# Covid



## mmcmdl (Nov 18, 2020)

It has my family shut down .


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## Lo-Fi (Nov 18, 2020)

Best wishes to you and your family. I know a few people locally who've had it/have kids that came home with it/are fighting it now. None serious, thankfully, but many weeks collectively shut away to protect everyone else. Home shops are a godsend for retaining sanity.


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## tjb (Nov 18, 2020)

Been there, done that.  Twice:

We took one of our grandkids to lunch several weeks ago (no symptoms/no exposure/no nothing).  The next DAY, enrolling in school he tested positive/asymptomatic - and never developed any symptoms.  We quarantined for two weeks and then tested negative.

A couple of weeks later, our granddaughter's soon-to-be-father-in-law came down with symptoms and tested positive.  Neither she nor her now-husband  had been around him for at least a week prior, but we were compelled to quarantine once again.  Two weeks went by.  Nothing.

Both times, our quarantining was not for 'our' benefit - we were confident that our exposure was minimal to non-existent - but for the well-being of others we interacted with, it seemed the responsible thing to do.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm sick of this stuff.  I fully understand and concede that it's necessary, but I'll be among the masses that celebrate when it's over.

In the meantime, we all need to do whatever's necessary to stay safe and considerate of others' potentially fragile exposure.

Regards


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## DavidR8 (Nov 18, 2020)

I have been to my office exactly twice since March 1. 
It's been a mixed blessing. I get more done working from home but I miss see my colleagues.
Stay healthy Dave!


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## Larry$ (Nov 18, 2020)

Me too. Grand kid got it. We had him here before they knew he had been exposed. Picked up our online order of groceries @ Sam's. They put in back of the car. People are panic buying again. They were out of quite a few things. About a week to go. Working in the yard, cleaned windows, cleaned my desk mess, reading a book, going crazy.


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## tjb (Nov 18, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> I have been to my office exactly twice since March 1.
> It's been a mixed blessing. I get more done working from home but I miss see my colleagues.
> Stay healthy Dave!


Two of my sons have been doing the exact same thing since March - with the exact same observation.  This too shall pass.


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## Aukai (Nov 18, 2020)

More time for the basement, hope it passes without issues.


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## Jim F (Nov 18, 2020)

Had it in Jan., have been out of work since Mar.
people need to realize, this is not going away, live with it.


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## Tozguy (Nov 19, 2020)

It seems like those of us who can stay home and get bored or fed up are fortunate. Imagine what front line health workers are going through having to deal with a tsunami of patients. And then there are the seriously ill who got sick through no fault of their own.


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## HarryJM (Nov 19, 2020)

A Nurse's Plea: 'I Wish That I Could Get People To See COVID Through My Eyes'








						A Nurse's Plea: 'I Wish That I Could Get People To See COVID Through My Eyes'
					

Nurses are taking to social media, describing grim hospital scenes and imploring Americans to stay safe as hospitals reach capacity limits. "We're seeing the worst of the worst," says one nurse.




					www.npr.org


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## ArmyDoc (Nov 19, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> It seems like those of us who can stay home and get bored or fed up are fortunate. Imagine what front line health worker are going through having to deal with a tsunami of patients. And then there are the seriously ill who got sick through no fault of their own.


At one time we had 3/4 of the ICU nurses out with Covid.  It shut down the OR because the CRNAs were needed to cover the ICU because they were the only nurses with ventilator experience.  My partner, and also the chief of the surgical ICU came down with it.  Thankfully, none of the providers I know died from it.  Hopefully, they are now immune.  But my partner was also one of the rare individuals who got it twice.  This disease has been horrible.  For most of us, just a horrible disruptor of our lives and routines, but for some a devastating killer of loved ones.


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## Tozguy (Nov 19, 2020)

And there is not a single place on earth that has not been disrupted by the covid.


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## Braeden P (Nov 19, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> And there is not a single place on earth that has not been disrupted by the covid.


maybe north Korea because they dont let many people in


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## vecair (Nov 19, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> It has my family shut down .




My 44 year old cousin is dead from Covid.  My Father left his wife and family, as did his brother for four years to go fight a war for some other people he didn't know. My Mother worked packing parachutes for American aviators  she knew would probably never return to their families while taking care of and raising her children, for four years.  What is wrong with Americans today?  Can we not sacrifice for others for even a year?  We are not the Greatest Generation by any stretch of the imagination but I will keep trying to live up to my parents example.


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## MERLIncMan (Nov 19, 2020)

For me, other than cheap facsimiles of actual human activity (everything is online now) it hasn't had much change in the day - other than the perfectly normal asthma or runny-nose of the little ones resulting in an hysterical response from school administrators.

(seriously _hysterical_ responses - eating school food resulting in gas, gas being interpreted as Covid, covid requiring a doctor's note of "not a biohazard", co-pay to be paid - because school lunch causes gas, and kids are good at playing up a 'tummy ache' to get out of class...)

What I've noticed most is that this "two-weeks to slow the spread" is corroding vital parts of human interaction. Among the motives, FEAR is the most dangerous for anything.  I see it in my colleagues' faces; people are aging at 3:1.

Pardon my name-dropping but, having done extensive scholarship around Smallpox and Bubonic (or maybe not Bubonic) of Colonial America, 13th century Europe, Byzantium, etc..., the greatest danger - even in "burn-bodies-in-the-streets-plagues" (which this is not) - is the SHATTERING of social cohesion.

Human beings begin to view neighbors, friends, and eventually family not at fellow human-beings, but as a BIOHAZARD.

These past 8 months have been the longest "two-weeks to slow the spread" in history - and it is doing things to humanity that I don't see anyone really examining.

Just my opinion but frankly, the cure is worse than the disease - far worse.  It seems folk have forgotten that death is inescapable, so to escape it they have made living into death.

Covid, cancer, a bus, a meteor, or my taste for pizza... something is going to kill me.  Extreme caution and brash-incaution are equivalent extremes.

Fear of death and disease leading to lives that are little better than death and disease.

My opinion.


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## Nutfarmer (Nov 19, 2020)

Work life has changed little. Very small exposure to people on the farm. Trees still need the same care and people still need to eat. Social life non existent. Canceled extended family Thanksgiving. With the vaccine coming out life will start to return to normal.


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## nnam (Nov 19, 2020)

It's kind of good that it took this long for this subject to come up.  It meant or at least how I see it, most of the members here weren't affected by it in a worst way.  I hope it's true.

I wish we all are safe and sound after this.

Myself, I never tested for it, but I suspect I had it.  I had "covid toes and fingers" symptom.  It was so strange, never in my life before, that they turned red, and later skin just peeled off (that's when it's better).  Good thing it didn't spread everywhere.  At the exact same time, I also had stomach problem on the right hand side (I never had problem like that before in that area).  I went in for all kind of tests and colonoscopy.  They didn't find anything.  I think they should have tested for covid instead, since I searched google and those are two symptoms of mild covid infection.

It was really hard to go to doctors and got tested during that time.  Most were closed.
My stomach still hurts once awhile.  If this is covid, that is definitely a crazy disease.


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## Tozguy (Nov 19, 2020)

MERLIncMan said:


> the greatest danger - even in "burn-bodies-in-the-streets-plagues" (which this is not) - is the SHATTERING of social cohesion.
> 
> Human beings begin to view neighbors, friends, and eventually family not at fellow human-beings, but as a BIOHAZARD.



As far as it goes around here, the war on covid has increased social cohesion. Most people are helping others, making sacrifices for others, doing without for the collective good. The fact that some of our habits have had to change does not mean that we are fearful or that our society is falling apart, quite the contrary. The sentiment that we are all in this together is prevalent.
Of course there will always be some who text while driving, don't wear their seat belts, don't use trash cans, cut into the waiting line, etc. who don't adhere to the collective common sense. Protesting could even be a way of life for them. But they do not define our society.


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## Mitch Alsup (Nov 19, 2020)

My health puts me in the category of "if you get it you die"

I have basically been a hermit in my own home since March 15, 2020.


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## tjb (Nov 19, 2020)

Mitch Alsup said:


> My health puts me in the category of "if you get it you die"
> 
> I have basically been a hermit in my own home since March 15, 2020.


Be safe.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 20, 2020)

My son tested positive on Monday , as did 17 of his co-workers and 21 of his residents . Re-tested and came back negative on Wednesday . I'm off work at least until Tuesday when I can get tested . No symtons from anyone here so far , but yes I wish we could  just get back to a somewhat normal routine . 

The weather is suppose to be pretty nice today and tomorrow , I'm going out and cut and split some wood .


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I'm going out and cut and split some wood .


Always a bright side if you look hard enough.  You tried a battery powered chainsaw yet?


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## mmcmdl (Nov 20, 2020)

tjb said:


> You tried a battery powered chainsaw yet?


I have not . I think I've spent over 2 grand this year on the saws already . Picked up a 36" Husky and got the smaller husky running at the shop . I still haven't got a chance to look over the Stihl . I have some 4-5 foot diameter logs to get to today and then split them . Some I can't even move to the splitter so I take the splitter to them .


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## addertooth (Nov 20, 2020)

I am currently in Quarantine.  Yesterday I returned from a work trip to D.C.. My employer imposes a quarantine on all workers who have travelled more than 120 miles away of either:

1. Two Weeks.
or
2. A negative Covid test AND one week. I will get tested today.

I normally work in a lab, where I directly do things.  I haven't been away from the lab since all this madness began. Some of what I do is impossible to "telework".  

On the plus side, I will be here for Thanksgiving; I am usually the cook for that family meal.


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I have not . I think I've spent over 2 grand this year on the saws already . Picked up a 36" Husky and got the smaller husky running at the shop . I still haven't got a chance to look over the Stihl . I have some 4-5 foot diameter logs to get to today and then split them . Some I can't even move to the splitter so I take the splitter to them .


Whoa!  You're dealing with some big boys up there!  I have a Stihl 20" and a Stihl 16".  I've had to work around a few larger trees that were too big for the 20", maybe 3 feet but nothing 4-5 feet.  Anything that big goes to my grandson-in-law - he works for a tree-removal company.  One of our property lines is along a creek bed and there's always a lot of brush and scrub trees that need cleaning out.  I can get most of it with a boom flail mower on the tractor, but some needs to be chainsawed.  I've heard good things about DeWalt's 60V model.  Been thinking about getting one.  Anybody used one of these things yet?

Regards,
Terry


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## mmcmdl (Nov 20, 2020)

Terry , it took me years to learn the hard way . NO MORE ETHENOL in anything I own .  I burned up a cheapy battery saw years back and bought that ECO battery weedwhacker a while back also . It didn't work after a years use .


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> Terry , it took me years to learn the hard way . NO MORE ETHENOL in anything I own .  I burned up a cheapy battery saw years back and bought that ECO battery weedwhacker a while back also . It didn't work after a years use .


I hear you on the ethanol.  I use it, but I burn it all out when I use it.  I've never been a fan of battery powered tools, but the new stuff seems to be much better.  My wife just got a battery powered weed wacker and, I have to admit, it's way better than the older battery tools I've ever handled.  I've been told the newer style battery chainsaws are pretty nice for stuff in the 2 to 4 inch range.  They better be:  they're anything but 'cheapy'.  All my battery powered hand tools are DeWalt and I've been extremely satisfied.  But there's a whole lot of difference between an impact wrench and a chainsaw.  Sure would like to run into someone whose actually used the stuff before forking over a few hundred dollars.

Regards - and thanks for the input.
Terry


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## Cadillac (Nov 20, 2020)

I work in the golf course industry. We had our John Deere sales rep give us a group of their battery powered line. It’s greenworks brand and are 80volts. We got a weedwacker, push mower, pole saw, and 20” chainsaw and a handheld blower. The mower will 1/2 acre on a charge. Grass cannot be long or else battery time will suffer. Weedwacker will go a hour or two. Pole saw works good for limbing up a tree but not taking one down. Chainsaw will do 2-4” limbs like said but you’ll be lucky to  get through a whole tree. The best tool is the blower. They redesigned the fans so they are quiet and produce a great volume of air. It’s the only tool I think works as it should and is worthy. 
my opinion is they will never compare to a gas eating 2 stroke. Johnny homeowner just pruning okay. Need for doing 4hrs of cutting no way. And batteries are outrageously expensive and don’t last meaning next year it won’t accept a charge because some diode or chipped failed. To many little electrical things that are temperamental.


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## Janderso (Nov 20, 2020)

Nutfarmer said:


> Work life has changed little. Very small exposure to people on the farm. Trees still need the same care and people still need to eat. Social life non existent. Canceled extended family Thanksgiving. With the vaccine coming out life will start to return to normal.


I can vouch for Steve, he brought me a bag of delicious walnuts last week. He looked like a poor homeless man. Hadn't had a haircut in quite some time.
Steve (Nutfarmer) is a bonified nice guy.
Thank you buddy!


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> I work in the golf course industry. We had our John Deere sales rep give us a group of their battery powered line. It’s greenworks brand and are 80volts. We got a weedwacker, push mower, pole saw, and 20” chainsaw and a handheld blower. The mower will 1/2 acre on a charge. Grass cannot be long or else battery time will suffer. Weedwacker will go a hour or two. Pole saw works good for limbing up a tree but not taking one down. Chainsaw will do 2-4” limbs like said but you’ll be lucky to  get through a whole tree. The best tool is the blower. They redesigned the fans so they are quiet and produce a great volume of air. It’s the only tool I think works as it should and is worthy.
> my opinion is they will never compare to a gas eating 2 stroke. Johnny homeowner just pruning okay. Need for doing 4hrs of cutting no way. And batteries are outrageously expensive and don’t last meaning next year it won’t accept a charge because some diode or chipped failed. To many little electrical things that are temperamental.


Thanks for the valuable input.  The attraction to me for a battery powered chainsaw is not having to throw my shoulder out every time I need to use it to cut brush or saplings on a creek bank.  (Crank it up - cut - turn it off - clear debris.  Crank it up - cut - turn it off - clear debris... Repeat about a thousand times.)  Any 'real' chainsaw work would be done with the gas powered units.  Wouldn't even think about using a battery powered saw for that.

What do think about battery powered for my application?  Probably wouldn't use it more than twenty to thirty hours running time per year, max.

Regards,
Terry


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## Cadillac (Nov 20, 2020)

Idk its a toss up. My siblings and I bought my 75 yr old parents electric equipment maybe four yrs ago. My father already had a 40v ryobi I think blower worked great. So we decided to buy them a self propelled mower and the weedwacker for Xmas. They have a .25 acre it’s works perfect. The calls stopped about what oil to put in or the mower won’t start or winterizing. We bought two batteries so he had enough to cycle out. Have had one battery go bad since purchase luckily have two back ups they are 100+ to replace. 
What I don’t like is it’s electrical. There’s thousands of little parts and if ONE part fails the whole thing is garbage no fixing. 
I’m a mechanic ain’t no thing to rip off a carb and rebuild her. That’s the only hiccup I ever encounter. All my equipment gets purged of fuel when done for the season. Either running dry or pulling the fuel bowl screw to drain. 2strokes empty the gas tank and press the primer bulb till it stops spitting then drain again. 98% of the time never a problem when spring comes. 
  If I had to trim brush ever year I would use a small 12” gas trim saw like a stihl ms194. And yes I love my Stihl chainsaws have 4 different sizes and a pole saw so I’m biased alittle.


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## Tozguy (Nov 20, 2020)

tjb said:


> Always a bright side if you look hard enough.  You tried a battery powered chainsaw yet?



After being very happy with a Greenworks 80v lawnmower (21''), I had to have their 80v chainsaw (16'')
It is AWESOME. Not to the point of replacing my Stihl gas powered one but much handier for the smaller jobs. It is amazing how long the battery lasts. The two batteries that were included with the lawnmower also work in the chainsaw. So if you looking for a remedy for the covid blues a new Greenworks cordless chainsaw should help, and without breaking the bank.









						Pro 80V 16" Brushless Chainsaw (Tool Only)
					

4 Year Limited Tool Warranty




					www.greenworkstools.com
				




Terry, it would be great for the type of work you mentioned in post 25.


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> Idk its a toss up. My siblings and I bought my 75 yr old parents electric equipment maybe four yrs ago. My father already had a 40v ryobi I think blower worked great. So we decided to buy them a self propelled mower and the weedwacker for Xmas. They have a .25 acre it’s works perfect. The calls stopped about what oil to put in or the mower won’t start or winterizing. We bought two batteries so he had enough to cycle out. Have had one battery go bad since purchase luckily have two back ups they are 100+ to replace.
> What I don’t like is it’s electrical. There’s thousands of little parts and if ONE part fails the whole thing is garbage no fixing.
> I’m a mechanic ain’t no thing to rip off a carb and rebuild her. That’s the only hiccup I ever encounter. All my equipment gets purged of fuel when done for the season. Either running dry or pulling the fuel bowl screw to drain. 2strokes empty the gas tank and press the primer bulb till it stops spitting then drain again. 98% of the time never a problem when spring comes.
> If I had to trim brush ever year I would use a small 12” gas trim saw like a stihl ms194. And yes I love my Stihl chainsaws have 4 different sizes and a pole saw so I’m biased alittle.


You're pretty much confirming what I'm thinking.  Just like for your parents, at my age, electric is sounding better and better (71, and counting).  In addition to my two Stihl chainsaws, I also have a Stihl pole saw.  That's a great tool, but I must admit, it's getting heavier every time I use it.  If I go electric, it's almost certainly going to be DeWalt - unless somebody cautions me against it.  All my battery powered tools are DeWalt; I have five chargers that will work on the 60 volt batteries and about a dozen 20 volt batteries that will power the chainsaw.  About two weeks ago, I cut down 11 trees.  Two or three of them were bigger than my 20" Stihl; the rest smaller down to about six inches.  Limbed them all, pushed everything into the burn pile which is now about the size of a small house, cleaned up the mess, plowed and graded the land.  That used to be fun and energizing.  This time I thought I was dying.  Not nearly as fun as it used to be.  If a battery powered saw makes it even slightly more manageable, I'm interested.

Thanks for the info.

Regards,
Terry


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## tjb (Nov 20, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> After being very happy with a Greenworks 80v lawnmower (21''), I had to have their 80v chainsaw (16'')
> It is AWESOME. Not to the point of replacing my Stihl gas powered one but much handier for the smaller jobs. It is amazing how long the battery lasts. The two batteries were included with the lawnmower also work in the chainsaw. So if you looking for a remedy for the covid blues a new Greenworks cordless chainsaw should help, and without breaking the bank.
> 
> 
> ...



That's good to hear.  I suspect I'll end up with one fairly soon.  Never heard of Greenworks, though.  I'll need to look into them and compare costs on batteries and chargers.  As I've noted above, DeWalt is in the crosshairs for me because I won't need chargers.  Any idea how Greenworks compares to other brands - in particular DeWalt?

Thanks for responding.

Regards,
Terry


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## Tozguy (Nov 21, 2020)

Terry,
We discovered Greenworks when shopping for a new push lawnmower. The brand was unknown to us and the name is a bit tacky but I kept coming back to it. The design was appealing and the price very competitive.

A lawnmower is in a different league from my other cordless hand tools. There was nothing comparable with the Greenworks mower among the brands of my cordless tools (Bosch, Milwaukee, Black&Decker) and their batteries would not have been powerful enough for a lawnmower anyway.

With the recent profusion of electric bikes and cars I figured that battery technology had progressed much beyond my experience with portable tools. The Greenworks mower came on sale and comes with two batteries and a charger so it was hard to pass up. My wife does most of the mowing for exercise and I thought that she would appreciate a lighter more quiet machine so we sprung for the Greenworks. Now we fight over who gets to use it.

We have competed our first season with the Greenworks mower and are very satisfied. It is a relief for me to have one less gas motor to service. I have also grown to appreciate the quiet. So when my old 12'' gas chainsaw developed some problems this summer it was easy to dream about a new battery powered one. I have used the Greenworks chainsaw for about two hours so far and love it but have no idea how reliable and durable it is. It is a bit heavier than I would have liked but the 80v battery lasts long.

The little Dewalt chainsaw also looks good to me especially the one with a shorter bar. But my having to buy batteries and charger with it made it much more expensive compared to the Greenworks.  Hopefully someone here will share their experience with it.

Regards, Mike


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## tjb (Nov 21, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> Terry,
> We discovered Greenworks when shopping for a new push lawnmower. The brand was unknown to us and is a bit tacky but I kept coming back to it. The design was appealing and the price very competitive.
> 
> A lawnmower is in a different league from my other cordless hand tools. There was nothing comparable with the Greenworks mower among the brands of my cordless tools (Bosch, Milwaukee, Black&Decker) and their batteries would not have been powerful enough for a lawnmower anyway.
> ...


Thanks, Mike.  That's very useful information.  Dewalt definitely is costlier, but there is an advantage to me in battery/charger base costs.  I'm very close to taking the plunge.  Just need to investigate a little more as to which pool I'll jump into.

Regards,
Terry


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## Tozguy (Nov 21, 2020)

Good luck Terry, new cordless products seem to come out every day so its good to keep your 'ear to the ground'. Do you have an expectation about how long you would want to run the chainsaw  before changing/recharging the battery?


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## tjb (Nov 21, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> Good luck Terry, new cordless products seem to come out every day so its good to keep your 'ear to the ground'. Do you have an expectation about how long you would want to run the chainsaw  before changing/recharging the battery?


Hour or two but not non-stop.  Cut a little; clear a little.  Probably less than half that time would be spent actually operating the saw.  I would think two batteries would be quite sufficient for that.  What do you think?


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## Jake2465 (Nov 21, 2020)

Tozguy said:


> After being very happy with a Greenworks 80v lawnmower (21''), I had to have their 80v chainsaw (16'')
> It is AWESOME. Not to the point of replacing my Stihl gas powered one but much handier for the smaller jobs. It is amazing how long the battery lasts. The two batteries were included with the lawnmower also work in the chainsaw. So if you looking for a remedy for the covid blues a new Greenworks cordless chainsaw should help, and without breaking the bank.
> 
> 
> ...



Over here in Ohio we have a lot of Kobalt stuff from Lowes. It looks like Kobalt is a rebranded Greenworks.


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## Tozguy (Nov 21, 2020)

Terry,
It would depend on the aH rating of the battery. Dewalt has different sized 60V batteries and the trade off is weight versus duration. My Greenworks 80v batteries are rated 2.0 aH and one will certainly last for a couple of hours of the type of work you described. It certainly has more endurance than my 75 yr old joints and muscles.
Knowing that Dewalt has a range of batteries available, you have options. I suggest that you start with the lightest battery and work up from there if necessary. Either way I am sure that you will enjoy the experience.


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## tjb (Nov 21, 2020)

Jake2465 said:


> Over here in Ohio we have a lot of Kobalt stuff from Lowes. It looks like Kobalt is a rebranded Greenworks.


Oh, nice!  We have a local Lowes here.

Thanks


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## mmcmdl (Nov 26, 2020)

Back to work starting tonight . I was tested on Tuesday and haven't received my results as of yet . Work called and said they needed a fire watch tonight and Friday so I volunteered . Only one other person will be in the plant so we can social distance ourselves .


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## Aukai (Nov 26, 2020)

See you at work tonight


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## Aaron_W (Nov 26, 2020)

tjb said:


> I hear you on the ethanol.  I use it, but I burn it all out when I use it.  I've never been a fan of battery powered tools, but the new stuff seems to be much better.  My wife just got a battery powered weed wacker and, I have to admit, it's way better than the older battery tools I've ever handled.  I've been told the newer style battery chainsaws are pretty nice for stuff in the 2 to 4 inch range.  They better be:  they're anything but 'cheapy'.  All my battery powered hand tools are DeWalt and I've been extremely satisfied.  But there's a whole lot of difference between an impact wrench and a chainsaw.  Sure would like to run into someone whose actually used the stuff before forking over a few hundred dollars.
> 
> Regards - and thanks for the input.
> Terry



I am a bit of a tool snob, but I have come to like Ryobi tools, only because my wife bought a Ryobi hedge trimmer about 8 years ago, and then a weed wacker. Since we had the batteries I've added a few more interesting tools I wouldn't normally have bought.
I have a Ryobi battery powered caulking gun. This was almost a joke. My Dad was helping me put a new tin roof on the carport, and this was on sale for like $40 so I bought it because it amused me, "hey Dad, moving up in the world I have an electric calking gun"  . I love that caulking gun, and will probably never go back to the old hand squeeze type. After the project my Dad was impressed enough with it that when he went home he bought one for himself.

The first weed wacker was kind of wimpy, (and too short for me), but it worked fine as an edger. Now Ryobi offers a full size weed wacker, and it works well, cleared the weed patch I call a backyard quickly and easily. Not up to the power of a name brand gas weed wacker, but it works well much better than the old corded one I had before. Again quite reasonably priced, I think it was about $100 so comparing to a gas it is cheaper than even a no name gas trimmer. Ryobi has introduced some 40v yard machines as well, but I stick to the 18v because those are the batteries I have. I'm only on about 1/5 of an acre so I don't need really heavy duty serious yard tools.

I never would have thought I would consider an electric chainsaw, but I'm starting to. I have two Stihl chainsaws, an 041G (old gear drive) with a 25" bar and a 390 with a 20" because I used to cut wood for heat, but now I just use the smaller one when I need to cut stuff around the house. The 041G just sits around being cool,  it was one of the last gear drive saws on the market, so a bit of a collectible. I rarely need more than a tank of gas for anything I do, so I end up buying the pre-mix ethanol free fuel. $10 for a quart of fuel just sets off the cranky spendthrift in me, but it makes no sense to mix up a gallon of fuel, when I'm unlikely to even use a quart in a year. 

I'd never consider it for "real" saw work, but for the light stuff I use a chainsaw for these days (limbing trees, and cutting brush and saplings) I imagine it is just a matter of time before one of those Ryobi chainsaws comes home with me. I used to laugh at the idea of an electric chainsaw, now I think, that looks pretty handy.


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## tjb (Nov 26, 2020)

Aaron_W said:


> I am a bit of a tool snob, but I have come to like Ryobi tools, only because my wife bought a Ryobi hedge trimmer about 8 years ago, and then a weed wacker. Since we had the batteries I've added a few more interesting tools I wouldn't normally have bought.
> I have a Ryobi battery powered caulking gun. This was almost a joke. My Dad was helping me put a new tin roof on the carport, and this was on sale for like $40 so I bought it because it amused me, "hey Dad, moving up in the world I have an electric calking gun"  . I love that caulking gun, and will probably never go back to the old hand squeeze type. After the project my Dad was impressed enough with it that when he went home he bought one for himself.
> 
> The first weed wacker was kind of wimpy, (and too short for me), but it worked fine as an edger. Now Ryobi offers a full size weed wacker, and it works well, cleared the weed patch I call a backyard quickly and easily. Not up to the power of a name brand gas weed wacker, but it works well much better than the old corded one I had before. Again quite reasonably priced, I think it was about $100 so comparing to a gas it is cheaper than even a no name gas trimmer. Ryobi has introduced some 40v yard machines as well, but I stick to the 18v because those are the batteries I have. I'm only on about 1/5 of an acre so I don't need really heavy duty serious yard tools.
> ...


Aaron,

You might want to look through the following thread on Cordless tools started by Tozguy.  Quite a bit of good discussion on cordless tools in general, gravitating toward cordless chainsaws in particular.  I ended up buying a DeWalt because of a great price.  Skim through the entire thread, and you'll see why that brand made sense for me (much like Ryobi will make sense for you).  I give a rather unofficial consumer's critique on the DeWalt at post #44.  Good commentary from others after that point as well.  My experience essentially confirms your beginning statement in your last paragraph.









						Cordless tools, the next level
					

Most of us have been using cordless hand drills and drivers for many years now. Many of us have experienced the leap in performance and durability from NiCad to lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, with the recent proliferation of battery powered bikes and cars, we are facing developments far beyond...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




Regards,
Terry


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## Tozguy (Nov 27, 2020)

Would never have thought of a cordless caulking gun but the idea is growing on me.


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## mmcmdl (Nov 28, 2020)

mmcmdl said:


> I was tested on Tuesday and haven't received my results as of yet .



Results came back today , negative . Guess it's back to the overtime .


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