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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   2035 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 7, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I send my prayers to anyone who engages in a battle of bureaucracy against you. You're well equipped, you don't need me to wish you well, this is to even the playing field a little.

"Battle of bureaucracy"? I don't see any such event here. If you're referring to the tall-grass letter: Unlike some other municipalities that I could name, this municipality explicitly prescribes a maximum grass height of eight inches, and the vegetation on my lot unambiguously exceeds that value. (Annoyingly, the municipal govt. does not publish its code online, and instead requires citizens to request individual ordinances by email. But I specifically requested a copy of the maximum-grass-height ordinance shortly after buying the lot.)

... this municipality explicitly prescribes a maximum grass height of eight inches, and the vegetation on my lot unambiguously exceeds that value.

Are you sure the problem is not that you are letting your grass grow too long, rather than battery-powered lawnmowers are too weak? The normal advice is not to cut more than ⅓ of the grass height per mow, and most mowers only go up to 4" (10 cm).

Anecdotally, I've been using a Makita LXT 18V X2 (36V) battery-system-based mower for some years now without problem. If I let things overgrow, I can do just under 0.2 acres (8 quetta-barns for our metric absolutist friends) on the pair of 4.0 Ah (144 Wh total) batteries it came with. If I'm just doing a maintenance mow, maybe 30–40% more. I eventually built a pair of packs totaling just over 300 Wh; with those, the mower can go longer than I can. Now that you have electric service, could you not just get a second set of batteries for a battery-powered mower and have one set charging while using the other mowing? For a ⅙-acre (7 Qb) lot, a battery-powered mower ought to be more than enough. You don't have to mess with extension cords. Way more quiet than gas. Plus, a modest set of battery-powered tools and extra batteries are generally usefully for a homeowner. Your small leaf blower, string trimmer, drill/driver, reciprocating saw, personal fan, type things.

Are you sure the problem is not that you are letting your grass grow too long, rather than battery-powered lawnmowers are too weak? The normal advice is not to cut more than 1/3 of the grass height per mow, and most mowers only go up to 4 inches (10 cm).

Could you not just get a second set of batteries for a battery-powered mower and have one set charging while using the other mowing?

In 2025, I did not let my grass grow all the way to eight inches. However, even at whatever height I allowed the grass to grow to (probably around four or six inches), I found it extremely tiresome and annoying to run the weak battery mower forward at an excruciatingly slow pace, just nibbling away at the grass, when I was used to going much faster with a full-power corded mower at home.

Now that you have electric service

I don't. Completion is more than a month behind schedule.

You don't have to mess with extension cords.

While I did get some enjoyment out of being able to run the cord-free gasoline mower in an outside-to-inside spiral pattern, rather than being forced by the extension cord to go back and forth like a plowman, I don't think that's a significant factor in my decisionmaking here.

Wow, they don't even have temporary service to your site? Maybe it's a NJ thing they can't drop a temp pole. No wonder the contractor is behind schedule, he's working in the dark!

This is in Pennsylvania, not New J⁎rsey. I have seen the contractor bring generators to the site.

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