New England B.S. Thread

You need to find a real supply of chouriço/linguiça. I have family that make it and there are some really good ones in Fall River

 

Brenda and I took a drive up to the start of the Half-Baked Vermont Adventure this afternoon and did a little leaf peeping.

 

Gaspar's is about as good as you'll get outside of New Bedford, Fairhaven, Fall River, etc areas. Now the next time I go south, I may look up some stuff.

 

Excellent places in Lowell as well

 

I hate battery tools. Go to use and oops battery is dead. Oh but the backup. Dead.

depends what you’re doing. Cordless impact probably fine if you’re a diy shade tree. I borrowed a plug in electric chainsaw and my god what a change in philosophy now. That thing was bitchin.

oh also batteries die over time and then 7 years later, dewalt is using a different battery and you can only find unbranded shitty ones from China on eBay that hold enough charge to get half way through a job and then die on you.

I know. Never say never. But if I can help it, gasoline or plug in is my go to. Much cheaper too.

 

I'd rather use my corded impact for an anchor at the bottom of the ocean than to use it as an impact. They are absolutely guttless compared to my Milwaukee impact! I have the 18v 1/2" drive and the 3/8" 12v stubby impact. I love them!

 

I got a cheap B&D cordless trimmer about 5 years ago. Have charged it twice in 5 years and it sat from September 2017 to August 2020. I've used it twice since moving here and it still hasn't been charged since 2017. I was kind of impressed. Of course, if I was going to rebuild my outdoor tool collection, I would be going with EGO. I picked up one of their leafblowers and it is awesome. I have one of their chainsaws on my wishlist.

 

Your memory is shot so you can't use them is what you mean and you've rationalized it to yourself for different reasons.


Pretending gas powered anything is better unless you need a shit ton of torque is insane and delusional. plug in greatly reduces almost everything maneuverable about a tool and then is fucked when you ruin the cord.

Batteries 4LYFE over here. No noise, no maintenance. Just pull the trigger and rock.

 

I like my battery tools although they certainly have their place. I use all Ryobi stuff around the house and camping so I always have batteries charged and on stand by. I have a small yard so their 18v weed whacker is fine for me. Gas would be much better but battery gets the job done and I don't have to maintain another engine. I have a small 18v leaf blower that stays in the camper that I use to blow off the roof before putting the awning away and the slide in. For yard work, it's pretty useless and I have a corded leaf blower that will actually push leaves (the 18v one won't). I don't have their impact but I do have a corded Chicago Tools one and it's plenty strong. I tend not to use impacts on the truck, I've found they do more harm than good. I'll go find a big breaker bar before reaching for an impact. I do like the electric chain saw but there's something missing about the screaming engine that's just not the same...

Fortunately, Ryobi has kept updating their battery but kept the same shape and profile. I've had plenty die over the years but the new ones still work in the old tools so I just keep rotating stock. If they changed that up, I'd be pretty furious.

 

Your remarks on the power of battery tools is the big downfall.

I use all stihl and they have big batteries but some jobs I still need to pull the gassers out for. So far power brooming and big leaf clean ups are the only thing I can't do with a battery easier and better.

The chainsaw...I don't take big trees down, but I would love if it had a little more torque. My brother has a new model thats a little beefier that can handle some bigger stuff, so it's coming.

 

I had one charged that lasted 3 cuts with a sawzall. Some tools are great with batteries, some just don’t do it. And I’ve had my impacts last me half a job on either the Mazda or the truck, but I think it was the Mazda. Two batteries fully charged. My batteries are also probably shot, which means I need to spend more on new batteries if I want them to work right.

I only have 1/3 acre so, gas mower and trimmer, and I have a plug in snowblower.

looking at chainsaws, depends on your application but that’s a realm where a gas engine makes the most sense.

if it works for you I’m all for it. Do what’s best for you and what you like, but when I was buying a rinky dink snow blower last year, my options were a 250 with batteries, 50 plug in, or like 500 for a gasser. My electric is quiet and moves the snow, and doesn’t depend on batteries that can die half way through the driveway. 50 bucks it is and if I don’t like it over time then I’m happy I went with the cheap option.

 

Yeah sounds like you've had bad luck. But you are right sawzall and grinders don't last long on a battery, at least none that I've used. Your impact should last alot longer than that, I guess depends on how much you are doing....but new batteries sound like they might be needed.

I'm more just poking fun for some entertainment this morning. There are a million reasons to have any of the options depending on how you use them.


I will say, you could EASILY mow, weed eat and blow your lawn on a battery set up though. The cost might not make sense is the problem.

Until tech goes down in price, gas is the answer for most...0r piecing the kit together one by one as your gas goes.

 

100% agree on the Sawzall, at least for any real work. I like my battery sawzall if I'm only buzzing drywall or maybe wood. For anything that's really going to work the tool, you can't beat the plug in version. We tried using a battery version to cut out my Tacoma's front end. After running through 3 batteries and not even getting through 1 bolt, I ran to Ace and bought a corded version and had the other 3 bolts cut in about the same amount of time. Night and day difference!

I also have a little 18v circular saw. It's nice for small cuts where it'd be cumbersome to get a corded version to, but for ripping sheets of plywood, no way, it just doesn't have enough ass.

I think it all comes down to using the right tool for the job. Battery tools are great but they have their limitations (usually power and battery life). Gas tools are powerful but heavy and require more maintenance. Corded tools obviously keep you tethered and can sometimes still have power issues.

 

My cordless grinder that was an impulse buy is super convenient, but it destroys batteries. If I'm doing anything more than light work, my 20 year old corded grinder comes out.

 

Had some really good early season fishing there. Lots of large mouth on the far side of the pond...weren't very aggressive but decent sized!

 

My lawn would need two batteries to mow, probably a third with the string trimmer, fortunately I don't do a leafblower. Longevity, I bought a honda that'll last 20 years instead. And then 6 months later we decided "Maybe we should move to Texas...."

Totally agree. Battery chainsaws are rated for ±40 cuts, if you're clearing out a small tree or two (or bringing it camping!) that can make sense. For me it's mostly the cutting tools, if you're doing enough work to justify owning a chainsaw or sawzall, rather than borrow a neighbors/friends, chances are the battery options won't sustain long term vs. gas or plug in.

I will say, this past weekend - first time using a plug in/electric chainsaw myself, cleaning it afterwards....Holy hell, was that 100000 times easier.

 

Whoever had that battery power chain saw up in VT, that thing was perfect for a weekend camping.

 

Makita and Milwaukee have been using the same 18v batteries for a long time now. I bought my first Makita 18v lithium tool (a drill) in 2013 and the brand new tools take the same batteries. It doesn't seem like they have any plans to change. A friend has a lot of Ryobi stuff and I believe the new batteries fit the tools he had when he was in high school. Not sure about the others.

My Makita trimmer uses two of the normal 18v batteries. Since I have four good 4 and 5 AH batteries, it works out great. I can run it on two while the other two charge and just keep swapping back and forth between the pairs with virtually no downtime. The 5 AH ones go about as long as a tank of gas would in my old Craftsman trimmer. I bought the power-head with trimmer attachment for the flexibility later. I want the little tiller and hedge trimmer attachments for it. I bet the tiller will go through batteries quicker than anything.

 

Your drastically under estimating battery powered stuff but that’s fine.

your choices make sense and are good choices I’m not trying to critique any of that. But battery powered stuff has moved fast and really can do more than you think.

I’ve cut all small trees out of 3+ acres and made three miles of trails with my electric saw no issues.

I trim and blow for about an hour on a battery.


The future is now you Luddite!!!!








p.s. please ignore me this morning I’m in a trouble making mood

 

Hey, I went with an electric instead of a "gotta get a 70s gas one!" give me some credit!

Like I said, I'm sure they've got a great spot, but every time I've tried to work with them, it's just been a problem.