The "I just bought..." thread.

[pcgeek11]

Whatever works for you...

 

[JM Aggie08]

Pixel 9 + Dbrand Ghost 2 case.

 

[Indus]

Whatever works for you...

Whatever works period.

I couldn't believe Home Depot was selling garbage but they are.. or at least the companies are manufacturing garbage for $50-60 and want to get you to buy $175 stuff.

They succeeded!

 

[bbhaag]

So since the current state of power tools seemed a little divisive how about an Estwing Big Blue 4 pound sledge. The B3-4LBL is made in the USA from a solid piece of forged American steel. Hell yeah!!!

 

[sdifox]

Is that for you to break up rock candy?

 

[herm0016]

Ryobi corded, burned out x2 (last week of June 2021)
Dewalt ...

So far in cordless I have:
Ridgid ...

Also have a Ridgid corded Table Saw and Mitre Saw.

Obviously my stuff is not as good as Milwaukee/ Dewalt pro line but it's not exactly trash either like Ryobi!

Ridgid is good. I am an electrician and use mine every day. I have had my drill for close to 15 years. its getting worn out, but has drilled thousands of holes with a spade bit. only ever had to warrantee one battery. would not mind getting the tracksaw.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

My Daughter's shitcastle of a dumb phone, a Nokia 6300, seems to have bit the dust after 2.5 years. Not charging anymore, so not sure if it's a battery issue or phone hardware issue, but we need her to have a phone so I ordered a replacement...

A Nokia 110. About as basic as a phone can get, does calls and texts, $40.

If I can get another 2 years out of what is sure to be just a pure garbage phone, then I'll consider it a win.

Will snag a replacement battery for the 6300 too just to see if we can salvage it and keep it around as a back-up just in case.

 

[Indus]

My Daughter's shitcastle of a dumb phone, a Nokia 6300, seems to have bit the dust after 2.5 years. Not charging anymore, so not sure if it's a battery issue or phone hardware issue, but we need her to have a phone so I ordered a replacement...

A Nokia 110. About as basic as a phone can get, does calls and texts, $40.

If I can get another 2 years out of what is sure to be just a pure garbage phone, then I'll consider it a win.

Will snag a replacement battery for the 6300 too just to see if we can salvage it and keep it around as a back-up just in case.

I got my mother in law a Samsung A20 in 2020. Still works in 2025.. think it was like $180 with taxes or something.

She did like the large screen for viewing facebook, making video calls to my wife. Other than that she doesn't really care.



BTW I have a conspiracy theory.. they put superior Lithium Polymer batteries into midrange/ cheap phones that last forever vs shitty Lithium Ion batteries into flagship phones that have trouble holding a charge after 3 years and need replacing.

That way they get people to upgrade on the high end sooner than on the low end!

 

[sdifox]

Welp, 2025 Mazda CX-5 is out the window. 2024 Lexus UX250H it is. Just so she can drive about 100km a week (40 on weekdays and 60 on weekend) ...cuz a 2015 QX50 we had with less than 100k km is no good for her...

 

[sdifox]

May 2024 to now it's like C$150K out the door

 

[Red Squirrel]

May 2024 to now it's like C$150K out the door

With that kind of money you could have bought a Cybertruck! Or a 6000sqft building with multiple garage bays!

Actually that place has lower taxes than my current house and is like 6 times bigger... That's kinda tempting to go check out lol.

 

[sdifox]

With that kind of money you could have bought a Cybertruck! Or a 6000sqft building with multiple garage bays!

Actually that place has lower taxes than my current house and is like 6 times bigger... That's kinda tempting to go check out lol.

And cold as ice. But then you just need to heat the bedroom.

South African NAZI can't pay me enough for me to drive a CT.

 

[DZero]

I got my mother in law a Samsung A20 in 2020. Still works in 2025.. think it was like $180 with taxes or something.

She did like the large screen for viewing facebook, making video calls to my wife. Other than that she doesn't really care.



BTW I have a conspiracy theory.. they put superior Lithium Polymer batteries into midrange/ cheap phones that last forever vs shitty Lithium Ion batteries into flagship phones that have trouble holding a charge after 3 years and need replacing.

That way they get people to upgrade on the high end sooner than on the low end!

Or they are trying to use the mid rangers as guinea pigs, however if the battery works, it will be a blow for the makers seeing that they lost their chance since some companies will pull the new tech to their flagships screwing the rest.

 

[nisryus]

After all the talks and test drives, we didn't get the new Nissan Kicks.

While doing our daily walks this afternoon, we stopped by and talked to one of the neighbor who just got a new Honda CR-V, and she happens to want to sell her 2011 Jetta SE. 113k miles, kept mainly in the garage. Done tune up and regular maintenance, new battery and oil change. She kept all paper works.

Tested driving around, all good. Basically everything including the moon roof worked fine. We are getting a mobile mechanic to go check the car out tomorrow. If everything is good we will buy it. She posted it on FB in the morning for $5500, but will part it for $5k.

Auto insurance would add $389.

Called the kid and told him we got him a car. Well, he was like "oh ok, sure" =.=

 

[sdifox]

After all the talks and test drives, we didn't get the new Nissan Kicks.

While doing our daily walks this afternoon, we stopped by and talked to one of the neighbor who just got a new Honda CR-V, and she happens to want to sell her 2011 Jetta SE. 113k miles, kept mainly in the garage. Done tune up and regular maintenance, new battery and oil change. She kept all paper works.

Tested driving around, all good. Basically everything including the moon roof worked fine. We are getting a mobile mechanic to go check the car out tomorrow. If everything is good we will buy it. She posted it on FB in the morning for $5500, but will part it for $5k.

Auto insurance would add $389.

Called the kid and told him we got him a car. Well, he was like "oh ok, sure" =.=

At least you lucked out.

 

[Chaotic42]

I turned many of my "I just bought"s into an "I just made". Yes, it looks like crap. Good learning experience though, and it's a comfortable height because it's custom. Just think of the money I'll save on Advil for my back.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Ordered a pair of these. On sale for $139. I have a pair of all black that are super comfortable. Been seeing the dress/sneaker look alot lately and this will be perfect for business casual in the office.

 

[Charmonium]

Ordered a pair of these. On sale for $139. I have a pair of all black that are super comfortable. Been seeing the dress/sneaker look alot lately and this will be perfect for business casual in the office.
View attachment 116015

Those are very interesting - sorta like wingtips, but on morphine. Heroin is for junkies.

I'm going to guess you're not the Olukai "type." But given that pick, you might like something like these:

Amazon.com

 

[Charmonium]

@thestrangebrew1 - I too appreciate things that embody brutally sharp contrasts.

 

[Red Squirrel]

So been saving up for this for over a year now, and finally pulled the trigger. We are getting more power outages here now days so decided to expedite this purchase. They will be used for my new double conversion UPS setup so I can retire the old one. Was originally going to wait for summer when it's easier to deal with transporting them. Just glad I went with these and not the 903s ones, these are heavy enough.

Cost a little over $2,500 for the batteries and 30m of #2 wiring, lugs etc which will be needed for the project. It actually cost less than I was expecting, the local place here that specializes in batteries actually has really good pricing and these are better than what you'd get at Canadian Tire.






Will get around 12 hours or so of run time on one string once it's all setup. Goal is to have enough run time so that if I'm at work, or sleeping, I don't have to worry about stuff dropping. When I'm able to, I can hookup the generator if the power is still out.

 

[sdifox]

Know that double conversion will chew through the batteries faster.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Know that double conversion will chew through the batteries faster.

Shouldn't make a difference, even non double conversion keep the batteries on float. APC is also notorious for floating the batteries too high, that's why the batteries never last more than like 5 years in those units. With the rectifier setup I can set the float voltage, and setup the equalization schedule etc so I get more control.

With double conversion the main difference is the rectifiers power the inverter while keeping batteries at float, and the load is always on inverter. When rectifiers lose power the batteries will naturally take over. Basically what the telcos do, except lot of the equipment just runs straight off 48v. I will stick with 120v for everything as it just makes power distribution easier.

 

[purbeast0]

Ordered a pair of these. On sale for $139. I have a pair of all black that are super comfortable. Been seeing the dress/sneaker look alot lately and this will be perfect for business casual in the office.
View attachment 116015

My wife got me some Bruno Marc shoes for my birthday that are very similar to this but a fraction of that cost. I only wear them like once a month or so though so I'm not sure how the longevity of them will hold up. They are also super comfortable but look nice/dressy.

 

[sdifox]

Shouldn't make a difference, even non double conversion keep the batteries on float. APC is also notorious for floating the batteries too high, that's why the batteries never last more than like 5 years in those units. With the rectifier setup I can set the float voltage, and setup the equalization schedule etc so I get more control.

With double conversion the main difference is the rectifiers power the inverter while keeping batteries at float, and the load is always on inverter. When rectifiers lose power the batteries will naturally take over. Basically what the telcos do, except lot of the equipment just runs straight off 48v. I will stick with 120v for everything as it just makes power distribution easier.

Apparently lithium ion battery can last twice as long, but not sure it is at a price point worth considering yet.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Apparently lithium ion battery can last twice as long, but not sure it is at a price point worth considering yet.

I looked into it, they are getting cheaper and more available, but they are also not great for applications where they're kept at 100% charge most of the time. It's best if the get cycled to some degree. Probably why the telcos are sticking with lead acid too.

When I do my off grid solar setup I will probably consider going that route though. Can get 48v 100ah rackmount batteries for around 2k. Considering you can discharge them to 0 unlike lead acid, it comes up to about the same price per kwh. With lead acid I always rate my setup with 50% discharge max in mind. They do need to be in a heated environment though as they can't be charged below zero.