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How rental ‘libraries of things’ have become the new way to save money (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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The theory is simple: instead of buying a household item or a piece of clothing or some equipment you might use once or twice, you take it out and return it.

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[–] 29 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

I've rented things like carpet cleaners, floor polishers, chainsaws, splitters for the chainsawed wood, generators, a bunch of weird things from a rental place down the street that seems to have at least one of anything I could ever need. It's awesome! Not having to maintain a bunch of shitty two stroke engines is phenomenal.

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  • [–] 19 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Not having to maintain a bunch of shitty two stroke engines is phenomenal.

    Kinda off topic, but this reminded me of the lawn mower I bought a few summers ago. It was on sale for like 200, it was an electric Li-Ion battery though.

    It was my first Li-Ion mower, but not the first electric and the first electric was just...shitty...pros definitely did not put weigh the cons so I was hesitant, but bit the bullet anyways because that first electric had to have been like 15+ years ago so things must have improved

    So glad I did, this MF is so damn quiet, I don't even need hearing protection AND I can mow at like 9PM because it's so quiet that the barking neighbor dogs are louder AND I don't have to fuck with gas and oil. I even picked up the same thing but the trimmer and weed whacker version at a thrift store. So now I don't have to fuck with has and oil and MIXING them just right for 2 strokes.

    Even with the big battery they're still lighter than the equivalent 2 stroke.

    Tl;Dr FUCK 2/4 stroke engine equipment, I'm never going back lmao

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    I'm hoping to have bought my last engine. maybe there will be another ICE car or motorcycle in my future, I don't think I'll ever own another airplane and I'm 100% done with gas powered lawn tools. I've got a set of electric lawn tools that do a fantastic job and they don't pack their sinuses with their own shit all winter so they work when it's time.

    And my father has fought me tooth and nail the entire way. "You sure you don't want the gas one? It's slightly bigger! Let's get the gas one." Dad, why are we here for the second year in a row buying a string trimmer? "We can't get the old one to start." Wrong. We're buying a new one because we can't get the almost brand new one we bought last year to start. Now what chemical did you consume in the 60's that makes you think a nearly identical one we buy this year will be any different? "Ohh come on." This one works almost exactly like a power drill. When's the last time you put a battery in the power drill and spent an hour failing to get it to start drilling? "Sigh I guess."

    It's lighter, quieter, runs on a battery system we're already very invested in, starts every time, requires less maintenance and fueling is a lot more convenient. Every electric lawn tool we've bought bar none works great.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Yeah I love my 40v job too!! I can crush the lawn in record time on a single charge and its whisper quiet.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Dude, I've had my 40V mower for almost 8 years and it's still kicking. So incredibly easy to use. One of my batteries crapped out after about 6 years, but the other still holds a great charge, and I've collected a couple others over the years as I've added the trimmer, blower, and chainsaw from the same brand. In retrospect, my life was terrible in the before-times.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    My mid life birthday gift was an electric zero turn mower. Already had all electric yard tools. Will buy Tesla or best option in couple years. Never going to a gas station again!

    So indeed, fuck gas

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