Too cheap to work

[JohnRoberts]

I just replaced the flush lever for my toilet bowl again.... these have a service life of only several years.

I keep a new one handy JIC. This is my third replacement at least. I'd be tempted to buy a better one but do not see an obvious choice.

JR

PS: remember the tricky reverse threaded nut.

 

[JohnRoberts]

The other night I wondered about the status of my smoke alarm battery. When I checked it the next day it was still at 8V so not dead yet. I had a NOS 9V (measuring 8.9V) one of a two-pack from the last time. So I put the 8.9V in my smoke detector, and the 8V in my clock radio, as the power outage backup.

OK this is just the preamble for my recent observation. Looking at new smoke detectors in the market, they now sell detectors with a permanent unchangeable battery. They are rated for 10 year service life and then just discard. That sounds wrong for several reasons.

Edit: I mentioned this to my brother about the 10 year lifetime battery and he said there is regulation in CA that smoke detectors must be replaced every 10 years... /edit

OK that gave me a new idea, I wonder if it is possible to rectify WIFI signals to trickle charge a low current device like smoke alarm battery. Unlikely to be able to passively step up the WIFI signal for rectification.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

I love how inexpensive modern technology can be, but just encountered another too cheap to work SKU . I brew beer and it is useful to monitor the temperature of my brew pot when cooking wort. An unwatched pot can boil over making a sticky mess.

I recently (aug 23) bought a cheap meat thermometer and programmed it to alert at 211'F It worked fine the first several times but in my last sessions I notice a temperature error (reading high). At room temperature it is now displaying 123'F clearly in error. After the fact the instructions advise not to submerge the probe underwater when cleaning.... but what about in use?

This model is discontinued and no longer being sold, but a new version from the same company claims a waterproof probe.

I just purchased another even cheaper one that also claims a water proof probe, so we'll see.

Right now I have the old probe sitting inside my oven to see if I can dry it out. I may need to come up with a waterproof tube of some sort to protect it inside my boiling wort pot. I'm going to cook it for a while at 250' to see if I can dry it out. Just to see what happens.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

[follow-up] In a pleasant surprise, after cooking the temp probe in my 250' oven for 1/2 hour it is behaving a little better. After cooling down to room temperature it is dead on.... The design of these temp probes are pretty low tech. I expect the moisture incursion is related to the top crimp. Maybe if I used a little shrink tubing over that junction. I can certainly figure out how to use this without submerging the probe under the wort. [/follow-up]

I found a replacement generic probe for a few dollars, and have a new (cheap) temp device on order.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

For chuckles today when I heated water to make coffee I decided to test my meat temperature probe to see how accurately it reads around boiling (my original application). The regulated kettle was set for 200' and the rehabilitated probe measured exactly 200' . Now I just need to keep the probe/wire junction dry. I looked for some old shrink tubing but haven't found any yet. I don't feel like buying a bunch just for this one project.

JR

PS: Speaking about meat temperature the pork industry is trying to convince customers to only cook pork to 145' F (160'F for ground pork), so it doesn't dry out. The classic cooking advice for pork was 160' to avoid trichinosis (round worms). My cheap meat thermometer does not have a preprogrammed pork setting for 145'

 

[cyrano]

The meat industry has been lobbying a lot lately. The goal is to replace the more expensive beef with pork. At least, over here.

One of our local preparations, called "Filet Américain", is made from 100% beef. Unfortunately, the lobbyists got permission to use pork instead. The pork can only be used if the product isn't called "Filet Américain", but something like "Préparé du chef" and it needs to be frozen for at least 24 hours. Enough to kill parasites, if present.

The taste is not good, as it's a raw meat preparation. Also, since they tend to use the cheapest pork, the mouth feel is rather watery, also due to the freezing.

And obviously, once it's ready to be sold, it's nearly impossible to check if it has been frozen.

145°F (63°C) seems too low. But it depends on the exact kind of pork. Cooked ham, fi, doesn't get really cooked anymore, but pasteurised. You need 72°C in the center at least. 63° seems too low.

 

[JohnRoberts]

145°F (63°C) seems too low. But it depends on the exact kind of pork. Cooked ham, fi, doesn't get really cooked anymore, but pasteurised. You need 72°C in the center at least. 63° seems too low.

its a business...

They qualify the 145' advice for Pork chops and steaks. Ground pork is advised to be cooked at 160' F. It seems ground/processed meat is more exposed to contamination.

JR

 

[cyrano]

Of course, ground meat is more dangerous. It has had the time to warm up, being aerated and touched by many hands or containers...

 

[JohnRoberts]

Freeze pork, or any meat, that is less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at -15 degrees Centigrade, for 10 days at -23 Centigrade or six days at -30 degrees Centigrade. Freezing may not kill the worms in wild game meat because those particular parasites may be resistant to freezing.

• For pork, the recommended temperature is 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
• For game meat (including deer, elk, moose, bear, bison, rabbit and beaver), the recommended temperature is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
• For game birds (including turkey, duck, goose, partridge or pheasant), the recommended temperature is 180 degrees Fahrenheit for whole

Apparently not everyone is on board with the new 145' pork cooking advice (the Cleveland clinic for example). There are not many cases of trichinosis in the US (less than a couple dozen annually), but two cases recently were from eating contaminated jerky.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

Cleaning up the corner of my bedroom to make room for my new mini-split installation next week, I discovered another purchase that was too cheap to work.

Several years ago I reorganized my old clothes putting a sports coat and several other nicer items into a cheap garment bag. Today I noticed that the garment bag is literally in pieces on the ground. Perhaps the moth balls I put inside degraded the cheap vinyl.

Time to revisit some more old clothes I probably won't even wear again. I wore the sports coat to a friend's funeral several years ago. I don't expect to dress myself or even have a funeral for myself, cest la vie .

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

I have already established that I am frugal (cheap)? I like making home made pizza every couple months and have made multiple improvements to my recipe over time. For the last several months, my local supermarket (Walmart) has been out of stock of Johnsonville Hot Italian sausage. I grew up in NJ so I know what real Italian sausage tastes like, and Johnsonville is not all that good, but even that lesser evil has not been available here for months. I contacted Johnsonville to determine if there was a supply problem and their answer was that nobody near my zipcode has ordered that sausage within the last 30 days. I am guessing there aren't many customers for it here in nowhere MS.

Instead of twisting Walmart's arm to order some that they can't sell, I decided to try to roll my own. In theory I can make something better than Johnsonville, that is probably intentionally bland to not offend American palates. I found multiple meat grinder attachments for my kitchenaide blender for sale. It appears that Amazon has started using AI to scan customer reviews and encapsulate likes/complaints. Amazon also notes SKUs with high return rates, a definite red flag.

Studying the reviews of multiple meat grinders one warning stood out to me, namely a warning to only hand wash the meat grinders and avoid high temperature dishwashers. I do not understand how metal meat grinders can be harmed by dishwashing. My suspicion is that cheap/weak metal grinders tend to fail more often and the dishwashing is used as an excuse for failures.

I found one made with stainless steel that is magically dishwasher safe. I don't have any desire to push sausage into casings while the meat grinder comes with those accessories too. I would gladly enjoy loose sausage as a pizza topping.

My next step is to experiment with spices. Apparently fennel seed is an iconic flavor note in Italian sausage. I have ordered some coriander seed too.

My mouth is already watering thinking about my next pizza session.

JR

PS; I even looked at cheap hand meat grinders and there were some really cheap ones but the reviews all suggested that they were not very robust. I paid around twice what the cheap not dishwasher safe ones cost. We'll see.

 

[iomegaman]

I think most of the big store supply houses have moved over to pretty much disposable plumbing (in general)...I can't think of any plumbing repair I've done in the last five years that was meant to last another 5...

Plumbing cartridges and the like are no longer made with any sense of longevity in mind nor are electrical outlets/covers...I am replacing a wide spread faucet today, the parts are not cheap, but are made that way...

There seems to be some economic law that says "If its odd or random its at least double the cost"

 

[JohnRoberts]

I think most of the big store supply houses have moved over to pretty much disposable plumbing (in general)...I can't think of any plumbing repair I've done in the last five years that was meant to last another 5...

My brother is building a new house right now and he suffered extensive plumbing repairs in his last house. As I recall he replaced all his pipes with PEX(?) something about the water in CA . He is probably over spec'ing his new house plumbing, but that is how he rolls. But not in CA this time.

Plumbing cartridges and the like are no longer made with any sense of longevity in mind nor are electrical outlets/covers...I am replacing a wide spread faucet today, the parts are not cheap, but are made that way...

There seems to be some economic law that says "If its odd or random its at least double the cost"

There is a higher overhead cost to stocking and selling slow moving SKUs (like hot italian sausage here in nowhere MS).

The modern web sales algo's appear to use AI to extract higher prices when possible. I often see buying options for what looks like the exact same item priced several X higher. Walmart has what looks like the same sausage for $125

Advance Pierre Hot Italian Sausage Link, 19 Ounce - 12 per case​

but not to worry, shipping is free ..... Probably packed in dry ice.

$10 each? Did I mention I'm cheap. [edit- my meat grinder cost a lot less than that one package of sausage/edit]

JR

 

[iomegaman]

I think most real science guys ARE cheap...the most obvious first frontal question is almost always "How hard can it be?"

DIY is a drug, cheapness is often the delivery system.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I think most real science guys ARE cheap...the most obvious first frontal question is almost always "How hard can it be?"

I used to manage an engineering group at a sharp pencil, value electronic products manufacturer (Peavey). Cost is always a significant design factor as in how good can you make for how little cost. I felt right at home working at Peavey.

DIY is a drug, cheapness is often the delivery system.

I used to run a hifi audio kit business and the majority of my customers bought kits to save money. It wasn't until the 1970s or 1980s that machine assembly became cheaper than selling unassembled kits (in low sales volume).

JR

 

[iomegaman]

Another trend I noticed today when replacing somewhat standard plumbing parts is the tendency to make securing and fastener components sort of "non-standard" so that an additional expense in terms of TOOLS required to do the job comes into play...


Removing a standard brass faucet handle nut used to require a fairly standard crescent wrench that could open up to 1 1/2" throat...so lets make the nut 1 9/16" and make it fit into a space just barely with clearance and no room for tools...and once it has been calcified on by lime and other hard water by-products the homeowner can pull their hair out wondering why they didn't call a plumber.

But this is why God make grinders and cut off wheels...its just a pita that you literall have to remove the sink to replace faucet handles.

 

[JohnRoberts]

My house was built something like 70 years ago using budget fixtures etc. The shower/tub valve is sloppy. It works well enough for me to take showers but I asked my good old boy, local plumber to replace it well over a year ago. He already bought the replacement chunk to swap out the valve guts, but he didn't have the correct deep well (?) socket to unscrew it. Since then I have purchased two different sockets for him to try, the first generic one didn't fit, the second only a couple months ago may fit, but my plumber has not been around to try. For now the shower valve is functional so I have not yanked on his chain again. He takes good care of me, so I try not to be a huge pest. I don't know that plumbing fixture makers are overtly insidious, they probably just don't care.
===
Here's one for you. The sacrificial anode inside hot water heaters could pretty easily be made more easily replaceable. I gave up trying to unscrew the anode in my current heater since it was less than 1Y old. I can easily imagine other workable solutions, but the hot water heater makers want these to fail, only after the warranty is expired.

JR

 

[iomegaman]

I don't know that plumbing fixture makers are overtly insidious, they probably just don't care.
===
Here's one for you. The sacrificial anode inside hot water heaters could pretty easily be made more easily replaceable. I gave up trying to unscrew the anode in my current heater since it was less than 1Y old. I can easily imagine other workable solutions, but the hot water heater makers want these to fail, only after the warranty is expired.

JR

Yep...as far as design there's probably some lower tier first year design guy using autocad for the first time making nuts and parts...

I've always said that architects and designers should be required by law to experience their own design...sort of a capitalistic Hammurabi's law of skin in the game...

And yes as well on appliance makers designing post warranty failure components into the product...

If I am not mistaken there is some sort of rover on the moon that has tires that probably do not need to be aired up...granted its not roving around on broken glass, the point is we know how to build stuff that last, its just not economical to do it.