The under-sink photo shows how little room there is to work. The garbage disposal is on the left and the white canister on the right is a water filter. I used SharkBite Max fittings which do not require solder. My only worry was that the copper hot water supply line was pitted from the leak. SharkBite fittings need a smooth surface. I used a 3M stripping pad to clean the old pipe as best as I could. After that it was time to start cutting pipe. I used a Ridgid 40617 Model 101 close quarters tubing cutter to remove the old tee. The part that was soldered to the cold-water line was cut with a reciprocating saw. After deburring all of the cuts, the new SharkBite fittings were installed. I then installed clamps to give some support to the copper pipes. When I turned the water back on, I found only one leak where the dishwasher line connects to the shutoff valve. It just needed to be tightened a bit more. The pipe repair took about 4 hours.
Several weeks later, with the under-sink repairs completed, it was time to remove the old sink. I first disconnected the water lines to the faucet and then removed the garbage disposal. This gave me room to get at the 6 clamps that hold the sink in place. With the clamps removed I was able to lift the sink out. I then moved the faucet and the garbage disposal mounting hardware to the new sink. Everything was going well until I tried to remove the drain from the right side of the old sink. I tried using an adjustable plumber's wrench, but that didn't work. As a last resort I tried my 12" pipe wrench. That made the whole drain rotate, but the nut would not budge. I gave up and went to Lowes and bought a new drain assembly for $22.With both drains in place and the faucet mounted I was ready to install the new sink. The 2-inch deeper sink bowls made reinstalling the clamps a little difficult. I had to cut about an inch off the plastic drainpipe on the right side. The garbage disposal was heavy, but I managed to get it mounted. The drainpipe on the left side had just enough adjustment to line up with the garbage disposal. I then connected the water lines to the faucet. No leaks! The last step was to put silicone caulk around the outside of the sink. The removal and installation took about 8 hours. Total project cost was about $180. It doesn't look much different, but it is nice to get rid of the dull finish and the dent between the bowls.Dataman's - Technology Blog
Technology reviews, ideas for saving money, and insightful thoughts on modern society.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Kitchen Sink Project Finished
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Bird House Project
The entrance hole is 1-1/2" diameter, about the size for a wren, finch, or a swallow. I plan on mounting these guys to 4x4 posts in the shade near the garden. Although, they almost look too good to leave outside. Next time I would use a hand miter saw. I spent a lot of time sanding the ends of the trim pieces, so they fit together nicely. I would also make the whole thing out of 1/2" plywood. With the 3/4" thick boards, each house weighs 3 Lbs. - 2 Oz. It took a long time to build because I didn't like any of the designs for the ones I found on the Internet. I had to think about the size of each piece and then cut double the amount so that I could build two. Hopefully birds will appreciate the effort, and the new houses will draw more of them to the back yard.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Kitchen Sink Restoration
For as long as we have owned our home the kitchen sink has had a dent in the rib that separates the two bowels. An 18-gauge stainless-steel sink like the one pictured can cost as much as $280. I'm sure my old one was no more than 20-gauge.
I found a used one that was 2" deeper on Ebay and put it on my watch list. The seller who was located in Ironwood MI, sent me an offer of $40. Although the sink had no dents, it had a lot of scratches. I watched a few Youtube videos on how to restore an old stainless sink and it didn't seem too difficult. I didn't think I would find another one at that price, so I placed the order.
A few days later the sink arrived in good condition. I went to Lowes and got some 3M moderate (black) and final (green) stripping pads. With a bucket of water and some dishwashing soap I first started with a moderate pad and then switched to the final stripping pad.
The trick is to go in the direction of the factory brushed finish. It only took about an hour to get the result I was looking for. To finish it off, I applied a product called Stainless Steel Magic to get a nice even surface shine. You can still see a few scratches, but I think it looks fine the way it turned out.
The next step is to remove the old sink and install the new one. One of the copper pipes under the sink has a tiny leak that needs to be fixed. The leak is in a tee fitting on the hot water line. I could attempt to resolder the joint that's leaking, but I'm afraid that solder wouldn't draw into the old joint properly. I would also need to buy solder, flux, and propane. My other option is to replace the tee with a Sharkbite tee that has a valve on one side. The shutoff valve to the dishwasher needs to be replaced anyway. Sharkbite fittings cost more than traditional fittings, but you don't need to solder the joints. I will also need to replace the drain gaskets and make adjustments to the drain fittings for the new sink depth. I can't spend any more money this month, so the repairs and sink installation will have to wait. With many home repairs, the improvement you get is only marginal, which is why I'm in no hurry to finish.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
2024 Ebay Sales Summary
Friday, November 08, 2024
20 Xbox Controllers Sold on Ebay
The most common color I have sold is white (see image). While white and black are the most common colors, the more colorful special edition controllers sell faster and fetch a higher price. I have compiled the numbers to try and determine if fixing old controllers is a viable business model. If you exclude labor, you have the cost to acquire the controller, the parts to fix the controller, the cost to package/ship, and Ebay's transaction fees. Total gross sales (minus tax and Ebay fees) were, $565.88. That may look like a good number, but after subtracting initial cost and shipping, you end up with a $157.97.
That money then goes into buying replacement parts and more broken controllers. My average cost for a non-working controller was $14.21. That includes tax and shipping. The most I have paid for a non-working controller is $16.44. It is getting more difficult to find controllers for less than $16 unless you buy 3 or more at a time or find someone who wants to get rid of a broken one quickly. On auction sites, I find the same people bidding against me on every controller listing. We are just making each other's resale business less profitable by buying untested controllers for more than they are worth. I suspect the other bidders are relisting controllers on Ebay for parts or not working at a slightly higher price. The proof is that the average price of a broken controller on Ebay has increased dramatically in the last six months.
So, despite the satisfaction of getting a controller to work again, the reward just isn't enough to justify the time it takes to find fixable controllers at a reasonable price. There are also issues with older controllers that make them impossible to recalibrate. Microsoft recently gave the ability to recalibrate Model 1914 controllers but have only released firmware updates for older controllers to make them more tolerant to stick drift. Eventually, thumb sticks are going to wear out. High quality analog sticks are more expensive and only have a life cycle of 2 million cycles at best. With a popular fps game like Call of Duty a thumb stick can wear out in 3 or 4 months. It would seem like the ideal scenario for a controller repair shop, but people are trying to sell their broken controllers at a high price and pay as little as possible for ones that have been refurbished.
The other issue is that after a while you end up with a bunch of controllers that are unfixable because of circuit board issues. They either won't turn on or the buttons and triggers don't work. I currently have 5 controllers with various circuit board issues. Buying a used circuit board cost as much as buying an untested "for parts" controller. You need to have some spare parts, but over time you end up with a collection of controllers that have bad circuit boards. Every year more gamers upgrade to newer video game systems, which means that the market for older controllers will gradually diminish. Eventually the only people buying old controllers will be collectors who are trying to acquire every variation.