Show off your recent significant purchases

[captincvmn]

Is the string trimmer at least a 2t?

[90GTVert]

May 24, 2022 5:13:49 GMT -5 captincvmn said:

Is the string trimmer at least a 2t?

No. It's a 15+ year old four-stroke. I have never changed the oil and I haven't even checked to see if any is in there for years and it just won't die. In all of that time, I changed the bubble primer on the carb and the fuel hoses and I think that's it. Now it's held on so long that when it goes I'll probably get an electric. As much as I like engines, I don't get any pleasure from working on lawn equipment and anyone that I've talked to with electric trimmers seem glad they switched over. Part of me does want to be impractical and get a 2T just because though.

[FrankenMech]

I installed one of these on my sink.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09LV8QPB8
I dislike single handle faucets. 99% of the time I just want hot or cold water not a mix so the two handle faucets are good. I dislike the sink sprayers also since they malfunction often so the pull-down works for me. The faucet was $165 with tax and I did need a few other things so that made it $175. It was very difficult for this old guy to install. Crawling under a sink or a vehicle is hard on an old man with mobility issues and getting up was.....Painful and very slow. I can remember the days when I could just pop up and grab a tool and dive back under somewhere in the mists of time.

[90GTVert]

I ordered a Milwaukee pole saw/trimmer combo from Home Depot. Lots of trees to trim here. I used to stand in the back of the old Mazda pickup and trim higher with manual tools or a chainsaw, but I don't want stuff falling on the F-150 that we have now. ( I don't really do ladders unless I absolutely have to. Heights don't bother me, but ladders do. ) The gas tank has fallen off of the trimmer and I could fix it, but as I was saying in posts above, it's old. Saw the trimmer/pole saw combo and I'm interested in an electric impact driver at some point from Milwaukee that can use the same batteries, and the thing was on sale.

That was Monday. Tuesday night I get an email that the order is cancelled due to backorder. I look on the site and it says 43 are available to ship to home or store. I ordered again.

This morning, one shows up on my doorstep. Tues order says it hasn't shipped. I called Home Depot to make sure I'm not getting 2 before I even check the box over because I want to catch it before it ships if possible. They tell me the first order is cancelled and I won't get 2. Then say they'll give me $79 for the hassle. OK, but I really just want what I ordered and not 2 and I'll be happy.

Then I go check it and it's the order number from the first "cancelled" order. Then I realize it is only a pole saw with no string trimmer attachment. I used their online chat this time, because the phone rep was friendly but hard to understand for me. Their answer is, just wait a bit and see what shows up. Once you see if you get two or if the right stuff shows up, then get back in touch. So much for saving any additional shipping or returns process.

It looks like the stuff ships from the manufacturer rather than HD so I guess some info is out there in limbo. I'm anticipating a second kit missing the trimmer to show up and it can all go back because it's too expensive for just a pole saw. The only thing I'm sure of now is that if I get 2 and one is right they will definitely issue the refund on the one that they gave me a credit back on for the trouble.

[FrankenMech]

Home Depot can screw up a cast iron cannon ball in a sandbox with a rubber mallet due to their website and any order. It is amazing that anything is done right. I won't even use their website or their ordering system. The people that order for the stores and the people that enter descriptions for items and build the website are out of their minds. Good luck with the order.

[90GTVert]

Jun 1, 2022 13:00:34 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

Home Depot can screw up a cast iron cannon ball in a sandbox with a rubber mallet due to their website and any order. It is amazing that anything is done right. I won't even use their website or their ordering system. The people that order for the stores and the people that enter descriptions for items and build the website are out of their minds. Good luck with the order.

It looks like their ability to mess things up may have worked out for me. I got the pole saw with trimmer yesterday. I've already hauled 9 wagon loads of branches from the trees out front. Nice stuff. They even use torx instead of allen fasteners. The Milwaukee stuff seems to live up to all I've heard.

So, I contacted HD via their online chat last night. It took 18 minutes to get someone to greet me. Then 4-5 minutes response time every time they asked me anything. So they'd ask for something simple like a yes or no or verify my address and when I replied it would be 4-5 minutes every time. Took way too long to do next to nothing... but... the rep said that they can't process a return because their system shows that the item was cancelled even though I got part of it. So they said the best thing would be either return it to a store or dispose of it myself. This is a pole saw kit that is $450 when not on sale without the trimmer and they want me to dispose of it?

I said I can dispose of it as long as I will not get billed. Why take it to the store (100 miles round trip to a HD for me) so someone there can keep it? The rep said they promise I will not be billed. The item was clearly drop shipped from the manufacturer, so I guess HD isn't out anything so they don't care. I'm keeping it in the box for a month before I decide what to do with it, just in case. I also took screenshots of the chat.

If it goes as they say, they already refunded me $79 on the one that came for the inconvenience and now I am "disposing" of this one.

[FrankenMech]

Look at it as an incomplete set of spare parts and keep it, just watch your bill. Let HD battle out the charges. I 'dislike' chat. Milwaukee makes excellent equipment.

[claydoh]

Built my first PC in probably over 15 years.

It seems easier than it used to be, at least a little.

Semi-new, used, and actually new parts were used, on this i7-9700 system.

[90GTVert]

I got a Honeywell 50pt dehumidifier for the garage. It claims to be good for 3000sq ft and the garage is 960, but with an 11ft ceiling. Found one that's normally $300 for $145 refurbished on amazon. It has a cosmetic blemish and otherwise I can't tell it from new. The garage is always very damp in the summer. It's pretty miserable. Can't afford AC, so I figured this is worth a try.

According to the built-in humidity display, it dropped from 72% to as low as 49%. The hygrometer in the garage says it went from 75-80% to 60-65%. A third says it's somewhere between 40-50% now. Whatever the actual reading is, walking from the AC in the house into the garage doesn't feel quite so much like a punch in the face now. It's still hot, but it's a noticeable difference. I'm running it on the lower of 2 fan speeds so it may be capable of more. I absolutely hate talking on camera and having to stop every 30 seconds to wipe sweat off and clear the steam off of my glasses and being on camera sweating through my clothes, so I think this will be a positive change for me.

Very glad this thing has a drain hose. I initially turned it on just using it's tank. It filled that up and shutdown in about 3 hours. Now the drain hose lets water run outside so it doesn't shut off.

[milly]

Sounds like a good one Brent. I used the garage one across the road in some of my other cars to dehumidify them overnight occasionally use to work a treat.

[FrankenMech]

3000 x 8' will give you 24,000 standard cubic feet which is how it should be rated. 960 x 11 = 10,560 which is ~half but still a large space. Turning the dehumidifier fan speed up will help in a large space, just turn it down while on camera. An additional box or shop fan will help circulation. Fans running while on camera may be noisy. Everything in your garage is saturated with water which takes time to remove. How well is your garage sealed and insulated? A small window AC unit may also help the humidity and temperature while you video. I often use a hose drained dehumidifier in my basement between seasons when my AC or furnace is not running. It keeps expensive tools from rusting. I should bring it up into the garage.

You have a better brain than I do which means you have probably figured all the above out already.

My small ~250 sqft 'machine shop garage' is hot and humid as Hell. Tools are messy and oiled. I am working on solutions. While I am in the garage I usually just open the kitchen door and use a fan in the door for a few hours which is a PITA.

[90GTVert]

Jul 24, 2022 13:39:31 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

An additional box or shop fan will help circulation. Fans running while on camera may be noisy.

A fan makes a huge difference, but it's pretty loud in the background and that's why I rarely get to use one. I was going to see if I could get something quiet, but any substantial amount of air moving will make noise. Even more if it hits a mic.

Jul 24, 2022 13:39:31 GMT -5 FrankenMech said:

How well is your garage sealed and insulated?

All of the walls and ceiling are insulated and covered in 1/4" luan. Windows are all double pane with blinds to block some sun. The doors are the weakness. They have no insulation. I have been thinking about it for years, but it's $300+. I wanted to go with fiber type instead of cheaper foam because it's supposed to be better for noise and the noise from traffic is a big reason that I've wanted to insulate them. It also doesn't seal great around them, but insulation would be a big step.

[FrankenMech]

An insulation strip or draft stop seal around the outside of the doors helps. Your door/frame construction determines what type you need. I went through 6 pages on Amazon to see the type an insulation contractor used on mine with no luck. I covered the inside of my wood doors with foam and cardboard slit at the joints for some insulation. It has held up well except for some vandalism with excess spray paint some resident idiot (me) has done.

[90GTVert]

PRS SE Singlecut


Not actually a purchase. It was given to me. I play guitar with a friend. He has what I call the "big boy" PRS Custom 22 and this PRS SE. He's also got about 8-10 other electrics, but we always play the PRS guitars. I play his Custom 22, which I really enjoy (but that thing was around $2500 when he got it ~15 years ago). He plays the SE. Well, he decided to get a new and improved SE. Rather than put this on the shelf with the rest of the collection, he said he wanted me to have it. He even put fresh Elixir strings on it and polished it up before handing it over (I've already smudged it playing it).

I've played guitar for 20+ years now, but I'm not a gear guy (because money goes to scooters... and I still suck). I play the same $200 beginner Ibanez that was the first electric I bought. I put an EMG bridge pickup in it and took out the neck pickup so it's hot and metal/punk only and put quality tuners on it long ago. I've got a Dean ML because Dimebag Darrell was a guitar hero in my eyes. I basically pick that up occasionally to do a few Dime wails since it has a Floyd Rose and otherwise it's on the wall. I was considering selling both of those and just getting a PRS SE, but I liked what I had and just never did it. Problem solved!!!

This may lead to a purchase though. The PRS is not hot enough (not enough gain) to give me heavy distortion with my Marshall half stack like the EMG equipped Ibanez will. The only pedal I own is a Digitech  RP-1. I've had it for 20 years and bought it from a friend for $100 back then that probably had it 5 years or more. Now it's malfunctioning and it was never a great multi-effect anyway with delays switching tones and stuff, but it was fine for me practicing. All I have is the Marshall's built in distortion that isn't cutting it. I looked at PRS metal \m/ pickups, but I'd have $600 into those and switches. Not happening. Looked at Metal Muff Nano which I use at the friend's house and it sounds great... but I may get a cheap multi-effects pedal so I can play with more sounds and wah pedal and such. Those things have come a long way since my ancient RP-1.

[aeroxbud]

What a nice friend. That's a great gift.