Category: Tools

Best Scan Tool, XTOOL A30-M, Cheapest Bidirectional OBDII Diagnostic Scanner

Best Scan Tool. XTOOL A30-M. Cheapest Bidirectional OBDII Diagnostic Scanner

The XTOOL A30M OBDII diagnostic scan tool is probably the best value scan tool available today. This Automotive scanner has the most functionality, including bidirectional control and ABS brake bleed, for the least amount of money on the market. It’s an OBDII dongle that works along with your portable smartphone or tablet. It can be an Android device, or an APPLE product….. Either way this device will work with your existing phone, tablet, iPad, etc. Unlike other OBDII dongles that require annual subscriptions per make/model, or annual subscriptions to enable certain scan tool functions, this scan tool has FULL FUNCTIONALITY for the life of the device. It also includes LIFETIME FREE software updates. Once you buy this scan tool, you will never pay another penny to continue using it. It’s purchase price, compared to it’s functionality makes it the best value on the Diagnostic scan tool market today….. Then, consider that it costs nothing extra to keep the tool running and up to date pretty much makes it a no-brainer.

The software that you download onto your portable device is called “ANYSCAN by XTOOL” and it’s the same software that is found in their high-end top tier scan tools. The user interface that appears on your phone is exactly the same user interface that appears on XTOOl’s $1200+ pro level diagnostic scan tools. Using this A30-M scan tool with my Samsung Android tabled (as shown in this video) gives me exactly the same user experience as using my XTOOL D8 or D9 scan tool.

I have reviewed other OBDII dongle scan tools in the past and not only did they charge a fee for everything, the mobile version that appears on the smartphone looks nothing like what would appear on their dedicated scan tool devices. The software was extremely clunky to use, not very intuitive, and even somewhat confusing. That is NOT the case with this new A30-M….. This thing works smooth and perfect!

Within only a few minutes, you can have this tool up and running on your mobile device, and scanning a vehicle for codes. However, once the software is installed on your device, I do recommend checking for, and installing any available updates to be sure your new tool and software are fully up-to-date and functioning at their best. The amount of time it takes to download and install updates depends on the total number of updates, the speed of your device, the speed of your internet connection, the amount of traffic currently using XTOOL’s web server, etc ,etc.

This A30-M scan tool is not like the other OBDII dongles that came before…. This tool is the real deal! It’s very powerful, it has tons of functionality, it has an affordable purchase price, it has a two year manufacturer’s warranty, it includes free software updates, and it’s very intuitive and easy to use. The dongle itself is fairly small…. It’s like having a pro-level scan tool in your pocket. This thing would be great for road trips across the country. You never know if/when you’re going to break down on long road trips. This tool will always be in my glove box. Hopefully if I have it, then I will never need to use it on my road trips. Lol.

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How To Get Full Power From Predator 3500 Inverter Generator, Camping Or Home Backup Distribution Box

Harbor Freight Predator 3500 Inverter Generator Power Distribution Accessory Box for Camping or Emergency Home Backup. Get FULL power From Your Harbor Freight Generator (or any other brand) while adding extra safety and power cord length to get the generator away from the camp site to help control sound. I made this portable power distribution box (some people would call this a spider box) for three reasons:

1) Get full power output from the generator. This box allows me to use the large RV plug on the generator while tent or truck camping to get the full potential power output from the generator without owning an actual RV. I cannot get the full 3500 watts out of the standard outlet on the front panel of the Harbor Freight Predator generator. The one standard outlet on the front panel is only capable of supplying between 1800 to 2400 watts (best case scenario), but I paid for 3500 watts, peak. This portable power distribution box allows me to use the 30 amp round RV plug to get the full 3500 watts. This same type of power distribution box (spider box) would also work on just about any of the other import inverter generators that are on the market today, Harbor Freight Predator, WEN, Northern Tool Powerhorse, Westinghouse, Champion, Generac, Ryobi, etc…. Even the Honda and the Yamaha generators could benefit from a spider box like this.

2) Added safety. None of the built-in outlets of the front panel of this generator have GFCI protected outlets. My new portable power distribution box has two, 20 amp GFCI outlets. I am sure there will be a few people that will say GFCI outlets are not needed on a generator but I cannot thing of a single scenario where using GFCI outlets is MORE dangerous than NOT using them. I would MUCH rather know that I have GFCI protection while camping in the woods that are soaking wet from all the rain that usually falls in the area where I typically camp.

3) Sound control. The cord on my spider box is 25 feet by itself, plus I have an additional 100 feet of extension cord that will potentially allow me to push my generator 125 feet into the wood, away from my campsite, to help greatly with sound control. This generator is already very quiet, but the further away I can get ANY generator from my campsite, the better my overall camping experience will be.

Please leave a comment below and let me know if something like this would be handy for YOUR camping situation. Also, please ask any question that you may have.

Best Automotive Battery Charger & Maintainer SOLAR PL2320 CLORE Automotive

Best Battery Charger & Maintainer SOLAR PL2320 CLORE Automotive

Finally an automotive battery charger and battery maintainer that can also charge batteries that are completely dead. The SOLAR PL2320 by Clore Automotive has been terrific. They are the same company that makes the JNC line of jump start battery packs, which are the industry standard for jump packs. This battery charger also has “power supply mode” so when performing a long repair with the ignition turned on, your battery won’t go dead. It will charge standard lead acid, AGM, and Gel filled batteries, in either 6 or 12 volts along with power supply mode. This charger has been much better than the last two chargers that I purchased from Harbor Freight. Of course neither of the HF chargers still work. lol.

XTOOL D7 vs D8 Comparison. Differences Between These Two Diagnostic Scan Tools

XTOOL D7 vs D8 Comparison. Differences Between These Two Diagnostic Scan Tools

A quick video about the differences between the XTOOL D7 and XTOOL D8 diagnostic scan tools. I did separate review videos about each of these OBDII scanners a while back but there have been many questions about the differences between the two. See the links below for those review videos. Some of the differences pointed out in this video were sent to me by XTOOL, and some of the differences I have discovered myself. This may not be a 100% complete list.

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How To Bleed ABS Brakes, DIY Power Brake Bleeder, Pressure Bleeder, Ford Crown Victoria, Or ANY Car.

How to make your own power bleeder to bleed ABS brakes on any car.

I show how I made a DIY power pressure brake bleeder to finish bleeding the brakes on a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria. After running the automated bleed process on my OBDII scan tool I still needed to finish manually bleeding the brake lines and finish removing all the air from the brake system. This homemade power bleeder worked absolutely terrific for me with no problems at all. Nice firm pedal, no mushy pedal here! Again, I used this power bleeder ALONG WITH an OBDII scan tool to completely bleed the trapped air out of the ABS module. I have found that I need both (scan tool and power bleeder) to completely remove all air from the brake system. Your mileage may vary, however.

The vehicle that I used this tool to bleed was a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria but this method should work on just about any make/model of vehicle as long as you have the correct master cylinder adapter.

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