What did you do today?

[zannej]

Spicoli, the current oven has been toast for awhile. Mice got into it and got all up into the insulation so every time it got turned on the entire house would stink. It's one of the hazards of living out in the woods.
I have my eye on a new stove but it's expensive (although less expensive than a lot of other models out there). It's got true convection, air fryer, and most importantly, a safety lock to prevent it from being turned on accidentally (or by children-- in my case, cats).
That mower looks awesome!

 

[Spicoli43]

Ok, I see your frustration, but what about a complete refurb? I wish I had kept old appliances and paid the SAME OR MORE to refurb them than I spent on the new "Energy Star" Garbage!

The mower seems great, but the warranty is suspect. With the Manufacturer's warranty, I have 3 years of "If we feel your issue is covered, you can drag the thing to our authorized service center, which may or may not be in your STATE, please call them if you can find them, but we don't cover battery leakage."

Followed by a 3 year extended warranty in which they will pay half for maintenance parts including batteries up to $500, but I have to buy the batteries from Home Depot, who don't have any in stock now, and I'm wondering if that is an ongoing issue. They do pick it up and return it for free, though.

Weighing the cost of gas, oil, belts, grease, oil changes versus the batteries now, but of course I expect the thing to last years and I will always garage it.

 

[Flyover]

@Spicoli43 Your new mower costs more than my first three cars combined, and adjusted for inflation! Still, looks nice, not having to put gas (and oil?) in it will be pretty sweet. Hope it doesn't mess up your electric bill too much.

 

[Spicoli43]

@Spicoli43 Your new mower costs more than my first three cars combined, and adjusted for inflation! Still, looks nice, not having to put gas (and oil?) in it will be pretty sweet. Hope it doesn't mess up your electric bill too much.

Well, I'm not there yet. I'm looking at more expensive ?????? versions from Cub Cadet and E-Go. I can't believe how expensive they are. I have to finance though no matter what, so I'm probably locked into Home Depot or Lowe's.

Here's a article to Geek out on...

https://todaysmower.com/going-green-2021-electric-riding-mowers-and-ztrs/

 

[BuzzLOL]

... Somehow one of the burners on the stove had gotten turned on and lit something on fire & it burned the Nu-Wave induction cooker. Even though I just set the fire extinguisher in a spot where I could find it the other day, it wasn't there...

A few years ago a neighbor lady in her 60's was going into dementia and leaving little paper notes to herself all over the tables, then spread to the furniture, then kitchen counter tops, then on the range. I stopped in to check on her one day and she was cooking and set the range notes on fire. I put it out and her kids had her put into a nursing home and now she's passed away.
I have a fire extinguisher hung on a wall bracket in the kitchen so always know where it is, doesn't get buried under anything, and is always mildly visible. I'm very anal about anything combustible sitting on or near the stove, even if for 'just a moment'. The fire extinguisher is on opposite side of kitchen from range so I don't have to go through fire to get to it. It also costs much less than burnt up appliances. It's kinda a mid sized one so it will have enough to finish putting a fire out. It's dry chemical because water can just spread a grease fire.

 

[Eddie_T]

Electric may prove to be less expensive in the long haul depending on battery life. I read one review that said this:

• Less expensive to operate. My 42 inch, 24 HP Zero-turn uses about 2 gallons of fuel or $5.50 to mow my lawn. An electric riding mower will use about 75 cents in electricity. (My local fuel prices and electric rates) Plus, I don’t have to buy a gas can, go to the gas station in my vehicle, and have gas sitting around my garage.

 

[Spicoli43]

Electric may prove to be less expensive in the long haul depending on battery life. I read one review that said this:

• Less expensive to operate. My 42 inch, 24 HP Zero-turn uses about 2 gallons of fuel or $5.50 to mow my lawn. An electric riding mower will use about 75 cents in electricity. (My local fuel prices and electric rates) Plus, I don’t have to buy a gas can, go to the gas station in my vehicle, and have gas sitting around my garage.

Yeah, my John Deere used probably 3.5 gallons to mow my 1.1 acres. I tried to mow twice on a 5 gallon gas can and couldn't, so it was at least 3 gallons per week. 20 weeks worth equals 60 gallons minimum, so that's about $160 in fuel, which will go up, plus an oil change kit at $35, while not needed every year, I would change. Then there is belts that I didn't factor in, spark plugs etc.

4 batteries for the Ryobi cost around $600 now, but I'll spread that out over 3 years conservatively, so I'm looking at $200 a year all in no other maintenance that I can think of, so it's a wash if the batteries only last 3 years.

The only concern battery wise is they are Lead Acid, while the Cub Cadet is Lithium Ion. I'm leaning towards the Cub just because of that, but need to figure out that exact specification. I swear I saw a 10 year life for those, which would be an instant decision maker.

The bagging system is included in the price for the Ryobi right now, and it's $350 for the Cub Cadet. I'm not even sweating that though, because the bagger for the John Deere was almost $900, and was an absolute must if I had kept it based on not using a bagger last year. 100% absolute must.

Now, the fun part of "Do I really want to spend $$$$$$$$$ on a mower" is that it would cost $75 a week to have someone show up and do it, so that's $1500 a year, AKA, either mower will pay for itself in 3 years.

I hope.

Not included in my scenario is the E-Go, which is an appropriate name because with my limited research, they sure do love themselves. I won't research more because I can't buy one anywhere right now.

 

[Eddie_T]

I found a purebred Carolina Dog, it's younger than I was seeking but there's no question regarding its breeding. The thing I like about them is they are essentially the original NA wild dog without man's effort to breed for configuration. Now I just have to make up my mind and drive about 3 hours to pick him up. This is not him, just a stock photo;

 

[zannej]

I try not to leave anything flammable near the stove but cats are a-holes & will knock things around. Mom is resisting getting a new stove. There used to be a place in town that would fix old appliances but they took damage in the hurricane & their entire building has been torn down. They would probably charge more to fix it than to buy a new one of the same type.

I need to put bright colored tape on my fire extinguisher. It's gray & I couldn't see it through the smoke, but it was where I left it.

Eddie, that's a beautiful dog!

 

[Flyover]

@Eddie_T I agree with zannej, that's a beautiful dog. My impression is that with a few exceptions (e.g. greyhounds) the more we mess with dog genes the more health complications we introduce. (Pugs' eyes have a tendency to pop out and they have sinus issues, bouviers get hip problems, etc.) Are Carolina dogs, being close to "wild", pretty free of health issues?

@zannej, a gray fire extinguisher?!?! Who came up with that genius idea? That'd be like a hunter-camo safety vest for lumberjacks. I've only ever seen bright red or yellow fire extinguishers, I figured there must be some regulation forcing the manufacturers to make them those colors for obvious reasons. Who made your fire extinguisher? You should write them a damn letter, plus send them a bill for the bright colored tape.

As for replacing your stove, some average of whoever pays for it and whoever cooks the most should probably get to make the call.

I've been dealing with some insane personal/family health issues the past week or so. (Don't be concerned, that isn't saying a lot; we're all generally very healthy people and for a lot of other families this would be next to nothing.) It's been tough on us anyway, but everything will be peachy in a week or three.

 

[BuzzLOL]

There used to be a place in town that would fix old appliances but they took damage in the hurricane & their entire building has been torn down

There are several used appliances stores around here and I don't know how they stay in business, their prices seem really low, like $75 for a nice stove... can't get one fixed for that...

About 40 years ago I bought a used clothes washer for about $50, it looked nearly new, but when I tried to use it, I discovered it leaked water all over. I looked inside and the hoses had been cut. I think I was supposed to complain and they would come out and swap me an old clunker under the warranty and resell the nice looking one again. I just taped up the hoses and kept using it. LOL !!!

 

[Spicoli43]

I ended up getting the Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1-42E with a bagging system. It's the middle one at the start of the video. The ZT is Zero Turn, the 42 is the size and the E is for Electric. I don't know if I can get a snow plow for it yet, will cross that bridge later. All in, I'll be paying for it until Little Baby Jesus returns, but it's just one of those things. I hope it turns out to be the Ferarri of mowers as indicated by the price and not a Pinto. Oddly enough, I can't find one Electric version user video, just tons of the gas version.

 

[Flyover]

All in, I'll be paying for it until Little Baby Jesus returns, but it's just one of those things.

How very 2007 of you! Ha.

Looks like you'll have to make the first user video!

 

[Spicoli43]

2007?

I'll probably make a video after a year of use, will take small segments throughout the year and edit it all this time next year.

 

[Eddie_T]

The only time I needed a fire extinguisher was when my propane grill caught on fire and was burning all the way from the grill to the top of the propane tank with flames leaping high. I knew if the tank blew it would probably set fire to the house. I grabbed a halon extinguisher from under the sink and ran to the grill hoping it would work. I had purchased the extinguisher around 1980. Two puffs, one in the grill and one at the regulator and the fire was out. I searching for another halon extinguisher I find that they are banned. Sad because they work and leave no mess behind.

 

[Flyover]

2007?

The year before 2008.

Because of "All in, I'll be paying for it until Little Baby Jesus returns, but it's just one of those things." I was making a joking reference to the common American mindset of living beyond one's means, putting everything on credit, figuring that's just how you're supposed to operate, etc.

NOT accusing you of any of that, by the way, just making a joke.

 

[Eddie_T]

I financed two cars finding I always owed more than they were worth. That cured me and I have been debt free since paying that second one off.

 

[Spicoli43]

The year before 2008.

Because of "All in, I'll be paying for it until Little Baby Jesus returns, but it's just one of those things." I was making a joking reference to the common American mindset of living beyond one's means, putting everything on credit, figuring that's just how you're supposed to operate, etc.

NOT accusing you of any of that, by the way, just making a joke.

I do put everything on credit. That's the only reason I have good credit, it keeps me honest by the requirement to pay bills. I don't ever pay interest though, this mower is 24 months same as cash. I only carry cash to pay the utility bill, everything else is on a rewards card. Paying cash for stuff and not putting it on a card with a zero interest period is money that isn't making more money in the stock market.

That being said, I don't go crazy, never buy stuff that I don't need. When I was a kid, I got my first CC with a $6000 limit, and I spent it all. My Dad sat me down and explained how long it was going to take to pay it off, which blew me away, then he paid it off and charged me enough interest to get my attention, not enough to screw me like the bank. Lesson learned, and I have been good ever since.

 

[Eddie_T]

@Spicoli43 I also use a credit card to accrue the points and always pay it during the grace period. Sounds like you have a plan.

 

[Spicoli43]

There are several used appliances stores around here and I don't know how they stay in business, their prices seem really low, like $75 for a nice stove... can't get one fixed for that...

About 40 years ago I bought a used clothes washer for about $50, it looked nearly new, but when I tried to use it, I discovered it leaked water all over. I looked inside and the hoses had been cut. I think I was supposed to complain and they would come out and swap me an old clunker under the warranty and resell the nice looking one again. I just taped up the hoses and kept using it. LOL !!!

There's one used place right down the road that has insane prices. I don't know what they are thinking, but they are only about $100 off what anything new would cost. That being said, I might go look at what they have, because nothing could be bad as my new Whirlpool / Maytag garbage.

Unfortunately, appliance companies are like Insurance companies... Not a good one in existence.