Cheap junk, who else searches?

jeff kushner

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You know who you are, the one roaming the DEAL aisle in Aldi's......come on girls, I was married for 25 years......I know. Not just the girls either though....plenty of us guys too!

Well, I like finding quality items, on the cheap.

Like the solar operated pond pumps for 9 bucks....that lasts more than 1 year.

The solar deck lights for cheap



I'm a plumber by trade and I've been a chief estimator for decades and I like really nice plumbing fixtures and because of what I do for a living, they are free for the asking. I've had $3,600 tub faucets, 1500 kitchen faucets....most of it is crap that discolors after a year or few. Even the better manufacturers; Groe, Kohler no real difference, a couple years then they start going downhill. That tub faucet was a Kohler Waterfall in polished brass that tarnished through the covercoat in only two years.....3600 list and only 2 years? LOL

So armed with the knowledge that most high-end stuff is only expensive, not high-end and pretty for a only a year or so I have learned to shop differently.

I bought a New single handle faucet for $42 bucks 2 years ago......7" rise, ceramic seats, smoothest faucet I've ever owned & deep flawless chrome.........that rivals the Kohler $400-$600 faucets in EVERY respect. I tried to pull up a pic but can you imagine how many hits I get on my desktop for "faucet"? LOL

Here is my latest, a $28 shower complete with pressure balanced valve, cartridge replacement, minimalist style to match the other trim in that bathroom; full sized metal escutcheon, full sized heavy metal handle.....these can be a problem with things from China. Sometimes they are plastic or really small but these are okay. The head is non-adjustable but for 28 bucks delivered, I can't be choosy! LOL

We'll do the install and see how it works.....





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ZEROPILOT

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Oh, yes.
But my Aldis is AMAZON.
And those solar pond aerators last for 3 years with a quick shot of clear lacquer on the solar panels to keep them from getting all foggy from the sun. And I make waterproof boxes for the "waterproof" pump motors.
I've found hundreds of things there.
 

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wellington

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Wow, I'd say you have something in your water to make your faucets go bad after only a couple years. I don't buy cheap stuff when it comes to faucets, toilets, etc. Usually Kohler and have purchased many. 3 flat and now my single home. I never had to replace faucets, sinks, toilets, etc, until I changed my mind and wanted a different kind.
Wayfair and Amazon are my Aldis or any on line place I can find that sells what I want for less then I can find locally.
Our Aldis does have some good buys on stuff here and there but its usually stuff i don't need.
 

Maro2Bear

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We get lots of good “deals” at our local Lidl store - especially high-end stainless steel gardening tools. A few years back they had wonderful full size garden shovels & pitchforks. Beautiful SS and solid hardwood handles. I often use & they still look brand new.

Craigs List too. Picked up a cute right from West Germany Cuckoo clock for free. Works perfectly & sings on the half & top of the hour.

Free wood & mulch is good too.

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jeff kushner

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My $28 Shower valve installed literally in under 15 minutes. I used a razor-pipe cutter to cut the 2 cpvc lines feeding the valve and used a set of imps to cut the copper riser to the shower head, swapped over the stubby pieces with the male adapters on them & 3- 1/2" Sharkbite couplings and BAM, done in 15 minutes!

Of course I grabbed my tools and realized that I had left all my quick-connect fittings at Kerrys..............so that 15 doesn't include the trip to Ace, or laying out, measuring and cutting out the new access door either.........or installing the door after the work was done..........

So, 2.5 hours later....LOL! Ta Da


28 buck shower valve looks great, smooth as silk so far!


shower.jpg
 

jeff kushner

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In Jamaica there is just no good cheap stuff.🙁
The problem in Jamaica as I saw it is that folks there use things until they are used up all the way, not just a little so the "used stuff" market is mostly junk. Not meant to be offensive of course, just the way it is. It's that way in most other countries.......folks get max value with what they have and make do with what they have.

Does eBay deliver there, and will you get it? I never sold much there so I don't know how the post office is there. Some are really bad. Most sellers, won't sell to Italy for that reason. If it's safe for you, you can get a lot of deals on ebay but it's a time investment. A lot of times, folks don't know what they have.

My shower was a ebay special........


Spiders? The tanks were a steal but spiders? In your home? Really BD? And big Z cooking for his puppy.... Hmmm, and they always told me that I was "strange"..........wish "they" were still around, so I could introduce "them" to a real strange crowd!! LOL
 

Cathie G

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Wow, I'd say you have something in your water to make your faucets go bad after only a couple years. I don't buy cheap stuff when it comes to faucets, toilets, etc. Usually Kohler and have purchased many. 3 flat and now my single home. I never had to replace faucets, sinks, toilets, etc, until I changed my mind and wanted a different kind.
Wayfair and Amazon are my Aldis or any on line place I can find that sells what I want for less then I can find locally.
Our Aldis does have some good buys on stuff here and there but its usually stuff i don't need.
Lucky you. Here whatever you buy is going to deteriorate in a short time because of the water. I won't use our city water in my humidifiers or for drinking. For cooking I use filtered with a pure faucet filter. I was told by a plumber that they went cheap on the water treatments to save money here in our city. I believe him because the water didn't used to be this horrible. It was really good and made great coffee.
 

wellington

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Lucky you. Here whatever you buy is going to deteriorate in a short time because of the water. I won't use our city water in my humidifiers or for drinking. For cooking I use filtered with a pure faucet filter. I was told by a plumber that they went cheap on the water treatments to save money here in our city. I believe him because the water didn't used to be this horrible. It was really good and made great coffee.
The city of Chicago has some of the best city water. I would hate to have to have water brought in. My friend in AZ won't/can't use their water either for drinking/cooking. I would imagine bad water isn't going to be good for pipes and faucets either. That's too bad they thought the right place to compromise was in the water.
 

Cathie G

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However, also tomorrow is the start of prime day on Amazon 😁 I believe. There's nothing like a good sale 🤗 they used to put out good paper coupons that they printed. Now it's all digital which should be cheaper. Whatever 😛 it's not.
 

Blackdog1714

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I heart geckos makes enclosure conversions for fish tanks. They have a scratch and dent clearance for $75 you get 4 panels to do a horizontal conversion. They are regularly $30 a piece so blemish saves me over $45 because shipping is free!
 

Cathie G

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Once upon a time around my 55th birthday I got a golden buckeye card in the mail 😛 that states congratulations you're elderly now you deserve 10% off 🙃 I was thinking ok I'm elderly and who's trying to rub it in but I couldn't get mad 🤣 and I didn't apply for it... but they were giving me money for nothing so how could I argue 😛
 

Maggie3fan

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My $28 Shower valve installed literally in under 15 minutes. I used a razor-pipe cutter to cut the 2 cpvc lines feeding the valve and used a set of imps to cut the copper riser to the shower head, swapped over the stubby pieces with the male adapters on them & 3- 1/2" Sharkbite couplings and BAM, done in 15 minutes!

Of course I grabbed my tools and realized that I had left all my quick-connect fittings at Kerrys..............so that 15 doesn't include the trip to Ace, or laying out, measuring and cutting out the new access door either.........or installing the door after the work was done..........

So, 2.5 hours later....LOL! Ta Da


28 buck shower valve looks great, smooth as silk so far!


View attachment 347112
I'm lookingm forward to see Matilda taking her first shower in it...lol
The city of Chicago has some of the best city water. I would hate to have to have water brought in. My friend in AZ won't/can't use their water either for drinking/cooking. I would imagine bad water isn't going to be good for pipes and faucets either. That's too bad they thought the right place to compromise was in the water.
right here in Oregon where the trees keep our air clean...I have to buy bottled water for me and my animals...our water tastes so bad it is undrinkable and it has stained both of my toilets, my dishwasher and clothes washer, my birds and I drink the bottled stuff and my torts drink from the faucet, cuz after all they eat their own poop and dead stuff....lol
 

wellington

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I'm lookingm forward to see Matilda taking her first shower in it...lol

right here in Oregon where the trees keep our air clean...I have to buy bottled water for me and my animals...our water tastes so bad it is undrinkable and it has stained both of my toilets, my dishwasher and clothes washer, my birds and I drink the bottled stuff and my torts drink from the faucet, cuz after all they eat their own poop and dead stuff....lol
Oh wow that's awful. Can only imagine what it would do to ones insides, yikes!
 

jeff kushner

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LOL.....no, my little friends can't come into the shower with me or by herself! Perusing; Never really thought of it but man, you're right, she'd love sitting in the shower...maybe fire up the steam generator and let some steam in.....nice and think with humidity. "It's not a shower Kerry, it's a Turtle rehabilitation unit".....yeah, not sure that one is going to get off the ground much less fly with her......

Being plugged into the Water Quality world, I can attest to Chicago having good water, for now......did I scare you? LOL, I'm just teasing. I don't know of anything any upcoming crisis worse than anywhere else I suppose.

Here we use R.O. (Reverse osmosis) systems to provide clear, perfect water for drinking and cooking. Most systems aren't capable of doing the whole house but 35-50gal a day is plenty for most things. Mine is 50gpd.....cost $144bucks on FLEABAY of course! The filters come in standard sizes so all you are really buying is a housing, and they toss in the 1st set of filters& membrane, sometimes the second too!....no sense in spending real money for that.

Mags, do you have the Sulphur smell(Hydrogen sulfide gas I think) along with the iron? We do but I always attributed it to being so close to the Chesapeake bay. It's awful hard to drink a snoot full of stinky water though. Kerry used to pay to fill her bottles at her townhouse but we installed a RO system the day she moved in her present home. The bottles are a lot of work!
 

Cathie G

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LOL.....no, my little friends can't come into the shower with me or by herself! Perusing; Never really thought of it but man, you're right, she'd love sitting in the shower...maybe fire up the steam generator and let some steam in.....nice and think with humidity. "It's not a shower Kerry, it's a Turtle rehabilitation unit".....yeah, not sure that one is going to get off the ground much less fly with her......

Being plugged into the Water Quality world, I can attest to Chicago having good water, for now......did I scare you? LOL, I'm just teasing. I don't know of anything any upcoming crisis worse than anywhere else I suppose.

Here we use R.O. (Reverse osmosis) systems to provide clear, perfect water for drinking and cooking. Most systems aren't capable of doing the whole house but 35-50gal a day is plenty for most things. Mine is 50gpd.....cost $144bucks on FLEABAY of course! The filters come in standard sizes so all you are really buying is a housing, and they toss in the 1st set of filters& membrane, sometimes the second too!....no sense in spending real money for that.

Mags, do you have the Sulphur smell(Hydrogen sulfide gas I think) along with the iron? We do but I always attributed it to being so close to the Chesapeake bay. It's awful hard to drink a snoot full of stinky water though. Kerry used to pay to fill her bottles at her townhouse but we installed a RO system the day she moved in her present home. The bottles are a lot of work!
I can drink bottled spring or as you said it, water purified by reverse osmosis. Ozonation purification makes me even sicker than our city water. It took me years to finally find out why. Ozonated water makes allergies worse. Like I didn't already know. I just finally got to read it from an allergist. In the meantime I sounded like I was crazy when I said I can only drink spring or water purified by reverse osmosis.😊
 

TammyJ

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However, also tomorrow is the start of prime day on Amazon 😁 I believe. There's nothing like a good sale 🤗 they used to put out good paper coupons that they printed. Now it's all digital which should be cheaper. Whatever 😛 it's not.
I am picking up a book tomorrow that I got from Amazon that Tom told me about and I am so Excited.
 
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