Mine does too, often changes were to we’re!
I’ve tried to give one of those spare donut tires away, left at the curb with “free” sign, nobody would take it. Took a few months, but eventually got rid of it when metal recycler guy came through the neighborhood.
I knew people who did this with the old style bulbs when the spirally looking CFLs came out. They put out a terrible light and had to warm up for a bit before reaching full brightness. That made sense but now LEDs have all the answers unless you need HEAT to be generated by the bulb as well. When I bought my place, the well house was heated with a light bulb. After it burned out and it froze up, luckily causing no apparent damage when I thawed it, I bought a heater and thermostat just for that purpose.
As for the tire and wheel, I mainly thought a new tire might be able to be mounted in it that would be more of a regular road tire. Apparently this is not the case or it would cost more than it is worth so the whole thing is getting junked. I simply didn’t know if it had any value. Apparently it has about 10 cents worth of scrap metal which is great as I just want it gone at this point.
Donate them to charity or throw them in the trash! I would NEVER try selling old 40 watt incandescent bulbs online. You would get nothing but scammers and nuts! As for the tire, I definitely think getting 10 cents scrap value and the thing out of my hair is a good deal. I will take my drill and put a few holes through the sidewalls to prevent use of an obviously unsafe tire.
As for LEDs, I have only seen a few fail. I do think they might be a little more susceptible to power surges, etc. or maybe some of the earlier ones had bugs needing to be worked out. I can get these things so incredibly cheap now that I don’t care.
I have mostly replaced my fluorescents with LED but have a few in fixtures that don’t get used all that much. For the most part, it is cheaper for me to buy a shop light with LEDs already installed. Back when I was replacing a lot of the ballasts, I did the math. It was cheaper to just replace the ballast and be done with it. The individual bulbs were more than the entire fixture. These came from Sams Club and have been serving me well. If one breaks, I will take down the entire fixture and replace it. So far that hasn’t happened. I thought one was going bad once but the cord wasn’t plugged into the fixture all the way. That was an easy fix.
One of the reasons I haven’t gotten rid of all the fluorescents just yet is the recycling. My city takes them but it is a pain to take them in. You are supposed to have an appointment in like a 5 minute window on a certain day of the week. I did a major changeout and had like 25-30 bulbs lined up in a box. I made the appt for those. As one or two fail, I take them in right then or the next time I take other household trash in for recycling. The grumble when I walk in with a couple but agree to take them when I say I cannot live my life around recycling and if it is so hard and need an appointment, please point me to your dumpster and I will get rid of them there. At this time they agree to take 1-2. They go in an area where ones from the city buildings are placed for recycling.
I think I have a 4 pack of old 60w bulbs for some reason. Maybe they were for the well house. Since it is only 4 and not a closet I will hang onto them for now.
The trick to use here is to put a $10 sign on it. Then someone will “steal” it and you will have succeeded in getting rid of it.
I know someone who had their house remodeled. I guess there were several pretty decent windows and doors. The contractor said maybe someone would want them vs. trashing so the woman put them out at the curb with a free sign. No one took them for weeks. Finally someone told her to put a “$100 for all” sign out there and they were gone within days.
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I have used a few of those drop in LED tubes that work with or without the ballast. I don’t know if there is any reason it is bad to leave the ballast connected such as reduced efficiency or reliability issues but I haven’t had any problems doing that. Someone gave me a couple when they were moving so I at least changed out those bulbs in some where the bulbs were starting to wear out. You could see the darkening near the ends and they were hard to start so figured those were the best to replace. The old ones went to the recycling center of course.
My grandpa was bad about keeping stuff of no use so I try to move crap like this old tire along. While we are talking about light bulbs, we found boxes and boxes of bulbs while moving him. Quite a few of them were used burned out bulbs. This made replacing bad bulbs very frustrating because you never knew if it was a fixture or circuit problem or just a bad bulb. Any that rattled went straight into the trash but some were not so obviously bad. We finally just tested them all in a good lamp fixture so the house had lights when sold. We kept a few good ones and left them with the house but most went into the trash.
Yeah I forgot I replaced all my shop lights with leds too. About 15 of them with garage, shop, and basement storage area. I got the super garage lights from rocker. I had a few go out in the first year or so but have been fine since. About $30 each but great light and I think Menards has them now for around $20. Screw right in where th old bulb was. I still have four of the old flood fixtures in the garage that I’m not sure what I will do yet. I liked them for painting where I could get good light on the side of the car. So I think I’m between $1000 and $2000 for total led investment but worth it.
The price of LEDs has really dropped. I see no reason to not use them besides they seem to be a little more sensitive to power surges and all. They last longer, start fine when cold, and use less energy.
Hopefully one day this is how we will look at electric cars but I still think they have a ways to go.
I agree, but the guy whom I know is still–somehow–convinced that he has a bonanza in the waiting, and that once other folks eventually decide to adhere to his Luddite philosophy, he will reap huge benefits.
Meantime, he is “saving money” by washing his dishes in cold water, only to have to call in a plumber a few times per year to clear the fat-clogs from his drains. He also “saves money” by buying old shoes at the Thrift Store, only to have to pay for Podiatrist visits a few times each year, in an effort to rein-in the raging foot fungus infections that he contracts from wearing the shoes of people who died many months ago.
I have tried reasoning with him, but I finally gave up because he is convinced–beyond all reason–that he is “saving money” as a result of his habits.
And, to keep this on an automotive level, this same guy has not changed his oil for the past 5 years because “I only do local driving”. 
I have tried to convince him that he consistently shoots himself in the foot with his “money saving” strategies, but I have now given-up on trying to save him from himself,
My dish washer started leaking around the door. Replaced the gaskets and a month later started leaking again so had the guy make a site visit. I wanted him just to replace parts but concluded I was using too much soap. Cost me $109 to lower my soap usage. He was a very nice guy though.
I call that mentality “saving yourself poor”. In my business I deal with folks who have an old computer that is “paid for”. Well they end up paying more to keep it running with all the time and hard to find parts. These things are not designed with a long life in mind. You get 3-5 years and replace them if anything major fails. After 8 years or so you start to deal with support issues, operating system upgrades not being compatible, etc. There are those tinkerers who use Linux and can go a while longer but most of my customers are not tech savvy so this is a bad idea for them. Of course there are ways to shoe horn “unsupported” operating systems such as Windows 10 and Windows 11 onto older hardware but your mileage may vary and I only suggest this if you really know what you are doing.
That is funny you mention the cold water. I do not like hot water and used to keep my water heater turned down to the lowest setting, Basically I could turn on the hot water and just hop in the shower and not get hurt with just a tad of cold in the mix for the ideal temp. One day I needed to clean something and wanted hotter water so turned the heater up. It is one of those tankless on demand ones so just a digital setting you turn up or down. Anyway, I used to have to plunge my sink every couple months if I didn’t dump those drain cleaner enzymes down the drain once a month or so. I can totally tell the hotter water is helping the drain stay open better so am just sticking with the hotter water. I do still use the enzyme drain cleaner every so often when I am gone a day or two so it can just sit in there and work its magic.
Thrift stores can be a great deal or a real ripoff. Tools there often cost more than just buying them on sale at a parts store. I once saw a set of jack stands right when I needed some and it seemed high. Yep, I went to Autozone and I got a better set on sale for less money. Shoes are one thing I would never buy used. When my shoes are done, they go in the trash where they belong. I am not easy on them so they are either completely broken down and/or falling apart when I retire them. Think of this tire I was talking about. They have no value.
During the pandemic, I had a hard time buying shoes. They just weren’t available for a while. Mainly this was an outdoor water shoe I like but they are cheaply made and not intended for a long life. I ended up patching a pair up for a while with Shoe Goo and that kept them going for a while. After I got another couple pairs, I just ran the patched ones until they started to come apart again and in the trash they went. I think the glue I used more than the shoes!
As for not changing the oil. His used cars need to come with a warning label. The last person I know who did this ended up burning a valve when a lifter plugged with sludge and no longer allowed the valve to close. It looked like a little mouse had taken a bite out of the exhaust valve.
I own one of the Mitsubishi Mirages which is a cheap car as they go these days… Of course on the forums there are stories. Some of the mechanics who work on these at dealers see people who can barely afford a car bring them in with blown up engines. They never change the oil and typically get about 60,000 miles before they blow up. Usually the timing chain stretches/the tensioner fails at this mileage with no oil changes. The chain jumps time and valve/valve/piston interference occurs in this DOHC 3 cylinder. I have to say I am impressed an engine can even run 60,000 miles without an oil change! Again, this is saving yourself poor… Cheaper cars always seem to have these types of stories. People treat them as disposables.
You are being logical–unlike my old acquaintance.
And, just to keep this on an automotive topic, I advised that same guy to proactively replace his 7 year old battery. He does only short-distance, local driving, and the battery’s age told me that he was looking at probable failure in the near future.
I wanted to save him the extra expense if the battery failed in an inconvenient time/location, and because he suffers from Agoraphobia, and goes into a panic attack if he is away from home for more than an hour or so, I also wanted to try to prevent that mental anguish for him.
But, he told me to mind my own business about his battery (as well as his 5-year old motor oil), and–you guessed it–his battery crapped-out in a deserted area, and he had to pay for a tow to a gas station that royally ripped him off on the price of a new battery.
What he does is to consistently shoot himself in the foot, but I have given-up on trying to give him advice that would actually save him money in the long run.
Well, I have another dingbat money saving idea that someone just shared. I used to own a couple Geo Metros and am still on the forums. Of course some people with these cars are cheap. One guy is wanting to burn a 55 gallon drum of mixed waste oil, ATF, and whatever by mixing it with his gas. He thinks that by using a small amount each time he fills up, he can somehow save money on gas and get rid of the oil.
I know that waste oil has value for recycling or for people to burn in waste oil furnaces designed for this purpose. I know some people with older Mercedes or GM Diesels will dump any old automotive fluid through a filter and right into their tanks but this is not a compression ignition engine. Also, the additives would likely form deposits, foul sensors, etc. This isn’t two cycle oil after all. One thing about the Geo Metro is that the valves are known for burning. Often this happens once the engines start burning oil from deposits as well as hotter burn temps. I would assume that timing might need to be adjusted. People are telling him it might be better to use a gallon or two of E85 in the tank to reduce the burn temp, keep things clean, etc. but I think this option is to sell the used oil or find a way to burn it in a furnace to save money.
And here is your “saving yourself poor” money advice for the day!
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Here is one from 1961!
“Always have at least one Fiat”?
Sure, in the hope that one of them functions while the other one is in the shop!
If you could get the tire off the rim you could turn it into a tire swing, let the kids/grandkids have something to play around with
I do lots of river kayaking and try to pickup trash. Tires better suited to a swing are not hard for me to come by. This thing is going to the scrap yard with my next load in a week or two.
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If you are going to make a tire swing, drill holes in the bottom to drain the rain water. Perfect places for those pesky Minnesota birds to hatch. Back to cars. Don’t wast to be accused of spreading dangerous misinformation.
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Do folks still use old tires for swings? I had a tire-swing as a kid. But modern tires’ beads are very sharp. Sitting on one seems like it would be pretty uncomfortable.
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We used to use tire tubes for swimming, can’t tell you how many times I got poked by the fill valve.
Would take a bit more work, but removing the beads by shaving the rubber should take care of that