Category Archives: Out door power equipment

Jan 30 0 comments
Out door power equipment

Tool Review, Husqvarna 240 E Chain Saw

In order to put up our Photovoltaic system, we had to remove an old pear tree.  The tree was exactly in the prime location for the array, and figuring that we could replant an apple tree, which I like apples more than pears, everything would be just fine.

I got out the old chain saw, fired it up and began cutting the lower branches.  Then, I climbed up a ladder and started cutting away the upper branches.  Next, the saw quit running.  Now, truth be told, it wasn’t a very good saw to begin with and it was quite old.  Naturally, stopping in the middle of a project, while the rented excavator was sitting idle in the yard, called for some fast action.

Previously that day, I was at the local Williams Lumber store and noticed they had a trade in deal on Husqvarna chain saws.  I took my old, non-running unit in and purchased a Husqvarna 240 E.  It was a really good deal and I had always heard that Husqvarna made good chain saws.

Husqvarna 240 E chain saw

Husqvarna 240 E chain saw

I was not disappointed.  The 240 E is a good small chain saw that made quick work of the pear tree, which was suffering from an advanced case of heart rot, as it turns out.  I have since used it to cut up all of our fire wood, harvested from our wood lot out back.  It consistently starts on the third pull, has lots of power to cut through hard wood like oak, maple and black locust.

It has a 16 inch bar, but I easily worked through the pear tree which was at least 24 inches at the base.  I would recommend this for anyone needed a good small chain saw.

Popularity: 1% [?]

May 02 2 comments
Blogging, General, Out door power equipment, yard

First planting, Lawnmower, New clothes line, blog videos

I would post more often but we just are not working on the house right now.  I have been very busy working two jobs…  The second job (solar business) is doing well.  It is still difficult, in this economy, to sell high end alternative energy gear but not impossible.

I have managed to do a few things around the house:

radishes poking up through the ground

radishes poking up through the ground

A few weeks ago we put in the cold weather crops, peas, carrots, lettuce, radishes, and spinach.  All are coming up, I think we will have radishes in about a week or so.  I plan on planting the rest of the garden around the middle of May.  That will include tomatoes, beans, squash, peppers, broccoli and onions.  More posts/pictures as the time gets closer.

strawberries about to flower

strawberries about to flower

buds breaking on the grape vine

buds breaking on the grape vine

I did the annual lawn mower maintenance including sharpening the blade.  I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to find several large dings in the blade.  Funny, I don’t really remember hitting any rocks or anything last year.  Anyway, I sharpened the blade on the bench grinder.  Nothing worse than a dull lawn mower blade to maul the ends of the grass blades off.

new clothes line

new clothes line

I also replaced the clothes line posts.  We had a really niffty hydraulic post hole digger for one day in mid April.  I managed to drill several 3-4 foot deep holes around the yard for various purposes including enlarging the garden fence.  I replaced the clothes line because we seem to have a lot of laundry and the old one seemed a little light duty.  Plus, we had a really niffty hydraulic post hole digger.  I cannot recommend this unit enough.

Going to town with the Earth Auger

Going to town with the Earth Auger

I apologize to my regulars (if there are any left) for the lack of posts over the last few months.  When it comes to this blog, I decided that I would rather have quality over quantity.  Staying more or less on topic seems to improve my search results and nets me more Adsense revenue.  To that end, I went through and deleted many of the old off topic posts that were not very popular.

Speaking of adsense, say goodbye to the home improvement videos.  Google, in there infinite wisdom, decided to discontinue the Adsense video service.  I made a fair amount from those videos, but I must have been the only one.  I am going to start moving away from Google and selling ad space on the blog myself this year.  I have had many people tell me that they have greatly increased there revenue by doing this.

Otherwise, stay tuned for some up comming projects this summer.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Jan 12 5 comments
Out door power equipment

Snow Removal (or moval) Equipment

Ever since we moved here in 2004 I have been threatening to buy a snow blower.  Every year, it seems the same; I shovel the first few snow falls, then figure that winter is almost over and why on God’s nearly green Earth would I want to buy a snow blower in the spring time.

Well, this year it’s different.  Friends of ours have moved out of the area and in exchange for keeping an eye on their house (until it is sold) they have given me a snow blower.  For free! Free is always a plus.

Craftsman 2 stage 28 inch snow blower

Craftsman 2 stage 28 inch snow blower

This is a Craftsman two stage 28 inch snow blower with a 9 HP engine.  It has an electric start option, which is really nice.  To use the electric start, an extension cord is needed, but this is really no big deal.  I have used it three times this year to clean out the driveway.

I can say that the snow moving is quite fun, sort of like mowing the lawn only smaller and faster.  I thought it might bog down in the heavy wet snow at the end of the drive way but it went right through it.  It goes fast, much faster than I imagined.  This last 6 inch storm I did the whole driveway in about 20 minutes.

I've got better things to do than sholve snow

I've got better things to do than shovel snow

Now that I actually own a snow blower, look for warm, wet, snow free winters from here on out.

Popularity: 2% [?]

May 21 26 comments
Out door power equipment, Tools, yard

New Cub Cadet CC4175 String Trimmer

Happy Birthday to me! With my Home Depot gift certificate from Aunt Barbra and Uncle Jim, I purchased a new string trimmer to replace the old one which met its demise earlier this spring. She’s a bute! There are several nice things about this unit; first, it has a 4 cycle engine. No more mixing oil and gas and hoping that I don’t foul a spark plug. Plus, it always seems that each tool, e.g. chain saw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer, used a different fuel to oil ratio, making life difficult. Second, it has several different attachment head accessories that can be bought, so not only is it a string trimmer, it can be a pole chain saw, hedge trimmer, brush cutter, mini rototiller, edger and so on.

cub cadet cc4175 4 cycle gas trimmer

There were two units to choose from, the less expensive, less versatile curved shaft unit, or the straight shaft unit. I like the straight shaft units better because it seems to be a better design; less friction, less wear and tear on the power transfer cable, etc. Perhaps I am just imagining it, but it seems to be much more sturdy that the old Pouland string trimmer.

Since it has a 4 cycle engine, it requires crank case oil and there are all sorts of warnings and stickers to that effect. Guessing they may have had problems with that in the past. Anyway, a 3.04 ounce bottle of SAE 30 HD motor oil is provided. I am going to keep the little bottle to measure out oil changes when needed in the future. I also noted that it is about 1 to 2 pounds heavier than the old string trimmer. It seems to have more power than the old unit, and no smoky exhaust to breath while trimming up the yard.

Some assembly required.

I am looking forward to finishing up the trimming over the weekend.

Popularity: 15% [?]

May 17 45 comments
Out door power equipment, yard

Maintenance of a Toro 22 Inch Recycler Lawn Mower

All outdoor power equipment requires some maintenance to keep running in top shape. By changing the oil, air filter and keeping the equipment clean, you can extend the normal life by several years. I don’t know about you, but I prefer to get my monies’ worth from something. I believe the average life you can expect from any piece of outdoor power equipment is about 10 years, ± 2 years.

Case in point, last year, my 10 year old craftsman lawn mower bit the dust. The aluminum crank case cracked and leaked oil all over the place. I used this lawn mower at our rental house, which had an acre of lawn, then when we moved here, I used it for four more years, again, mowing about an acre of lawn every week.

Last fall, my 9 year old chain saw broke the connecting rod. The chain saw was heavily used, and a higher quality unit like a Stihl or Husqvarna may have lasted longer. This year, my 10 year old string trimmer bit the dust. The cable that transfers power from the power head to the cutting head unsprung. The whole unit was beginning to fall apart anyway, again, a higher quality unit may have lasted longer. So I have concluded that 10 years of medium to heavy use is about all you can expect from most stuff.

The Toro Model 20071A Lawn mower was brand new last year, and it has been a good unit so far. Always starts on the first or second pull and does a real nice job with the lawn.

Toro 22 Inch recycler lawn mower model 20071 oil change

Maintenance is pretty easy. Changing the oil took about 15 minutes, including 10 minutes of warming the engine up. I like to change the oil when the engine is warm because the it thins out the oil and more of the old oil comes out of the crank case. This unit does not have an oil plug on the bottom of the engine, so it needs to be tipped on its side. This is best done when the fuel tank is nearly empty, so gas does not leak out when it is tipped over. I use a catch pan, then empty the catch pan into my “dirty lube oil” container, which is a 5 gallon gas can so purposed. When the dirty lube oil container is full, I take the oil to my favorite garage, M. Alpert and Sons, for recycling. The lawn mower takes 20 ounces of SAE 30W detergent motor oil.

dirty lube oil recycling container

The air filter should be changed every year. The replacement filter is a Tecumseh 36905, which I found at both Lowes and Home Depot.

filter comparison dirty filter on left new clean filter on right

The old filter is on the left. That is the filter that came with the lawn mower after one season of use. You can see why they need to be replaced every year.

The only other thing that is recommended is to lube the wheel gears for the front drive wheels.

front yard after mowing the lawn

An occasional blade sharpening will also make cutting the grass much easier. You can tell when your lawn mower blade needs to be sharpened by how cleanly it is cutting the grass. A blade of grass that looks torn or shredded where it was cut is a good indicator that the blade is dull and needs to be sharpened.

Popularity: 36% [?]