Entropy

Relax in southern comfort on the east bank of the Mississippi. You're just around the corner from Beale Street and Sun Records. Watch the ducks, throw back a few and tell us what's on your mind.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

I do not embrace the disposable economy, but for <$3 retail it is remarkable what china can make, and walmart can sell.

JR
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

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JR. wrote: Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:27 pm I do not embrace the disposable economy, but for <$3 retail it is remarkable what china can make, and walmart can sell.

JR
It is remarkable.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

Disappointing week... I feel like I am losing my personal battle with entropy.

I tried to replace the rotted outdoor water hose valve handle, and failed... after soaking for two days with penetrating oil, the head of the also cheap screw is camming out. So I cut off water and tried to take the valve apart but no luck... I may need to replace the valve with a new one but uncertain that it just screws off. So not fixed yet. :oops:
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then the right armrest for my desk chair just broke... this chair is only a few years old, but not robust enough for daily use. The upholstery is also coming apart. I expected this to last a little longer. The chair it replaced was probably 40 years old. :oops:

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and the water sprayer hose for my sink is now loose... the fixture at the sink that the hose feeds through has come loose and is flopping around :oops:

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arghhhhhhhhhh :x

JR
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

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My years of being a pack rat have finally paid off.... I bought a replacement sprayer hose assembly, but it did not come with the broken fixture (feedthrough where hose goes through the metal sink)... I did however find an identical part sitting in some randoms parts pile out in my laundry/tool room... :D :D :D

First time in a long time that I found something useful in my old crap laying around. Still going to take some effort to crawl under the sink to get at the attachment point... My RO water filter has pretty much filled that space.

But at least this can be fixed and I see the path. 8-)

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I bought some two part epoxy to glue the broken chair handle... I probably need to upgrade to a better chair, I can relegate this one to casual use.

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I may consult with my local plumber who lives a few doors up the road... Next time I see him at the post office picking up his mail I will hijack him for a free opinion.

JR
Last edited by JR. on Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

My less-than-three-year-old Delta kitchen faucet has just developed pinholes in the underside of the arm.

I'm convinced however that expensive kitchen faucets are just as poorly-made as cheap ones only more stylish so I'm opting for the inexpensive $49.95 replacement.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

One down, two to go... The 5 minute epoxy fix to the seat handle, set overnight, seems to be holding OK for now...I still plan to replace/upgrade the chair.
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Not looking forward to crawling around under my sink (at my age and limited flexibility) but that should be straightforward... I use the spray attachment all the time, because I leave a beer bottle washer attached to the faucet constantly. In recent years the spray attachment has required higher pressure to trigger open, good exercise for my arthritic hands. (getting older sucks :roll: ).
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Still no obvious path for the outdoor faucet handle, may have to pay a professional, rather than break my house (not well built).

JR

PS: Yup, cheap crap... not like the old days when plumbing fixtures lasted decades.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

-1
+2

Chair glue job already separated, glued again but I don't feel lucky.

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Replaced the spray hose... what a PIA. I am too old to do grass drills... getting down on the floor and up again isn't that easy any more, and kneeling on my bad knee doesn't work either. Since I had to stop playing basketball I lost a ton of flexibility... When I would fall down playing ball the kids would all be concerned but I would pop back up and keep playing... not now... :oops:

Good news is the new spray nozzle is not balky like the old one.

Both valves under the sink were leaking from the valve shafts... I may get the real plumber to come out and replace several flaky valves, enough work to justify the visit (4 doors down the street).

JR
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Re: Entropy

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I couldn't find a manufacturer name on the chair, but I did find a website selling replacement parts, so I have a new arm rest on order. $25 is expensive for <$5 of plastic, but better than throwing away the chair...

The 5 min epoxy seems like 5 day epoxy... like the mix of resin and hardener is not correct. :oops:

JR

{edit- well the broken chair upped the drama level... I was leaning back in it and heard a pop... next thing I'm flat on my back on the ground... at least it knows how to stick a landing. :lol: ... The chair is rated for 250# so my <200# should be OK, but I have a working theory... I think the screws were loose, so instead of the flat washers pressing and gripping the chair handles, they were concentrating all the force of me leaning back on the maybe #10 screw shaft, so force concentrated over a much smaller region, and now the armrest is broken in two places... not just cracked... Apparently the back is attached to the seat base only by the two armrests. :oops:

Loose screws sink seats... :oops: [/edit]

[edit2] OK rethinking the screw shaft theory while all screws were definitely loose. The molded plastic armrest had steel inserts inside and both breaks occurred at the ends of the short piece of steel... So pretty much a design flaw(?),,, if the steel extended further past the screw attachment points the break might not have occurred. Certainly wouldn't have happened where they did. Looks like they reinforced the armrest but not enough.
Perhaps substandard plastic? [/edit2]
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Re: Entropy

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Got the replacement armrest today so chair is back in operation... 8-)

I only noticed when I tried to reassemble it that one of the #10 screws was bent at a 10' angle or so.... So I am back to my "loose screws sink seats" rant....

I bit the bullet and ordered a better chair so this will get relegated to light duty as soon as the new chair arrives (and I assemble it). New chair has wood arm rests so we'll see how they hold up. :lol:

JR

[edit] The better chair arrived and after the required assembly it is in operation. I am very pleasantly surprised that the better chair, appears to actually be better... A little worrying there were tags saying weight limited to 225# but I am comfortably < 200# so no worries yet.

I don't feel comfortable trusting the old chair since I replaced the broken arm rest. [/edit]

[edit2... after getting used to the new better chair I am hearing odd clunks in the old chair that suggest more may be wrong with it... probably OK for light duty,,, but did not age well... [/edit2]
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

arghhh... more disposable economy thoughts...

After paying $25 to replace the broken arm rest, the chair under mechanism is still making clunking noises.

A replacement chair tilt mechanism is $28 and a replacement air lift cylinder is $24.

I could literally buy a brand new chair for $50 :o :o :o

It is clear that the repair parts are over priced, but still decent value if you only need one part.

JR
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