Review: Harbor Freight Thunderbolt batteries

[DJ11DLN]

I was at the local "Horror Fright" store about a month ago and saw these. Pack of four lithium-ion AA's, 2200 mAh, for $6.95. I figured what the heck, for that price I can give them a try. Been using them daily for a month now and they are delivering just as much time in the scanner as the more expensive name brand batteries of the same rating. They don't get any warmer charging than the others. Long term longevity will be a wait-and-see, but for the price if I get a year out of them I figure it will be a win.

I think I will acquire me a couple more sets.

 

[mmckenna]

Harbor Freight seems to be a good source for some products, if you go into it with a bit of knowledge.

Case in point:
I purchased a blow gun attachment for my air compressor from them. My old one had broken. I think I paid a few bucks for it. About a week later, I saw the identical model at Home Depot for $12.
There are only so many factories for some of these products, and often they are just contracted to build something for a specific vendor and slap their name on it. Often, under the labels, it's all the same stuff.

That said, they do have some crappy stuff that I wouldn't waste money on, but if you go in there and pay attention, you can do pretty well.


On a side note, I figure it's only a matter of time before they are selling Cheap Chinese Radios there. Kind of surprised they are not doing it already.

 

[scosgt]

I was at the local "Horror Fright" store about a month ago and saw these. Pack of four lithium-ion AA's, 2200 mAh, for $6.95. I figured what the heck, for that price I can give them a try. Been using them daily for a month now and they are delivering just as much time in the scanner as the more expensive name brand batteries of the same rating. They don't get any warmer charging than the others. Long term longevity will be a wait-and-see, but for the price if I get a year out of them I figure it will be a win.

I think I will acquire me a couple more sets.

They are NiMH, NOT Lithium.
I have lots of them, they work great. NOT made BY HF, only made FOR them. By a manufacturer who also makes the same battery under some brand name.

 

[DJ11DLN]

Harbor Freight seems to be a good source for some products, if you go into it with a bit of knowledge.

Case in point:
I purchased a blow gun attachment for my air compressor from them. My old one had broken. I think I paid a few bucks for it. About a week later, I saw the identical model at Home Depot for $12.
There are only so many factories for some of these products, and often they are just contracted to build something for a specific vendor and slap their name on it. Often, under the labels, it's all the same stuff.

That said, they do have some crappy stuff that I wouldn't waste money on, but if you go in there and pay attention, you can do pretty well.


On a side note, I figure it's only a matter of time before they are selling Cheap Chinese Radios there. Kind of surprised they are not doing it already.

I have bought some stuff from them that has been an outstanding value. And I have walked away from a lot of other stuff that was obviously not worth carrying home. It's not hard to tell which is which. Would I buy a jack or jackstands from them? No way. Some of the tools are surprisingly good, however. I have 2 of their Earthquake air impacts and both outperform IR tools I paid about 5X as much for several years back.

They are NiMH, NOT Lithium.
I have lots of them, they work great. NOT made BY HF, only made FOR them. By a manufacturer who also makes the same battery under some brand name.

Sorry my mistake, they are indeed nickel metal hydride. I doubt that Harbor Freight actually makes anything, they just contract to have their various brands put on stuff made by others and market it.

 

[mmckenna]

I have 2 of their Earthquake air impacts and both outperform IR tools I paid about 5X as much for several years back.

That's good to hear. My 1/2" rattle gun is getting old. Was looking at theirs the other day.

I've been looking at their floor jacks, too, I must admit. The one I have is too small for my new truck. It's also a pass down from my grandfather, I think he got it at K-Mart decades ago. I've always had replacing it in mind, but it has worked well enough. It is starting to leak oil and not sure I want to tear it apart to replace the seals.

Being a semi-rural town with a lot of farming and manufacturing, we have a wealth of hardware stores and lumber yards in town. Most of them are small and well established. Home Depot showed up several years ago and muscled their way in. One of the larger hardware stores finally closed down last year. Took about 4 months before the old store was subdivided and half became a Harbor Freight. Seems to do pretty good business, and in general, much more organized that the Home Depot.
I've found that Harbor Freight is kind of a fun store to take my son into. Give him a few bucks and he'll always find something to entertain himself. When my nephews birthday rolled around a few months ago, I bought him a $3 cow bell they were selling and gave it to him. My sister now hates me. Not sure why.

 

[ladn]

I'm a semi-regular Harbor Freight shopper. Like DJ11DLN said, you need to be an informed consumer.

I've also had good luck with their rechargeable batteries (AA).

I still buy most of my primary tools from Sears, Snap On or other major brands, but secondary tools that aren't mission critical and will be seldom used get sourced from Harbor Freight. I haven't been disappointed yet.

 

[jaspence]

Harbor Freight

About 5 years ago I purchased one of their collapsible flagpoles on sale. It has reliably held my dual band antenna through winds up to 70 mph and never drawn a comment in my restricted neighborhood. I have also had good results from the rechargeable batteries in my scanners.

 

[Fast1eddie]

Bought a 4 pack of HB branded Nicads, yes Nicads back in 2011. Been using them regularly, now just starting to go bad. Very impressed!

 

[vagrant]

I have owned one of their "Thunderbolt" branded SLA 35Ah batteries for a couple of years. I use it for low power radio contesting with a 100W solar panel and a controller. It handles the power draw well, but I typically do not pull more than 5 amps and rarely more than 15 amps with other devices and radios connected simultaneously. The power draw is quick and not continuous. When not in use I top it up once a month with a proper charger.

With the success I have had with that particular battery, I would purchase another. With a 25% coupon off their $70 price, I find it to be a reasonable value for my needs. Weighing about 25 pounds, it is not for backpacking but can easily handle 40W TX for a day of fun.

 

[DJ11DLN]

I've had some bad stuff from there, though mostly it was my fault for not looking closely enough or disregarding the old "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" rule. I actually found the batteries on a visit looking a couple of solid-tire wheelbarrow replacement wheels for my little lawn cart. The ones I needed were out of stock, but I always tour the store to see if there's anything new. I know the batteries weren't, I just hadn't noticed them before.

I agree that the regular ni-cad batteries are an excellent buy as well, they seem to last about as long as name brands and while I don't have any quite as old as the ones Fast1eddie has, some from about 2013 are still showing close to rated voltage.

I've got one of their jumper packs that's performed well beyond my expectations as well.

 

[KK4JUG]

I regularly take a tour of Harbor Freight and I've made my share of impulse buys but it never occurred to me to buy batteries there. It looks like that might change.

 

[RoninJoliet]

I have had them for two years now and there still going, last very long in my RS106 H/H.....

 

[bb911]

Of course, it's not only Harbor Freight. There was a long thread on RR about generic NiMH batteries. One source is IKEA: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70303876/

 

[RogueSteward]

Just like was said earlier, some things are good some are not. I often buy tools from there too. If a tool messes up, big deal, it's so cheap. The harbor freight where I am at has a great warranty on tools too! I do some of my own maintenance on my vehicles and they have been working great. Some of their screwdrivers are really bad though and are made of very soft metal and can end up rounding out a screw. Prices of their items may go up now though with the new proposed tariffs, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[bb911]

... Some of their screwdrivers are really bad though and are made of very soft metal and can end up rounding out a screw. ...

Sounds like the screws are the problem, not the screwdriver.

 

[RogueSteward]

Sounds like the screws are the problem, not the screwdriver.

Maybe, but the soft screwdrivers just lose their 'bite' and just end up damaging screws I was using. A better screwdriver bites in better. Nothing is more frustrating than using soft screwdrivers .

 

[RaleighGuy]

After reading all the good things said about the HF "Thunderbolt" brand rechargeable batteries, I made a trip down there to buy a few sets. Unfortunately, the store was out of all rechargeable batteries and I was told by the manager they are in the process of switching manufacturers for the batteries and it'd be a few weeks before they come back in. He did not know if price will be changing.

Let's hope the quality of batteries stays the same.

 

[Rred]

I think I'd be wary of HF batteries.
The only way to evaluate a rechargeable battery is by using it heavily for a year, and THEN see how it stands up. Some can work just fine for six months and then, they only take 1/2 a charge. Many will self-discharge to 50% after 30 days, some will retain 80% after six months. Guess which are cheaper?
A high self-discharge rate won't matter if you routinely "use 'em up" and recharge them twice a week anyway, but for others it is a deal breaker.
Let us know how they hold up after a year. And then, the question is whether HF is still buying the same no-name batteries from the same vendor. Everyone tends to re-bid battery contracts every year or so.

 

[scosgt]

I think I'd be wary of HF batteries.
The only way to evaluate a rechargeable battery is by using it heavily for a year, and THEN see how it stands up. Some can work just fine for six months and then, they only take 1/2 a charge. Many will self-discharge to 50% after 30 days, some will retain 80% after six months. Guess which are cheaper?
A high self-discharge rate won't matter if you routinely "use 'em up" and recharge them twice a week anyway, but for others it is a deal breaker.
Let us know how they hold up after a year. And then, the question is whether HF is still buying the same no-name batteries from the same vendor. Everyone tends to re-bid battery contracts every year or so.

The last time I bought them they were $4.99 for four. At that price, who cares if they don't last a year. I can attest that they do indeed work and hold a charge for a period of time. They are a great buy.

 

[scosgt]

After reading all the good things said about the HF "Thunderbolt" brand rechargeable batteries, I made a trip down there to buy a few sets. Unfortunately, the store was out of all rechargeable batteries and I was told by the manager they are in the process of switching manufacturers for the batteries and it'd be a few weeks before they come back in. He did not know if price will be changing.

Let's hope the quality of batteries stays the same.

I think this is correct. I have been unable to find AA's the last two trips to HF.