Most expensive equipment bought and not used

I was cleaning up my barn and got to thinking about my PTO tiller I bought with my JD.  I think I used it once to put in clover. Garden wise,right after that purchase I went to raised beds.  What have you shelled out a bundle for to have it sit around?

Someone posting a picture of their spouse in 5... 4... 3... 2...  :)

This is embarrassing!

I had a mosquito invasion at my old house. I bought an electric mosquito trap - a couple hundred dollars.  When I was scouting the ideal location for it, I discovered a forgotten container (maybe 10 gallons) in a less-than-visible spot.  It had thousands of mosquito larvae in it, as well as a dead rabbit.

Anybody want a mosquito trap, cheap?

A cream separator. I was fortunate to get it used for $200 (plus shipping), but I work with such small quantities of goat milk that it's easier and faster to simply skim the cream off the milk rather than go through the process of using it.  

I have a combo lathe and mill I spend way too much money still packed in grease in my garage.  Someday...  Someday...

Hi Jack,

Are you talking about a ShopSmith?

A Smithy, actually.  My Grandfather and my oldest Brother are both Master Machinist.  I was not old enough to apprentice with him before he passed; but I spent my summers running around his machine shop.  Metal work has always been close to my heart, but life keeps us busy.  My goal is teach myself the lathe and the mill before the buzzer sounds on this ride.  

Hi Jack

You have a different animal.  The Shopsmith was one of those magic tools sold on late night TV in the 70s and 80s.  I knew a guy who bought one.  In today's dollars that would be around 5k .  I am not sure if he ever used it.

Electric fence energizer. The sales lady said it was portable, but it really wasn’t. Moral of the story, do your research yourself.

I want a smithy

It would have to be my generator.  

We had about 4 years in a row where we lost power for 1+ day, followed by a tremendous wind storm that left us without power for about 5 days.  I decided right then and there that I finally needed a generator.  I bought a Generac 5500GP on sale for about $500, brought it home, hooked it up and the power came right back on and it has been on ever since!

I went so far as to get a dedicated plug and mini circuit breaker that makes the plugged in generator completely legal and safe.  But I have just not had the opportunity.

Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:It would have to be my generator.  

We had about 4 years in a row where we lost power for 1+ day, followed by a tremendous wind storm that left us without power for about 5 days.  I decided right then and there that I finally needed a generator.  I bought a Generac 5500GP on sale for about $500, brought it home, hooked it up and the power came right back on and it has been on ever since!

I went so far as to get a dedicated plug and mini circuit breaker that makes the plugged in generator completely legal and safe.  But I have just not had the opportunity.

Eric

HA HA that's like taking rain clothes or forgetting your coat, the former ensures a dry day and the latter torrential rain.


We got a tractor with our house, it's a big beast and apart from starting it once so we could move it a few meters inside the barn it's not moved in the year and a half we have had the place. technically we payed $8000 for it, though practically it was free so not 100% sure if it counts. we have a single blade plough at our old place and I may see if we can get the two together this year. not sure the 3 point will fit but at least a single blade isn't going to challenge the 80hp tractor at all...

ouch. tender subject. so many things...although many of them are in the 'round-tuit' category, which once I do "get around to it" they'll be great!

Most expensive bought and not used... PTO wood chipper. Early in my tractor ownership, I thought "I need all of the implements!!!" and so I found one on Craigslist, made two trips (one to see, another to pickup) that were 45 minutes each way (3 hours I wont get back).
AND, it still needs a PTO shaft today. (seller had cut the shaft super short to fit a Kubota BX) Hey! wait a minute!! I OWN A BX NOW!!! Yeah, still not in a hurry to go chip any wood...

I'm a phone call away from wood chips, delivered for free, within a few days. Someone else owns and maintains and operates the chipper.

Skandi, everyone,

Yeah, I am still waiting to use the generator.  The last significant power outage was in 2009!  I kept putting off getting a generator because I was thinking that I had seen our last major power outage and therefore a generator would be a waste.  After the wind storm I just did not want to be caught without one again.  But now I have been waiting for a power outage for 11 years!  I actually think that the 2009 storm blew down any trees that would stand a chance of falling on a power line, therefore the rights of way are better maintained and more clear or trees.

Eric

Hi Eric,

You are looking at this the wrong way. For a few bucks you got a lifetime guarentee that your electricity will never go out again.

Eric, that reminds me of when I lived on the Lesbos island. Long before the refugees. It was quiet and beautiful and abundant with incredible wildlife. There were regular blackouts after storms, especially in winter. We had no generators in the apartments we rented, and few people had, probably. I sort of miss this, although it was annoying! And I'm sorry for both people and nature that are troubled there, nowadays.

For me, the most expensive stuff would be my art supplies... of course I use them, but I always buy things that I then never use, or just once or twice. And the professional stuff can get really expensive... I'm now planning to sell some of that, but it will be missed.

A wood "chipper"/ shredder. It didn't work so well and I never use it much.

Kenneth Elwell wrote:ouch. tender subject. so many things...although many of them are in the 'round-tuit' category, which once I do "get around to it" they'll be great!

Most expensive bought and not used... PTO wood chipper. Early in my tractor ownership, I thought "I need all of the implements!!!" and so I found one on Craigslist, made two trips (one to see, another to pickup) that were 45 minutes each way (3 hours I wont get back).
AND, it still needs a PTO shaft today. (seller had cut the shaft super short to fit a Kubota BX) Hey! wait a minute!! I OWN A BX NOW!!! Yeah, still not in a hurry to go chip any wood...

I'm a phone call away from wood chips, delivered for free, within a few days. Someone else owns and maintains and operates the chipper.

Wish I was closer.  I'm just about to buy one.

I bought a massive Delta 220 volt cabinet table saw.  A BEAST, capable of ripping through a piece of 4" walnut.  Why so much saw?  Because my mantra has always been to buy the most tool I can afford.

It was so huge, and so impractical, I recently sold it on Offerup for $500 -- significantly less than I paid for it.  I replaced it with a little bench-top Dewalt table saw which does everything I need.

I also recently sold my tiller -- it wasn't that expensive, but I hadn't used it in 20 years.  That was wasted money.

My excavator is only used to bury dogs now.

I wish buying a generator would make my power more reliable! Well, I've been on old used batteries and inverter for two years, and last week I replaced them. I think we haven't had a power outage in this week, so maybe it's working! (to prevent power outages)

Bandsaw mill...

Used it to build a barn.  There it sits.

$10,000 fibre mill to go with our flock of sheep.
Then a $7,000 mobile pen and handling chute.

Frustrating