Raves for the day

[angie_nrs]

I think we're all familar with the widely popular Rant thread. Well, I thought it might be a neat idea to have a Rave thread too. I think it would be helpful for members to post about excellent products and/or services that have made their lives so much easier, happier, or more enjoyable. Sometimes, we come across services, products, and people who far surpass our expectations. Let's share those, so maybe we can all enjoy.....

I have a few Raves, but I'll start with my Milwaukee fans. I have 3 of them b/c I love them so much. Any woman who has ever experienced hot flashes (or just runs hot) knows you can't have too many fans. These things are super powerful with 3 levels to choose from. You can plug them in OR use the lithium batteries for many hours of cordless breezes where ever you may be. I take one camping with me so that if it's a hot day, I can sit in my chair with my book and enjoy a breeze regardless if there is a natural breeze or not. I also have it on at night while I sleep which is convenient b/c we don't have power where we camp and I don't want to use a generator all night just for a fan. I always have charged backup batteries available so it if loses charge, I can just pop in a different battery and re-charge the dead one. They re-charge in just a couple of hours and I have plenty of back up batteries b/c hubs has lots of Milwaukee tools that use the same batteries. I paid $80 each for the fans. I ordered them thru our local automotive store, but I now see them on Amazon for that price as well. Still, I'd rather support our local businesses when possible.

The only complaint I have about them is that they will always run off battery power first, even if plugged in. So, if I have one plugged in, I make sure the battery is not pushed in tightly or I just leave the battery out all together. It's a very minor complaint. The batteries themselves have a energy indicator light button you can push to see how much charge is left in the battery, which is a nice feature.

I use them in the middle of the living room where I don't have plug ins, when camping, when outdoors even if just sitting on the porch when it's hot, etc. They would also work great for anyone who has frequent power outages. Hubs uses them in his shop sometimes and they are also nice to help dry paint when in an enclosed area. I use these fans every day and am so glad I found them! They were worth every penny I paid for them.

 

[Supervisor42]

. I use these fans every day and am so glad I found them! They were worth every penny I paid for them.

Links!
We need links to it instead of the counterfeits!
I have something that anyone that knows me would ever expect me to rave about.
Got to make 'real' pictures of it first.

 

[havasu]

I just used one at a function last week. I never knew Milwaukee sold them, but was surprised at the power

 

[angie_nrs]

Here's one from Northern Tool, but you can buy them several places.....just run a search on it. If you do get it from Northern Tool, look for coupon codes since they usually always have one out there somewhere.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...wCiGSSQ91ZOdVX_JSSc0XyKAr_ODixNBoCAsgQAvD_BwE

 

[Meerkat]

I think we're all familar with the widely popular Rant thread. Well, I thought it might be a neat idea to have a Rave thread too. I think it would be helpful for members to post about excellent products and/or services that have made their lives so much easier, happier, or more enjoyable. Sometimes, we come across services, products, and people who far surpass our expectations. Let's share those, so maybe we can all enjoy.....

I have a few Raves, but I'll start with my Milwaukee fans. I have 3 of them b/c I love them so much. Any woman who has ever experienced hot flashes (or just runs hot) knows you can't have too many fans. These things are super powerful with 3 levels to choose from. You can plug them in OR use the lithium batteries for many hours of cordless breezes where ever you may be. I take one camping with me so that if it's a hot day, I can sit in my chair with my book and enjoy a breeze regardless if there is a natural breeze or not. I also have it on at night while I sleep which is convenient b/c we don't have power where we camp and I don't want to use a generator all night just for a fan. I always have charged backup batteries available so it if loses charge, I can just pop in a different battery and re-charge the dead one. They re-charge in just a couple of hours and I have plenty of back up batteries b/c hubs has lots of Milwaukee tools that use the same batteries. I paid $80 each for the fans. I ordered them thru our local automotive store, but I now see them on Amazon for that price as well. Still, I'd rather support our local businesses when possible.

The only complaint I have about them is that they will always run off battery power first, even if plugged in. So, if I have one plugged in, I make sure the battery is not pushed in tightly or I just leave the battery out all together. It's a very minor complaint. The batteries themselves have a energy indicator light button you can push to see how much charge is left in the battery, which is a nice feature.

I use them in the middle of the living room where I don't have plug ins, when camping, when outdoors even if just sitting on the porch when it's hot, etc. They would also work great for anyone who has frequent power outages. Hubs uses them in his shop sometimes and they are also nice to help dry paint when in an enclosed area. I use these fans every day and am so glad I found them! They were worth every penny I paid for them.

May have to get me one of them.

 

[Supervisor42]

I have something that anyone that knows me would ever expect me to rave about.
Got to make 'real' pictures of it first.

My criteria for a rave:
1. Must be far better than others.
2. Must survive over a year of hands-on testing BY ME and still work perfect.

Since we live in 'hurricaneville' we can't have carpet or wood floors.
This means we have a 3-bedroom house completely full of tile floors that must be mopped.
UGH!
The weapon of choice:

If you have ever used an 'old-fashioned' setup, it is torture!
With the one shown above, the floor in the entire house is sparkling clean, sweet-smelling, and sterile in an hour.
Maybe everybody already has one of these and I'm just late to the party, I dunno.
To see how it works, skip to 1:30 in the video below:

https://www.amazon.com/Cedar-EasyWring-System-Extra-Refill/dp/B071G1J8TZ/

 

[angie_nrs]

May have to get me one of them.

If you do, just be aware that they do not come with the battery or charger.....at least mine didn't. The batteries are expensive if you get the Milwaukee brand. You can get an off brand though if you want to save some money. I have tried the off brands, and I definitely prefer the Milwaukee brand. You can get different size batteries as well. I think they have a 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0. The larger the number, the more hours they run. The 6.0 is supposed to last 6 hours. I don't know if they do or not since I don't leave my fan on all the time, but I rarely have to charge it and I use it periodically throughout the day. The battery price wasn't a big deal to me though b/c hubs has several of them for his tools, so they are versatile for us.

I believe they have a dewalt brand fan like this too. So, if you already have dewalt tools, that may be a more versatile option for you. However, I have never seen a dewalt fan so I can't really recommend them. Reviews look decent though.

 

[Meerkat]

If you do, just be aware that they do not come with the battery or charger.....at least mine didn't. The batteries are expensive if you get the Milwaukee brand. You can get an off brand though if you want to save some money. I have tried the off brands, and I definitely prefer the Milwaukee brand. You can get different size batteries as well. I think they have a 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0. The larger the number, the more hours they run. The 6.0 is supposed to last 6 hours. I don't know if they do or not since I don't leave my fan on all the time, but I rarely have to charge it and I use it periodically throughout the day. The battery price wasn't a big deal to me though b/c hubs has several of them for his tools, so they are versatile for us.

I believe they have a dewalt brand fan like this too. So, if you already have dewalt tools, that may be a more versatile option for you. However, I have never seen a dewalt fan so I can't really recommend them. Reviews look decent though.

Thanks Angie.n.

 

[backlash]

My criteria for a rave:
1. Must be far better than others.
2. Must survive over a year of hands-on testing BY ME and still work perfect.

Since we live in 'hurricaneville' we can't have carpet or wood floors.
This means we have a 3-bedroom house completely full of tile floors that must be mopped.
UGH!
The weapon of choice:
View attachment 50199
If you have ever used an 'old-fashioned' setup, it is torture!
With the one shown above, the floor in the entire house is sparkling clean, sweet-smelling, and sterile in an hour.
Maybe everybody already has one of these and I'm just late to the party, I dunno.
To see how it works, skip to 1:30 in the video below:

https://www.amazon.com/Cedar-EasyWring-System-Extra-Refill/dp/B071G1J8TZ/

We have 2 like that and my wife really likes them.
I bought a commercial mop bucket with a wringer and a big Navy style swab. It must weigh 10 pounds even after I wring it out.
That is my wife's favorite mop because it's too big for her to use so I get to mop the floors.

 

[Amish Heart]

I have to rave about Braum's ice cream. We can go in, all five of us, and get giant cones or sundaes, and only spend about $10. Our little town's burger place has soft serve giant cones for $1.10. Can't beat that.

 

[angie_nrs]

I found a couple more items I'm glad to have. This first item, I didn't even know I needed....until my dishwasher leaked into the basement. For about $16, why don't builders just insert these when the home is built and applicances installed? They would save a ton of frustration and money too. I didn't even know they existed until I saw a washer pan in Lowes the other day. Note to self: I should probably get one for the washer and refrigerator too, since if either one of those leaked it would also drip into the basement, ruining drywall and ceiling tiles along the way. To find this online just type in dishwasher pan. As others have mentioned in reviews online, there are only 3 sides with a lip, while the front part of the pan is flat, so if you have a leak, it will run out from under the front of the machine and onto the floor so that you will know immediately if there is a problem. With dishwashers, sometimes a slow leak will take a while to discover, and by that time, you may very well have a big problem to deal with.

I splurged a while back and bought myself a nice radio. My mom used to have a radio on all the time when I was a kid. Back then, the TV was only on in the evenings and never in the morning or afternoon. Many people these days like background noise in the house and just leave the TV on. I can't do that.....it drives me nuts! I didn't think I'd use the radio a whole lot, but I have it on every single day. I have 5 stations pre-programmed so that when a commercial comes on, I can just switch over to something else. In the mornings I listen to talk radio sometimes too. Since that purchase, my radio gets way more air time than my TV does.

Since I don't really have a good place to put the radio with a plug, I have batteries in it. My batteries are AA rechargables, but it takes D batteries. So, I found these neat little spacers that allow me to use my AA batteries in the radio. I have to switch them out every few days or so (b/c they don't last as long as a normal D battery would) but I don't mind that. I also take it outside with me if we're working in the yard or sitting by the fire. Sitting by the fire with some cocktails and good music.......it's kinda hard to beat.

 

[Peanut]

Last year when I had repeated flooding issues in my back bedrooms I bought a squirrel cage fan. These fans are usually much larger and used in industrial and construction fields.

This one was perfect for drying up after a flood and affordable at $70. It has the Stanley tools name on it. I purchased it Ace Hardware. The fan is directional I can have it blowing straight up or almost straight down. I have discovered it has several other household uses besides for flooding.

I have about 450sqft of laminate flooring. I run a dust mop over it almost daily. I run a swiffer wet mop over it every couple or 3 days. I mop in 3 sections. This leaves me unable to access parts of my house until the floor dries, 30 minutes, 45 if it's raining outside and humidity is high. Then it on to the next section. Sometimes over 2.5 hours to complete.

This fan cuts drying time of a section to less than 15 minutes. I mop a section, put the fan on it. While it's drying an area I'm mopping the next. Total mopping time went from 2 to 2.5hrs to 35 minutes or less.

I use this squirrel cage fan for drying dishes also. I don't have a dishwasher (except me) and dry in a small drain tray. At least one day a week my daily dishwashing schedule gets interrupted by long trips to town or taking dad for medical appointments. I get behind on the dishes, when I catch up I sometimes have more dishes to dry than the drain tray will hold.

Again, the squirrel cage fan comes to the rescue. I put the fan on my portable island, point it at the drain tray. It'll dry a tray of dishes in less than 15minutes.

One last use. Sometimes I pan fry a steak in the house. I have one stove eye that is 17K btu, super hot, great for searing a steak. It always smokes up my house. I put the fan in a chair pointing up at about 45 degress. My steel security door has an upper an lower glass panel. The upper panel can be lowered completely down.

All I do is crack a window in the back of the house, point the squirrel fan out the security door... It moves such a high volume of air... in less than 10 minutes the smoke is gone.

This fan is about the best $70 I've spent in years.. It saves me 3 to 5 hours of waiting for floors or dishes to dry each week. It even has two 10 amp outlets on the fan housing. It has 4 felt pads on the bottom so it doesn't scratch the floor.

 

[Bluetick21]

Last year when I had repeated flooding issues in my back bedrooms I bought a squirrel cage fan. These fans are usually much larger and used in industrial and construction fields.

This one was perfect for drying up after a flood and affordable at $70. It has the Stanley tools name on it. I purchased it Ace Hardware. The fan is directional I can have it blowing straight up or almost straight down. I have discovered it has several other household uses besides for flooding.

I have about 450sqft of laminate flooring. I run a dust mop over it almost daily. I run a swiffer wet mop over it every couple or 3 days. I mop in 3 sections. This leaves me unable to access parts of my house until the floor dries, 30 minutes, 45 if it's raining outside and humidity is high. Then it on to the next section. Sometimes over 2.5 hours to complete.

This fan cuts drying time of a section to less than 15 minutes. I mop a section, put the fan on it. While it's drying an area I'm mopping the next. Total mopping time went from 2 to 2.5hrs to 35 minutes or less.

I use this squirrel cage fan for drying dishes also. I don't have a dishwasher (except me) and dry in a small drain tray. At least one day a week my daily dishwashing schedule gets interrupted ,ong trips to town or taking dad for medical appointments. I get behind on the dishes, when I catch up I sometimes have more dishes to dry than the drain tray will hold.

Again, the squirrel cage fan comes to the rescue. I put the fan on my portable island, point it at the drain tray. It'll dry a tray of dishes in less than 15minutes.

One last use. Sometimes I pan fry a steak in the house. I have one stove eye that is 17K btu, super hot, great for searing a steak. It always smokes up my house. I put the fan in a chair pointing up at about 45 degress. My steel security door has an upper an lower glass panel. The upper panel can be lowered completely down.

All I do is crack a window in the back of the house, point the squirrel fan out the security door... It moves such a high volume of air... in about 10 minutes the smoke is gone.

This fan is about the best $70 I've spent in years.. It saves me 3 to 5 hours of waiting for floors or dishes to dry each week. It even has two 16amp outlets on the fan housing.

View attachment 64054View attachment 64055

I second the fan ! I have one in my house and workshop!!

 

[Terri9630]

Well, except Sunday.
No matter how many times you check the box, the mail ain't ever there on Sunday.

Our mail only comes Monday-Wednesday-Friday.

 

[Terri9630]

My mom used to have a radio on all the time when I was a kid.

My Grandparents always had radios on throughout the house/barn. They used them to listen for tornado warnings.

 

[angie_nrs]

It's been a while since I've thought about this thread. I was so excited yesterday when we went on a side by side ride. I had to stop to pee and guess what? As I was heading back toward the buggy, I looked down and saw LOTS of wild blueberries.

Some of them were ripe but most of them were still white so we'll keep checking back on them. We ate a few while we were there but they were really small. They still tasted great though. We marked the spot on the GPS, but we really didn't need to. The spot is only about 2 miles from our house and I could easily drive right to it in the buggy. We'll be keeping this little secret spot to ourselves. I can't wait to head that way again soon when we have some extra time and containers to put our treasures in to. I hope they get bigger, but even if they don't they are the perfect size for muffins or pancakes. It'll just take a little longer to pick them.

 

[d_marsh]

It's been a while since I've thought about this thread. I was so excited yesterday when we went on a side by side ride. I had to stop to pee and guess what? As I was heading back toward the buggy, I looked down and saw LOTS of wild blueberries.

Some of them were ripe but most of them were still white so we'll keep checking back on them. We ate a few while we were there but they were really small. They still tasted great though. We marked the spot on the GPS, but we really didn't need to. The spot is only about 2 miles from our house and I could easily drive right to it in the buggy. We'll be keeping this little secret spot to ourselves. I can't wait to head that way again soon when we have some extra time and containers to put our treasures in to. I hope they get bigger, but even if they don't they are the perfect size for muffins or pancakes. It'll just take a little longer to pick them.

Nice. There is an abandoned building on the next property over that has a couple dozen raspberry bushes along the side of it, planted by the old owners who lived there. So I will walk over with an ice cream bucket from time to time and fill them up.

 

[d_marsh]

I am $600 richer than I was just a little while ago. A while back I bought a box of random holsters, gun parts and other related stuff that was apparently from a combo gun shop / military surplus place that went out of business a bunch of years ago. I have dug around through it a number of times and saw the old 1911 slide, but did not pay enough attention to it. Pulled it out last week and realized it was pretty old, probably government issue. It's just a stripped slide but the the gun shop put me in touch with a guy, a collector I'm sure, who offered me $600 for it. A little internet research confirmed that was a fair price for the condition. The original box cost me $100 and I pulled a dozen items of it before now that I use or have used this whole time. And now I will use the proceeds to buy more ammo.