generators
 

On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:23:30 -0500, Keyser Soze
wrote:

On 1/10/18 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.


How many times a month does your lawn need mowing in growing season?
Mine needs a weekly mow from the end of April through the middle of
November. Guy down the street has a crew hit his weekly, runs him $75 a
cut, or it did a couple of years ago.

That is usually in the $100-150 a month range around here with a
weekly visit. In the winter they prune trees and such, in the summer
it is mostly mow and blow.
We have crews who try to line up as many customers in a row as they
can so they just start mowing at the corner and keep going. Usually
the crew is 6 or 8 guys and they bang out a yard pretty fast.
I am still not sure how he is making much money at it but they have 2
nice trucks. I think most of the money comes from the extras they can
tack on. They will do anything from pressure cleaning, sprinkler
repair to pretty extensive landscaping projects. Cutting the grass
just gets their foot in the door.

generators
 

Keyser Soze wrote:
On 1/10/18 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.


How many times a month does your lawn need mowing in growing season?
Mine needs a weekly mow from the end of April through the middle of
November. Guy down the street has a crew hit his weekly, runs him $75 a
cut, or it did a couple of years ago.


He does the yard weekly. $100. Lawn grows slowly in winter. But I have
roses he trims, and a few trees. The Black Alders are probably dead,
after the drought, waiting till spring to see if they come back. Probably
$4000 to remove them. Large trees.

generators
 

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/10/2018 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.



Me too. He also takes care of the snow in the winter.
I just sit here on the computer arguing with Harry while looking out the
window. Life's a bitch, then you die.




Depends if you get a good doctor. According to Harry, good doc means
eternal life. No need for religion.

generators
 

On 1/10/18 2:51 PM, Bill wrote:
Keyser Soze wrote:
On 1/10/18 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.


How many times a month does your lawn need mowing in growing season?
Mine needs a weekly mow from the end of April through the middle of
November. Guy down the street has a crew hit his weekly, runs him $75 a
cut, or it did a couple of years ago.


He does the yard weekly. $100. Lawn grows slowly in winter. But I have
roses he trims, and a few trees. The Black Alders are probably dead,
after the drought, waiting till spring to see if they come back. Probably
$4000 to remove them. Large trees.


$100 a week is within the range around here, some a little lower, some
little higher.

generators
 

On 1/10/18 2:51 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/10/2018 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.



Me too. He also takes care of the snow in the winter.
I just sit here on the computer arguing with Harry while looking out the
window. Life's a bitch, then you die.




Depends if you get a good doctor. According to Harry, good doc means
eternal life. No need for religion.


Wait...you think religion gives you eternal life? Would you be
interested in monthly deliveries in perpetuity from Amway?

generators
 

On 1/10/18 2:33 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/10/2018 2:23 PM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 1/10/18 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn
mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc.
Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've
never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and
blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does
play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.


How many times a month does your lawn need mowing in growing season?
Mine needs a weekly mow from the end of April through the middle of
November. Guy down the street has a crew hit his weekly, runs him $75
a cut, or it did a couple of years ago.


That's because your bull**** runneth over.

Not as much as your horse**** runs over.

generators
 

On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:26:53 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 1/10/2018 2:20 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 12:51:43 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/10/2018 12:37 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.



I had a JDeere riding mower "tractor". Piece of crap. I bought it at
Lowe's or the Home Depot (forget which) and didn't realize that the
Deeres they sell are not the same as those from a JD dealer.

It had a design problem with the steering arms and links. If you backed
up while turning and hit a paver or rock, the damn thing would allow one
of front wheels to spin around almost 180 degrees so the inside of the
rim was facing outward. I'd have to jack up the front and force it back
into the correct position. Simple rack and pinion system with a "stop"
that was supposed to prevent the wheel from spinning around.

I contacted JDeere about it and that's when I learned the Lowe's/Home
Depot versions are not really JDeere mowers. A couple of years later I
was looking at the same model on display at Lowe's and noticed that the
steering linkage had been totally redesigned.


I inherited my FILs old Craftsman Lawn "tractor". It was made by
American Lawn Products that makes a lot of these things. (probably
your JD). He used it for 25 years before he bought a Troy Built (2011)
and gave it to me. It is still going but I needed to rebuild the deck
shortly after I got it. (replaced all of the moving parts and the
parts they move in)
I am really surprised the old Briggs engine is still going. I do give
it a quart of oil every year but I haven't done much else to it.
There was something wrong with the carb about 3 years ago but if I
left the throttle in one spot, it starts and runs OK so I haven't
touched it since. It may be OK now but why chance fate ;-)



My experience with Briggs and Stratton engines has been "iffy". Some
run fine, last a long time. Others are problematic.

Tecumseh engines always seemed to make consistently good small engines.

Never had a problem with B$S. Have seen neighbors go crazy with Lawn Boys and Craftsman. Will never
have either of those. B&S carbs are pretty easy to break down and clean up. Many folks never think
to clean/replace their air filters.

generators
 

On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 14:27:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 1/10/2018 2:09 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 12:41:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/10/2018 12:19 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 05:16:50 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/9/2018 10:19 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 9 Jan 2018 19:33:54 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 1/9/2018 7:09 PM, True North wrote:
On Tuesday, 9 January 2018 19:51:52 UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 9 Jan 2018 21:48:33 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:



Harbor Freight has one they claim as quiet as Honda. $500.
https://www.harborfreight.com/engine...tor-62523.html

Like most things at Harbor Fright this is a chinese knockoff but it
might be all anyone needs if it is just for a rare power failure. I
doubt you would want it if you were a camper or something you wanted
on your boat.

I see Yamaha has a neat looking copy of the Honda EU2000i for $50.00 less. Not sure if anyone deals with them around here so I stuck with the Honda.



Don, several companies have introduced inverter type generators due to
the popularity of the Honda inverter series. They probably are all very
good compared to a conventional, noisy, generator that has to run at
full RPM all the time.

If it makes you feel like you made the right decision, I've had mine for
over 13 years and it has gone through hell, especially when the stone
cutters for our pool installation used it for a full summer, 6-7 hours a
day to power the stone saws.

Still has the original spark plug in it. I took it out last year and it
still looks like new. Even the gap was to spec. I've changed the oil
twice in 13 years. I've stored it for long periods with gas and Stabil
in it. Other than last week (before the recent storm), it always starts
with 3 or 4 pulls. I mentioned here that when it wouldn't start last
week I warmed up the carburetor area with a hairdryer for a few minutes,
pulled the cord and it fired right up. It was about 5 degrees out, so
it wasn't unexpected.

I think you made a good investment.

The only thing I would question is not changing the oil more often and
this is old "don't fix it if it ain't broke" me.



Yup, I wouldn't recommend following my oil change schedule, but it
hasn't caused any problems yet. Doesn't burn any oil, and has never
shut down due to a low oil level. Maybe I'll give it a treat this
spring and give it it's third oil change. :-)


The real issue with oil, beyond hours, is condensation. Water can form
acids in the oil that eat your engine from the inside out and these
small engines are not sealed up like a modern car or outboard engine.
Every "breath" they take brings in moisture. (heat cool cycles)
Not running it is worse for that problem than using it all the time.



True but it's almost 14 years old and still going strong. I don't
expect it to last forever. It's initial purpose was for hurricane
Wilma. When the contractors used it all summer a year later to power the
stone saws while installing the pool, I figured it would pretty much
sacrificed for the project. It's cost was chump change compared to the
cost of the pool project. It was so dusty and dirty with bluestone dust
your couldn't even see that it was red. But, cleaned it up. still runs
fine and generates electricity. Amazing little generator.


I am just saying it would be a shame to lose it over $3 worth of oil.


Ok, ok. This spring I'll treat it to it's third oil change. Geeze! :-)


Be sure to use straight synthetic. No cheap **** for that generator!

generators
 

On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 19:51:36 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

Keyser Soze wrote:
On 1/10/18 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.


How many times a month does your lawn need mowing in growing season?
Mine needs a weekly mow from the end of April through the middle of
November. Guy down the street has a crew hit his weekly, runs him $75 a
cut, or it did a couple of years ago.


He does the yard weekly. $100. Lawn grows slowly in winter. But I have
roses he trims, and a few trees. The Black Alders are probably dead,
after the drought, waiting till spring to see if they come back. Probably
$4000 to remove them. Large trees.

You must have union Mexicans there ;-)
I imagine you are right about the tree. They can get pretty costly to
remove. A lit of that is just "risk". They have to price in what
happens if they screw up.

generators
 

Keyser Soze wrote:
On 1/10/18 2:51 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 1/10/2018 2:14 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Wed, 10 Jan 2018 06:30:59 -0800 (PST), John H
wrote:



Pretty sad when you can't perform routine maintenance on a lawn mower.

Funny. The lady across the street has a John Deere riding mower. She
does all her own maintenance, including sharpening the blades, etc. Her
husband has somehow gotten totally out of the yardwork arena. I've never
seen him lift a finger to do anything in the yard. I'll go over and blow
her leaves for her, and he won't even say 'thanks'. Alcohol does play a role.

My father in law is 94 years old and he still sharpens his own mower
blades. He drops the deck at least once a month in season, hoses it
out, sharpens the blades and lubes everything.


Me, I j ust pay the mow and blow guy monthly.



Me too. He also takes care of the snow in the winter.
I just sit here on the computer arguing with Harry while looking out the
window. Life's a bitch, then you die.




Depends if you get a good doctor. According to Harry, good doc means
eternal life. No need for religion.


Wait...you think religion gives you eternal life? Would you be
interested in monthly deliveries in perpetuity from Amway?


Need religion as have not heard of a Doc good enough for eternal life.