On Jun 12, 10:57*am, Danny D wrote:
On Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:54:40 -0700, wrote:
My way of looking at this is
if you called a pool company ... you might wind up with a new pump
but since I'm doing it myself, the cost will be just $10 -$15
for the O-ring from a pool store.

If the goal were to simply *fix* the pool pump, your method is
perfect and it's what most people do (99.99% anyway).

I'm not most people.
For one thing, I like to *learn* and for another, I like to
*teach*. I am famous (in my profession) for writing tutorials
for how to do things so that everyone else might benefit from
the effort. It's how I'm wired.

Most people are decidedly *not* wired that way!

They do it; they get it done; they learn almost nothing; and
they teach absolutely nothing. But it's done; and it's done
fast (and overall, the cost is the lowest, but so is the
benefit).

I have a friend who knows nothing about cars; yet he fixes
them simply by throwing parts at them. If he gets an OBD
code indicating a misfire, he replaces the plugs. If that
doesn't work, he replaces the wires. If that doesn't work,
he replaces the coils. If that doesn't work, he replaces
the intake pcv valve. If that doesn't work, he replaces the
visible vacuum hoses. If that doesn't work he replaces
the intake boots. etc.

Assuming there are, say, 5 likely culprits, if he guesses
right on the first one, he considers himself an absolute
genius. Even if he guesses wrong until the fifth one, he
not only solves the problem, but he gets all new parts
in the process.

A *lot* of people work that way. They learn almost nothing;
but they get the job done. Fast. It's efficient, I agree.

It's not how *I* do things! I try to understand what I'm
dealing with; I ask questions; I clarify; I summarize; and,
I attempt (yes, attempt) to teach.

In summary, if I use your suggested method for my four
pool pumps, at, say, $5 per o-ring at the pool store, I'd
walk out the door with an outlay of $30 per pump, or, only
$120 for o-rings to refurbish the entire set.

In two hours I'd be done.
I wouldn't learn anything.
I wouldn't teach anyone.
But I'd be done. No doubt about this.
$120 solves my problem (at DIY prices).

On the other hand ...

My method takes WEEKS! (yes, weeks elapsed time).
Yet, I *learned* a lot! *Education never stops.

Anyone willing to learn from my experience will learn also.
That's one reason why I go to the effort to include screen shots
and annotated photos in many of my posts. So others learn.

My actual cost outlay is trivial. Assume I pay, on average,
about 50¢ per o-ring (includes shipping), my outlay in cash
is $12 for those four pumps.

In summary:
- ~2 hours, $120, near zero learning, zero teaching
- ~20 hours, $12, lifelong learning, others benefit

Pick the method for how *your* brain is wired.

D-

In the AHR / DIY arena .....you should concentrate on the "learning
part", you're a LONG way from the point of being able to teach.

Well, unless, of course, you're thinking "a good bad example can be
useful for teaching other what not to do"?