Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe K
That's worth knowing. Glad I'm not stuck on them.
Thanks!
Joe K
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And to further describe my disappointment (and in keeping with above) it is worth mentioning that I have given my son my dad's Craftsman socket set dating from 1938 (Dad was 16 years old when he was working on his 1928 Model A RPU with that set.)
But alas. I am not surprised that Hecho en China has raised it's ugly head even for something as American Apple Pie as Sears Craftsman tools.
The Chinese do see the market for what it is. And they respond to it.
A story. Traveling in my work, my wife would call me at points remote and complain about the old mower I owned. I'm the sort who gets an old mower at the dump and makes it work - and work - and work. Yes, they can be a challenge to start but somehow I make it happen. It's what I do.
Not so much my wife. Finally, dodging the complaint, I say to her "Go to Sears and pick out a new Craftsman mower," which she does.
Brand new. It starts on the 2nd pull - at first. But as the mowing season progresses, it gets harder and harder to start. Until finally around Labor Day even my herculean strength and Einsteinian wisdom about machinery could not make it work. Still under warranty, it went back. Sears replaces the mower in it's entirety and we were back to square one.
The following mowing season almost the exact same thing occurred. Easy start in the beginning but getting ever so much harder as the mowing season progressed. Even using Stable as Sears recommended did not help. By 4th of July the mower is inoperable. And now we're fully out of warranty.
Screw this, says I. Brand new mower now headed for the dump?
Reports on the Craftsman Mower on the Internet reveal that the EPA has gotten to Briggs & Stratton the motor manufacturer and the carburetors are no longer consumer adjustable. In fact, you don't adjust the carb at all - you buy a new one. Filled with a self adjusting choke and small passages, the cleanest of the new alcohol laden gas kills the carb in short order. It's a design made to die. But it satisfies the EPA.
Gotta love business/government collusion. Sure death to free enterprise or what?
But I have an out. Harbor Freight has "Predator" mower engines. So I gambled the $89 on sale and bought their vertical shaft mower engine. Heck I can hardly buy a new carb alone for the useless Craftsman mower for the same price. The reviews on the Internet were all glowing - the Predator engine is a Chinese clone of a Honda - and in fact parts will interchange with Honda Parts. (This apparently a big part of the Chinese business model - they make parts for you but you agree to let them compete against you directly under their own brand name.)
The Predator replacement engine for the Craftsman Briggs & Stratton on the old deck was straightforward. All the bolts line up, the cables match and are a direct connection similar to B&S. And best of all - everything works and works RIGHT. Even to a push button three times and pull twice to start. But it disappoints. It starts on the 1st pull.
And has ever since. Now at the end of a second year of mowing. No more complaints from the wife.
A lesson to be learned here. Don't buy AMERICAN CRAP. Don't support an obvious collusion when you see it. Base your purchase on the ability to get what YOU want - not what some pol or environmentalist or retailer or repairman wants.
Reward success in the marketplace by voting with your dollars.
Hard to always know what is best. The Internet helps you detect a charade in advance.
Do your research.
Joe K