It is legendary around here that one can find a "taker" for nearly anything left at the end of one's driveway with a "FREE" sign but, this morning, a helpful man set a record. I had put my old, cordless Weedeater hedge trimmer out and had barely made it back to the garage when I heard a pickup stop. Wow! Then...I realized that I had failed to include the blade guard. Having seen the good man pull over just two houses up the street, I hurried to give it to him. He seemed surprised. I was surprised that I had failed to put the guard on the blade since I remembered to include the battery charger in the box. A good morning.
This is the lighter-weight replacement (above), a Craftsman that uses the same batteries as my Craftsman string trimmer and weed whacker. I had a bit of a chore assembling the shield and handle because even the screws were plastic. I feared that I would strip the Phillips heads trying to overcome the friction. Fortunately, I did get it together and expect the inexpensive tool to outlast me, at least.
I used the trimmer for a few minutes, yesterday morning, and will now head out to give it a lengthier workout. (I try not to make noise before 8am - for the neighbors. I do quiet work before that time.)
I have a different brand of battery operated hedge trimmer and those are great! They are also pretty quiet although I too, try to wait until a "reasonable" time to use them so as not to disturb neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI agree that battery-powered (heck! electrically-powered) appliances are pretty quiet. When operating them, instead of wearing earmuffs over 26 db suppression earplugs as do I when mowing, I settle for just the earplugs - and, for a short spurt, will go bare-eared.
ReplyDeleteMostly, I was tired of having different battery chargers cluttering up my cabinet and the newer trimmer is 2" shorter and quite a bit lighter which is kinder to my 88 yo body ; )
Besides, I meant to add, I had gotten my money's worth on the old trimmer, its having given me 20-25 years of service, I think.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for being considerate of your neighbors. I try to wait as well, especially on the weekends.
ReplyDeleteI love my new battery hedge trimmer as it makes it impossible to cut into the cord.
Only the pros who come in to do work make a lot of noise early of a morning, around here. We all try to be considerate, don't we?
ReplyDeleteIt has been so long since I had anything (in the way of outdoor tools) with a cord that you gave me a chuckle, Ingineer. I still have lots of outdoor extension cords, though. Only the shorter ones get used - in winter: bird bath and heating tape around water pipes & backflow prevention valve on irrigation system (which system wasn't used in 2025).
I dont have a driveway . The front lawn fronts on the road. Typical german.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to CC Extended, Stu. Great way to celebrate your 82nd birthday!
DeleteDo you have an alleyway behind your house? Many houses in the USA that were built before 1930-1940 had streets in front and alleyway in back. There was no driveway between the alleyway & the garage that opened into the alleyway.
In 1943-1946, living in Tulsa OK, we had a corner lot - front lawn extending to street, side yard extending to the other street (with interruption by a ditch). We had a driveway that crossed the ditch, at the side of our house, leading to the garage that was attached via a breezeway to the house. We kids excavated little tunnels into the ditch (extending under the yard, not the street) so that the "curly worms" (Armadillidiidae) would have homes. We also weaved/wove pillows from rag weed plants - so that the "bums" (hobos) would have pillows.
I failed to mention that, very probably, you never relied upon horses for transportation in town. I know that I did not. Changing from equestrian to automobile-based transportation has been an evolution rather than a revolution.
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