Buying guides

Short buying guides for gear that comes up often on the Best Farm Buys board. Each guide sticks to facts from manufacturers, retailers, safety agencies and university extension services, with a numbered source for every fact. We don't test products, and we say so when a tip is simply a question to ask before you buy.

Guides

• Portable generator buying guide for farm and shop
  How to add up running and starting watts, what to check on a listing, and the safety rules for running a generator.
• Impact wrench buying guide: sockets, lug nuts and what to check
  Which sockets to use with an impact wrench, how to avoid over-tightening lug nuts, and what to check on a listing.
• Jump starter guide: what to check and how to connect one safely
  What to match before you buy a jump starter, and the connection steps and limits one maker publishes.
• Heated water bucket guide: keeping livestock water open in winter
  Why unfrozen water matters in winter and the electrical safety checks extension services recommend.

Each guide also shows any matching deals on today's board. Read how we pick deals or see the whole board.