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I don't have their weed trimmer, but I've heard nothing but good things about Ego and their systems.

I have the 56v chainsaw and that thing is amazing. I can't speak to the battery systems longevity as I've only had it for about 4 months but it's been great so far.

Kougar wrote:

Is like anything else, stores sell lots of worthless mowers and few decent ones, but they do sell some. To be fair being forced to use ethanol-tainted gas certainly doesn't help the carburetors either, and that's usually what is guaranteed to be the first thing to have problems. Cleaning those things is a nightmare on some models, older pre-ethanol mowers would clog with broken-down rubber compounds all the time.

Replacement carb for my $400 Honda mower was $30 shipped and took me maybe 30 minutes to install (since I had practice from trying to clean the damn thing).

Attempted and failed to fix my father's 97 SeaDoo GTi. It sat for 7 years and while it looks brand new, the fuel lines, filters, carb, and prop shaft bearings are all gunked or need replaced.

I at least increased it's maximum speed from 25 MPH up to 40 MPH or so, but it doesn't have the right amount of power to pull out of a dig and start planing. It will just barely plane with my wife and I riding (~280 lbs combined) and it used to plane in seconds with nearly 550 pounds on it...

Time for a rebuild.

Waco wrote:

Attempted and failed to fix my father's 97 SeaDoo GTi. It sat for 7 years and while it looks brand new, the fuel lines, filters, carb, and prop shaft bearings are all gunked or need replaced.

I at least increased it's maximum speed from 25 MPH up to 40 MPH or so, but it doesn't have the right amount of power to pull out of a dig and start planing. It will just barely plane with my wife and I riding (~280 lbs combined) and it used to plane in seconds with nearly 550 pounds on it...

Time for a rebuild.

More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBP7MtT3Ac

Thanks guys, appreciate the information!

MileageMayVary wrote:

Replacement carb for my $400 Honda mower was $30 shipped and took me maybe 30 minutes to install (since I had practice from trying to clean the damn thing).

Replacement carb for the mower I referenced was $112. If there was a generic that would fit it I never found one that said so, and for that price it was either fix it or buy a new mower. Thank god the one I eventually replaced it with has a good Honda OHC engine on it, as I have yet to repair anything on that one. I should probably l sharpen the blades though...

Mikael33 wrote:

Waco wrote:

Attempted and failed to fix my father's 97 SeaDoo GTi.

More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBP7MtT3Ac

. Exactly!

A 12x20" steam table, same reason as the induction cooker a few posts up. I'm getting a nice string of free lunches out of this.

Kougar wrote:

Thanks guys, appreciate the information!
Replacement carb for the mower I referenced was $112. If there was a generic that would fit it I never found one that said so, and for that price it was either fix it or buy a new mower. Thank god the one I eventually replaced it with has a good Honda OHC engine on it, as I have yet to repair anything on that one. I should probably l sharpen the blades though...

Here's where I got my carb from: https://www.repairclinic.com/Shop-For-P ... etor-Parts

MileageMayVary wrote:

Here's where I got my carb from: https://www.repairclinic.com/Shop-For-P ... etor-Parts

I did find that site, at the time I was looking they didn't carry the carb for the '05 Craftsman mulching mower (it had a chinese-built engine in it). I tossed that mower a few years ago, to be clear.

Just replaced the switch that controls the outside lights on the front of the house. It made a loud crackling noise a few nights ago, and the lights didn't come on any more after that.

I suppose in a way it is surprising that stuff like mass-produced commodity light switches last as long as they do, given how cheap they are ($1.29 each at the local Ace Hardware, probably even less at the "big box" stores).

I also replaced the one next to it in the same junction box (which controls an outlet in the living room) on principle, since if one went the other one is probably going to follow in the not-too-distant future. I also wanted to make sure the color of the switches matched; it was definitely worth the extra $1.29 to ensure that I wouldn't need to go back to the hardware store again (I couldn't remember if the original switches were "ivory" or "almond").

As an aside, I suspect that crappy power factor of many LED and CFL bulbs accelerates the wear of light switch contacts by increasing the amount of surging/arcing that occurs when the switch is opened and/or closed. Inductive and capacitive loads are harder on switch contacts than purely resistive ones. (Capacitive loads tend to cause a high-current transient surge as the switch is closed; inductive loads tend to cause the contacts to arc as the switch is opened. Either one will gradually burn away the switch contact material.)

just brew it! wrote:

As an aside, I suspect that crappy power factor of many LED and CFL bulbs accelerates the wear of light switch contacts by increasing the amount of surging/arcing that occurs when the switch is opened and/or closed.

That's been my experience. In one instance, I had a switch serving three electronic fluorescent ballast loads that didn't snap on/off very cleanly, and one day it failed pretty much the exact way you just described.

ludi wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

As an aside, I suspect that crappy power factor of many LED and CFL bulbs accelerates the wear of light switch contacts by increasing the amount of surging/arcing that occurs when the switch is opened and/or closed.

That's been my experience. In one instance, I had a switch serving three electronic fluorescent ballast loads that didn't snap on/off very cleanly, and one day it failed pretty much the exact way you just described.

Older light switches like I remember from when I was a kid had a much sharper positive "snap" action to them. I'm not sure if the design which seems to be common today (where the switch has a "softer" action) is an attempt to make the switches quieter, cut costs, or both.

I think I've replaced something like a half dozen light switches over the past few years for this exact same type of failure.

just brew it! wrote:

ludi wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

As an aside, I suspect that crappy power factor of many LED and CFL bulbs accelerates the wear of light switch contacts by increasing the amount of surging/arcing that occurs when the switch is opened and/or closed.

That's been my experience. In one instance, I had a switch serving three electronic fluorescent ballast loads that didn't snap on/off very cleanly, and one day it failed pretty much the exact way you just described.

Older light switches like I remember from when I was a kid had a much sharper positive "snap" action to them. I'm not sure if the design which seems to be common today (where the switch has a "softer" action) is an attempt to make the switches quieter, cut costs, or both.

I think I've replaced something like a half dozen light switches over the past few years for this exact same type of failure.

Buy the 20 amp light switches. They're a bit louder, but they're super beefy. We replaced all of our garage and kitchen switches with them and couldn't be happier - they have a nice "clunk" when they turn on an off.

Waco wrote:

Buy the 20 amp light switches. They're a bit louder, but they're super beefy. We replaced all of our garage and kitchen switches with them and couldn't be happier - they have a nice "clunk" when they turn on an off.

I may do that for the next one.

It seems rather counter-intuitive to need a beefier switch to deal with bulbs that draw less power, until you take the power factor wonkiness into account.

just brew it! wrote:

Older light switches like I remember from when I was a kid had a much sharper positive "snap" action to them. I'm not sure if the design which seems to be common today (where the switch has a "softer" action) is an attempt to make the switches quieter, cut costs, or both.

In an old house, they may have been dual-rated for AC and DC operation. My grandfather's late 1950s-vintage home had a few like that and they had a very strong snap when they threw over to ensure fast make and break.

But I wouldn't rule out auditory aesthetics and cost cutting in modern designs. I haven't gone as far as Waco, but I have installed a few heavy-duty rated switches for motor loads such as garbage disposals and whole-house fans.

The clicky switches are less expensive than the quiet ones.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The clicky switches are less expensive than the quiet ones.

Really? The ones I got were only $1.29. All the other switches they had cost at least double that.

Cool thread! Well, I am trying to fix if it is worth it

Was sitting upstairs doing college stuff for my daughter on Saturday and noticed it was a bit warmer than it should be. Checked the thermostat and it said 82deg -- all the vents blowing warm air. A trip outside found the fan on the upstairs unit not spinning. After a quick check to make sure the fan wasn't seized and that both the fan and compressor were getting power, it was back inside to order a replacement run capacitor. Thanks to Amazon, placed the order just after 5PM on Saturday and it arrived about 2PM on Sunday -- $21.10. 10 minutes to install and bingo, back to a spinning fan and running compressor. Took a good while to cool down from 85deg, but everything is back in working order.

--SS

My son's 2010 Mazda3 had a broken taillight - caused by an idiot hit and run driver in San Francisco.
We didn't want to call the insurance company because of the high deductible ("per incident"!) so we looked on Ebay and bought a complete unit for approx $42.
I've been teaching him to do some common maintenance tasks on his own and I'm very happy to report that he replaced the taillight with zero help from Dad
So although I didn't "repair anything today", I'll take a little credit for teaching the next generation the value (not to mention the satisfaction and thrill!) of repairing things yourself.

just brew it! wrote:

Waco wrote:

Buy the 20 amp light switches. They're a bit louder, but they're super beefy. We replaced all of our garage and kitchen switches with them and couldn't be happier - they have a nice "clunk" when they turn on an off.

I may do that for the next one.

It seems rather counter-intuitive to need a beefier switch to deal with bulbs that draw less power, until you take the power factor wonkiness into account.

Yeah, it's weird. I like the more positive feedback since it reduces the chance of me flipping a switch halfway and causing things to melt. Been there, done that.

phileasfogg wrote:

My son's 2010 Mazda3 had a broken taillight - caused by an idiot hit and run driver in San Francisco.
We didn't want to call the insurance company because of the high deductible ("per incident"!) so we looked on Ebay and bought a complete unit for approx $42.
I've been teaching him to do some common maintenance tasks on his own and I'm very happy to report that he replaced the taillight with zero help from Dad
So although I didn't "repair anything today", I'll take a little credit for teaching the next generation the value (not to mention the satisfaction and thrill!) of repairing things yourself.

That's awesome. So ya probably already know about it but for anyone else be sure the plastic is properly UV treated. For some reason there are untreated plastic assemblies for car lights selling at the same prices as the treated stuff. If the plastic isn't treated it only takes a year to turn pretty bad from direct sun.

Spent ~$80 for new headlight assemblies on my '97 Lumina at the end of last year, the originals were so far gone sandpaper couldn't make a difference. I got lucky on the timing, one of the main lamp bulbs kicked it before I got around to installing them and the new fixtures came with everything but the signal bulbs.

My kiddo flushed a plastic cup down the toilet. Job for tonight . Kiddo gets to help pull off the toilet and fish it out.
4-wheeler runs fine for 5 seconds, and quits solidly. Job for this weekend.
Brush-cutting weed-eater. Finally got it running, turns out someone screwed up the fuel/oil mix and the jets weren't working right and the spark gap would plug with oil. Tried everything else first .
Finally got the blades off my zero-turn mower. I had to drive it over a large ditch to get at them with a battery-powered hammer ratchet. Found out a few days later the ditch had poison ivy in it . There is no easy way to service the blades on that thing. Dropping the deck is a lesson in frustration and how gravity pulls on a real mower deck. Poison ivy now very dead.
Cut down 4 fairly large trees. I cannot seem to find the time to pick up all of the branches, and the non-running 4-wheeler that pulls the trailer isn't helping any.

My father in law's words of wisdom:
"The best part of owning a home is there is always something to do. The worst part of owning a home is there is always something to do."

liquidsquid wrote:

Poison ivy now very dead.

Did you kill it with fire?

Ditches full of flame? Sounds like how they tried to land planes in WW2 in fog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fog_Inves ... _Operation

just brew it! wrote:

liquidsquid wrote:

Poison ivy now very dead.

Did you kill it with fire?

No way, very allergic and you can get PI just by smoke fumes. Just a 3X recommended rate of Roundup liberally applied, though i am not a big fan of the stuff.

liquidsquid wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

liquidsquid wrote:

Poison ivy now very dead.

Did you kill it with fire?

No way, very allergic and you can get PI just by smoke fumes. Just a 3X recommended rate of Roundup liberally applied, though i am not a big fan of the stuff.

Ahh, didn't think about the possibility of the smoke being problematic, but it makes sense.

just brew it! wrote:

Ahh, didn't think about the possibility of the smoke being problematic, but it makes sense.

Yeah, the active ingredient urushiol is an oil, so it just gets aerosolized and taken up in the smoke.

Captain Ned wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Ahh, didn't think about the possibility of the smoke being problematic, but it makes sense.

Yeah, the active ingredient urushiol is an oil, so it just gets aerosolized and taken up in the smoke.

I'm from New England (where poison ivy is native and abundant), and it was drilled into us from a very early age that you never, ever burn it or people can die.

Did this today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15SRuDuLS38


It's not tuned...at all. New firmware right before the teardown so the fuel map is terrible.

It's almost exactly 1 year since the first parts showed up...but dammit, it runs. It drives. It makes the (crappy old) tires turn into smoke.


Once I get it titled, registered, and insured this week I'll get an alignment and put the good 8" wide summer tires on it.