cms
Well-Known Member
WARNING: This is a rant.
So I'm a pretty handy guy. I am good with my hands. Do some woodworking. Was a pretty good machinist in a previous life. Was also a mechanic for a while.
When it comes to homebrewing, I am gung-ho about making the things I need to save some dough. I figure I can make many of the things I need:
1. For quite a bit less money
2. Exactly how I want it
3. Of comparable or higher quality that similar items I can purchase
So I live in a po-dunk(ish) town. But I have easy access to Home Depot, Lowes, Ace and Radio Shack.
Issue #1
When I built my stir plate, I happened to have nearly everything I needed - the enclosure, fan, magnets, on/off switch, power supply. The only thing I needed was a rheostat (potentiometer) for speed control. So I go to Radio Shack. It's a small one, but this is the only thing that Radio Shack is good for, right? They have one tiny isle for electronics components and the rest of the store is for cell phones, remote control cars and other toys and stuff. No potentiometer. I asked an employee for help and had no clue what a pot or rheostat even were! He suggested that I go to Target. Gah!
Issue #2
I am going to build an immersion chiller. So I go to HD. The closest place that should have everything I need. I make my way to the plumbing section, find a roll of 3/8 soft copper and park myself in front of the fittings. I'm not seeing any 1/4 elbows or m/f hose adapters so I look for someone to help. After hunting someone down (HD employees flee like mice when they see someone who looks like they may need something) I ask and she says that they don't sell copper. Huh? They do - see? It's right there! She says "Oh. You should ask Buck about it, then. He's real good with that stuff." Okay. Who the crap is Buck?!? She's already trying to get away and I push back and she leads me to a guy a couple isles over. She generously repeats my question to Buck who answers without ever looking in my general direction that they don't sell 1/4" copper. I start to ask if he has any other suggestions (stepping to a different size, even - I'm all ears) and he says no. Suggests that I hire someone because plumbers can get the parts.
So now I'm off to Lowes! I get there, find the roll and - holy cow! They have 1/4" elbows! But only 3 of them. So I decide that I'm not in the market to use a 1/2" coil so I can get 3/8" elbows. So I grab the elbows, the copper roll, bushings and couplers to step up enough so I can attach the M and F hose ends. Check out. $95 bucks. $95 for the parts to make a modest, 20' 1/2" immersion chiller. I'm not saving anything! I can buy a prefabbed one for that and it will be good quality.
Issue #3
MLT. So I got a suitable cooler, already had a stainless braided hose left over from a bathroom remodel I did a few years back. Just need a 1/2 stainless ball valve, barb to MIP fittings, etc. Just for the barbed fitting for the output. That one piece is listed for 6 bucks in the store (but 2.61 online). I just left at that point, knowing that I'm going to spend an hour digging though their stuff to find the bits I need (which are in the wrong place half the time) and end up with another $60 purchase for something that should be 20 according to everyone else online who seems to be able to make these things for less than just buying them.
I am cheap. I know I am. But what the hell is going on?!? Do I live in the twilight zone or something? Some alternate world where plumbing supplies are worth their weight in gold?
Argh!!!
So I'm a pretty handy guy. I am good with my hands. Do some woodworking. Was a pretty good machinist in a previous life. Was also a mechanic for a while.
When it comes to homebrewing, I am gung-ho about making the things I need to save some dough. I figure I can make many of the things I need:
1. For quite a bit less money
2. Exactly how I want it
3. Of comparable or higher quality that similar items I can purchase
So I live in a po-dunk(ish) town. But I have easy access to Home Depot, Lowes, Ace and Radio Shack.
Issue #1
When I built my stir plate, I happened to have nearly everything I needed - the enclosure, fan, magnets, on/off switch, power supply. The only thing I needed was a rheostat (potentiometer) for speed control. So I go to Radio Shack. It's a small one, but this is the only thing that Radio Shack is good for, right? They have one tiny isle for electronics components and the rest of the store is for cell phones, remote control cars and other toys and stuff. No potentiometer. I asked an employee for help and had no clue what a pot or rheostat even were! He suggested that I go to Target. Gah!
Issue #2
I am going to build an immersion chiller. So I go to HD. The closest place that should have everything I need. I make my way to the plumbing section, find a roll of 3/8 soft copper and park myself in front of the fittings. I'm not seeing any 1/4 elbows or m/f hose adapters so I look for someone to help. After hunting someone down (HD employees flee like mice when they see someone who looks like they may need something) I ask and she says that they don't sell copper. Huh? They do - see? It's right there! She says "Oh. You should ask Buck about it, then. He's real good with that stuff." Okay. Who the crap is Buck?!? She's already trying to get away and I push back and she leads me to a guy a couple isles over. She generously repeats my question to Buck who answers without ever looking in my general direction that they don't sell 1/4" copper. I start to ask if he has any other suggestions (stepping to a different size, even - I'm all ears) and he says no. Suggests that I hire someone because plumbers can get the parts.
So now I'm off to Lowes! I get there, find the roll and - holy cow! They have 1/4" elbows! But only 3 of them. So I decide that I'm not in the market to use a 1/2" coil so I can get 3/8" elbows. So I grab the elbows, the copper roll, bushings and couplers to step up enough so I can attach the M and F hose ends. Check out. $95 bucks. $95 for the parts to make a modest, 20' 1/2" immersion chiller. I'm not saving anything! I can buy a prefabbed one for that and it will be good quality.
Issue #3
MLT. So I got a suitable cooler, already had a stainless braided hose left over from a bathroom remodel I did a few years back. Just need a 1/2 stainless ball valve, barb to MIP fittings, etc. Just for the barbed fitting for the output. That one piece is listed for 6 bucks in the store (but 2.61 online). I just left at that point, knowing that I'm going to spend an hour digging though their stuff to find the bits I need (which are in the wrong place half the time) and end up with another $60 purchase for something that should be 20 according to everyone else online who seems to be able to make these things for less than just buying them.
I am cheap. I know I am. But what the hell is going on?!? Do I live in the twilight zone or something? Some alternate world where plumbing supplies are worth their weight in gold?
Argh!!!