A Laundry List of Projects - 11-8-10
We have started our search for necessary equipment we will need in our bus conversion, (and although we are quite thrifty in our hunt) we are seeing that even the little stuff is going to add up quick! We have made some good finds though. One of our current projects is a washer dryer combo we picked up at an estate auction for a steal! Although this is not for everyone (as we both have mechanical employment backgrounds) you stand to save a substantial amount of cash if your willing to take a gamble and get your hands a bit dirty!
Splendide makes washer and dryer combo units that wash and dry all in the same unit. These can be a great asset for those looking to "full-time" it as we are, but also come at a substantial price tag. We happened to run across an older model at a local estate auction this fall. The unit was not tested before auction but appeared in good condition, but as I mentioned earlier it was a gamble. Our WINNING bid took her home for about $45.00!! A quick look on eBay showed these machine selling in the neighborhood of $600 - $1500, so we could definitely get our original investment back out of it. Upon running a test in the garage we found a few things wrong with her. A large water leak from the lint trap (probably was not properly winterized), and a dryer fan that was seized.
Some parts are still available at retail, but as i see some of the components used in this machine are pretty common pieces used in lots of other various appliances. The style of motor for the dryer in this unit is a low power AC induction type motor (meaning it does not have brushes or a commutator.) So finding a part to repair this may be a little trickier than just buying a complete unit, we might run across suitable replacement parts from some other appliance at a cost 20 bucks at a garage sale as opposed to $150 for a complete new unit? It depends though, the time line in which I need this part is not as much of a priority as if i were using it every day. And the water leak was easily fixed with a little bit of plastic welding and some $3 epoxy from a hardware store. Total investment into this machine might be around $200 by the time its fully operational, but in comparison of what they sell for new or even a good working used unit the research, labor and parts we will invest in this unit will be priceless when it comes time to put her to use. The savings here we can put toward some nice flooring or some other project that I'm sure we will find along the way.
