We should just stop buying new products.

[BigBlue1]

Things become 'throw away and re-buy' when the cost of parts and labor increases to the point where it approaches or overtakes the cost of new. This is really a function of the fact that a lot of things, especially electronics, have come down in cost significantly. I've been into personal computers since the early days of Atari/Commodore/Apple ones were released. Some of the computers which were only average in capability used to cost $3000+ back in the late 80's and 90's. In today's dollars that would be close to $6000. If I want to go buy an average desktop today I can probably get one for under $500. Back then repairing was more feasible because labor costs were much less. Today, the costs for both parts and labor that go into repairs end up with costs much closer to the overall cost of new. And the push for higher minimum wages (along with increasing costs of everything due to more regulation, more insurance, higher litigation costs and lower costs of imported goods in relation) will keep that trend going. This kind of expands on what RandyT touched on above.

I'm totally for reusing and fixing things whenever possible. Just pointing out some of the 'why' we face.

 

[JasperFrank]

"Sometimes if you get a cheap printer on sale the ink cartridges cost as much or more than the printer." Yes, this verges on criminal behavior from many printer companies. I found a way out though, even after they put "termination" chips in the printer Cartridges, and refilling was no longer working. I buy old stock Original Carts, for about $3 each for the three HP printers we have. Peel off the clear head and contact strip, then set them print head up right, add two drops of print head cleaner solvent on the print head and let them sit for 24 hours. So far this works 90% of the time for the 5610, the 1350 and the 1210 HPs. The last two take the same 57 Color and 56 Black Carts, the stupid 5610 takes only the 22 Color Cart. but it does take the 56 Black Cart. Turn off any sort of HP update and just use the original drivers.

 

[kenmbz]

I bought a brother printer with ink tank and that is lasting me really well.
Had epson - high ink usage and awful drivers.
Had Canon-head failure every two years, high ink usage
HP - worst software on inkjets and most expensive for me to run, and the print heads broke every two years.
I buy mid line printers , never bottom of the line. and HP,Canon,Epson were all total junk

 

[JasperFrank]

Brothers are the Best! In the recycling and refurbishing field, I can say they don't mess around like the others. Finding one that isn't entirely worn out, usually the drum is worn out in the laser family, is the problem, cause people get to use them well in to the many thousands of jobs before they quit. Most of our printing is B/W. And these are work horses.

 

[Hay Dude]

Well as far as tractors go, everyone here should be able to buy older tractors and fix them up. There so many available and they’re simpler. We have some resources (each other) to help fix them, too. I helped a guy do a front seal.
I hate seeing what the new tractors cost and warranties arent much better, if at all despite vastly greater complexity. Shop rates are approaching $150/hr.
I agree hard times are coming for this overinflated stock market and easy money.
Hopefully it won’t be ‘79-‘81 again.

 

[kenmac]

Looked for a circuit board to repair a friend's range. The part is discontinued and can't be found.
Told him he could send it off for repair for $250.00
He declined saying it's 20 yrs old..I put 250 now, and next another 250 for something else, and so on. I'll just go buy a new range

 

[sandytrail]

I called the Ford dealer in San Antonio to ask when I could bring my F250 in for an electrical issue. The lady asked what year the truck was. I told her its a 2003. She said, "We don't work on anything more than 10 years old." That tells you where ford and probably all the auto dealers are headed. They don't want you to fix that old car. You know the rest of the story.

 

[Goose1776]

I agree hard times are coming for this overinflated stock market and easy money.
Hopefully it won’t be ‘79-‘81 again.

Fairly certain. It’s going to end up much worse, and for a broader swath of people.

 

[Reddogs]

Reddogs. You can put a light Linux distro on computers going back to Intel 386 era machines. As stand alone devices they work just fine. Occasionally, I can bank serious coin fixing industrial processing machines, cause the new computers don't have the old ports and can't read the old media. If I was to give a suggestion to young people, as to a career path, I would say, learn all you can about Late 90's and early 2000's computers and the industrial machines they can run. The computer is nothing compaired to the 1/2 million dollar machine it controls. You can name your price, and get to travel all over the world on their dime.

Oh, the horror...I lay awake at night with the memories of the coding we had to do with UNIX...

 

[piper184]

Having been in the IT business for most of my adult life I understand re-furbing PC's and re-using as much as possible because I am cheap. I also understand that you can't afford to pay someone else to do it if they are charging a reasonable rate because it is time consuming. Dumping a linux distro on old hardware is certainly doable but not for the "average user" who can't run email software without help. The other problem is old hardware isn't supported in newer OS's. Anyone seen a driver for a SCSI board from 1993?

As for planned obsolescence, I remember my Dad using that phrase more than 60 years ago...

I just bought a 50 year old South Bend lathe and am teaching myself how to use it, just to make parts that can't be bought so I can avoid buying new, as espoused in the opening post of this thread. Take that, big throw away company!

 

[kyryder]

I've been involved with what has been called the reuse movement most of my life. I have personally refurbished well over 40 thousand home computers that got a second, and third life, cause they could be updated, or at least vectored to people that didn't need what these old state of art machines could do. But there is a war going on, that the Corps don't want you to buy anything other than what is new. And they don't care. Some one has told the Corp they make more money doing it this way, with planned out and intentional obsolescence. We have to fight this, cause having worked on the "recycling" side, there is no plan for it. We use to be able to fix things and had an entire economy for fixing things, which is being lost. It can be recovered, the special tooling shops can be refreshed, if we reject this Corp plan, that all is disposable.

You use old worn crap, we'll make our own purchasing decisions.

 

[DutchInNZ]

Since 1964, when I got my diver's license, I just bought once a really new car, a very fast one for the German Autobahn. For the rest I got second-, third- or fourth-hand ones. Cars are for going from A to B and losing 1/4 of their initial value in just one year is insane. In retrospect, having one that could do 175mph and then, when possible, doing that triples the insanity.

 

[DutchInNZ]

You use old worn crap, we'll make our own purchasing decisions.

It seems that money comes too easily for you but that appreciation of other people and polite manners are in short supply. How far are you removed from reality?

 

[Waterhead1234]

You use old worn crap, we'll make our own purchasing decisions.

Please do, and take care of it. In ten years I may buy it from you for pennies on the dollar.

 

[Trippy1313]

Just another observation, this seems to be a problem with electronics and appliances. Tractors, cars, and trucks seem to get repaired and not thrown out as easily.

Not with cars and trucks. That's the industry I'm in. We are totaling more and more cars because either software won't allow repair shops to calibrate or reset computers, or manufacturers won't sell small parts without buying more expensive large parts to include with them.

Radars for example. If a bracket for a radar is bent, you have to buy the $1300 radar with the bracket attatched. But then you have to have the dealer calibrate the new radar....

So why not sell the bracket for $100 and still recalibrate the old, perfectly good radar???

That do that with all sorts of sensors on cars now.

But again, to your point, electronics are often involved in that.

 

[CADplans]

FIX?? that is a joke,,
My '99 Silverado is almost perfect, 3/4 ton 4WD,, snowplow package,, almost no rust,,
I could not sell it for what a paintjob would cost. It is scrap, putting $$$ in it is like tossing the money out the window.

So, I have been enjoying a new one for a few years,, another snowplow prep truck.
I do not plow, I just like the added features.

If I do not buy the truck,, less people will have jobs.
and,, what are you going to do for me?? Come to my funeral, and shovel my un-spent money into the grave??

 

[jyoutz]

"Sometimes if you get a cheap printer on sale the ink cartridges cost as much or more than the printer." Yes, this verges on criminal behavior from many printer companies. I found a way out though, even after they put "termination" chips in the printer Cartridges, and refilling was no longer working. I buy old stock Original Carts, for about $3 each for the three HP printers we have. Peel off the clear head and contact strip, then set them print head up right, add two drops of print head cleaner solvent on the print head and let them sit for 24 hours. So far this works 90% of the time for the 5610, the 1350 and the 1210 HPs. The last two take the same 57 Color and 56 Black Carts, the stupid 5610 takes only the 22 Color Cart. but it does take the 56 Black Cart. Turn off any sort of HP update and just use the original drivers.

I signed up for HP instant ink. For 3.99 per month they monitor the ink levels in my printer and send me new cartridges before the others are empty. Not bad for the price. You can go online to HP instant ink and sign up.

 

[Jstpssng]

I signed up for HP instant ink. For 3.99 per month they monitor the ink levels in my printer and send me new cartridges before the others are empty. Not bad for the price. You can go online to HP instant ink and sign up.

I need ink now, and they are trying to get me to sign up for that service. I just can't bring myself to pay for the "privelege" of them telling me when I need ink. Results may vary, I can see where it would be handy for a small business which uses their printer constantly.

 

[rScotty]

Repairability of different things varies too much for me. It just doesn't apply equally to computers and tractors.

I know people who wouldn't sew a button back on a shirt, and buy nothing but new cars - who then go out and buy a used house!! What???
Those folks are about to learn repairability big time. And I bet they will love it.

Luckily for us we have this tractor forum, and there are still a lot of decent used tractors out there at prices anyone can afford. And then repaired as needed for a
fraction of the work that it would take to earn enough $$ to buy a new one.

Plus they were designed to last and be rebuilt.

I grant you it may seem strange to be mowing the pasture with an old 1955 JD "B". But replace the Ag tires with some fat turf tires , and it will even be easy on the lawn.

rScotty

 

[Jstpssng]

View attachment 732407

But replace the Ag tires with some fat turf tires , and it will even be easy on the lawn.

It wasn't uncommon years ago to see an 8N with turfs, pulling a set of gang mowers for estate lawns.