Broken window, VS1 on guard!

[Paul Iddon]

I had my drivers window broken by a stone thrown from a garden strimmer but it would be 2 days before it could be replaced.

Meant the car had to sit outside the house with no window in it, so I connected my VS1 to a powerbank and stuck it to the house window to watch the car for 2 days and nights.

It did a perfect job, recording non stop!

Thanks to @viofo for a great product!

Paul.

 

[Nigel]

a stone thrown from a garden strimmer

What sort of strimmer?

I don't expect them to throw stones hard enough for that, but then my neighbour does have a rather powerful backpack strimmer, sometimes with a metal blade!

Better it hit the car than a person...

 

[Paul Iddon]

What sort of strimmer?

I don't expect them to throw stones hard enough for that, but then my neighbour does have a rather powerful backpack strimmer, sometimes with a metal blade!

Better it hit the car than a person...

A full sized Stihl petrol strimmer. Tall as the man carrying it!

 

[Dashmellow]

A full sized Stihl petrol strimmer. Tall as the man carrying it!

Those things can pack quite a punch when they kick up stones. My truck was once hit by one when I drove by a guy working with one along the road and it left quite a dent. I happen to have a Stihl similar to the one you mention and when I work with it out along the gravel/dirt road I live on I always let off the trigger when a car drives by.

 

[Nigel]

That would have the power, but I think you still need to fit some extra thick line or blades, the standard reasonably thin nylon line is supposed to avoid issues like that!

 

[Paul Iddon]

The chap is on my doorbell video (1 minute long) apologising profusely, poor chap!

The company he works for paid the bill of course..

Paul.

 

[Dashmellow]

That would have the power, but I think you still need to fit some extra thick line or blades, the standard reasonably thin nylon line is supposed to avoid issues like that!

Not necessarily. My machine requires 0.80 trimmer line and it has a lot of power to kick stones and debris as well as to cut through rather thick, even woody weeds. I've never heard or read anything about how the trimmer line is designed not to throw stones. On the contrary, the package the stuff comes in as well as the machine's owners manual always feature precautions and warnings about wearing adequate protective gear. I always wear protective goggles and a logging helmet that has a mesh face shield.

 

[DT MI]

...My machine requires 0.80 trimmer line and it has a lot of power to kick stones and debris as well as to cut through rather thick, even woody weeds...

Years ago I broke a window when my trimmer hit an acorn laying in the grass and launched it towards the house at a distance of about 40-50 25 feet.

Edit: Correction - I just measured the distance using Google Earth and it's only 25 feet.

 

[Nigel]

My machine requires 0.80 trimmer line

That would be really thin if in metric, but 0.8 inches would be pretty solid

What units are you using? Stihl is German, so it should be mm...

 

[Dashmellow]

That would be really thin if in metric, but 0.8 inches would be pretty solid

What units are you using? Stihl is German, so it should be mm...

This is the USA so it's in inches, although the size in mm is usually featured on the packaging as well, Nigel.

You're not gonna' start with yet another one of your insufferable pissing matches over the metric system again, are you? Nobody really cares to hear this kind of thing from you anymore.

BTW, just because I own a Stihl is irrelevant. Trimmer line is a commodity item that is used in all brands regardless of where they are manufactured.

 

[NARider]

That would be really thin if in metric, but 0.8 inches would be pretty solid

This is the USA so it's in inches, although the size in mm is usually featured on the packaging as well, Nigel.

@Dashmellow I think you missed his sarcasm. Your post said the trimmer line was 0.8 inches, but what you meant to say was 0.080 inches as shown in your picture. @Nigel was just teasing, saying that 0.80" trimmer line, thicker than 3/4" (0.75"), could really do some damage. It was a joke! Peace...

 

[Dashmellow]

@Dashmellow I think you missed his sarcasm. Your post said the trimmer line was 0.8 inches, but what you meant to say was 0.080 inches as shown in your picture. @Nigel was just teasing, saying that 0.80" trimmer line, thicker than 3/4" (0.75"), could really do some damage. It was a joke! Peace...

Well, it was merely a typo, but my sensitivity to Nigel's remark stems from his regular and ongoing attacks on the United States Customary Units of measurement which he regularly treats with scorn and derision as he does with literally any and all things that may be different in the USA than in the UK. He's still grieving the loss of the British empire apparently. Peace...

 

[Nigel]

saying that 0.80" trimmer line, thicker than 3/4" (0.75"),

If it had been written as a fractional inch, like your conversion, then there would have been no confusion, even with the units not stated!
Why is the packaging using decimal inches? Doesn't that make it hard to measure, inch rulers don't use decimals!

 

[Dashmellow]

If it had been written as a fractional inch, like your conversion, then there would have been no confusion, even with the units not stated!
Why is the packaging using decimal inches? Doesn't that make it hard to measure, inch rulers don't use decimals!

Still at it huh, Nigel? Always complaining about and criticizing any conventions that may be used in the USA that don't meet with your approval.

This is simply the sizing convention the trimmer industry has always used here to designate line diameters. Of course, as I've already pointed out, the packing as shown above also addresses your initial complaint about the metric system by listing the size in millimeters in addition to the decimal fractional equivalent but you conveniently ignore that aspect as it doesn't support your argument.

Let us also recall that you demonstrated your ignorance regarding string trimmers just yesterday when you revealed that like so many of the things you pontificate about, you have no personal experience with these machines. Indeed, nylon is rarely used nowadays as manufacturers have been gravitating towards other materials and biodegradable compounds.

I think you still need to fit some extra thick line or blades, the standard reasonably thin nylon line is supposed to avoid issues like that!

STIHL mentions in their literature, they offer trimmer line in all "standard sizes" including .065, .080, .095, .105, .118, .120, .130, and .155 diameters.

One chooses the appropriate size to match their trimmer head and job requirements.

• Light: 0.065- to 0.080-inch line is best for trimming grass around the house and whacking down common lawn weeds from around driveways, walkways and fences.
• Medium: 0.080 to 0.110-inch line is best for homes with larger lawns, or gardens overgrown with weeds that have tough, heavy stems.
• Heavy: 0.110-inch and above. Professional landscapers pull this out for big jobs — large lots; commercial spaces; or lawns and gardens with thick grass, woody shrubs and dense underbrush.

 

[Dashmellow]

Why is the packaging using decimal inches? Doesn't that make it hard to measure, inch rulers don't use decimals!

Trimmer line is generally measured with calipers, Nigel, not rulers.

 

[Nigel]

Indeed, nylon is rarely used nowadays as manufacturers have been gravitating towards other materials and biodegradable compounds.

They are still made out of nylon!

The one in your image: https://weedwarrior.com/products/trimmer-line/. states that it is nylon.

Note that to get it to biodegrade faster, you are supposed to dispose of the used trimmer line in "an anaerobic landfill" - good luck at picking up all the tiny worn pieces

 

[Paul Iddon]

Call it a day gents please.

Paul.

 

[Dashmellow]

They are still made out of nylon!

The one in your image: https://weedwarrior.com/products/trimmer-line/. states that it is nylon.

Note that to get it to biodegrade faster, you are supposed to dispose of the used trimmer line in "an anaerobic landfill" - good luck at picking up all the tiny worn pieces

Of course, you ignored my comments about "other materials and biodegradable compounds". Pure nylon does not biodegrade at all.

The stuff does break down in an aerobic environment, it just takes longer. I've actually performed experiments with anaerobic composable materials in an aerobic environment and it eventually becomes brittle and the begins to crumble.
Trimmer line seems to do the same thing and eventually disappears here on my property.

Apologies to @Paul Iddon as I was composing this reply before you posted.

 

[mentadent]

Great use of a dashcam. I've seen market stalls using them, which I thought was very clever.

 

[Dashmellow]

Great use of a dashcam. I've seen market stalls using them, which I thought was very clever.

After I first began using dash cams 14 years ago when I would buy a new camera I started using a couple of older ones as temporary day time surveillance cameras around my home. Later (around 2013 or so) I abandoned that idea and started experimenting with older dash cams as side view and rear cameras in my vehicle which is how I ended up with the 360º coverage I have now.

You'll find many threads about using dash cams as surveillance cameras in the Home Security, Surveillance Cameras, IP Cams, CCTV sub-forum. There are some interesting stories, like a guy who hid a dash cam inside a cardboard box and captured someone who was stealing stuff in an office and another guy who put a Mobius camera inside an old VCR with the guts removed and caught a home health care worker stealing money from his elderly mother.