Design for the dump?

I rebuilt a carburetor as a poor college student in the early 80's. It had a "sticky" choke. It was explained to me that at the hourly rated charged by professionals, it made sense for them to replace rather than rebuild them. The "rebuild kit", consisting mainly of gaskets, was less than $20. I layed out and cleaned every part, reassembled, and the car started on the first try. Impressing my dad-- priceless! ; )

Bill

Some things that -are- still repairable are usually replaced. Who has recut a faucet seat, changed a CPU or rebuilt a carburetor or starter motor?

jsw

I have done all those things, but most faucets from the last 20 years do not have seats that can be recut, they have cartridges. It's no longer cost effective to change CPU's or rebuild carburetors or starter motors.

That's the heart of the problem.

There's also the complexity of modern devices. I can strip and reassemble a Segway pretty quickly but wouldn't suggest it to owners. Even in their lab we didn't have a manual. I learned by watching the production line.

jsw

All three, several of them many times.

You had 2 different engines. I'll bet one was an 8R and the other an

On some, the newer fit the older with a few update parts, while the older might not fit the newer (upgrades for reliability etc)

On SOME starter motors, if you can rebuild it yourself the savings amount to close to $200 an hour. For that kind of money, BRING 'EM ON!!!!. As for Carbs - not much other than small engines use carbs any more, and even with the ridiculous prices they charge for carb replacement parts, unless the carb is totally trashed, I'll fix it. And if it has a sunk brass float, I'll fix THAT too, instead of replacing it (most likely with a plastic replacement)

CPUs? In the next couple of weeks I'll be replacing the 10 year old server that I upgraded the CPU from a single Xeon 1.4 to dual 2.4 Xeons about 4 or 5 years ago (using E-Bay pulls) saving close to $2000 over the cost of an almost equivalent replacement.

My current personal computer has not been replaced in totallity for almost 10 years. It has been replaced piece at a time as used/repaired parts have become available from customer upgrades. It's still a few generations behind, but does the job and certainly doesn't owe ME anything.

I find it very cost effective to rebuild both starters and carburetors. On the Isuzu truck I am currently driving, the stater went out. Local parts stores wanted $140 for a "rebuilt". 10 minutes on the web told me the problem was almost certainly the solenoid contacts. Open it up and verified that the contacts were burned to thin. Local stores did not carry the contacts. I did not want to wait days to order contacts. Took about an hour to fabricate from copper water pipe. I increased contact area by about 3x. YMMV

CarlBoyd

I haven't recut a faucet seat, but I've swapped out the replaceable one. Haven't "changed" a CPU - generally they're replaced along with the new motherboard.

Yes, I've rebuilt a carburetor.

No, I haven't rebuilt a starter motor but I've replaced a clutch and pressure plate, and gas brazed a broken piece of linkage. Come to think of it, I've swapped out a Bendix.

How 'bout you? ;-)

Thanks! Rich

These days, cars don't even _have_ carburetors.

Thanks, Rich

Yes to all of them. I even soldered a cracked brass valve body for my shower after it froze.

Me, me, me, and me. :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

Another question is: should they?

Mechanical things can be made to be repairable, and mechanisms do wear. Electronic stuff can be made to be high-reliability, but not at rock-bottom penny-shaving competitive consumer cost.

I think that trying to make consumer electronic stuff either repairable or infallible is unrealistic. We need to learn how to recycle more efficiently, effectively and economically so we can continue to enjoy the benefits of efficiently-produced low-cost gadgets and gizmos without screwing up the planet.

Exactly. Electronic gadgets are usually obsolete in 3 years. Why go to an extra expense to make, say, a cell phone or a MP3 player last 30 years? It makes no sense. Plus, there is no sense in making a $30 item repairable, as any repair would easily cost much more.

Computers are made to last longer and routinely go over 10 years of age, and usually can be easily and inexpensively repaired by swapping parts (fans, motherboards, cards etc). So, some electronic devices do have greater reliability.

I recently set up a computer that I hope will last over 10 years. It is based on Intel atom CPU and has NO moving parts: SSD instead of a disk drive and no fan. I will use it to be a server.

In the early '60s I drove Austins. One day I was just finishing the rebuild on an SU carb when one of our engineers (English chap) popped in. He suggested that he could take it to the dealership's service department and get it properly set up. I declined his kind offer and bolted it in place and made all the connections and demonstrated to him how well the engine ran now. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Last summer I gave away (in running condition) the lawnmower I bought for $5 in 1990. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

I rebuild the carb on my snowblower every 5 years. The Tecumseh "Snow King" engine is a sturdy reliable steed but it's fussy about its carb. I take care of it, it takes care of me.

That's a list of repairs that someone thought I was crazy to do myself, instead of buying new as they would have. I figured you guys might have had the same experience.

jsw

I have your same experience, but I have R&Red a CPU to install fresh thermal goo, too.

-- To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. -- J. K. Rowling

Thank for that. No dead stumbles into traffic lanes when the engine's cold!

-- To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. -- J. K. Rowling