We have had so many problems trying to get cordless phones that work well. They are trial and error. Some phones are too quiet. Others are too noisy. Others have no range. I have bought a few of ther newer phones, and they don’t work well. We get random noise bursts. The best phone in our house is an older 900mhz Uniden EXL8900. It got some funky long distance service stuff that we never used, but it is digital! The sound is great, and it has worked well for years. We have replaced the battery several times as it’s life has diminished.
But the other day someone offered a Uniden EXL-8945 on Freecycle. I immediately emailed the woman, and I got it! I went and picked up the phone after work. She mentioned that it might need a new battery. That’s okay. Batteries are relatively cheap on ebay for these cordless phones. The EXL8945 is really cool! It’s a speakerphone version of the EXL8900! I hadn’t realized it was a speaker phone until I got a good look at it. I had planned on putting the phone downstairs, but with the speakerphone feature I decided to put it next to my computer. I had an AT&T corded speaker phone there, but it sucked! It needed batteries in the base for the memory, and speakerphone features. And the batteries lasted only a couple months or less even if the speakerphone and other features were not used. So when I would go to use one of the features, they would never work! But the Uniden EXL 8945 seems to be powered from the wall! SO I wont have to worry about the batteries in the base going dead!
I ordered a couple batteries off of ebay. I found some NiMH batteries that claim to be compatible. The regular batteries are NiCad and usually get a shorter and shorter usage time over it’s life. The NiMH batteries are not supposed to have a memory like the NiCads. Also they store more power, so we can have the phone off the base longer, and use it longer between charges!
Besides searching for a deal on a regular single purpose tiller, and I have also been looking at tiller attachments for my Troy Bilt weed whacker. I was surprised at the variety that are available. I am guessing that most of them are all actually made by the same company, and are just painted different colors, and labelled differently. Last night on eBay I bid on a Troy Bilt TBGC cultivator, but was outbid. I was also watching an auction for a Poulan Pro PPB2000T tiller attachment, which looks exactly the same as the Troy Bilt TBGC, except a different color and label. But unfortunatly, I missed bidding on it. I was at karate class, and didn’t get home in time. It ended with a bid of $51, and shipping of $20. It was new, and would have been a good deal maybe if the bidding didn’t go too much high. Oh well.
Here is a list of compatible tiller attachements:
Troy Bilt TBGC
Poulan Pro PPB2000T
Ryobi GC720R
Weedeater 2000T
Expand-It UT15550
Chicago Electric Power Tools Tiller Attachment (Harbor Freight Tools)
I think that all might be the same, with the exception of the Expand-It UT15550, which looks different than the others.
The one at Harbor Freight is only $70, as opposed to the others which go for $90. But I would be leery of the one from Harbor Freight breaking.
I went to Lowes today, and looked at the Troy-Bilt TBGC Cultivator attachment. I asked one the Lowes employees and he said it was good. The had been working there for 4 years, and nobody had reported any problems. So I am seriously looking at buying one. There was one up for auction on eBay. I was supposed to be brand new with the box. I put in a bid of $57, but got outbid. Since the shipping was $20, that brought the total price up $77. And since I can go buy one at Lowes that is guarenteed new, and can easily return it if there are any problems. And the Lowes prices is $90 (plus tax), it is probably not worth the shrinking savings. I will keep an eye on eBay and craigslist. If it comes time for me to till my garden, and I still haven’t come up with a deal, I’ll just head to Lowes. Right now there is still snow on the ground.
I was talking to a buddy of mine, and I mentioned about how I was looking to buy a mini tiller. I told him about looking on ebay, etc. He mentioned that he knows of a couple retired guys who fix and sell used lawn mowers. I said he had seen a larger tiller there for liek $25 or $50, and regretted not having bought it. (He passed on it, because it was front tines). But now he looks back and thinks that for that price, he could lived with from front tines for that price. Anyway, he thinks that there is a possibilty that they might also have mini-tillers. So he is going to check. He warned me that the guys might not me selling yet as there is still snow on ground. But in a couple weeks, the snow will likely (hopefully) be gone. Meanwhile, I will continue to watch eBay, craigs list, and local auctions. Hey, if I don’t buy a mini-tiller this year, I can always turn my garden by hand. I don’t think I would bother renting one.
When I got home today, I decided to clear my driveway from the little bit of snow that fell yestreday and last night. The sun was out and the temp was now in the mid 30′s. The couple inches of snow was soft and kind of soggy. As I was using my snowblower, it was clogging up periodically. Often I just let off on the self-propel lever, and the auger would manange to clear the chute. But sometimes I needed to clear it manually.
The clear the a clogged chute, shut off the snowblower!!!! Then use a stick to remove the snow, ice, and slush. You might think that having the auger lever released would be enough, or having the snowblower shut off, might be enough. The auger can be “wound up” like a spring, and can be released when the snowblower is unclogged. So use a stick!
After I finished clearing my driveway, a went over and cleared part of my neighbor’s driveway too. They had one of their cars parked at the entrance of thier driveway, like they had had problems getting the long steep driveway. So I spent 5-10 minutes clearing the main section so they should be able to get the car up. I really don’t know the neighbors at all, other than an occasional wave while getting the mail. Last I looked, their car is still out there. They may not have noticed that the driveway has been cleared. I think they use a plowing service. But then again, their house is worth over two times what mine is.