Things that make you go Hmmm....

Willhound

Just have to share this to show that stupidity has no bounds. I work in a small building supply and hardware store and a customer approached me today to cut him two feet of 3/8" soft copper tubing from a roll. When I asked if he was sure on the size (cut items can't be returned) he said "Yep, that will work for my battery cable". Thinking he meant to thread cable through it to protect it I pointed out that it was a little thin. "No, it's the right size to flatten the ends, bolt on a battery terminal and connect the batteries in my boat. It's only 99 cents a foot and the crooks at the marina supply want $3 a foot for cable".
I almost had a stroke...

aero3113

  

Handymans342

Tell him it would it would last longer if he coated it with battery water. 

randy56

I thought we only had hillbillies like that in the state’s, great fire hazard 

LaRea

So, did you sell it to him?

Willhound

Had no choice. Tried my best to dissuade him, but in the end it's not my job to enforce common sense. We see it all the time, people trying to band aid things instead of doing it properly. Don't like to stereotype but we've had a big influx of new residents from former eastern European countries. Some are the nicest most polite people I've met. Others, like this guy, are rude, arrogant, and never want to fix things properly or think the world is just out to rip them off. There's been many many times where someone asks for advice but then argues that they don't want to do it that way because they believe I'm just trying to sell more product. If they don't want to follow the advice I usually just walk away or tell them, sorry, I'm not qualified to advise on that, call a plumber, electrician, etc.
I've seen garden hoses bought for household plumbing, wires and switches but no boxes to put them in, decks built without proper support, you name it. Bugs the crap out of me but after 10 years in the business I've learned to just shrug my shoulders and walk away for my own sanity. As the Blue Collar boys say " You can't fix stupid."

rasbury

And I try to over think/ do everything and still fall short sometimes...

LaRea

When the boat burns down the marina, send us the link to the video. 

reneechris14

Always remember people that make us look really smart

Willhound

LaRea said:

When the boat burns down the marina, send us the link to the video. 

Not my marina thankfully. Doubt it's even in a marina nearby. I'm in the least expensive marina around and it would be too expensive for this schmuck. 

Black_Diamond

Was a short vid. My slipmate’s power cord. Tight and sliding up and down the piling with the waves. Brilliant. 

cmelt2003

Black_Diamond said:

Was a short vid. My slipmate’s power cord. Tight and sliding up and down the piling with the waves. Brilliant. 

Well, let hope it doesn’t burn this marina down...

TonyG13

Black_Diamond said:

Was a short vid. My slipmate’s power cord. Tight and sliding up and down the piling with the waves. Brilliant. 

Maybe he's doing stress testing for UL certification.

Dream_Inn

It is really amazing how dumb some people can really be. Common sense is just out the door! 

randy56

I have some rental units, evicted one, this is what I found yesterday. They lived there 8 months.  May patient the idea. The shower head was laying in the tub. Hummmmmmm. 
 

rasbury

Figure that one out!

212rowboat

some years back i walked into a lowes home improvement to gather some items for my off the wall notions... i was approached by a salesperson inquiring as they are trained "what ya doing let me help you" and i think to myself "jeez, one of these guys"- so I tell him "i'm good, but thanks"... it works with 99% of the wonks, but this guy was persistent.  

he finally says after some volleying back and forth "look, if you just tell me what you're doing I may be able to help you out, or... may not- what's the harm?".... i took the bait and figured I'll be getting rid of this fella quick like.... 

"I'm plumbing in an 80 gallon auxiliary fuel cell in the bed of my truck with an additional airdog150 filter/pump for transferring precisely 1/4 tank of fuel, or 6 gallons, based on a timer switch which is controlled through an OE rocker switch and which will have a buzzer and an LED light, along with a digital fuel gauge i'll be able to see in my rear view mirror to monitor the fuel in the aux tank and determine how much was transferred mathematically by deducting the prior level to the level after completion of that particular timed function- however, i also need to plumb in two 12vdc normally closed solenoid valves on either side of the pump which will ensure no leakage- these have already been wired and have three legs- one is the transfer function which engages the timer board, the light, buzzer, and digital fuel gauge as well as both the solenoid valves, another function to allow one solenoid valve, no lights/gauge/buzzer and use a return line to the aux tank so i can 'polish' the fuel while i'm underway, and yet another leg that will be used in the rare event i actually want to transfer fuel to another vehicle or piece of equipment. I have all the wiring and electrical concerns covered, i'm just here for the fittings- which need to be NOT brass, but not polyethylene or whatever that translucent crap is either that can't endure temperature differential i'll be expecting from northern to southern climates.  in addition to this, i have installed a eberspacher and i want it to drink from the aux tank as opposed to the main tank so i don't come out one cold morning and find the furnace drank all my fuel intended to get me to a diesel pumping station- it is regulated by a temperature switch and a thermostatic bypass which will run through two fluid to fluid coolers i'm using instead as heaters in cold environments, one fluid to fluid which will run engine coolant/antifreeze in the 'cooling' lanes which is heated by the eberspacher and will keep my engine warm no matter how cold it gets and i will use to push diesel through using the airdog150 on the second 'polishing' leg and returning to the aux tank, and then the second fluid to fluid cooler for the same purpose, but for engine oil.... my only concern is proper fittings and then how to NOT rely on thermal transfer between the main tank and aux tank for the warmed (read:no gelling) diesel"... 

I SPIT that at him.  I figured he'd say "good luck dude" and 180* out of there.... he didn't... instead, he asked an incredibly insightful question that stumped me butt cold.  he was actually listening and actually followed what i'd incredulously dumped on him... 

we ended up talking for about half an hour... as he turned to leave i told him "you better be looking for another job, man"... he twisted back and asked why... i told him, and i meant it, "you're too knowledgeable and personable for Lowes Home Improvement, which means you're gonna either get bored, or, somebody above you is going to be intimidated by you and sack you for some BS".  

this Lowe's is half a mile away from my home.  I go there all the time during different times and i've never seen him again.  

i ain't the smartest person even on my street by a far stretch, but i ain't the dumbest either.  i reckon it's the same with folks working retail, too.  i also reckon i was clever enough to be right about that fella's fortune, too. 

boatman37

Back in the early 90's I was big into drag racing. I was at a swap meet and had a set of 454 12.5:1 pistons for sale. A guy pulls up in his van and asked how much for the pistons and said they were the same ones he had in his RV. I told him that I really didn't think he had 12.5:1's in his RV. Well he said 'obviously you don't know who I am'. Being a cocky early 20-something I said 'no, why don't you tell me'. So he tells me he is an engineer and was working for GM. They were developing a variable timing engine using valve overlap to bleed off compression and they had a junkyard 1978 Camaro with a 350 that was running at something like 25:1 A/F ratio. He said GM cut the funding so the team continued on their own but received death threats. He assumed they were from OPEC/petroleum related companies. Well they continued until they ran out of money.

Cool story if it was true. Who knows. I never got his name and being the early 90's there was no way for me to look him up

212rowboat

boatman37 said:

Back in the early 90's I was big into drag racing. I was at a swap meet and had a set of 454 12.5:1 pistons for sale. A guy pulls up in his van and asked how much for the pistons and said they were the same ones he had in his RV. I told him that I really didn't think he had 12.5:1's in his RV. Well he said 'obviously you don't know who I am'. Being a cocky early 20-something I said 'no, why don't you tell me'. So he tells me he is an engineer and was working for GM. They were developing a variable timing engine using valve overlap to bleed off compression and they had a junkyard 1978 Camaro with a 350 that was running at something like 25:1 A/F ratio. He said GM cut the funding so the team continued on their own but received death threats. He assumed they were from OPEC/petroleum related companies. Well they continued until they ran out of money.

Cool story if it was true. Who knows. I never got his name and being the early 90's there was no way for me to look him up

Ferrari had the most badarse variable valve system in concept i've come across... there was an article about it in a tech magazine i read once, and never saw or heard of it again. 

it was based on a single cam pushrod design.  the cam bearing had a tiny motor adapted to it.  the lobes of the cam were a compound angle which when slid backward engaged prior non-operational valves which activated not only entire 'dormant' cylinders, but additional valves as well- making the 16valve 8cylinder engine as much as a 32v, but with variable stages in between... coupled with fuel management and spark, and with the addition of boost in the form of a turbo, the engine went from a docile grocery getter to a vicious road track engine... or, flip a literal switch and it was a straight line drag engine... they were working on making it 'on demand' and which consisted of scripting for it's ECM and would eliminate the need for settings.  the economy was absurd and the power remarkable depending on how you were using it.  

never heard another things about it.  

rasbury

Say what dude?🤔

Handymans342

I had 12.5 :1 Jahns pistons in my 350 Chevelle. Was a beast but couldnt get high enough octane gas. 

rasbury

I'm, is that 7.50 per gallon @Alswagg?

boatman37

Yep. I ran 110 in my Chevelle. There is a local cruise hangout that was about 7 or 8 miles from my house. Cost me about $20 in gas to go down and back and it was about $4 or $5 per gallon back then. My son raced karts and we ran the 110 in those ad it was $8 per gallon at the track back around 2010ish.

My Chevelle was 12.5:1 and I ran straight 110 in it. My '57 was 10.7:1. I ran a 50/50 mix in it.

cmelt2003

What is the point of using 110?

Handymans342

Its for race engines. 

cmelt2003

Handymans342 said:

Its for race engines. 

Right, but only 10 gallons? Seemed like it was being used for something else.

Ian

Until those ships got hit this morning they were saying summer gas prices should be down. But the headline was oil up from that so be prepared to get screwed again...

Black_Diamond

Those high a/f ratio claims always interest me. I had an internal engines engineering class and part of it was working through the chemistry of the combustion cycle. Gasoline, alcohol, etc when you do the chemistry these only work in certain ratios to get the energy release from combustion. 

As for OPEC threatening over this: even with significant mpg improvements, the growing number of vehicles out runs it. Interesting fact: #1 user of diesel fuel in the world...the US Navy.