I went to an estate auction yesterday. I'll never understand why they decide to hold an estate auction in a small rural town during spring planting or fall harvest, but a poorly attended auction is a great place to pick up a few things I never knew I needed.
I paid $32 for the blower on the left, $41 for the blower on the right. I didn't know if they'd run, but the one on the right looked like it had never been used. When I got them home I opened the fuel cap and sure enough, it never had fuel in it. I fueled them and both fired up and ran with about 5 or 6 pulls of the starter cord. The one on the left has a cracked primer bulb, but that didn't cause any starting issues. I discovered that a leaf blower is an extremely fast way to blow the dust off the shop floor and out from the corners.
The toolbox was $20 and has a couple dozen wrenches in it-they'll end up being donated to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Des Moines next time I'm in town. I just wanted the tool box to keep my plumbing tools and supplies in.
There were a couple other items that I bid on, but they went for a few dollars more than I was willing to pay. One was a very nice vintage Philco floor console radio from about 1935 or so. I stopped bidding at $50 and it went to $76.
Everything should clean up nicely, and I'll sell one of the blowers. I should be able to sell it for what I've paid for everything, and I'll end up with one blower and the tool box I wanted-both free. It might even pay for my gas to the auction and back.
Gotta love a good auction.
I paid $32 for the blower on the left, $41 for the blower on the right. I didn't know if they'd run, but the one on the right looked like it had never been used. When I got them home I opened the fuel cap and sure enough, it never had fuel in it. I fueled them and both fired up and ran with about 5 or 6 pulls of the starter cord. The one on the left has a cracked primer bulb, but that didn't cause any starting issues. I discovered that a leaf blower is an extremely fast way to blow the dust off the shop floor and out from the corners.
The toolbox was $20 and has a couple dozen wrenches in it-they'll end up being donated to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Des Moines next time I'm in town. I just wanted the tool box to keep my plumbing tools and supplies in.
There were a couple other items that I bid on, but they went for a few dollars more than I was willing to pay. One was a very nice vintage Philco floor console radio from about 1935 or so. I stopped bidding at $50 and it went to $76.
Everything should clean up nicely, and I'll sell one of the blowers. I should be able to sell it for what I've paid for everything, and I'll end up with one blower and the tool box I wanted-both free. It might even pay for my gas to the auction and back.
Gotta love a good auction.
