My washing machine...

[Nemesis]

Has just been fixed again, courtesy of the other half and a few spanners and a bit of decent hose from Farmway... and in the process the flagstones have been washed thoroughly!

This time the pump (which I have to say is a replacement for the original, which lasted about 25 years ) was found to contain a bent and rusty nail, which isn't a great idea, and the hose was split (a cheap replacement for the original which wore out and was not able to be replaced).

I think we bought it in 1983. I am sure that there are more efficient models around, but it's still going and still washes things.

The other half did suggest we thought about a new one, but I bet a new one won't last as a long!

Now to fix the cooker... 1985 and the oven door closing mechanism is a bit dodgy and the oven thermostat I think not brilliant but it still cooks .

The c 1950 fridge though I think I need to have someone specialist to fix.

Am I alone in having things this ancient?

 

[skier-hughes]

My wife dates back to 1974, should I be getting a new one?


God help me if she reads this!!!!!

 

[Nemesis]

The other half was shocked last week to receive an official form to fill in to get his winter fuel allowance,. He qualifies by one day.

He hasn't come to terms with being forty yet, let alone sixty in September!

Still time for sex, drugs and rock n roll I tell him... as long as he doesn't involve me.

 

[skier-hughes]

My father in law had a tax demand instead of his due repayment. It took several phone calls and a copy of his birth certificate to prove they had copied info from his tax return incorrectly.

The fact that he'd had his date of birth correctly inputted for the last 20 years didn't seem to matter at all!!!!

 

[BMcD]

skier-hughes wrote:

My wife dates back to 1974, should I be getting a new one?


God help me if she reads this!!!!!

What I want to know is, what was edited out?

 

[skier-hughes]

My typing is useless, I'm always having to come back to repair what I've done........

 

[BMcD]

I'm the same, even though I use the preview button , I just read what I think I wrote

 

[Schoolmarm]

I have repaired the wires that the dog chewed on my super ultra modern state of the art clock radio.

It still looks state of the art to me but I bought it in 1979.

 

[Nemesis]

Blimey - we have a wireless! Is being wired a more modern invention?

 

[Schoolmarm]

Wireless would be much better with Tess the wire addict around. :roll:

 

[NT]

Has just been fixed again, courtesy of the other half and a few spanners and a bit of decent hose from Farmway... and in the process the flagstones have been washed thoroughly!

This time the pump (which I have to say is a replacement for the original, which lasted about 25 years ) was found to contain a bent and rusty nail, which isn't a great idea, and the hose was split (a cheap replacement for the original which wore out and was not able to be replaced).

I think we bought it in 1983. I am sure that there are more efficient models around, but it's still going and still washes things.

The other half did suggest we thought about a new one, but I bet a new one won't last as a long!

Now to fix the cooker... 1985 and the oven door closing mechanism is a bit dodgy and the oven thermostat I think not brilliant but it still cooks .

The c 1950 fridge though I think I need to have someone specialist to fix.

Am I alone in having things this ancient?

Still have many things from such a time. Was using electrical appliance from the 1930s not long ago. Replaced it though with a 1920s one.

Guess I've never been a follower of fashion!

Its only really refrigeration where I see 'upgrading' as being pointful.

Whats up with the fridge?


NT

 

[alice]

We buy the best quality we can on sale and use it until it's useless. I can remember my daughter coming home years ago and saying her friends wanted to know why we had such a nice house and such junker cars (all her friend's parents had late model suv's and we were still driving 15 year old Toyotas, with no plans to trade them in...). She got a good lecture then on the difference between flash and cash. Today, she's a little too flash for my comfort, but I'm willing to bet that a few years and some uncomfortable credit card bills in the future, she'll come around.

I must confess some weakness to overspend on books and art supplies, but appliances and underwear are not areas I like to invest in.

alice

 

[shelli]

One of our employee's brothers lives in Detroit (he's English) and says that his work colleagues work minimum 60 hours a week every week and take overtime over holidays just so they can get the latest model everything, cars (especially), household appliances, watches, p.c's and other tech goods

Most of them have never been out of Michigan and they think HE's crazy because he takes 6 weeks off a year and tours the beautiful US National Parks with his family.

Must be the charming American cultural folkways Alice - It seems to have not affected you though as your ethos is based on reality

Shelli

 

[Nigel]

I have heard it referred to as the materialistic treadmill; which sums it up pretty well.

Best I can manage in the boasting stakes is a pre-remote control TV, albeit the other half is starting to complain as the TV hums when the background is predominantly white. Suspect digital will lead to replacement. The issue is how to blend the evil box into a period room.

 

[Penners]

My wife dates back to 1974, should I be getting a new one?

In the new European Husbands' Rights Act it says that when she reaches 60, you can part-exchange her for two 30-year olds.

 

[Penners]

appliances and underwear are not areas I like to invest in.

Believe me, in Lowestoft you'll need underwear. Fleecy-lined in winter.

And an appliance or two might help to pass the long chilly evenings.

 

[chuckey]

I use a "Goblin" cylinder vacuum cleaner. Its brother is in the science museum and is dated 1934. In the mid eighties the canvas inner lining fell of the flexible hose and it blocked it up. I was really upset because there was little likelyhood of a spare being available, however I ripped all of the canvas out and it is still working fine.

Reminds me, in the 1930s newly married middle class couples used to move into a new house with new furniture. Often the whole shooting match was never changed during their lifetime. Have seen quite a few examples - I bought one!! 1934 semi with 1934 newspaper under the lino, with adverts for semis in Welyn Garden City for £120.
Frank

 

[Flyfisher]

I had a successful few days this week saving our old (20+ years?) ride-on mower from the scrapheap after a bearing failed in one of the belt pulleys and seized completely. I ordered a new pully (£65!) but was subsequently told it was no longer available. The dealer couldn't offer any alternative, except talk about a new mower and I didn't want to fall for that one.

Not having a hydraulic press, I managed to push out the seized bearing from the pulley using a bench vice and a suitably sized 1/4-inch socket. Not having a clue where to buy bearings I looked on the web and found simplybearings.co.uk, which boast 2 million in stock. From the three main measurements (OD, ID & Thickness) it was easy to find suitable looking replacements. I ordered two and they arrived the following day.

I was worried about pressing the new bearing into the pully, but the same approach with the bench vice and socket set worked fine. Within half an hour I was back mowing the grass for a total cost of £8.87 - and that's with a spare bearing (which I'll probably never need if the previous one lasted for 20 years).

So that's a few bob saved on a new mower and a bit less landfill needed for a few years.
'Proper' repairs like that are so satisfying

 

[Penners]

In case you're ever in a similar situation, there's a range of "standard" pulleys that you can buy from engineering suppliers. I can't remember the name correctly, but it's something like "Imp" or "Goblin" - along those lines.

They come in all sorts of sizes, with keyways already machined in. In the past I've usually managed to find one the correct size for sundry machinery repairs, or near enough to be persuaded to work.

The good news is that - now that I've given you that information - Sod's Law of the Perversity of Inanimate Objects dictates that you'll never need a pulley again.

 

[Flyfisher]

Thanks Penners. I'm not really familiar with mechanical engineering component suppliers so it was a glimpse into another world really.

I'm very familiar with the electronics world and would have little trouble finding a component part for, say, a TV or a PC - although the advent of surface mounted components makes their actual replacement a real headache these days!

But that's the beauty of the web these days; it makes these 'parallel worlds' so much more accessible.

Next on the repair list is an old industrial pillar drill. It's mechanically sound but the wiring is a nightmare; perished rubber wiring direct to the exposed terminals of the motor! I've just received a no-volt release switch today (from Axminster tools) so I should have it all running safely next week.

Although your quoted 'perversity' law will almost certainly mean I won't need the spare bearing I bought, it doesn't cover the likelihood that should I need it in the future it will have been lost somewhere among all the other 'useful bits' so I'll have to buy another one anyway - after which the 'spare' will turn up again. There must be a law for that too!