[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The cup washers i ordered are still resting in Akron Ohio for the 2nd day.
4 complete days and still in the same state they started from.
i forgot Monday was a USPS holiday


Probably shouldn't tease you with this
but on Charlotte NC craigslist a guy is selling a Mid-Motor Kobalt 80v with Battery & Charger for $100 .

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/tls...263534316.html

I'm about 2 hours from Charlotte
otherwise i would give him a call and try to make a deal for it.
If he still has his receipt - it could stay under warranty.

[ponyakr]

"...Is it possible to return it and go up to the Rear-Motor ? "

I'll just keep it & we'll both use it as our weed whacker. That way we can use the Echo batt we have. Don't expect to need the Echo saw very much. Our lesser saws will take care of most of the stuff we cut, on a regular basis. Will probably eventually end up with a rear motor Echo also, if Uncle Joe will hurry up with our plague money.

THANKS for the info on the EGO front motor. I'm REALLY surprised. I thought EGO stuff was high quality all the way. Looks like the main thing they have going is the battery technology.

I suppose they cheap out on the base models, so they can compete with the cheaper brands/models, on price. Online info indicates that my Monroe Lowes now has over 50 of the 2 cheaper EGO models, in stock. I counted around 30 of some type, last time I was there.

Lookin forward now to seeing if the 40v Kobalt rear motor attachment capable string trimmer has a 10mm shaft. You'd think that it would, since my older model brushed front motor version does. But, if it don't, I'll buy a Trimmer Plus attachment for it. After my plague money comes, if the Trimmer Plus turns out to have a 10mm shaft & does OK otherwise, I'll probably buy at least 2 more. Will run larger blades on the 10mm shafts & smaller blades on the 8mm shafts.

Obviously, if an 8mm ever breaks, I probably won't use them with a blade after that. I spent quite a bit of time doing an online search for broken brush cutter shafts. Didn't find a single one. My thoughts are, if the 8mm shafts were prone to break, Ryobi would have quit selling the 8mm shaft brush cutter attachments, long ago.

Tonight I put an 8 1/4" Dewalt blade on 1 Ryobi attachment & my other 9" Kurt on the other Ryobi attachment I have. The other Kurt is getting dull. But TJ says it still cuts small stuff OK. We'll have these 2 sharp blades for bigger stuff, if needed. The 8 1/4" has about 3" of blade exposed, & the 9" has just over 3 1/2" exposed. Could take out some 3" stuff. But, we usually go with one of the chainsaws for anything much over 2".

These Ryobi attachments could get by with the cheaper 7 1/4" blades, for most smaller stuff. Will probably try one soon.

[ponyakr]

Got the used front motor 80v Kobalt today. Just lookin at the box, things weren't lookin too good. There was a hole in the box, & top of the motor was stickin out.

There was no packing material inside the box, at all. But, all the parts & hardware were enclosed, & there didn't appear to be anything damaged.

Bolted it together, installed the string guard & front handle, slid an 80v batt in & pulled the trigger. As with some of the chainsaws, there is a very slight delay, before the head begins to rotate, CW. But, it seemed to work just fine, in both hi & low speed.

Then I removed the string head. Was very interested in what I'd find. It appears to have exactly the same shaft my 40v Kobalt has. It's 10mm, RH threads, with a screwdriver slot in the end.

So, I added some spacer washers & used one of the homemade 5/8 to 10mm adapter washers I'd made, to mount the new 5/8" hole Renegade 1 blade I have. On top of the blade, I used the modified penny I've shown in an earlier post, to make sure the adapter washer didn't come out of the blade hole.

Used the cup washer that came in the 1st adapter kit I bought. Used the 10mm nut that was in the string head, to clamp everything down. It's a big ugly thang. So I'll buy a normal hex nut to replace it. The one I got in the kit had LH threads. But, since this shaft has RH threads, it should be no problem finding a 10mm x 1.25 thread metric nut.

Had to use the screwdriver I modified, held with vice-grips, to hold the shaft, while tightening the nut. Will borrow TJ's dremel tool, with thin cutting wheel, to make the slot in the shaft deeper. Need the extra depth to be able to hold the shaft & prevent the screwdriver from poppin up out of the slot. Would much prefer that an easier way was provided to hold the shaft in place, while tightening the nut.

The really good news is: That slotted shaft deal is the ONLY thing I found wrong with this trimmer. Other than that, IT'S GREAT !!!

Took it out for a spin. It works great ! Zipped thru a 2" tree & 2" limb. Didn't need Hi speed, at all. On low speed, made a vertical cut on a 2" limb. Did not put any downward pressure on it. Just let the weight of the head push the blade thru the limb. I'd estimate that it took somewhere between 1 & 2 sec to cut thru it. I couldn't tell that the cutting reduced the motor rpm hardly at all. That's torque. MORE POWER !!! I LOVE IT !!!!

Also got the Stihl shouder strap I'd ordered. At 1st, I didn't like it, because the main strap is only an inch wide. BUT, it has a nice, wide, long pad. Also only has one attachment hook. Works & feels great !

Have I mentioned how much I like it when stuff works, & does what you want/need it to do ?

Had 8 pics to show. Since there's a 5 pics per post limit, I'll put 4 pics on this post & 4 on the next post.

[ponyakr]

4 more pics.

Almost 2 1/4" of blade exposed.

Have found all this very interesting. Some string trimmers will work just fine, with a brush blade. But some won't. Some have an 8mm shaft. Some have a 10mm shaft. Some turn CW & have RH threads. Some turn CCW & have LH threads.

[ponyakr]

If anybody here is interested in any Greenworks stuff, they're having a sitewide 20% off sale, this weekend.

" This weekend only! Take 20% OFF sitewide with code NEWYEAR. Shop Mowers, Snow Blowers, Pressure Washers, Trimmers & more! "

https://www.greenworkstools.com/

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Thats all Good News
Congrats on another good working tool at another good price !
Good to see that the string guard was included too.
Terrible packaging/boxing though. Sort of brainless

The measurements would make the main head about 3.75" wide.
Since i might purchase one of these later i have a few questions on it.
Even though i don't really favor CW spinners

Do you think it was New /or/ Used

Did the Bushing (on far right of assembly line) come with it or did you supply it ?

Does it have variable speed trigger ?

Is it very "front-heavy" ?


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tell us more about that shoulder strap after you use it some.
Price and Part Number and Store

My cup washers are still resting in Akron Ohio - third day there. Fifth day since mailed out. ETA for tomorrow aint happening.
Where did the ones you bought through Walmart ship from ?

Still no Corona600 Check.
Scheduled mailing date was Jan 6
My mailman said he hasn't noticed any Stimulus Checks coming through yet.
Have been signed up with the USPS "Informed Delivery/Daily Digest" for about 9 months - no sign of it with that source either.

[ponyakr]

"...Do you think it was New /or/ Used..."

Used

"...Did the Bushing (on far right of assembly line) come with it or did you supply it ?..."

Came in it.

"...Does it have variable speed trigger ?..."

Yes

"...Is it very "front-heavy" ?..."

With the 80v batt, it actually seemed a bit rear heavy. Had to move the handle back from the position where I installed it. Also moved the strap connection back as far as it will go. This works out very good. Makes it easy to maneuver.

"...Tell us more about that shoulder strap after you use it some..."

It's quite comfortable. I like having just 1 spring clip on it. As mentioned, except for the padded section, it's only an inch wide. But, I suppose it's plenty strong for the small amount of weight it has to hold up.

"...Price and Part Number and Store.."

It's $12.95 + tax. # 4119 710 9011. Shipped from an Ebay store in South Louisiana. Here you go.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184619678375

Several Ebay stores have 'em for sale, for similar price. I chose the seller from my state.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/STIHL-Delux....c100010.m2109

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stihl-Delux...YAAOSwS~ReWccf

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stihl-OEM-T...EAAOSwo69ep0q5

This appears to be a cheaper, wider, non-padded Stihl strap.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stihl-shoul...8AAOSwJXleZXFe

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Thanks
That's REALLY weird he has more than 10 Used ones .
They must have all been store returns - from a district hub - and not just from one store.
Was hoping they were new liquidations or displays - and just listed as used to avoid high expectations from buyers.

I'm sure the big 5.0 80v battery puts some weight on it .
Thats a lot of battery
Wonder what it all weighs with the battery in it , 16-18 lbs maybe ?

Seems like a great price on the strap - especially the Stihl brand.

[ponyakr]

There are several new ones, with batt/charger, for under $200 + tax.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kobalt-80-V...IAAOSw661gBMR5

Lowes price is $250 + tax.

$124 + tax is the cheapest I've seen a new one for, so far.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Kobalt-...EAAOSwIqlfn4YS

[ponyakr]

Took the 80v Kobalt string head nut to our small local town today.

The 1st place I went was to the local lumber yard. They have the biggest nut, bolt, screw, & washer assortment in town.

Found some 10mm x 1.25 pitch thread bolts. They screwed right into the Kobalt nut. So, that answers that question. The front motor 80v Kobalt string head shaft has 10mm x 1.25 RH threads.

But, the lumber yard had only 1 small box of assorted metric nuts. The only empty compartment in the box was, yeah you guessed it, 10mm x 1.25.

NAPA didn't have any either. They suggested I try the Bumper to Bumper parts store. The lady there was moping the floor, gettin ready to close, at noon. She went to the back & returned with a small box of 10mm x 1.25 hex nuts. Wouldn't even charge me for it.

It's just a plain ordinary hex nut. I went ahead & put it on the 80v Kobalt. It's a lot smaller & lighter. Now that I know the correct size, I'll order either some flange nuts or Nyloc nuts, or maybe a combination of both, if they're available.

Saw lots of 'em on Amazon. But, most are in larger quantities than I need. They're real cheap, if you wanna wait for the slow boat from China to bring 'em over. As far as I know, I'll only need 2. But, may as well buy a few extra. Won't cost much more. Should only have to buy 'em 1 time. So, I'll just find some in stock somewhere in the US. Guessing that a package of 5 or 6 probably won't cost more than $10- $12, with tax & shipping. But I could be wrong.

These pics show the difference in the outer size of the string head nut & the reg size hex nut. The last pic shows TJ's WEN brand flex shaft dremel tool. She uses it to work on her model horses. I borrow it to clean up and/or deepen the slot in the end of the Kobalt head shafts. That slot is the only way I know of to prevent the shaft from turning, while I tighten the blade hold-down nut.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

the Ohio Cup Washers finally left Ohio and made it to NC !
At the next big town over from me , so should get them Monday ... or Tuesday.

[ponyakr]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

the Ohio Cup Washers finally left Ohio and made it to NC !
At the next big town over from me , so should get them Monday ... or Tuesday.

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/03/95307...dented-backlog

[ponyakr]

Wow !

Noticed a new Hart 40v brushless attachment capable trimmer which had some real low bids. So, I said "What the heck", & decided to snipe it myself, just for kicks & practice.

With about a minute to go the high bid was $12.50. So, I set myself up to bid $21.51, with 10 sec left. Hit the place bid button at 10 sec, then hit the confirm bid button with probably less than 5 sec left.

I wasn't even close. Somebody wanted it bad. Winning bid was $60 + tax + $30 shipping.

You just never know how much some bidder is willing to give for an item you're bidding on. So, if you really need an item, it's probably best to just find a buy-it-now item, or maybe try to haggle with the seller on the price of a make offer item.

Much better yet to just go to a big box store, pay retail, & check it out in the parking lot, IF you have the money to do it that way.

I've made a couple of offers on 40v Kobalt kits. Only $10 or so apart. But, so far, neither seller is willing to sell for my price.

If they vote to send us more plague money, before I buy from an Ebay seller, I'll just go to Lowes & do the parking lot unbox & test deal.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

You did good on that sniper shot though. Good timing
If others hadn't gotten involved as much - you would probably own it.

I make offers on things that don't even have "best offer" on the listing.
Just like sniping, sometimes it works - sometimes it don't.
If i can't get it for what i'm willing to pay i don't worry about it .
They can keep it - or somebody else can buy it

[ponyakr]

One of the sellers countered my $105 offer with a $110 offer. That's within $5 & close enuff for me. My total cost, with tax was $119.30. That's $80 cheaper than my Lowes price, & will save me a trip to Lowes. The ad says that the batt & charger are included & that all parts are brand new.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/143924421355?ul_noapp=true

So, with part of that savings I also bought a used Ryobi RY40270 tool only. My cost was $65.07.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233843634883

For anyone interested, there are quite a few of these for sale, for a similar price. One seller has lots of used & several "seller refurbished" units. Appears to be a used Ryobi dealer. The used ones are $50, for the upper section only. I considered buying one of these, & using the Trimmer Plus string attachment I ordered, to make a brush cutter. But, I decided that the Ryobi string trimmer attachment was worth the $10 extra I paid, for the $60 unit.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RYOBI-RY400...IAAOSw~7Ffeimw

The "refurbished" units are $70. I assume this seller used the good string attachments off the $50 units to "refurbish" some units which had bad attachments. But, obviously, I don't know for sure where they came up with all the Ryobi stuff they have for sale. They obviously have a source of supply. Price gets cheaper each, the more you buy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RYOBI-40-Vo...EAAOSwFLpfMcda

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Whats the deal with a Ryobi #40220 40v Trimmer ?
An older model maybe ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ryobi-RY402....c100036.m2109

New - with Battery & Charger - Free Shipping $33.00
This might be a scam
13 sold in the past week - getting about time for some feedback to start rolling back in on them now .
8 of them left .

This popped up as a suggestion on the page when i viewed your other links.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

One of the sellers countered my $105 offer with a $110 offer. That's within $5 & close enuff for me. My total cost, with tax was $119.30.

That was a real nice deal. And seller seems like a class act too.
Even says they ship same day or next day - Always.

One seller has several "seller refurbished" units.

I think the SC seller has new stuff , or very lightly used store returns/displays, and calling them refurbished. The ones he posted actual pictures of look new with just a mild cosmetic flaw here or there. And no boxes

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Whats the deal with a Ryobi #40220 40v Trimmer ?
An older model maybe ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ryobi-RY402....c100036.m2109

New - with Battery & Charger - Free Shipping $33.00
This might be a scam
13 sold in the past week - getting about time for some feedback to start rolling back in on them now .
8 of them left .

This popped up as a suggestion on the page when i viewed your other links.

The REAL 40220 40v Ryobi is a MID-MOTOR Unit
That $33.00 listing either has the wrong picture or the wrong part number.
Could be a scam or another sloppy seller like your old friend in California.

Here's a real 40220 Mid-Motor trimmer
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cordless-St...8AAOSw~5RanKpO

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The REAL 40220 40v Ryobi is a MID-MOTOR Unit

The PowerHead Only part number is RY40002
New ones on eBay for $80 & $85 shipped

The $85 one comes with an extension pole

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And my Ryobi Cup Washers arrived today.
Hoping i can get by with boring one to 10mm and not have to go to 12mm.
But it looks like it should work - either way

[ponyakr]

I considered the mid motor Ryobi. But, it appears to have a brushed motor. Prefer a brushless, mostly just because I've read that they make more power, use less battery power, & last longer. My brushed motors seem to work just fine. But, I'll go with the info from guys that know more than me.

Here it is at HD. The price was only $149. But, for me, it's not showing that it's even still available. Discontinued, maybe ?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-40...0220/204589659

I think we established that Ryobi & Hart trimmers are made by the same company. Therefore, I assume this Hart is basically the same as that mid motor Ryobi. Similar price, but comes with a 4Ah batt. Gets lots of good reviews. Hey, since I now have ALMOST all the trimmers I want, I may use some of the $1400 plague money to buy one of these, if for no other reason, just to say I have a mid-motor trimmer. Who knows, it may turn out to be one of my favorite trimmers. How will I ever know, unless I buy one ?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HART-40-V...tery/611364922

"...And seller seems like a class act too.
Even says they ship same day or next day - Always..."

Got an Email at 10:56 saying that my order was shipped. Tracking # was provided. Here's a copy of the message enclosed in the Email.

" Thank you for your purchase! We know you have many buying options on eBay and appreciate you trusting us with your business. We guarantee your complete customer satisfaction. If you have any problems with your purchase please contact us immediately and we will work to make sure you are 100% happy! "

Sure sounds like a "class act". Hope I don't need to find out, because of problems with the trimmer.