sniipedJeff Wisnia wrote in message
news
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Some of the town "refuse collection stations" (That's PC newspeak for
"dump")around here have "put 'n take" tables.
It's amazing the kind of good stuff lots of technologically deprived
folks leave there (particularly in upper middle class towns.) Much of it
needing nothing more than a new line cord or a rubber belt to be back in
the pink again.
I think it's become ndemic to our affluent "throw away" plus "imported
goods" society that the price to "buy" a simple repair exceeds the price
of a whole new item.
My place is in serious danger of breaking through the earth's crust and
sinking into the magma from the combined weight of all the stuff I
couldn't resist grabbing. G
Jeff (Probably the only guy in town whose home has five working electric
brooms in it.)
--
Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying."
I think the major reason people chuck stuff is that we take for granted that
everyone can fix stuff. My brother is helpless when it comes to any type of
repair. If he were to take his 8 year old lawnmower somewhere (if he could
find a place that repairs to begin with) by the time he paid for parts and
labor, (and waited 2-3 weeks) he would have 75% of a new one paid for. So
guys like us snag them by the curb, clean the carb, toss in a plug and
change the oil. We sell it for $20-$30. and would already be using his
$119.00 brand new murray lawnmower from walmart.
I picked up a lawnmower yesterday that was blowing oil. Turns out it had too
much oil in it so it was spewing oil out of the exhaust valve. I cleaned her
up, changed the oil and the plug, now it runs like a top.
That's a lawnmower, try to find anyone willing to try to fix half the stuff
out there. It may be shot... or it may be a fuse or loose wire.
walt