"Ignoramus5533" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 19:33:26 -0000, Chris Lewis
wrote:
According to Ignoramus5533 :

I have a related question. I want to sell them on ebay and would like
to get as much as I can. The obvious things I can do is wipe the dust,
photograph them very well and test them with an ohm meter. Is there
anything else, something unobvious, that I could do?

Check for cracks, corrosion or pitting on the connectors. Ensure
that the contacts open/close when you operate the handle.

If you can see/get at the contacts, check them for heavy pitting.
[Sometimes these things have replaceable contacts, so you may
be able to get at them.]

Thank you. all good ideas.

Beyond that, you'd need to test them to see if they trip for
overcurrent. This is absolutely _not_ something you can test
short of having a purpose built lab with a lot of very
expensive gear, least of which being a power supply that can
deliver one heck of a lot of amps. And a shorting switch
that won't explode at, say, 100,000 amps.

I agree. I could use some welding cables and several car batteries,
and use large steel flats for switching, but I do not see the point
and it is just too dangerous.

Checking the contacts is a great idea.

i


In addition to the low demand and cost of engineering, another thing that
probably inflates the cost is reliability testing. Very often the same
product is labeled and sold at different prices, the primary difference
being the amount of testing that went into ensuring the reliability of the
device. A good example is the difference between military and commercial
electronic parts.

In your case, you cannot guarantee reliability, provide a warrantee or
perhaps even guarantee functionality and this will all substantially reduce
the price for an eBay customer. Good luck, I find that electronic parts
sell slowly on eBay. Look at the number of bids on those parts for a
preview. Stuff is only worth what someone will pay for it, fortunately you
paid nothing. I think you will do better with a return if DOA policy rather
than an AS-IS policy.