Language:

en_US

switch to room list switch to menu My folders
Go to page: First ... 39 40 41 42 [43] 44 45 46 47
[#] Mon Jun 03 2024 01:37:03 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Get a scythe and a sharpening stone. It works great for trimming lawn

down in complicate areas. I have one to keep the grass controlled in

Here we call that a "string trimmer" and we put good old fashioned explodey juice into it.

Scythes are cool but they're generally only used by people cosplaying homesteaders on y00t00b.

[#] Mon Jun 03 2024 11:29:32 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

I have seen people do it locally, when they let a field get too overgrown.  Not often, but it happens. 



[#] Tue Jun 04 2024 18:28:49 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Here we call that a "string trimmer" and we put good old fashioned

explodey juice into it.

I used to have one, but I didn't like it much. Maybe the vegetation here is specially sucky, but going through it with a string trimmer will have your string destroyed faster than the vegetation.

This reminds me of a time I was visiting some horses and passed by a neighbor who was trying to use one of those things. His string got tangled with a bush and made a mess out of itself. He asked me if I had a knife to help him cut the machine free. Next thing he said was "Holy fuck, how do you manage to conceal thaat scimitar under your shirt?!"

Trimmers with actual rotating blades, now, those are up to something. They also chew through your feet real good :P

I ultimately like the scythe better because the whole thing is much cheaper, I don't find it more tiresome, and the vegetation can be collected easier for the horses.

[#] Tue Jun 04 2024 18:35:04 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Ya, there is risks but its damned effective.

Used to be blades you could swap in on the string trimmers.  Donno if they got banned or not " might hurt yourself whaaaaa " 

Tue Jun 04 2024 14:28:49 EDT from darknetuser

Trimmers with actual rotating blades, now, those are up to something. They also chew through your feet real good :P


 



[#] Tue Jun 04 2024 18:53:52 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Used to be blades you could swap in on the string trimmers.  Donno
if they got banned or not " might hurt yourself whaaaaa " 

I am pretty sure you can find them around here quite easily, but they are so expensive they don't make much sense unless you do gardening professionaly. There is also the fact those things drink fuel like crazy.

[#] Mon Jun 10 2024 14:25:18 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Used to be blades you could swap in on the string trimmers. 

There still are. I own one that goes on my trimmer and I put it on when I need to cut through brush. It works great for that. I use the string head for the "normal homeowner activity" of cutting grass in edges and corners where the lawnmower doesn't fit.

Technically you're not supposed to put a blade on a curved shaft trimmer but it seems to work just fine. Someday it will break and I'll replace it with a straight shaft trimmer.

[#] Tue Jun 11 2024 15:51:07 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Speaking of which, my father had to phone some technician to repair a water leak in the fields' watering system (the mains are buried deep underground so the weight of twenty bucking horses on them won't trash them). The techniccian saw the greenhouse I built earlier this year and asked my father which agency had built it up. My father told me the guy was surprised I had set it up because it looked professionaly constructed :P

[#] Tue Jun 11 2024 15:55:13 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Side career...  "ya i can build you one, here is the fee"



[#] Tue Jun 11 2024 16:25:16 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

2024-06-11 11:55 from Nurb432
Side career...  "ya i can build you one, here is the fee"


His firm also sets greenhouses.

Too bad I was not there, otherwise I could have added yet another job to my list of jobs. Somehow.

[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 15:43:42 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

So today, its "only" 78 this morning..  thought id run out and mow the front yard during lunch while i had a chance as i wont die.    BANG.. broke what i assume was the connecting rod in the engine ( didn't open the thing up but 'feels' like that and not a valve ). Either way, the thing is a decade old, not really worth fixing ( more likely replacing ) the engine.   But a lowish-end replacement self propelled mower - ~450 bucks. wtf. . really WTF...

 

And come to find out battery ones, cost about the same the same as gas..    Damned Biden. 



[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 21:14:45 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Well now the 'proud' owner of a battery mower.  Not because its green, ( actually its blue.. lol )  but admittedly its quieter, a tad lighter, and in theory less maintenance over its life ( mainly clean it and change blades ).   Battery is warranted for 3 years, they cost about 100 bucks.   Had a corded mower a decade or so ago, and while it had the same above "perks" and sounded like a good idea at the time, dragging a cord around the yard when you have things like trees, is a absolute pain in the ass. So it went away after one season and replaced with what just died.  I guess if you have no trees or bushes, as long as you work from one corner to the other, cord can just drag behind you.

Supposed to run 45 mins on a charge. I normally split my yard work in 1/2 as i get too hot being outside, so i guess i'm not out anything without having to get a 2nd battery.  Assuming it can finish 1/2 the yard in that 45 mins that is.  We will see, if it ever cools down again. The gas mower, i can get it done in 2 sets of 30, but if i push this too fast, it will of course fail to cut.

I guess this one that died, speaking of maintenance, aside from oil and stuff, i did lose a carb about 5 years ago. Cleaning didn't revive it.  And muffler was toast, really needed replacement.

 

 

Im sure people in the area will think i sold out to the greenies. I really didn't. 



[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 21:25:41 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

2024-06-24 11:43 from Nurb432
So today, its "only" 78 this morning..  thought id run out and mow
the front yard during lunch while i had a chance as i wont die.   

BANG.. broke what i assume was the connecting rod in the engine (
didn't open the thing up but 'feels' like that and not a valve ).
Either way, the thing is a decade old, not really worth fixing ( more

likely replacing ) the engine.   But a lowish-end replacement self

propelled mower - ~450 bucks. wtf. . really WTF...

 

And come to find out battery ones, cost about the same the same as
gas..    Damned Biden. 


My condolences.

Take some goats. I think they are worth around 100 USD the pair and they make a relaxing bah sound while at work.

[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 21:47:08 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Whiles its not a bad idea and i think i mentioned the idea about a business ' rent a goat ', they changed the laws here in town a few years ago, no 'farm animals' within city limits.  That even includes chickens. We used to be a rural town, it pissed a lot of people off.  Many moved away. I was stuck. Of course now its pavement city. Grumble. 

 

Mon Jun 24 2024 17:25:41 EDT from darknetuser
My condolences.

Take some goats. I think they are worth around 100 USD the pair and they make a relaxing bah sound while at work.

 



[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 21:53:22 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

2024-06-24 17:47 from Nurb432
Whiles its not a bad idea and i think i mentioned the idea about a
business ' rent a goat ', they changed the laws here in town a few
years ago, no 'farm animals' within city limits.  That even includes
chickens. We used to be a rural town, it pissed a lot of people
off.  Many moved away. I was stuck. Of course now its pavement city.
Grumble. 

Yeah, I think you had mentioned they banned all the fun over there. So sad. It is reason enough to move TBH.

[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 21:58:37 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Oh, i have plenty of reasons to get the hell out of here.  

 

But one stopping me.   $.  I'm too old and too close to retirement to start over with a mortgage somewhere else.   And with the way land cost is sky rocketing i don't see a 1:1 move being an option.



[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 22:09:57 UTC from darknetuser

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

2024-06-24 17:58 from Nurb432
Oh, i have plenty of reasons to get the hell out of here.  

 

But one stopping me.   $.  I'm too old and too close to retirement

to start over with a mortgage somewhere else.   And with the way
land cost is sky rocketing i don't see a 1:1 move being an option.


I suspect I could get you in contact with somebody who is about to lose a cheap house in Michigan due to bankrupcy. I have heard there are lots of domestic animals in the area.

The state of the house is probably not stellar, and I don't know if the guy is ready to part with the house. To be honest, I don't know what this guy's plan is, if he has any. He has me kind of worried, actually.

[#] Mon Jun 24 2024 22:36:43 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Family is all down here, i need to stay close-ish.    My goal would be to go closer to Kentucky. Its still rural in that 1/2 the state. 



[#] Tue Jun 25 2024 16:06:49 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Well, this new mower thing, ran it ~25 minutes.  Push only.  Used 1/4 battery.  So i guess its honest about 'up to 45 minutes' claim.  Did entire front yard. Ran a couple of passes thru the denser stuff in back yard ( its shaded ). Didn't bog down.  ( too damned hot to do it all.. and storms are coming anyway )

So i guess it will work. Still way too expensive and an unexpected expense, but at least not a dud.

Oh, and it folds up pretty well in the garage to keep it out of the way. The gas one, not as well. 



[#] Wed Jun 26 2024 19:13:00 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

The batteries are getting better, they're just not "great" yet.  I have a set of DeWalt 20V tools and I like using them, but changing the batteries is for the birds.  The leaf blower in particular only gets a few minutes of use on a charge, so it isn't really useful for much more than blowing debris off the driveway.  I haven't retired any packs yet, but the first time I do, I might try turning it into an AC-DC adapter.  Yes i know the DC cord will have to be thicc but I don't care.  

My neighbors have an electric mower, and they can't ever finish the lawn on one charge.  No thank you.  I'll keep riding around on my 17hp John Deere, which I hope to keep for a very long time (like my truck).



[#] Wed Jun 26 2024 20:44:09 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Size matters.

My yard appears to be small enough to pull it off, guessing 75% battery. ( will know for sure next time ).  Now, if i had my 20+ acres in the country, no, it wouldn't work. 

Wed Jun 26 2024 15:13:00 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

 

My neighbors have an electric mower, and they can't ever finish the lawn on one charge.  

 



Go to page: First ... 39 40 41 42 [43] 44 45 46 47