I'm upset that Hazard Fraught no longer has coupons for their carpenter's dradle.
I'm upset that Hazard Fraught no longer has coupons for their carpenter's dradle.
einy (Forum Supporter) said:SHutson said:Worse is that they don't support the older tools. I have the ubiquitous dark red "Chicago Electric" 1/2" cordless impact and they don't sell a battery for it anymore. No part interchange that I can find either.
Probably because that Chinese factory blew up in a hellacious industrial accident or some other such thing.
No, they deliberately changed the interface on newer batteries to make mine (and maybe hundreds of thousands like it) obsolete.
SHutson said:einy (Forum Supporter) said:SHutson said:Worse is that they don't support the older tools. I have the ubiquitous dark red "Chicago Electric" 1/2" cordless impact and they don't sell a battery for it anymore. No part interchange that I can find either.
Probably because that Chinese factory blew up in a hellacious industrial accident or some other such thing.
No, they deliberately changed the interface on newer batteries to make mine (and maybe hundreds of thousands like it) obsolete.
This is a very good reason not to buy battery powered HF tools. I had the same problem with their "Lynx" cordless yard tools, now there is "Atlas" I think, and guess what, it uses a new battery! Battery ecosystem should be main criteria for cordless tools purchase, and HF doesn't hold up well in that area.
SHutson said:Worse is that they don't support the older tools. I have the ubiquitous dark red "Chicago Electric" 1/2" cordless impact and they don't sell a battery for it anymore. No part interchange that I can find either.
Based on what I've read elsewhere batteries can be "rebuild" (by replacing the cells). It seems like it would be fairly easy and cells are available.
Most cordless batteries are rebuildable. Find a batteries plus or similar store if you don't want to try it yourself.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:Most cordless batteries are rebuildable. Find a batteries plus or similar store if you don't want to try it yourself.
https://www.mtobattery.com/collections/power-tool
Here's a place that does it. I certainly don't have the time, or desire, to rebuild Li-Ion packs.
However, they charge $30-60 for Milwaukee packs for example, might as well just buy the "aftermarket" milwaukee batteries, $35 for a 6.0Ah versus $60 to get rebuilt.
https://www.amazon.com/Waitley-Replacement-Lithium-Ion-Compatible-48-11-1820/dp/B07F745644
engiekev said:SHutson said:einy (Forum Supporter) said:SHutson said:Worse is that they don't support the older tools. I have the ubiquitous dark red "Chicago Electric" 1/2" cordless impact and they don't sell a battery for it anymore. No part interchange that I can find either.
Probably because that Chinese factory blew up in a hellacious industrial accident or some other such thing.
No, they deliberately changed the interface on newer batteries to make mine (and maybe hundreds of thousands like it) obsolete.
This is a very good reason not to buy battery powered HF tools. I had the same problem with their "Lynx" cordless yard tools, now there is "Atlas" I think, and guess what, it uses a new battery! Battery ecosystem should be main criteria for cordless tools purchase, and HF doesn't hold up well in that area.
You know that Everyone does this, right? Every time they introduce a new or updated line, most will change the batteries and interfaces. Its similar to the printer companies basically giving the printers away and making money on the ink.
I'm not saying they should be doing this, but this isn't anything new and if HF really wanted to make their customers loyal and happy, they'd redesign their tools to use the same battery interface.
Here's another example: Black and Decker and Porter Cable both technically use the same 20V packs as they are sister companies. You can't directly interchange the batteries as they slightly changed the interface (that you can trim a tab to get around).
There are folks that create their own adapters to use more commonly available batteries (Milwaukie, etc.) via 3D printing, etc. proving where there is a will, there is a way.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:engiekev said:SHutson said:einy (Forum Supporter) said:SHutson said:Worse is that they don't support the older tools. I have the ubiquitous dark red "Chicago Electric" 1/2" cordless impact and they don't sell a battery for it anymore. No part interchange that I can find either.
Probably because that Chinese factory blew up in a hellacious industrial accident or some other such thing.
No, they deliberately changed the interface on newer batteries to make mine (and maybe hundreds of thousands like it) obsolete.
This is a very good reason not to buy battery powered HF tools. I had the same problem with their "Lynx" cordless yard tools, now there is "Atlas" I think, and guess what, it uses a new battery! Battery ecosystem should be main criteria for cordless tools purchase, and HF doesn't hold up well in that area.
You know that Everyone does this, right? Every time they introduce a new or updated line, most will change the batteries and interfaces. Its similar to the printer companies basically giving the printers away and making money on the ink.
I'm not saying they should be doing this, but this isn't anything new and if HF really wanted to make their customers loyal and happy, they'd redesign their tools to use the same battery interface.
Here's another example: Black and Decker and Porter Cable both technically use the same 20V packs as they are sister companies. You can't directly interchange the batteries as they slightly changed the interface (that you can trim a tab to get around).
There are folks that create their own adapters to use more commonly available batteries (Milwaukie, etc.) via 3D printing, etc. proving where there is a will, there is a way.
No need to be obtuse, yes I realize this. However, some mfrs change more frequently than others; that was my point. Milwaukee M18 and M12 have been out for nearly a decade and have not changed, they only keep introducing new capacities to the same form factor.
HF on the other hand, good luck finding a form factor that hasn't changed in less than 1-2 years. This supports my original opinion "This is a very good reason not to buy battery powered HF tools."
We're waaaay off in the weeds on the original subject, which was about HF coupons. I'll get back on track: I love HF coupons 
It looks like the HF coupon/fliers are gone for good. For years I often carried a half doz. or more HF coupons in my wallet (like many in here). Oh well, the end of an era I guess.
Printed coupons and booklets are likely dead. The massive savings and environmental concerns (waste) will help to make it likely permanent. It's a bit of a legacy loss though since the company originated as being only a booklet. The first store was the result of needing to liquidate returns from the booklet business.
Recently, a variety of digital coupons have been coming out, so that is certainly the way forward. There is an official HF app BTW. It has the savings specials, but I don't know if it will have all the special coupons (e.g. 20% of any item under $10 I have seen a few times)
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:You know that Everyone does this, right?
Not "everyone". Ryobi has had the same 18v battery since the early 2000s. When they went from NiCd to LIon they remained the same so the older tools were still usable.
Disclaimer: I am not a paid spokesman (but I would if they asked).
L5wolvesf said:Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:You know that Everyone does this, right?
Not "everyone". Ryobi has had the same 18v battery since the early 2000s. When they went from NiCd to LIon they remained the same so the older tools were still usable.
Disclaimer: I am not a paid spokesman (but I would if they asked).
Dewalt does something similar with their flex volt series. The mechanical interface is the same, unlike other mfrs that use different interface for their higher voltage batteries.
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