battery - Cheapest is: 20v HyperMax™ Lithium-Ion 1.5 Ah Compact Battery for $22.99. Of course the battery is useless without a charger, cheapest is: 20v Hypermax™ Lithium-Ion Rapid Charger again, for $22.99. Now your up to $90.

No different than cordless tools at any other store/any other brand. I have quite a few Ryobi cordless tools; only a few of the combo packs actually include batteries and charger. Same thing with Makita, DeWalt, Craftsman, etc., which makes perfect sense; once you have a charger and 2-3 batteries, you certainly don't need a battery and charger for every single tool. That's kinda the point of having tools that use a common battery, isn't it?

I have quite a few HF tools, mostly hand tools, and have never had any of them break (lifetime warranty if they do) other than the tip of a small round-end allen wrench; which they replaced immediately. I also have several electric tools (not the cordless) that I am perfectly happy with, including an Bauer SDS Max demo hammer, Banks nail gun, Chicago Electric circular saw, and Fortress compressor. Now granted, I am not using them 8 hours a day to make a living, but I do all of my own maintenance on my RV, a Hummer, a car, wife's Tahoe, 3 PWC, 4 ATVs, 4 motorcycles, 3 trailers, and of course my home, not to mention working on my adult kids' stuff. Most of HF's hand tools are certainly better than today's "Craftsman", and cheaper to boot, and their higher end power tools are more than acceptable for non-commercial use. I also buy their Thunderbolt Alkaline batteries when they are on sale; they last just as long as Duracell or Energizer, at half the price.

If you go to their website, the "Instant Savings" section is where you can find the prices that corollate to what used to be "coupon" prices.

I have to believe that many of the Harbor Freight "naysayers" have likely not shopped HF lately, and instead are relying on what HF "used" to be/sell.

JoeH wrote:
Harbor Freight - what happened to the 20% off coupons and the "free" trinkets like little flashlights,etc. Haven't seen any of these coupons in a few months, at least in Florida .

Get Harbor Freight's smartphone app. You'll often get the 20% coupon with the app.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I was hoping for a quick and dirty way to join >20 AWG conductors.

I'm not saying don't use them, just they are not allowed on current carrying conductor where I work.

We use THESE for current carrying conductors

opnspaces wrote:

dieseltruckdriver wrote:
Since Craftsman crapped out, and I won't pay for Snapon, I have found the Pittsburg polished end wrenches are actually pretty decent quality. I do have to say that a former coworker got me hooked on Kobalt hand tools though.

Here in southern California Lowes has picked up and started selling Craftsman tools. So hopefully all is not lost.

New Craftsman = Garbage........Pull the split ring on a current Lowes "Craftsman" ratchet and compare the internal parts and pieces to an older, say early 2000's or earlier, version of a Craftsman ratchet. The Home Depot "Husky" brand or Hazard Fraught "Pittsburgh" brand may be a better built tool, but thats dependent on the current batch on the shelf and who they contracted with to manufacture them.

Lot of the URs were used by phone systems.

Scotch-Lok, brings back memories from splicing at the telephone company.

Used these on many military projects for low voltage and control circuits.
3M UR Scotch Locks

I was hoping for a quick and dirty way to join >20 AWG conductors. I wish true bronze terminals were available. I am lining up my work bench outfitting with permanently mounted mechanical and hydraulic hexagonal die tools to 1/0 but >95% of my terminal work now is 16-22 gauge. I am going to individually hang a solder gun and heat gun on a zero tool counterweight. Let's see if anyone else can chime in regarding the chinese terminals.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Sorta related...

Has anyone tried out these types of terminals off eBay?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/500-50PCS-Waterproof-Heat-Shrink-Butt-Terminals-Solder-Seal-Sleeve-Wire-Connecto/293890669785?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item446d3fbcd9:g:4QIAAOSwZ05f0z8n&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkvjzWOStkxwnlDuxSI1PVVtddVeJiN3s3I%252FVEQd86S%252FE5c%252FknIOer8X7sXin9kFKSApd83DLjeUVJNjKKDETl856XLKNMKv7sD6iMwT2codeNx%252FikMtD4xUQ73omw878LqcDFAtHjO9loezwlSanguqbHpmrcqNtxkHERZyvG9H8mSlglvzBJ96uH9jXWz0bKGp1cM%252BxzmqG6EOX1B4X4mRkR7nSgP8DVvO7gKj3iXEu4hNTOLkR0SjlW7flIgxnKbDXgBB7jksWoG8Fh35cCK%252FcZMdA9QP%252BXdqLW59l4%252B7ZtZJmeMP%252FhIDIJxhjqtO2iLk%252B2OcsC%252BpRl6nDwqjYWATIPjwmVRvRpgroy7Lj3x4Tmp3Vpfivib7bwyPND2RY7%252FdeEck8p2z5WPlniewylNjGloAZ2PQ0NF0M%252Bi7OgPLJfs8qTLgCrQC8WZYcDebbuySxIvOL7pVq4bymVlwP2B%252Bs2KrAD4OjPo%252B2WjEhmnLbtitkYph9PUaTQteBBZ1wh9RS%252B%252BLrW2NS1FxKF4WPLjQTzln6DuDW%252BTOzx98RYpbOKxvYrtXXMmuQjuxKeC6jGQQ5hQPaXuovab0%252F%252Byg%252F0X1ABTrjk4PryZtlLPvZJj21R%252FE%252BsoDEhG6y2013RAXV9zTTmyT0%252FzLzRF%252Bbp6TWMmJ0YZ7NCaMMnOvCwbDWifISQGxGSqjBAFh2XUecSsGXqV28%252Bw%252BdmmMkOb3PURLTeONTdJ8Kfhf277qRle7lkNcoc2slX8UvaMcNsGS7dCJZ8tmziordyplch9f%252B9A8SEC2h5kV1EoGy4IzPPodTiNF8%253D%7Ccksum%3A293890669785a8461b55d6524c69af7f7a1acb49de4d%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

Yes, an electric heat gun is mandatory.

Not off eBay.
We use them at work to solder a drain wire on the braid of shielded cables. We are not allowed to use them for conductor to conductor splicing. The workmanship can't be inspected and the flux can't be cleaned off.