Bought this so I could charge dead batteries. Worthless purchase. Guess I should’ve read the box. So just a heads up if you go to harbor freight to save a dollar.

Haven’t got anything there in years everything t I thought I don’t use it much it should be fine I was wrong

That’s how all the new ones we’ve bought are. Probably 3 different brands. Drives me nuts. I was told it’s a safety thing because to many morons are hooking them up backwards. Even the new $40” jump pack we have won’t charge a dead battery without hitting the override.

those smart chargers are junk IMO

kinda like gas cans that are available now. EPA OSHA or any of the alphabets finds something that works well they cant stand it

The only thing i buy there is gloves and such. Never electrical

Not everything is good at HF read the reviews before buying
Now I have a few things from there that work good like the predator engines, power washers.

Take it back.

They have their place

Tools are lifetime trade in

I burnt the box. I do have the receipt. Reckon they’ll take it back?

While the charger is hooked up to the dead battery you could hook up a set of jumper cables from a running vehicle to the dead battery or charger clamps for a minute or two, just to give it enough juice for charger to kick on.

Very true. Almost all bigger ( non-trickle ) chargers are now 'smart' chargers. They will not charge a totally flat battery. It has to have a least 1-2volts to be able to accept a charge.

This is a very good hack to fool the smart chargers brain. It works , but is a PIA.

Give me an older 'dumb' charger any day.

Me too I like their gloves. I have several different thickness of them. Good product......jk

Absolutely

I ordered some new spouts off Amazon since I had a few get lost and broke. It came with 10 threaded pieces 5 each of different thread types and a drill bit rubber grommet and plastic vent piece like the old cans came with. So you can add a vent and get rid of the crap vent free spout. I don't remember the price but it was cheap for China but works.

As far as charging dead batteries. I could when I put the charger on 200amp jump start mode and run it through a few cycles of that it will start charging on 40amp mode and 8 amp. But if just trying right off it will kick on them kick off. Has to have some juice to charge on lowered settings on my newest most expensive charger I have ever bought. Let's say I'm also disappointed.

good luck finding any charger sold today that will charge a dead battery , a nearly dead battery is a different thing

it needs to have some voltage

now a trick to get them to work is you use the jump pack or jumper cables and another battery to give them a little juice then attach the charger and start it charging then once it is charging a few minutes you can probably take the jump pack or cables off the other battery.


this is to protect you from fires and such of charging shorted batteries

if you can get a click and the lights come on the charger will charge , if it is dead not even a light comes on when you turn the key it will not.

if you want one of those old 12 volt transformers called a battery charger find an old guy and offer him 100 dollars for his non smart charger , idiot protections are in place in manufacturing no store wants to sell the type that you want.

they need to be at least 25 years old in mist cases to not be "smart charge" or have the safe charge circuitry built in .

you could always throw it through their window!!
my mother in law was taking a starter back to the junkyard because it didnt fit ... old jew said no refunds... she shook the starter and said JULIUS you give me my 5 dollars or its going threw your plate glass window.... NO NO MADDIE I GET YOURE MONEY......lol she was a tough old girl.

Ebay has good old school chargers.

Lot of good ideas and iv used them all. Think NOCO GENIUS has a force charge option.

https://ezpourspout.com/product-category/spouts/

there are several Knock offs of the EZ Pour I have no idea the quality of them , the EZ-pour are good

If you find one of these at an auction or garage sale buy it

Keith

Thanks. Looks like it’s going back then.

Forget those new gas tanks or the aftermarket spouts, get the racing car gas cans, heavier duty, big opening you can stand up and fill, and you can get a plain plastic tubing spout. The cans will outlast you and they're about the same price as the "approved" crap ones....

If you buy a generator at hf and get the 2 year extended protection plan.....then 18 months later you forget it is outside and run it over with a track hoe they will give you a new one when you bring the flattened one back to the store..cannot beat that.

So it has nothing to do with Harbor Freight, you just didn’t pay attention to what you were buying. As mentioned, good luck finding a new charger that isn’t exactly the same.

Doesn’t make sense to me why you would want a battery charger that won’t charge a dead battery. That’s worthless. They need to quit tending to the idiots a let them figure out how they should hook up a battery charger. But I guess I’m no smarter, buying a battery charger an expecting it to charge a dead battery. HA

I bought an older type on ebay, it is a cream puff and came with the original box.

I bought an older type on ebay, it is a cream puff and came with the original box.

I bought the guys a NOCO jump pack. It has an override button for dead batteries. That thing is amazing. 10% the size and weight of our old ones and does a better job.

I have one of these also , and they work great…I keep one in my boat

The charger might not be any good but that’s an excellent wood stove it’s sitting on.

How do you know? It's obvious it's not working!!

Okay I been trying to follow this. I do think my charger is old enough not the smart one.
What I'm wondering is when you talk about fooling the smart charger with jump pack.
Would it work to clip the dead battery to the charge line on my generator? I know Im supposed to be able to charge batteries with my generator just never have used it? Should be a way to kick start the battery for the smart charger?? I actually have battery I think I can try this on.

Mac

"Never Forget Which Way Is Up!"

I like my harbor freight impact sockets, glass suction cup, and dad's floor jack has worked well for 7 years now

Harbor freight has mostly usable stuff, some things better than others and some real junk, so does Home depot, and the like.

I have a battery charger for there and it's charges the battery's you probably bought a bad one..

Harbor freight has a red charger that will charge a dead battery, it's about $55.
One trick I have found is to start charging on 2 amps for awhile before switching it to 10 amps.

I'd also suggest you take your battery somewhere to have it checked. It might be an actual dead battery; bad cell etc..

Is it fair to the seller if one doesn’t read about what they are buying ???

I’ve bought lots of things from them and not had any problem using them !

Might not be the best one can buy, however they do carry workable things !!

Yes

I agree with the predator engines. I have one on my Troy Bilt tiller that I replaced when the one that came with the tiller died. I've had it for at least 10 years and still runs great.

They have good zip ties.

"They have good zip ties."

No...they have cheap zip ties, about 10 % break when you tighten them, and they weaken rapidly in the sun and then break, even the black ones. Though HD and Lowes aren't any better. Since they're all made in China now they all suck...

I've got three predator engines. One is 1 year old, one is 4 years old and one is 9 years old.. They run as good as any small engine I have and that's a bunch. The oldest one I used to repower a sears suburban garden tractor and Ive abused it.

Oh and Ill say their impact sockets have stood up to severe abuse from me, as well as more than a few hand tools..