So, we have no power, I have snow to deal with, and my kids are home.
Instead of no post today, maybe an open discussion?
As I shovel (the snow is too thick for our cordless snow blower sample and our neighbors have had issues with their has blower stalling), I’m thinking about how to build a radio controlled snow plow powered by cordless power tool battery packs.
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What tool-related stuff are you up to today?
The yeti
Being a Western Canadian. I had a good chuckle at your post.
Get a toboggan. Go find a hill for the young boy.
Guess u live in NY. I have no idea. Do u guys even have places for people to be outside or is it all city.
What a horrible thought no where for kids to sled.
Hopefully you guys get your power back. Is it normal for everything to shut down from a bit of snow ? We dont do that here. We would always be shut down .
As for shovel. Get a good metal snow shovel. The plastic ones are junk.
Or attatch a plow to your truck or tractor or quad. Or side by side.
Bill
Good old fashioned grain scoop, heavy gauge aluminium, and it doubles as a sled when you are done shoveling, or a seat if you lean it against the wall. Just not a light weight Manard scoop shovel. Folded up brand new one in the first five minutes last year.
RKA
I changed out the rubber paddles on my single stage and saved the old ones. The Honda paddles are really nice quality and come with good hardware. These should last a lot longer than a season! The plan was to give it to a friend who wants to mod his 2 stage. Of course he’s a little lazy, so it might be the nor’easter of 2020 before it gets put to the test.
fred
Hundreds of thousands of customers out of power in the Northeast.
Not from a bit of snow – but rather 2 Nor’easters that came within a few days of each other. One with hurricane force (93mph was reported) wind gusts and a mix of rain and snow – the second with lesser but still strong winds and heavy wet snow. Old trees among the power lines, branches coated with heavy snow, roots in saturated ground and high winds makes for trees toppling and power lines falling.
Stuart
Played in snow yesterday. Can’t get to hill for sledding.
Trees and wires down, power out, so yes, everything is shut down.
In some areas school districts are proactive because parents and teachers drive long distances.
No truck, and even if I had one, I’d be reluctant to buy a plow for such infrequent use. Same reason I don’t have a 2 stage snow blower. Maybe I’ll pick one up next season – I think I saw a cordless model new for this year.
The kids played in the snow yesterday. Might go out again today, but there’s no way to warm up or dry off.
If the roads are clear I’ll take them out for a hot meal and some stocking up on microwaveable stuff.
I have a plastic shovel, it’s served me well. I keep meaning to buy a snow pusher type shovel, but haven’t found the one I want locally, and online prices add hefty shipping fees.
Ken
Try looking for your shovel on True Value website, they offer free shipping to your local store. I did this a few years back because I could not find the pusher shovel that I wanted locally.
The-Dung
Don’t use the metal shovel near the car. Plastic one is actually better on uneven pavement where it slides easier than metal.
RKA
Snowblower talk? Sure!
I lent my single stage Honda to my neighbor whose 300cc 2 stage machine just choked on this dense slushy mess. Without modification these 2 stage machines don’t cope well with a slushy mixture. But these single stage machines have rubber paddles with minimal clearance to the auger housing so slush can’t sneak around the auger (you can modify the impeller on a 2 stage to do this). Anyway, within 45 mins their driveway was done and no back aches.
I still have a 2 stage for the 1 ft+ snows. That monster will chew through stuff that makes the single stage machine cry.
Bruce
I’ve got a big two stage, when it’s slushy you have to take smaller bites at higher speeds.
We modded one of our big ones at work with rubber flaps on the thrower. It lasted less than half a season before they were worn down, but boy it ran through slush great.
Hilton
I ordered a 4-1/2″ Diablo diamond metal cut off blade for my angle grinder and had it shipped to South Africa. On receipt of it last week I discovered the eBay seller had sent me a 5″ disc instead. I am now weighing up the various 5″ Makita 18v models as I don’t own a cordless angle grinder.
Question, paddle switch or toggle/normal switch? I probably will only use the cordless for light duty tasks though.
There are other features that I didn’t know existed on angle grinders; soft start (have it on my routers), electronic brake, variable speed and auto speed (same as my 18v circ saw).
Bruce
I prefer latching switches because for general use, it lets you take your hand away from the switch for out of position work. Shop welders will tell you that paddle switch is better because you don’t have to remember to turn it off before you set it down.
Greg
some work environments do require the paddle switch, in case of an accident, it shuts off if it leaves the user’s hand.
Hilton
Thanks Bruce, good points to consider.
Stuart
I prefer paddle switches, but I also don’t use angle grinders very heavily. Paddle switches release when you let go of the tool, which can be safer.
I cleared small branches and twigs from my driveway last week, with a Dewalt 20V Max blower. Halfway through, my hand was tired, and I was happy to be able to lock it on.
Chris
are you referring to the yard blower or the shop blower, my 20v Max yard blower has a thumb latch for the trigger
Jeremy
I prefer the best of both worlds.
The rat tail grinder with trigger lock. Use it normally when you want, push the button to lock the trigger. Better ergonomics, better control less fatigue.
If you’re ordering form out of country try the new Metabo rat tail 5″ variable speed. Ultra light compared to the Makitas, rear intake front exhaust above the disk, very low vibration and 13.2amp motor.
Hilton
Thanks Jeremy, I’ll check it out.
DeeEyeWhyyyy
Sick of repairing my late-90’s Craftsman 8hp snowblower every time it snows. Each time I bring it out, something needs to be fixed. There was a rock under the snow? Auger falls off. The thicker/wetter snow by the end of the road from the snowplows? Chute clogs and needs to be shut off to be cleared. Catch a corner of the grass? The blade on the bottom bends. I walked in my garage the other day to see the fuel line had rotted and leaked an entire tank of fuel onto my garage floor. The fuel line is routed through the metal covers and behind the flywheel so it wasn’t a very quick project to replace. But I do have to give Craftsman a bit of credit – their manuals detail every single part and I was able to order every part I needed to fix the various failed items on this snowblower over the years from Sears Parts Direct. What I can also say is next year I’m going to be buying a rubber paddle style snowblower. Half the price of a replacement 8hp 2-stage machine, 1/3rd of the weight, less parts to break or fail, and it’ll get straight down to the pavement. I’ll still have the big, heavy, clunky, 2-stage Craftsman for the big snows, but for 90% of what we get in the midwest a single stage rubber paddle will make my life a lot easier.
Ant
I’ve seen https://www.atr-orbiter.net/ online and wonder when it will be int he US but also if it would be worth the cost.
Stuart
Starts at over $28,000 USD?!!
firefly
Stuart, isn’t that just pocket change for you? 🙂
Beside you can subcontract out the snow clearing for your neighborhood and make money back in no time! Oh and if you need a guy who can drive it, I am available for hire :)))
Stuart
Are you saying that because you saw the comment where someone thought I was sitting on a gold throne because I said 16″ x 10″ x 6″ industrial bins were affordable (~$7.50-$9 each) and he somehow thought they were $185 each?
Back to the $28K pricing, you could get a small utility vehicle (e.g. Bobcat) equipped for snow plowing for less.
Hmm, what I’m wondering now is whether one could roboticize a cordless snow blower. That might require less horsepower than a plow.
jec6613
Stuart, such a thing as a programmable remote snow blower already exists – John Deere makes robotic tractors that can take snow plows and blowers.
As for blowers vs plows, a blower requires more horsepower (since it must drive the blower mechanism itself) but less tractive effort. Partly why on smaller tractors, blowers are much more effective than plows.
And of course, if you already have a sufficiently large riding mower or lawn tractor, you can just get the blower attachment (as well as weights and chains and such) like I did and then you’re all set. No worrying about either the mower sitting for the winter or the blower sitting for the summer, either. Plus, all of my neighbors are jealous – I have 2x the driveway and get it done in 1/4 the time.
Stuart
I know there are commercial products on the market. But while shoveling, I needed something to think about.
What would the best drive system to adapt to a cordless snow blower? Large wheels, or tracks? How big? Things like that…
I don’t have a riding mower or lawn tractor. Maybe if/when I build a shed…
But in reality, even a 2-stage gas blower might be unnecessary for my needs most years.
firefly
Stuart, I was only teasing of course. Though I think I do vaguely recall that conversation somewhere that wasn’t the reason why.
Even if 28k were pocket change for you I would expect that you would invest in a dingo or ventrac before investing in a snow cleaning robot.
jec6613
It’s a fun thought exercise.
Large wheels tend to over-torque and skid, for a cordless robotic tracks would provide more tractive effort and less slippage – though at the cost of more power use. All of the RC snow plows I’ve seen work well are all tracked for similar reasons, as wheels still require that human touch with too much slip potential. Tracks also make the steering much simpler as you can use differential torque.
For the blower mechanism, I wouldn’t use a dual stage or anything quite so big if it’s electric. It’s a big HP suck, and when it comes to electric vs gas, 1 HP = 0.74 KW. So to get the amount of power generated by a standard 8 HP gasoline engine, you’d need about an 8 KW electric motor (assuming some efficiency gained by using all electric). That means that if you used two DeWalt FlexVolt 9AH batteries, and they could somehow deliver that kind of output, it would drain both batteries in about 2.5 minutes pulling about 70 amps.
Oddly, that makes it a really good candidate for a permanent Ni-Cad battery, environmental downsides aside. Good cold weather performance, and they can actually deliver that sort of amperage without trouble. Additionally, the higher weight is an advantage as it goes towards traction.
Andy
Honestly, I think I’m just going to spend my day being happy that I don’t ever have to deal with snow. Maybe I’ll go down to the harbor and work on the boat.
David Zeller
Andy, I think I still owe you that bottle of nice bourbon. Mind if i stop off for a few weeks to drop it off? Im not much for the high seas, but ill watch that dock for you while youre out.
David, whose lost power four times in a week and has water across his workshop.
James C
I had a snow joe hybrid electric / 40v. Worked ok assuming the correct conditions were present (not too deep, not icy). Interestingly there were two motors for the different power sources as opposed to an inverter. Anyway the DC motor quit so I used it a bit with the cord then returned it. I’m waiting for an end of season sale and would consider the Ryobi 40v version since I’m already using that platform.
Anyone have experience with the Ryobi 40v expand it stuff? I want a 40v trimmer and would consider the snow thrower attachment as well. Maybe the cultivater too.
David Zeller
I love all my Ryobi 40V stuff – except the snow blower, which dumped its gearbox in the first 90 seconds when it ate a rock. Ive read others have had the same problem. Unfortunately, I had a ton of other things going on and ended up not returning it, but trashing it in the summer. Ouch. But I have extra batteries!
Suasan
The Weather in Los Angeles is very nice. After the office grind, I plan on visiting the tool shed and knocking out some Pocket Holes with my Kreg K5 for this project this weekend.
Matthew Johnson
I have seen a remote control Snowplow before, 25 years ago in High School, a friends uncle had one. It was a tracked robot that used a RC car remote control.
Designing and building a radio controlled snow plow that would be a fun engineering challenge.
On the power tool battery tangent, I was just thinking the other day can I convert my son’s powerwheels to cordless tool batteries, so they last longer and are easier to maintain, then the big clunky one that comes with that toy.
Rick
This is exactly why I moved to North Carolina, solved all of my snow problems. Been there done that.
Doing my spring maintenance on the Ventrac getting ready for the first mow in the next week. Not bragging or complaining, just different.
You folks be safe stay warm, no envy from the south.
Nathan L
Enjoying the breeze and the very slight cool in the air on this bright Miami day
… Stay warm all.
Madak88
You have a shovel. Problem solved. Unless your driveway is massive there is no need for a snowblower. If you need a new shovel I am partial to the Garant G4 pair it with a good thin bladed metal shovel and you don’t need anything else. This is coming from a guy in Alaska.
Stuart
It took me 3 hours and a lot of energy to clear a path for my car, more shoveling 2 days later to clear a path for my wife’s car, and more to clean a path to the front door, garbage cans, garage door.
A better-than-cordless snowblower absolutely would have been easier and better.
But that’s not why I want to make my own radio controlled or robotic one – that just seems like a neat project.
I have something like the Garant G4 – a True Temper SnoBoss, and I could barely use it, except for scraping and final layer removal. The snow was so thick, wet, and heavy that it was a lot easier for me to use my smaller poly shovel. Shovels like that will be better for lighter snow – maybe 4″ to 6″ layers or so, and not the 14″+ I was working on.
fred
After the guys came to plow my driveway – based on a corollary of Murphy’s Law – the Village plows came through a few more times to re-plow the roads. The resultant pile at the end of my driveway was so heavy and dense – that a long handled square garden shovel was better suited. It was shoveling a mix of water and ice – not snow. Mercifully there wasn’t much of it for me – and since we have no sidewalks and I could let the paths to the front door, side door and back door wait (we can enter through the garage) – I really never tried the snowblower – having seen neighbors stalling theirs out. We, however. were in the 4-5 inch accumulation area – not the spots that got 27 inches of the wet stuff.
Adam
No snow here, but lots of rain in the last week. I’ve been hoping to do some kind of woodworking project, but we’ve got a garage full of parts for our ongoing bathroom remodel, so I don’t have a place to work.
jec6613
My 44″ John Deere had little trouble with the muck at 11 O’clock last night. I do enjoy the, “Bigger Hammer,” approach to snow removal. 🙂
MIke_In_Maine
44″ John Deere also working well up here in Northern Maine…..Only 2 more months of winter to left!
jec6613
Down in CT, had no problem with the foot of wet stuff we got – partly because it has quadruple the horsepower for only double the width compared to a walk behind. 🙂
Neighbors had lots of troubles though. At least down here, it was just nasty to move.
Rman
The time has come to find someone (high school kids are lazy ) to help me out. Last Friday we had 14 inches of snow and last night the total was 20 inches. My trusty cub cadet 12 hp 28 inch snow ❄️ blower did quite well til I got to the end of the driveway where the slush and town piled up to my waistline
Had to break it down with a metal shovel. Waiting for summer to try and forget this winter. I live in my retirement home I built five years ago so moving again is not going to happen
I chose to live on a mountain lakefront in northern Nj but did not choose this winter.
David Zeller
I’ve often wondered how much electricity it would take to run a heated concrete pad at the end of a driveway to melt down that snow in a reasonable amount of time. Or run some geothermal thing or something.
David
fred
I’m back in the north as we had to take care of some family business.
We often stay at our place in Sanibel (never any snow – but sometimes hurricanes) until the threat of snow is over.
I’m happy to say that with the exception of a few dips/flickering lights – I did not have to roll out my Honda generator. I did however test it ahead of last week’s Nor’Easter.
My wife is still agitating for a whole house generator – but spending upwards of $20k for a 24kW or larger generator system (generator, pad, gas supply line, transfer switches, wiring etc.) that needs to be exercised/tested regularly would IMO be more of an emotional rather than rational choice. For now the Honda’s 5.5kW will likely do.
As far as tools e.g. snow blowers – we lucked out, had only a few inches (wet and heavy) so the walkway to the front door got done the old fashioned way with a shovel. The guys I contract for to plow the driveway did come to do their thing.
I did get an email from ToolUp – promoting a tiered (10% off on $125, 20% off on $250 and 30% off on $400) sale on Milwaukee Packout items – using promo code PACKOUT
firefly
Initially we have considered having a a whole house generator because we wanted to run a 24/7 server at home. We backed out of it (for now) because of cost and like you mentioned maintenance. As far as survivability and living in comfort, having a whole house generator sit pretty far down our list of necessary since where we are in Texas it’s so unlikely that the power went down for more than 4 hours. If the power goes down for more than 8 hours for whatever reason then we definitely have bigger problem to worry about. Beside, I don’t want to be the only house that lit up in a power outage…
fred
After “superstorm” Sandy – my whole neighborhood was out for days. The generators like mine -could be heard (some more so than others) running and worked for a while – unless you ran out of gas. Most gas stations were also out of power or out of gas pretty quickly. We got power back relatively quickly (3 days out) compared to many others who were out for a week or more. I had half a thought to bail out and go to our summer home – but I still had a business to run .
One of those businesses – with a workout center has a 2-pump fueling station with diesel and gasoline – but it was partially flooded and also blacked out. We had lent our jobsite gasoline generators from that business to employees ahead of the storm – and they needed them. It took us a while to pump the water out and get back up and running. For a while we were running off our Miller Diesel Welder’s power outlets.
The other businesses fared better – but logistics and the IRS (they frown on comingling of assets) made it hard for one to help out the other
Some folks actually ran out of gasoline in their cars waiting in line for the stuff at the few gas stations that had power.
My 3 homes are relatively close to or actually on the seashore. You need to take the good with the bad with this. Central and west Texas might be immune to these sorts of storms – but folks in Houston sure have been hit hard recently.
firefly
How did you make out in the aftermath? Were there enough insurance to cover all the damages? I assume everyone in your family make it in one piece.
I was in the MS/LA area when Katrina hit so I remember those day that everyone lined up at the gas station… It was a very interesting experience. Right after the storm we went out to assess the aftermath, it was sad so see so many things flooded/destroyed. Yet there was something serenity about it all after the storm. It was one of those experience that we never forgot.
fred
I had 2 houses that wee in the path of Sandy.
One was unscathed, the other lost about 400 feet of fence and some siding. Both places were on high ground – so none of the flooding that required houses to be raised. Insurance took care of the repairs to the siding. My neighbor and I split the cost of the new fence.
David Zeller
We were out of our house for three months. Although only four blocks from the beach, our house had a basement. Not a problem for 75 years, so who worried! Lost everything to the first floor, including entire workshop. Due to “technicalities,” we got very little from insurance and were out of pocket tens of thousands of dollars. Due to subsequent health issues, we moved inland – before we needed to raise the house up, luckily. Timing was bad – we lost $250k on a $400k house. It really sucked!
firefly
fred, I am very glad to see you have made it out with minimal damage.
David, ouch… sorry to hear that.
jec6613
I have a 20kw whole house Generac standby at home and it’s quite the lifesaver. The maintenance isn’t bad at all, it exercises on its own once a week, and tells you when to change the oil. Really much lower maintenance than you’d think, you have to do something maybe once a year.
And I’m running it now with my whole neighborhood out, and we’ve totaled about 80 hours without electricity in the last 12 months, during which time it worked every time. We also have a well and septic, so when power goes out, so does our water, which is the bigger problem and the real reason a whole home makes so much sense for us.
firefly
That make sense. It’s good to see that the maintenance isn’t bad on your system. What are your generator run off of? When we look at whole house generator propane and diesel was our top choices.
jec6613
We use propane, and it’s dedicated to the generator (we use oil for heat & hot water). It works well for us, especially since most years it’ll get used 8-12 hours and propane stores basically indefinitely, but this year was just bad for outages. Propane is more stable for storage and generally burns a bit cleaner than diesel (so less maintenance), so if the fuel is only for the generator I’d 100% use propane. But, if you already have a diesel tank, then it would make sense to not overcomplicate your fuel deliveries.
Also, propane runs quieter.
firefly
That was one of the reason we considered propane. The infinite shelf life… Or at long as the shelf last that is 🙂
pete
Got your generator fired up? Backup heat source? It’s a beautiful high of 73 degrees in vegas right now.
Stuart
No generator.
We’ve got… blankets. Might go to hotel tomorrow night, or my parents who live 1:45 away.
jec6613
At least you hopefully have the DeWalt portable power station or similar to give a few things some power.
Mark W.
Currently sitting in my Southern California cubicle looking for something to do on day 2 of final 2 weeks at this current gig. No need for a snowblower, but I’ve been looking daily for some sort of deal on the DeWalt Table Saw (DWE7480). Bummed I wasn’t in the market for one in the Nov/Dec timeframe. Itching to get one to make a Kubb set, a Chippo set, small storage cabinets for a specific part in the garage and then an outdoor table for the courtyard. The table alone is enough to justify the full retail price, but having seen how low the table saw has gone in the past…I guess I’ll just keep waiting.
They’re also sold out, but does anyone have experience with the Reconditioned DeWalt Table Saws from CPO Power Tools?
fred
When I was buying in multiples for our businesses, I took a look now and then at reconditioned tools to see what we might save. I had read online comments from folks who opined that they got essentially new tools at much lower costs – but I never found the price differential compelling – especially if I could wait on a slae or promotion. I sometimes used a price tracker like camelcamelcamel to see if I could discern what might be a good price.
Mark W.
Awesome input – I certainly appreciate the advice! A bit of my had to due with having $120 in Amazon gift credit I was hoping specifically to use on the table saw, and the constant battle with my impatience. CPO Power Tools actually had an Amazon listing and it was $100 less than the new version shipped and sold by Amazon. Only putting out ~$160 of my own money for a reconditioned that still had the warranty was appealing…until the order got canceled since they were out of stock on all of their platforms. lol. Back to the waiting game.
Jim P.
We are having it rough in Atlanta too. Highs in the upper 40’s after being near 80 last week. And pollen season is starting. Can’t wait for that yellow blanket to cover everything
DeeEyeWhyyyy
Went to Sears today and they actually let me warranty two old Craftsman ratchets. They brought out 3x 1/2-inch drive and 3x 3/8-inch drive refurbished ratchets for me to choose from. They were all big upgrades over the old ratchets I brought in.. traded a regular size 1/2″ drive for a long handle flex head. And a regular sized 3/8″ drive for a long handle teardrop. Also had the option for them to rebuild my ratchets if I wanted.
Diplomatic Immunity
How about a few questions. Do you see more power tool companies going to a multivolt/flexvolt design like Hitachi/Dewalt where also the will be customizable as to whether you want more power (even more than a plugged in tool) vs if you need more battery life?
As battery tech keeps on improving do you see 12 volt lineups eventually going the way of the dinosaur and companies just deciding to do compact and full size 18 volt flexvolt/multivolt lineups; in other words a small drill with a small 18 volt battery pack and a normal size drill with a bigger 18 volt flexvolt battery?
Will we ever see flesh detection on other tools such as circular saws, stationary bandsaws, portable grinders, etc?
IF Trump decides to do tariffs on imported steel how do you see this affecting the imported hand tool market and US tool manufacturers and overall what US customers will be paying?
Also with battery tech constantly improving do you see outdoor gasoline powered equipment eventually getting surpassed by outdoor battery powered heavy equipment and what sort of timetable would you give that?
Hope all your battery packs were fully charged!
fred
Good questions.
I’d add -apropos to yesterday’s snowstorm – how big does the cordless snow blower battery need to be to drive a 2 or 3-stage blower to deal with heavy wet snow and work when its cold outside?
Also – how about when will market penetration of EV’s and/or better battery technology drive the costs down and driving range up? Might not the batteries in an EV in your driveway be used to power some of your house during a power outage?
pete
Why not use the power generator that is already in your driveway? Your gas/diesel powered vehicle. It generates power and has the ability to generate lots more power with an inverter. With a $60.00 800-watt inverter you can run your fridge on.
fred
I think its a matter of efficiency. Running your car to power an inverter is a good stopgap – but uses much more gasoline per watt-hour of runtime than does a small generator. My Honda 7000 can run for 6 hours on 5 gallons of gas – providing 33kW-hrs of power.
BTW – my refrigerator would overwhelm that 800W inverter – and the manufacturer (Sub-Zero) recommends 2800 watts as a minimum – as the 2 compressors can draw nearly 24A
pete
The Ohio Air Quality Development Authority says that the average car uses about 0.15 gallons of fuel per hour of idling. But for sake of argument lets double that consumption number to 0.30 gallons per hour. With the same 5 gallons you could idle your can for 16.6 hours. The reason i suggested a 800/1600 peak watt inverter is because it is the smallest and cheapest inverter that will power a energy efficient fridge.
So because it isn’t a “perfect solution” people should wait till they have a spare $4,000 to buy a honda eu7000is like you?
Instead of buying a $60 inverter that will help them get thru a majority of problems that might come along with a power outage? If you have a mcmansion fridge that your problem.
firefly
I am sure some of us consider a Honda eu7000is a luxury just as many others consider the fact that owing a refrigerator a luxury… So to each his own I guess. Personally we have survived many power outage without the need for a generator/inverter. Many of us poor college student survived on a ramen diet at some point. While it might not be the healthiest option those thing are extremely cheap with great shelf life.
A good Honda generator that can power a typical household fridge usually run around $1000. I see plenty of portable generator that run from $99-$300. I see one on Costco website right now for $150 that seem to get decent rating.
fred
@ firefly
You are absolutely right.
I don’t consider most of my possessions as necessities. Most are either luxuries or qualify as such based on their size, cost etc.
As humans we need air to breathe, clean water to drink, food to eat, shelter from the elements and perhaps clothing as appropriate. One could argue for other items (a job to earn money to buy the necessities? A means of transport to get to the job? and so on).
But for many of us, if we are blessed – the food we buy may not be the bare minimum (college dorm room ramen noodles excepted) . The clothing we buy may be more or of higher cost than absolutely necessary. The houses we live in and the improvements we make to them – usually far exceed “shelter” requirements. We may spend more on cars than could be justified based on pure economics – and so on.
When I bought the house that I now live most of the year in – it came with a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a commercial stove and dishwasher. None of those appliances approached “necessity” – nor was the size of the house that surrounded the kitchen. It was, however, a nice place to bring up the kids, indulge my wife’s gardening and my woodworking hobby. The house and kitchen is still more modest than many of my neighbors.
While I worked hard all my life striving to do good work and treat my workers right, I am reminded of my blessings and good fortune. I don’t apologize for it but try to share my wealth with others in greater need.
We all need to make choices on how we spend our money – be it on solar panels for the roof, what we can afford and want in the way of a house, what car to drive (unlike most of my neighbor’ s Mercedes and Audis mine is a Honda) and what if any generator (if you decide you need one) makes sense for you.
BTW the 800W inverter that Pete talks about likely makes a lot of sense based on a probabilistic need cost benefit calculation – for most of us (folks with special needs excepted) where power outages are (and hopefully remain) an infrequent event. If you think about the cost of food that you might lose in any year because of a power outage – for most of us that will not pay for the up-front capital cost of a big expensive generator. How you value the “costs of living in the dark, cold or heat and other downsides of being blacked-out (or trying to find a hotel room) – of course get factored into the decision making.
firefly
@fred, perhaps I was reading too much between the lines but I got a feeling that pete narrowly accused you of flaunting about your SubZero refrigerator. Hence I wanted to defend you by pointing out the irony in his statement. While it might not seem like it, owning a refrigerator is a luxury. After all, we are all very blessed to be worry about first world problem…
You are right, there is no reason to apologize for your good fortune. I have a lot of respect for you, your extensive knowledge and humble attitude.
Back to the original discussion, I think that instead of getting by with an inverter. It might be worth while to pay a little more ($150 vs $60) for an inexpensive generator. 5 gallons of gas doesn’t seem like a lot. But it’s all relative. That 5 extra gallons might saved us from not having to wait in line when all the available gas station are backed by lines that run for miles.
Nathan S
Be careful running a motor (compressor in your fridge) on a cheaper inverter for a sustained period of time. If there is enough surge capability to even start the motor, most consumer-level inverters produce a modified sine wave. This will introduce losses in the motor and/or motor drive, which could fry something (losses -> heat -> failure).
pete
the point is to NOT run your fridge for more than needed… Just enough to keep your food cold. So just keeping the door closed you’ll only need to run your fridge for an hour then keep it off for an hour. The inverter i recommend is this one- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HWL4N7Q
It has a peak power rating to 1600 watts for 10 seconds. Again…. is it perfect? No. Of course not, nothing is.
jec6613
Usually an 800W Inveter is more than many vehicles will provide at idle, so you’re just draining your battery. Check the specs, at idle most cars are producing 30-50 amps, which is only 400-660 Watts. That’s why vans like the Sprinter have a high idle or second alternator option – and then you burn way more fuel than a generator.
Ben
The parent company of Festool purchased Saw Stop last year (http://www.sawstop.com/company/news/press-releases/sawstop-TTS) and therefore owns the IP behind their flesh sensing technology. I fully expect Festool to integrate this technology into something in their product line up soon enough (maybe the Kapex to start?).
I wonder how the brake system would work on a handheld tool. The reaction force might be worse than the benefits, but maybe they just use the sensing technology and stop the tool in some other ways. Many of the cordless tools already have motor brakes built in.
David Zeller
I was at a woodworking show in NJ last week and spoke to the SawStop guy about the fabled $400 saw rumored to be coming out. He said he believes it’s true, but that they won’t give them a date, so he doubts it within this year.
Stuart
I can’t type proper answers to those on my cell phone, but great questions for discussion as soon as I get WiFi and AC power back!
Stuart
I don’t think so. Politics and IP issues aside:
How many injuries would flesh detection prevent? With something like a grinder, if it detects flesh, you’re already in trouble. Dropping the tool would shut off power on paddle switch models.
If a circular saw detects flesh, damage is most likely already done.
That said, new safety tech exists and is already implemented in certain tools. Some heavy duty drills have anti-kickback protection, where sensors will shut down the tool before it can twist your wrist.
Sensors are ridiculously inexpensive these days, possibly due to smartphones driving the market.
But while you can build accelerometers, gyroscopes, and current sensors into power tools, it’s more of a challenge determining how you want the tool to react.
That’s one benefit of Milwaukee One-Key – the user can set the sensitivity.
There are too many variables to predict how new tariffs will affect the hand tool industry.
I found myself wishing I had a gas snow blower today. With some tools, battery packs absolutely can replace small electric and gas engine tools. But with others, we’re not at the point yet where there is gas engine-like performance and ease of use.
Laptops were hailed as being desktop replacements, and now some tablets are described as laptop computer replacements. No tablet or laptop is powerful enough for my needs, at least not without a huge cost premium. For just email or light browsing? Sure, a laptop or tablet, or even a phone, might be sufficient enough.
Even with today’s advancements in cordless power tools, corded tools are still widely available and still selling. Air tools, too.
I do see I dressed choices being made available with furthering cordless advancement. But take cordless miter saws. For a stationary shop saw, there are greater advantages in getting a corded saw, rather than a cordless one.
Even with some cordless blowers boasting gas engine-like power with less noise, professionals might still buy gas blowers. Why? Because maybe they prefer different models and don’t want to have to deal with multiple battery systems, or settle for one brand and maybe not have the best tools or tools that perfectly suit their preferences.
Plus, we’ve only been seeing first and maybe second generation cordless tools. Milwaukee recently came out with a 2nd generation blower. We don’t know what their next generation battery system will look like, or whether there will be another new blower then.
Gas engine tools are much more mature.
I don’t know what gas vs. cordless market share looks like, but I don’t think cordless has surpassed gas yet.
Chris
on this topic, have there been any real world reviews of the dewalt lawn mower, and any rumblings of they having a 1 stage snow thrower for next winter or….?
and for that matter how do you think the 20×2 would fare compared to a normal 20″ gas single stage thrower?
Kurt
I managed to gouge a .045 groove at the tip of my index finger while using a grinder. For a couple of months I was able to point very accurately, and I’m much more careful now.
firefly
Perhaps we will no longer have separate platform… instead it will be similar to the common alkaline battery, (AA, 9V….) So it will be a cartridge that we pop into the tool so we don’t have to pick and choose. I envision the smallest building block will be 12v. So perhaps 12, 24, 36, … all the way up to 120v all sharing the same building block. So manufacture and consumer can freely move between platform. I say 12v because a lot of DC operated industrial operate off lead acid out of the 12v building block. So this can just feed right in those existing equipment.
I don’t care about the flesh sensing part of technology. It sound cool and all but I rather they spend the R&D on automate the dangerous part. So improvement with jig/fixture that not only make the work safer but more accurate. I think that’s a better end goal.
Stuart
I’ve heard complaints about flashlights being dim, and (a few years ago) point and shoot cameras having bad battery life.
Not all AA or AAA batteries are built alike. You have different chemistries, and different kinds. Some devices work well on alkaline batteries or low draw rechargeables, others recommend lithium or higher draw rechargeables.
That will happen if there’s ever a universal battery standard. Users will buy premium tools and expect for entry level battery packs to just work, and they won’t deliver the performance expected. Will the users blame themselves for buying the cheapest batteries, or will they return or recommend against the tool?
firefly
I do agree with you at the current state of battery technology.
I was speaking in the far future where battery technology has improved 5-10x what we have now. Even just at just 5 time, imagine a 60v battery that we currently have drop their size by 5. For any tool that have high power demand I would imagine the manufacture will stick with a higher voltage. At a higher voltage the power delivery will be a lot more reliable. The tool can also sense the voltage drop and report a bad battery with much better accuracy since the resolution is higher. Beside at a much lower cost, counterfeit battery will become a lot less likely. After all if the user can get good battery at a reasonable price in the official channel they are a lot less likely to look elsewhere.
Take CD and mp3 for example, back in the day it’s a lot more likely for someone to make a copy of a music cd/tape and give it to a friend. Because the pricing model was flawed, not only we are paying for the value of the song but also for the medium. Also a CD might contain 10 song to fill it up. Not everyone will like all the song on the CDs. Nowadays music subscription have become the norm. We can listen to all we want for the price of a single CD. When mp3 first become popular Apple come up with their proprietary format to make it difficult to transfer music in the name of copyrighted. It got hacked. It eventually yield itself to a better distribution channel.
firefly
Yayyyy… Sound like some awesome fun. We used to live in Utah, so day heavy snows were the norm. It take a lot of snow for school to be shut down… Now we live in Texas, one inches of snow and the whole state is shut down 😀
Rx9
Florida resident here. I guess this is the flip side of having to deal with hurricanes in the summer/fall. It’s almost like getting a tax return from mother nature.
firefly
lol… love the analogy!
Nathan S
I’m a northerner, and I’d much rather deal with a couple blizzards than destructive hurricanes. Sure, you can get killed driving to work with snowy and/or icy roads, but at least you can stay at home, generally, without worrying about whether your house will blow apart. In fact, if we have a high enough level of “snow emergency,” you can get ticketed for being out on the roads, aside from emergency reasons.
Bolt
I stopped off at an estate sale during lunch and picked up a little 1/3 or 1/2hp motor set up as a grinder for 10 bucks. I’ll use it with a wire wheel or maybe as a buffer.
I was tempted to get the blacksmiths post vise they were selling but I held strong and didn’t buy it.
Chris
Finally got to use my new plow for my Kubota tractor. I’m very happy with the results. I was debating on whether I should buy a large snow blower (at least 28 inches) or go with the plow for the tractor. Since I love my tractor so much that’s the route I went. Before buying the plow I had a guy weld me a bracket so I could easily switch between my bucket and plow. It’s so easy to switch between the 2 it’s really the perfect set up. Plow to remove the snow and the bucket when you need to move it. This setup should pretty much last a lifetime.
Justin
Just don’t forget the tire chains and rear counterweight. They make all the difference in the world with those setups. One of my tractors had really aggressive tires and didn’t always need the chains, but all of them need the extra weight on the back.
Chris
Rear tires are filled with fluid for plowing and bucket work.
Bill
No issues with snow or snow blowers here in South Florida but I would like a little feedback on the topic of HSS Wire Gauge drill bits. I’m looking for a set bits size #1-#60 to have on hand for various needs to drill holes to be tapped. Right now it’s toss-up between two offerings on Amazon, the Irwin Industrial Tools 80181 Drill Bit Set for $63 or the Chicago Latrobe 150 Series set for $95. Both sets have the same basic stats, HSS bits with 118 degree conventional point in Jobber length. The CL set has a black oxide finish where as the Irwin set has a bright finish. I know that the CL set is American made and has a good reputation, while the Irwin set is probably made in China. As such, will I really see much of difference in performance between the sets?
Travis
I have a couple different sets of the Chicago Latrobe bits and love them. They are pricey but well worth it, especially when you are under the gun to get something completed. We have used various Irwin sets over the years and they are ok, but certainly nowhere near the quality of the CL. So it depends on your need. If you are using them in a professional setting, CL for sure. I also find them to be very true when it comes to drilling holes for tapping.
fred
CL bits were one of those things we often put on our Zoro shopping list.
The set you are looking at is $94.85 at Zoro with free shipping.
But if you wait on a sale it will be 25% off (assuming you qualify with a minimum order size)
Stuart
My first instinct is to tell you to look for deals in MSC’s monthly sales flyers.
I’d go with Chicago Latrobe.
Irwin is owned by a USA company and the bits are made in China (going by what you said).
Chicago Latrobe is now owned by a Chinese company and the bits are made in the USA.
I have some CL bits, and like Triumph also.
fred
Us snowbirds – house up north, condo in Sanibel and summer house in between – can worry about lots – probably OK regarding big earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
MacLean
Drove from home in Oregon to California to finish up some details on remodeling my parents kitchen. Pulled down the 12″ cabinet I knew was too short…put the microwave way too high…with a 20″…Mom is happy now that she can nuke something without a stool. All my Makita 18v stuff got exercised. Time to paint tomorrow.
Oregon house is out in the woods. We want a whole house propane generator…I’ve deployed to too many disasters. For now the hand pump I put on the well and my portable 5k will have to do. Was thinking of a wood burning stove too. I could run a water jacket up the stove pipe to a heat exchanger in the HVAC system on the other side of the wall.
We have our Kubota tractor if any of the snow would stick.
IJK
Have a wood stove in my house. Thing is amazing for winter, and just general cost savings with all the free wood available (some splitting may be required). I also have old school dumb gas water heaters, a gas stove, and fireplace, so even if I lose power I will still have hot water, heat, and able to cook. Add in a chest freezer, and even with no actual planning, could easily survive a week without power. A generator is still on my list of future purchases, though. I like having lights beyond the collection of scented candles the fiancee picks up every time yankee candle has a deep sale….
firefly
+1 for the chest freezer. As an avid camper, I used to camp for weeks in the wood back in the days. So we typically make it out alright without power. We also have a few propane cookers.
Have you considered solar? If your power requirement is minimal (chest freezer, energy efficient lights) a small solar system would fit in nicely. One of the thing that we have pondered is the fuel source for the generator. How long will that fuel source last. Would we be able to obtain additional fuel source in case that we need to generator to run for an extended amount of time? What about fuel source storage and shelf life? Those were some of the question that we pondered while looking at whole house generator.
MacLean
It’s Oregon…too many clouds…
firefly
Living in sunny Texas we tend to forget that some part of the country doesn’t get as much sun. I would love to travel to Oregon/WA someday…
IJK
I’ve thought about getting solar panels. But since I live in Iowa, the rebates are kind of crappy, and electricity is already cheap. Large roof though, so it’d be worth it long run, but higher priorities money and project wise at the moment. And yeah, I’ve already converted every light in the house to LED, except for the oven bulbs.
With a natural gas line ran to my house, I’ve thought about a whole house generator. Would never have to worry about fuel storage, just have a gas line ran to it.
firefly
Depending on where you are, natural gas might/might not be available during a power outage. Just something to think about…
fred
@firefly
I guess if the power outage is associated with an earthquake, flood or some natural disaster that disturbs or destroys underground pipelines – then natural gas service may be disrupted.
The large gas transmission pipelines are pressurized at pumping stations along the route – often with diesel/gas turbine backup or pumps. Local gas distribution companies do take great pains so as not to lose distribution line gas pressure – because once lost they will need to (usually by law or regulation) check all customer premises before restarting the system. That is to make sure that no leaks have developed and that any pilot lights (they still exist) have been attended to.
As Pete noted – nothing is perfect – but underground natural gas distribution systems are much more reliable than overhead power lines. Despite that – as Thomas a’ Kempis is often quoted “man proposes but God disposes”
DC
It was 71 degrees and partly sunny today with some passing showers.
Yadda
Whole house generator.
Rx9
I put together a cup-tisserie stand for my wife a few nights ago. Apparently, there’s a new trend burning up the pinterest pages where crafters get Yeti cups (or cheaper equivalent), cover them in glitter and then seal on that glitter with a clear epoxy of some sort. To get the epoxy to cover and dry evenly, you have to mount it on a modified rotisserie, hence the term cup-tisserie.
My wife is big into crafting, and she appreciates having a husband who knows his way around tools. There have been several times in which I’ve helped her up her crafting game with a dose of carpentry. I’ve also gotten her familiar with how to operate several types of power tools.
I suspect that there are quite a few handy guys who get conscripted in the service of crafting by their significant others, but you can see rather stunning results when the two skillsets combine.
Wayne
My wife’s into quilts. I don’t have many ways to help her with that, but I have to admit the geometry/tools/machinery of those projects piques my engineering interest.
Haven’t made the jump yet…
glenn
Today, A sunny 28c/82f where I live, lol!
Hang Fire
Snow storms and power outages are when people discover what E10/E15 does to Outdoor Power Equipment carbs.
Stabil is not enough.
I use E-Free only for OPE (except my lawn tractor during Summer when I go through two tanks a week of E10), and Stabil, but my generator and my snow blower both get run dry before storage. Both are over a decade old and start on the first or second pull.
fred
Ethanol free gasoline is as scarce as hen’s teeth in my neck of the woods.
The Ethanol lobby (ADM et al.) did a great job of it. I sure hope that it has helped with air quality – because it does play havoc with the OPE I’ve used – and as Hang Fire says – Stabil may not be the complete answer. I also suppose we can thank the ethanol lobby – at least in part- for pushing the price of feed corn (and beef) up – but if high beef prices make us eat less red meat maybe its a is a good thing.
Back on tools (snow blowers) – I find that my 5-year old Ariens 921028 seems to (no scientific testing) run better on high-test with Stabil added – or at least my son (house sits for us) says so – when he’s called on to do the walkways.
firefly
It’s getting harder and harder to find gas station that sell pure gas. I do own a few Honda small equipment and what I really like about them is that they have a gas shutoff valve. At least all the commercial small engine from Honda that I own have one. So at the end of the season it help to shutoff the valve and let the engine run dry.
Daniel
You could always move to Texas!
fred
We have a daughter who lives in Bee Cave – and we do visit regularly. I especially like my namesake town (Fredericksburg) – a nice daytrip out of Bee Cave / Austin.
Alick
In the 70’s there was a long period of industrial action by the miners in the UK. It crippled coal fired power stations and the most of the country suffered scheduled power cuts over several weeks. I remember many nights in front of a coal fire, using gas for cooking and lights. It was a hassle but also a big adventure as a teenager.
Make sure your kids enjoy the experience and learn the life lesson that utilities are fallible and it’s smart to have a backup method of staying warm, storing and boiling water 🙂
Donny
Any word on when Dewalt might be updating their 12V line? They’re long overdue imo.
Stuart
Short answer: No. I’ve been pushing a little, and hope that I’ll be among the first to know if or when there’s something new to talk about.