No wonder we are a throw away nation

[fordf150]

i got my lights working again today....still a little grumpy about what i paid for batteries but at least i helped out the old guys that own the hardware store

 

[7sleeper]

Little Al, I think he meant that the light took four of those batteries, costing $13.60, or $3.60 more than a new light.

The question remains, how much longer does the lamp run with quality batteries?

7

 

[Little Al]

Little Al, I think he meant that the light took four of those batteries, costing $13.60, or $3.60 more than a new light.

Ah' Sorry didn't realise it was a multiple battery jobbie In that case I understand his frustration ( How a bout a set of Li ion rechargables)

 

[procarbine2k1]

I have a dishwasher (5 yrs old), that the main pump went out. The pump itself was $140, and a service call with labor would have put me around 300 bucks.... for a 400 dollar dish washer.
Luckily, I found someone closing out of those pumps on Ebay for 60 bucks or so, and replaced it myself. The thing didnt even come with new seals :/, so I went to the hardware store and matched the o-ring diameter and can only hope that it works.
I wouldn't fault anyone for tossing the old unit and buying a new one, and a few years ago I probably would have just to not have the aggravation. But 3 kids later, I am trying to be a little more frugal with that kind of thing, and I say even 100 bucks saved is another 100 earned.

 

[Chris-PA]

I have a dishwasher (5 yrs old), that the main pump went out. The pump itself was $140, and a service call with labor would have put me around 300 bucks.... for a 400 dollar dish washer.
Luckily, I found someone closing out of those pumps on Ebay for 60 bucks or so, and replaced it myself. The thing didnt even come with new seals :/, so I went to the hardware store and matched the o-ring diameter and can only hope that it works.
I wouldn't fault anyone for tossing the old unit and buying a new one, and a few years ago I probably would have just to not have the aggravation. But 3 kids later, I am trying to be a little more frugal with that kind of thing, and I say even 100 bucks saved is another 100 earned.

Good for you! I fix everything I can, and most think it's silly - but I do save a bunch of cash. For a variety of reasons there is now a great distortion and disconnect between how things are valued in monetary terms and their real worth in terms of utility and energy. It was not always this way, and repairing things used to be something people routinely did, as well as a viable profession - and it will be again. It was far more common for people to have the skills to do such work, and we were not all so convinced that our time was too valuable to waste on such mundane tasks.

One of the things I enjoy about chainsaws is that there are still a bunch of people repairing and rebuilding them, probably because chainsaws are still mostly an interest in areas where such skills are still used.

Back on topic, I've downloaded a couple of magnifier apps for my iPhone that let you look through the camera lens, turn on the light and zoom in. The whole camera/light assembly is actually pretty small and I've found it very useful for looking into small areas (like cylinders).

 

[Agent Orange]

Thermostat/cold control went out on my fridge this week. 80.00 from the local Ace, factory part. EBay had a myriad of 20.00 knock offs. Bought the Ace part, if it's the wrong part I drive 5 minutes and get the right one.

 

[fordf150]

how about when the concrete counterweight on your 3 yr old washing machine breaks and falls off. Ordered a new one, waited 5 months for it to come in, tried ordering it from other places and was told it had been discontinued. Got tired of waiting so we framed the old counterweight in some 1/4x 1 1/2 flat stock, made new mounting ears, cut old CV axles down and welded onto the frame to replace the concrete that had crumbled and i have a working washing machine again.....but we all know how it goes, a week later the new counterweight showed up. Hoping for the best because when the concrete broke apart it left big chunks hanging on the plastic mounting tabs of the drum....2 of them broke off so instead of having 3 bolts in the upper weight and 3 in the lower, i now have 2 each and then i bolted the upper and lower together on one side

 

[Agent Orange]

how about when the concrete counterweight on your 3 yr old washing machine breaks and falls off. Ordered a new one, waited 5 months for it to come in, tried ordering it from other places and was told it had been discontinued. Got tired of waiting so we framed the old counterweight in some 1/4x 1 1/2 flat stock, made new mounting ears, cut old CV axles down and welded onto the frame to replace the concrete that had crumbled and i have a working washing machine again.....but we all know how it goes, a week later the new counterweight showed up. Hoping for the best because when the concrete broke apart it left big chunks hanging on the plastic mounting tabs of the drum....2 of them broke off so instead of having 3 bolts in the upper weight and 3 in the lower, i now have 2 each and then i bolted the upper and lower together on one side

View attachment 490915

That's dedication!

 

[fordf150]

That's dedication!

have you priced these junk front load washers? we got 3-4 yrs out of the last one which was only a $600 washer....this one was $1000 or so and at 3 yrs old the counterweight fell off. Cant afford to just keep replacing these pieces of junk.

 

[Agent Orange]

have you priced these junk front load washers? we got 3-4 yrs out of the last one which was only a $600 washer....this one was $1000 or so and at 3 yrs old the counterweight fell off. Cant afford to just keep replacing these pieces of junk.

Nope, we have old school top loader, which I just replaced the pump in. All our appliances were new 8 years ago, cheap home depot crap. Dishwasher still barely working, oven and microwave are good, dryer is good, fridge just had cold control replaced, washer needed a new pump.

It's a crap shoot anymore. I've bought high end and been burned, bought unbranded stuff that lasted longer than it should. I haven't heard much good about front loading or HE washers.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Yep, but Walmart don't fix mowers. To get it serviced or fixed, you have to take it to the local mower shop.
If the local shop isn't supported, he goes broke, then nobody fixes mowers. Local shop has to put in his order for mowers three months before the season starts, and gets a month to pay for them. So he is carrying that debt until they are all sold. Walmart probably gets a lower cost price too.

This local place was an Ace Hardware store and don't think they worked on lawnmowers either. Either way he would have to go to a mower shop to get it fixed.