Harbor Freight Breaker Bars Anyone use em?

[spiderxx]

Im curious if anyone has used their breaker bars. Im in need of a 3/8's and I have a coupon for their store. Since my local Sears closed their doors in my area Im limited in shopping choices.

Im only a hobbyist with using tools so I dont require the best of the best as I only do things from time to time. But I would like to know how it holds up in case I needed to use it for some heavy pressure.

Any stories of using it and one breaking? If so lmk what broke & if the bar snapped in half or ????
For $15 its tempting. lol!

[ElChupacabra]

I use the 3/8 17" bar a bunch. I keep one in all my cars with a deep socket in case I need to change a tire. Way better than a tire iron. I use it pretty often on my track car. I've repeatedly stood on it when loosening lugs and I'm 300+lbs. Never broken one. Some Harbor Freight stuff is well worth the price. My best advice with HF stuff is read the reviews on their site. In my experience that's pretty good guidance on any specific item. I live 5 minutes from a HF and I find myself there often for work or home stuff.

[robertjpjr]

I have one. Haven't broken it yet working on my Dodge 2500.

[donny8594]

3/8 breaker bar what could go wrong with that.
Buy it your only out 15 bucks and a few teeth if it breaks.

[KJ10]

IME, pretty much everything from HF is a 50/50 crap shoot. Read reviews, look for videos by specific part numbers, etc. Some of their stuff is awesome, some is awesomely bad. From what I've seen though, I wouldn't trust a $15 steel bar that requires 90ft/lb or more.

[The Violator]

I personally would avoid anything that takes heavy stress that HB sells. Maybe go 1/2 bar with a 3/8 adapter. Of course I would never trust their sockets either.

I like their rubber gloves because they are cheap. I have a couple sets of their 1/4" sockets, because they were cheap. I would stick with at least Stanley or Craftsmen for hand tools.

[Sarra]

Well, here's the thing about Harbor Freight. The crap the sell is really cheap, but there's a pretty easy way to determine if it's worth it or not.

Does it have moving parts?

Does it use electricity?

If you answer both of those 'no', then it's fine to buy. If 'yes' to one, but not the other, than maybe. If yes to both, I'd go Snap On or somewhere else that makes quality products.

I've got 3/8" drive breaker bar and it's been reliable and tough. It's a chunk of steel with a pin through it an another bit of steel on the end. It's beefy, heavy, and the money to make it went into the metal, and not the finish (it has an absolute crap finish). I've also got some 1/2" drive sockets from Harbor Freight, and they've outlasted my snapon and craftsman sockets. They're non-impact sockets, and I've used them in impacts since I got them. None have any damage, never stripped anything with them, and in general, they work just as good as my other stuff. I've got a jack and jackstands from harbor freight that have lasted me 7 years now, heavy use at times, and no issues at all there, either.

You just gotta know what you can, and shouldn't buy from Harbor Freight. Stick to the good stuff, and you'll be fine.

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by donny8594

3/8 breaker bar what could go wrong with that.
Buy it your only out 15 bucks and a few teeth if it breaks.

Lifetime warranty, just take it back.

[Kartooo]

Originally Posted by Ditchrat

Lifetime warranty, just take it back.

agreed, i use their 1/2 drive one.
they are about a 1/2 hr drive from me...

[ferp420]

Ive broken there 3/8 and 1/2 and 3/4 bars but then again ive broken the craftsman and snapons to i havebalot of stuff from harbor freight and most of the stuff lasts i went through 3 grinders one craftsman one makita and a bosh they all died inna few months i got the $12 harbor freight grinder 2 years ago and its still going strong go figure i also have there cheap flux core wire feed welder and it lays a better bead than the high doller mig welder my freind has in his shop so i would say there tools are better than 50/50 and have a life time warrenty and when i take a brand new craftsman ratchet out of the packadge and it dosent work or a new socket breakes after 1 use i see no reason to spend the extra money on craftsman or other brands

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by donny8594

3/8 breaker bar what could go wrong with that.
Buy it your only out 15 bucks and a few teeth if it breaks.

Originally Posted by KJ10

IME, pretty much everything from HF is a 50/50 crap shoot. Read reviews, look for videos by specific part numbers, etc. Some of their stuff is awesome, some is awesomely bad. From what I've seen though, I wouldn't trust a $15 steel bar that requires 90ft/lb or more.

x2

Yes, I like to keep ma teef, eyes, etc...buy at least a Craftsman. Standing on breaker bars, done that, but only a high quality bar, I've had and seen some bad injuries from broken tools.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by The Violator

Of course I would never trust their sockets either.

I've got three sets of impact sockets (metric and 'murican deep, and metric short) from HF that I bought over a decade ago. They're wearing comparable to the much (much) more expensive set that I bought off of a tool truck.

Might be a little leery of the non-impact variety though...


But at the end of the day, I buy what I can afford, weighed against the frequency of usage. I've got really expensive stuff, and really cheap stuff. It all does what I need it to do.

[spiderxx]

Thanks fellas for all the experiences. I ended up giving it a shot but will keep in mind to rely on my shorter craftsmen 3/8 breaker bar for the more strenuous jobs. I dont wanna get hurt using a cheaper tool thats for sure.