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Quote:You'll have to give us a Consumer Report on that electric snowblower, Bob. 
I know you were half-joking, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Toro 1800 Power Curve Snowthrower, Model no. 38381. According to my brother-in-law it's so new they couldn't get it in stores, they had to order it and have it shipped to them. By spec it's supposed to handle up to 12" of snow, in 18-inch wide swaths, but frankly, I was doing two feet of (light, fluffy) snow with it in about two passes. Next time, I'll take my brother-in-law's advice and go out mid-storm and take down the drive when the snow's six to eight inches, and finish it off afterward, but just attacking the aftermath of this snow straight seemed to work just fine.
It took me a little bit to get used to it, so this first usage probably took longer than it would normally have -- I spent about 3.5 to 4 hours outside (where I normally take 2), but that also included doing the sidewalks, which I normally don't bother with after a storm of that magnitude. I'm expecting that next time I should go a bit faster.
My only complaint is that by god is it paranoid about getting out of your hands and control. This starts with a safety key that has to be inserted in the handle before you can press an interlock button that then allows you to squeeze the power control bar -- which finally starts the thing spinning. (And lets out that little mouse.) You then must hold the power control bar with both hands or the thing promptly shuts off. If you let go far enough you have to press the interlock button again to let you start it once more. Most of my first half hour to hour of using the damned thing was getting used to how sensitive it was to being "let go"; sometimes it seemed like if I didn't keep a deathgrip on the power bar at all times with both hands, it would simply shut down on me. I eventually figured out how to keep it running if I had to hold it one-handed, but until then it was annoying and frustrating.
But once I had that figured out, it chewed through snow 18 to 24 inches deep with only a little extra effort. I even managed to take down most of the end-of-driveway plow-built berm with it, although for the tallest part I helped it by breaking it down with a shovel.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Bob Schroeck Wrote:By spec it's supposed to handle up to 12" of snow, in 18-inch wide swaths, but frankly, I was doing two feet of (light, fluffy) snow with it in about two passes. Well, that's 12" per pass, right?
Bob Schroeck Wrote:My only complaint is that by god is it paranoid about getting out of your hands and control. Understandable - you really don't want to be in front of a snowblower when it's running - but it can be annoying.
--
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Temperature predictions for this weekend: High 40's, possibly 50, and sunny.
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Sucrose Octanitrate.
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Outside Temperature: 11 degrees. Projected to hit 20 today, I'm headed out to go ice fishing!
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
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Eeenteresting. I may be using my (unexpected!) Christmas bonus to pick one up, then. 'cause we got another six inches as of 10 this morning.
(I'd rather go electric than gas because I'm lazy and don't want to have to worry about spark plugs, gas/oil mix ratios, obtaining gas when I'm miles from the nearest station that doesn't overcharge horrendously because they're the only one around, and so on. 
Thanks, Bob!
--sofaspud
-- "Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
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Ha!
The differences between our native dimensions begin to reveal themselves.. I already have a gas blower, and I unexpectedly did not get a christmas bonus!
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
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Going to Arlington Heights, Illinois next week..truly brrrr!
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Sweet God no. The one winter I spent in Chicago-land was enough for me. I went into boot camp in the middle of February.
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Quote:Thanks, Bob!
You're welcome!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Got trapped in Providence while visiting the clan for Christmas. The local news weatherman called it a barometric equivalent 'Category 3 Hurricane'.
_____
DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...
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Quote:The local news weatherman called it a barometric equivalent 'Category 3 Hurricane'.
It wasn't just your local weatherman -- we were hearing that down here as well, from a couple different sources.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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40mph winds, it's 45 above right now.. I am so confused.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
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50 degrees F here today -- it's still 46 right now. No wind. Rain. Snow mostly gone.
I hear the temperature's going to plunge below freezing tonight, and then shoot right back up for the rest of the week. Go figure.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Hi, everybody. I'm back. Now to spend some time catching up on all the stuff I missed.
As for why I'm using this thread for this, today I went from low 70's in Orlando to low 20's back home. Today was an 'adventure'! (Stupid Delta, grumble grumble)
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Jorlem Wrote:Hi, everybody. I'm back. Now to spend some time catching up on all the stuff I missed.
As for why I'm using this thread for this, today I went from low 70's in Orlando to low 20's back home. Today was an 'adventure'! (Stupid Delta, grumble grumble) No no, by the standard definition, it's not an adventure until you tell us about it in some detail so we can enjoy your misfortune in an entertaining way within the warm comfort of our homes.
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Ok, fine. We got to the Orlando airport at around 11ish, checked most of our bags, and waited in the 40 minute security line. So far, normal for flying right after New Years. Then we saw our 1:30 flight was delayed until about 2:45. 2:30 rolled around, and we still hadn't started boarding. Apparently, some of the planes hydraulics broke, so the flight was delayed again until four something, so they could be fixed. During this interim, the boarding time was pushed back again. Also, one of the crew opened up the jetway door without entering the code, so the alarm at the gate started going off. This alarm apparently didn't have an off switch, as it was going for at least a half hour. Next, we were told that by the time the plane would be fixed, it would be past the amount of time the crew could be on duty, so the flight was being canceled. There was one other flight going where we needed to go, and we ended up as 14-18 on the waiting list. We all ended up getting on, scattered all over the plane. The last of us literally got on as they were closing the door on the plane. I waited all day today for our checked luggage to arrive, which it did as I was typing this. How's that?
Edit:
Forgot something. I'll give you three guesses where our coats were.
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Flew into Chicago..19 degrees....momee!
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Jorlem Wrote:Forgot something. I'll give you three guesses where our coats were. Orlando?
(I'd have said, "In your bags?", but the other is even worse...)
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robkelk Wrote:Jorlem Wrote:Forgot something. I'll give you three guesses where our coats were. Orlando?
(I'd have said, "In your bags?", but the other is even worse...) Both right, sort of. They were in the bags, which were in Orlando until today.
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And for the third time in about as many weeks, we get hit with a snowstorm. We didn't get clobbered as badly as the Christmas blizzard, but there's still a respectable amount on the ground out there. Fortunately, the snowblower ate it almost all up. (Can you tell I'm still enamored with the blower? I swear, that and the Kindle are the two best gifts I got this Christmas.) In fact, what took up the most time this morning was clearing off the car and breaking through the plow wall at the end of the driveway. Everything else, gone in moments.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Addendum: I just took a call from a recruiter in Buffalo, NY (the "oh-my-god-how-deep?" snow capitol of the US) a few minutes ago. She was a very chatty person and we spent a few minutes talking about the winter weather before getting to the meat of the call, and she mentioned that our area has gotten more snow so far this year than hers has. Which is frankly, in my opinion, one of the signs of the Apocalypse.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Ugh the "It's snowing so I'm calling out of work" weather continues up where I am >
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I have no snow.
Seriously, me and pops checked out a lake earlier this week, and it was completely bare ice. Freaking horrible to fish on.
Went up a mountain monday, it was over 50 degrees and clear on the mountaintop, no wind O_o
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-6 degrees outside; 43 in my office this morning, because I can't pay my gas bill, and I'm heating with space heaters.
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The weathermen where I am were calling for 6+ inches in my area for this latest bout of snow (which is, while not nearly as bad as last year and the near 2ft we got, is still a lot for this area). What we actually got... Well, I wouldn't be suprised if it was all melted by this afternoon.
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