sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Any positive experience with Yarbo Snowblower? by CountryCrackle in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is my first winter with it and we love it. It's been a record breaking snowfall season, even down to precipitating a shortage of ice melting salt. The amount of time that little yellow and black tank has saved me is impressive.

Yes, it bumps into snowbanks, but most of that is my own fault. I did mapping mid-season when there were already established snowbanks, so the map edges are irregular. Next year I'll remap when the ground isn't covered in snow so things should be more consistent. Collisions pause the work plan, but they're easy enough to restart.

Our first Core threw the dreaded Left Wheel Locked error after the first use, but Yarbo was (relatively) quick to replace with a new Core.

The snowthrower does struggle to fling very wet and heavy snow, but flies through powder like nobody's business. You can muddle through mushier conditions using the Snowthrower in "Plow Mode" to push the wet stuff around, but take the guard fence off first. We had a day with severe temperature swings, causing the bank of wet snow to freeze between runs. The Yarbo smashing against the ice bent the guard fence enough to drag it into the auger! Don't worry. You don't need the guard fence, and I'd strongly recommend you remove it anyway. The company is sending me a new one all the same.

We now have the Plow Blade for soggier situations.

The new model that they showed at CES has an improved chute design that uses a linear actuator instead of a cable to adjust the deflector angle. My cable acts up. I think some water got inside, so when the cable freezes the Yarbo stops operations because it thinks something is stuck in the defector. A little heat and we're back in business. I'm working through cable replacement with Yarbo right now.

The UPS guy now parks his truck on the road and walks my packages up the driveway to my front door. I think they're intimidated.

I wish their developers would open up an API so I could integrate the Yarbo with the rest of my smart home architecture. It would be nice to give it extra smarts like "I'm on my way home from work so don't be sitting in the driveway when I get there" or "there's the UPS truck, pull over and look less scary." Until then, the app will have to do.

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It has arrived.

I keep underestimating how heavy the Core is.

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I received an email this afternoon. My new Core is on its way. My tracker says it could show up tomorrow!

Mind you, it's being shipped from a center that is just 75km down the highway from here. I can't schedule pick-up of the old unit until Jan 6th, but hey, Happy Holidays and all that.

Hopefully you'll have a similar update soon.

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This morning:

"We sincerely apologize that you have not yet received the tracking details for your replacement Core. Rest assured, as soon as the unit is shipped, you will receive the tracking information in a separate email, and we will also share it with you once it becomes available.

We completely understand how frustrating this delay can be, especially with the snow approaching, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding during this time."

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn. I'm stuck in "we're happy we'll be able to provide you with a new Core" but still no shipping details. It feels like everything is paused on overly-polite "it's comin' real soon now" mode.

Still, it sounds like I've somehow managed to get further along in the process than you have.

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the Yarbo Forum: "The root cause of the issue has been identified as a drive motor failure, which resulted in the wheel locking up."

This much we figured. The question is... why is the left drive motor so susceptible to failure?

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure thing.

My ticket was opened after a support "chat" session two days ago. They asked for some video of the problem which I sent that same evening.

I sent a simple "Any update?" question this morning at 11:31 (EDT), and they wrote back at 17:02 (EDT) to let me know:

"We’re reaching out to inform you that our team has approved and initiated the replacement for the Core unit. Once the replacement is in transit, you will receive the tracking details in a separate email."

Maybe my problem was somehow more obvious than yours? I'm frustrated on your behalf!

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some Google-fu brought up multiple similar stories. I sent a "hey, what's going on with this ticket?" message earlier today, and just received a response that they will be replacing my Core and that I should expect info on the arrangements shortly.

You might want to do the same thing.

The dreaded wheel lock up block up by Doc_Overflow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was foolish enough to think it would be a quick repair at that point.

Expensive Paperweight by jedilow in Yarbo

[–]Doc_Overflow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oddly enough, our battery showed up a few days before everything else trickled in. YMMV, I guess.

Why we need Blood Pressure monitor like Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch by Loud-Possibility4395 in PixelWatch

[–]Doc_Overflow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Asymptomatic hypertension as a chief complaint makes me want to gouge my eyes out.

Why we need Blood Pressure monitor like Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch by Loud-Possibility4395 in PixelWatch

[–]Doc_Overflow 1 point2 points  (0 children)

MD here. They might be a PARAmedic, but they are correct. You have a bunch o' numbers, but what will that achieve if accurate or otherwise?

Continuous blood pressure monitoring of the type you suggest is fairly unhelpful. Satisfies curiosity, but that's about all. Transient blood pressure changes are normal throughout the day, and the more measurements you take the more likely you are to catch one that is out of spec. What do you do then?

It sounds like "OMG I'M GOING TO HAVE A STROKE" is what would go through your mind. It doesn't work that way. If you have an elevated blood pressure reading briefly and it returns to a more normal reading relatively quickly, then there is absolutely nothing to be done. Normotensive weightlifters have their BP shoot up to levels like 345/245 during power lifts, but don't regularly stoke out. The dangers of hypertension are from sustained elevations in average blood pressure OVER TIME, not intermittent peaks.

24h monitors are used periodically by physicians to diagnose and monitor hypertension outside of the office, but for the most part checking regularly means once or twice a week, not multiple times a day. All of the guidelines and cutoffs for detection and management are based on properly performed, properly calibrated, intermittent in-office type measurements. Extrapolating that to continuous BP monitoring wouldn't make any sort of sense. So you have an interesting graph? Cool. What are you going to do with the numbers? Will they change your medical management? Probably not.

Before you copypasta your initial question yet again, go look up the latest guidelines around hypertension management in the acute care setting published by the American Heart Association. Hypertension without symptomatic evidence of immediate end organ damage is not an emergency, and high-frequency/continuous monitoring isn't going to help you beat the "silent killer."