Tag Archive for: product review

RainEater wiper blade review

Wiper blades are one of the most important things on a vehicle. Sadly they are also very often overlooked. Or people opt for the cheap $4 blades that do not last, or do not properly clear the windshield. As a dealer tech, I am very much a fan of factory wiper blades. So when the folks at RainEater asked me to check their wipers out, I jumped on that challenge. Overall I was impressed with the build quality of these wipers. I also like that they are not capped at the end of the blade like the factory ones. That is one less failure point.

Join me today as we test drive RainEater wiper blades:

  • What I look for in a wiper bladeRainEater wiper blade review
  • Compare to OEM wipers
  • First non OEM wipers on my Passat
  • Ease of install
  • Cleaning the windshield
  • Pros of RainEater wiper blades
  • Cons of RainEater wiper blades
  • Demo of OEM wiper blades
  • Demo of RainEater wiper blades
  • RainEater on Facebook
  • and more

Trouble viewing? Watch “RainEater Wiper Blade Review ~ Video” on YouTube.

Overall I think these are pretty good wipers. I left them on my Passat for a long term update.

As always, post your comments below. If you have a tool or product you would like for me to review, use the contact me form. Or email me Charles(at)HumbleMechanic(dot)com, and put TOOL REVIEW in the subject.RainEater wiper blade review

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Dieselgeek P2015 Manifold FixHey everyone. This is something I am really excited to share with you. The amazing folks at DieselGeek.com hooked me up with one of their repair kits for the TDI intake manifold with P2015 Intake Manifold Flap Position Sensor (Bank 1): Implausible Signal codes stored. As will all the stuff from Diesel Geek, this thing is awesome! It is also nice to have a $65 solution vs a $420 plus labor solution. These will fit 2009-20014 Golf, Beetle, and Jetta TDIs

Today we break down this intake manifold repair bracket:

  • What causes the p2015 fault code
  • What the bracket does
  • Fitment of the DieselGeek bracket
  • Parts of the DieselGeek bracket
  • How to install the DieselGeek bracket (DieselGeek video)
  • How a dealership would repair the TDI intake manifold
  • Cautions of replacing the intake manifold
  • Buy or No Buy?
  • All Diesel Geek’s Videos
  • And more

Trouble viewing this video? Watch “TDI Intake Manifold Repair From DieselGeek ” on YouTube.

As always, post your comments below. Have you used this part, or anything else from DieselGeek.com? Post it up! If you have a tool you would like for me to review, use the contact me form. Or email me Charles(at)HumbleMechanic(dot)com, and put TOOL REVIEW in the subject.

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Sort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage TrayAs a professional auto mechanic, tool storage is very important to me. At work, all of my tools are organized in a way that helps me be neat and efficient. It took me years of fine tuning my tool. I sort tools in the following way:

  • Most frequently used
  • Size order, like a set of wrenches would be
  • Type of tools, wrenches with wrenches, sockets with sockets, and so on
  • By size of the tool, this is based on the size of the drawer they are in.

I have seen tons of different types of tool organizers. Some are great, some are junk, and some are crazy expensive. When the folks at Sort-A-Tool asked me to review their Wrench Sorting Tray, I was honored. So let’s take a closer look at the Wrench Sorting Tray.

About the Wrench Tray
The tray is made from hard black plastic. It can hold up to 28 wrenches. The Wrench tray has a footprint of 13.5″ x 10″ x 1.5″ which means it will fit most tool drawers. Included with the tray are labeling stickers to help you quick identity wrench sizes. One other cool thing is these are made in the USA!

The Pros

  • The hard plastic is durable and easily cleanableSort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray
  • Separations for each wrench
  • Holds a lot of wrenches
  • the spot for small wrenches is raised making it easy to get them out.
  • There are 2 parts trays built in
  • Labels for quick size identification
  • Makes great use of the space
  • It is portable with the wrenches moving
  • Almost impossible to put wrenches in the wrong spot
  • Its small enough to fit in most drawers of most tool boxes
  • It will not scratch up your wrenches

The Cons
Before I talk about the cons I just want to say all the “cons” I talk about are personal feelings. It comes only from the way I store tools. Keep in mind, they may not be an issue for you

  • If you use the labels, metric and standard wrenches are mixed together.
  • It only holds up to a 19mm wrench
  • The “sizing bar” at the top was a little strange to use for me. I asked my wife to take a look at this feature. She liked it saying “it was easy to find the right spot for the wrench”
  • There is limited flexibility in storage

Sort A Tool Wrench Storage Tray

Final Thoughts
I really like this tray! As I said above, any “cons” I wrote about were extremely minor. Almost to the point of nit picking. I think this is one of the better wrench holders I have put my hands on. I usually try and look at a product like this from 2 sides “Is it good for a pro mechanic” and “Is it good for a home toolbox”. I think this tray is great for BOTH! You can get them from Amazon SortATool Wrench Tray, They are also coming out with a socket storage tray later this year. I am excited to see it.

Have questions about this product? Please post them in the comments below. If you have a product you would like reviewed, please use this contact me form. I will be more than happy to provide a honest review of any product.

Sort A Tool Wrench Labels SORTATOOL will get you sorted out! SORTATOOL is a tool sorting and storing product line for professionals and enthusiastic DIY mechanics. The patented wrench sorting and storing tray has been a popular product in the US for over 10 years.  A novel socket sorting & storing tray will be launched around April 2014, and additional sorting and storage solutions for all the other things in tool chests and boxes are in the pipeline.
Tool Lodge Storage

Hey everyone. I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that it is December 6th already. This year has been sort of a blur. For the blog it has been an AWESOME year. I may not say it enough, but I really do appreciate each and every one of you. You guys seriously rock.

Today I want to chat a little about tool storage and Tool Lodge Storageorganization. This is a very personal thing for a lot of people. Things get even crazier when you bring it to a professional level. Every one organizes things different. At work, I stage things in a way to get to them fast. At home, I like things nice and pretty. To be honest, my tools at home are a mess. 🙂

The folks at Tool Lodge were nice enough to send me a sample of their tool drawer organizer. They asked me to check it out, and give them my thoughts. I did that, and I figured I would share them with all of you as well. One quick thing, Tool lodge did send this to me at no charge. But as you all know, I give my honest opinion no matter what. That is how I roll.

Overall I think the product is well built. It is a foam wrapped in a felt type material. The backing is plastic and seem to be pretty supportive. You can even add magnets to the bottom. That would be good if the holder will not cover the entire drawer. Here are a few pictures of the process.

Orginize The ToolsHere is a shot of some tools set out. The most important thing seems to be laying out your tools properly. If you look to the bottom left of the picture, you can see that I punched a ratchet into the foam.

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

This is a close up of the ratchet I pressed into the foam. Pressing a tool seemed very easy to do. I was able to apply pressure by hand and set the tool so it would not move. Then I tapped the tool down into the foam. Tool Lodge recommends using a soft (rubber or plastic) mallet. I used a regular hammer and a block of wood. It worked great!

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

This is the imprint of the ratchet in the foam. You can see it does a good job of forming to the tool. You can even see the lines of the handle. If you look at the middle of the imprint, you can see an section pressed in that does not fit the ratchet shape. This is from the supplied grip tool. It lets you dent a spot to be able to grab the tool. This is one of my favorite parts about this system.

Tool box storgage Tool Lodge

I also wanted to see how a box wrench would set in the system. Here you can see the tool and the indent in the foam. It does a pretty good job of setting an imprint that matches the tool.

Like I said before, I think this is a nice tool storage system. Here is my overall breakdown of the Tool Lodge.

PROS

  • Tools look VERY cool. Hey, that matters

    tool box organization

    This is what an unorganized tool drawer looks like

  • Tools will always have a set place.
  • It is easy to see if something is missing.
  • Things can not roll around in the draw
  • Tools are easy to set in the foam
  • This is a GREAT system when people share tools
  • The felt will not mar tools
  • Product is well built
  • Custom sizes to most tool box drawers
  • The grip tool is great to get tools out fast.
  • No cutting of foam.
  • It’s way better than the foam that you pluck the squares out of

Cons

  • Once the tools are set, there is no changing or adding tools
  • I am slightly concerned about long term use, the tools may not fit as tight down the road
  • I worry about what happens if you drop a tool on the foam. Light tools would be fine, but something with some weight might dent the foam.
  • The felt seems to hold some dust. This is not a big deal, just a minor.
  • I wonder about oil saturation on the foam. My tools are not always spotless when I put them away. This is a Charles thing. It probably does not apply to some folks.
  • The drawer you use it in needs to be 2 or more inches deep.
  • It is a bit pricey to outfit an entire tool box

Well that about wraps it up. I think Tool Lodge did a good job building this product. For the person looking for this type of organization, I think you will dig this! If you have any questions about Tool Lodge, please post them in the comments. I will also be setting a few more tools just to see how they form.