An LED striplight. After 1 month, BANG! A puff of smoke and a hole blown in the side of it. What I think used to be an inductor has exploded with enough force to rupture the casing. Funny thing is, it continued to work for a day, and now works if I tap it.
I have never thrown away so much chinese junk....never did that with jap stuff....
Much of it made to the specifications of an engineer or designer from the US importer. Ask for junk, get junk.
From personal experience: You give the specs to the chinese and ask for test samples - they excede your spec by 20 or 30%. You place your first order - they meet spec - mabee excede by a percent or 2. You place your third order and the quality has gone right down the crapper. This was computer parts. Unless you have inspectors embedded in the factory you don't know WHAT you are getting - or even what "factory" they are coming out of. One "major brand" component was being produced under a tarp behind a guy's "house" by a cabal of kids. Different kids from month 2 month - and likely even a differnt guy's house. That was the "final product". Where the board was printed, where it was etched, where the components came from? Anybody's guess. Where the solfer for the wave soldering machinr came from? again - anybodies guess. Likely the scrap from another, bigger, "major manufacturer".
Lots of these little "micro-factories" in places like Guandong supplying "major brand" distributors.
You buy electical or electronic goods from China and they ask "what stickers do you want on them". "We need CSA" we reply "Can you send us a sample?" they reply.
"No thank you, we'll buy somewhere else" So you find a supplier that knows what CSA is and has the stickers - and find out the same CSA number ia on 5 different products you order from them - - -
That may happen but my experience has been different. I've only bought tooling, all one off stuff. Quality is equal to both US and European versions. Cost is 30% less and lead time is half.
I admit, some of the electronics being offered online is quite tempting and at more than reasonable prices. Heck, for a lot of it, Youtubers have reviews, but seldom have follow ups a month or even a week down the road, so still hard to trust. Having an actual UL rating would add quite a bit to the price and the US is so accustomed to these cheaper rates, that most people will skip and look for the same so-called Chinese equivalent.
I had a dryer going bad a couple of weeks ago. I blew my budget on the holidays, however, so decided to opt for a gently used one. Once I found the one I was looking for, I decided to do online research to see whether or not it was made in the USA or elsewhere. In my case, it appears to have been made in the USA... at least I hope so. As time passes, it gets more difficult to tell. The actual parts may be made in China, for example, and then assembled here, but will that difference be mentioned on the tag? Probably not.
I suppose if you use Harbor Fright as a tool sample, you will find the cheapest models are real junk and might not even get you through that "one time" project but if you kick it up a few notches and buy the more expensive tool, they seem OK. I have been using the hell out of the purple brad nailer for 10 years. The red one went in the trash within a month. It was only useful to tell me I will use a brad nailer a lot if I have one.
Do you blame China or Harbor Freight? HF wants to sell stuff cheap. Much of it is junk, Some will get you through that one time project and they crap out. HF does have some good buys if you are careful, I've bought some good knives and air fittings but I'd not buy a new car there.
I blame the American public. Sometimes even myself.
I have some HF tools here and even keep the $ 29.95 tool set in my truck. I look on them as use one time in an emergency type items. Only used the ratchet one time to help a fellow put his fan belt back on a car. The kind that has a pully with a strong spring that has to be pulled back. Out of about 20 men I was the only one that had a tool that could be used.
For a home owner like me that may use a tool once or twice they are ok, but if I made my living with tools, I would go to another brand.
I do buy (more like used to as I have most tools I need now ) mostly the Craftsman tools for home use.
I think that is a strange policy. If you are on the side of the road or stuck out on the water in your boat and you have one chance to get going again, the last thing you want is a marginal tool .
I have some HF sockets, open ends, and so forth in the tool tube on my bike. It's a step up from the typical Suzuki tools that come with it. If they disappear it's no big loss.
I do use the tools I carry for routine maintenance. If there's going to be a problem I'd rather find out about it in my driveway than 30 miles outside of Lower Moosenuts.
Hard to disagree with that but a marginal tool did the job where others had no tool. What do you keep in your car? I have a screwdriver and flashlight.
It may be. However the vehicles I have are in good shape. The truck has less than 100,000 on it . Even if I had a whole SK tool set on hand I would not have any parts to work on the truck or probability the ability either.
That HF kit did save the day for the one time I used it to help out another.
A margional tool beats no tools at all .
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