This started some time back - beep from my home inverter. Initially the beep used to come after an hour or so once the electricity had gone. Slowly, the time it could withstand the "powerless" situation started decreasing and the beep interval started increasing. Last week, it was just a long beep with no back up power.
Yes. I got excited. Time had arrived to carry out my experiments. Preliminary investigation revealed that the battery would have died. I knew for sure, what my battery Babu ( his name is babu, so do not get confused with other types of babus you know of, though he is not much different from them !) would tell. "A few cells are dead"! Unlike our human body which can survive death of millions of cells, poor battery can not make it like that.
While I bought a new battery and was about to fix it to the inverter, I decided to lay my hands on the inverter as well. Why not ? Dismantled the power plug, tightened all connections. Once assembled it back I found a a screw and two washers lying extra, as usual. Preserved them for future use ! All set and connected to the power - bhoom - I heard a noise and the inverted just died. No beep, no light, no life !
I might have to take the inverter to the service engineer to get it rectified, As I was negotiating that vis-a-vis my own "do it yourself" stuff, my hand accidentally touched a knob behind the inverter. I just tried to rotate it and it worked. I found a small fuse inside and noticed that it was charred beyond recognition. Bought another fuse from near-by shop and yes all was well, Inverter was up an running. I patted myself at my back for this incredible work that saved me a lot of money. Had I taken it to the service engineer, he might have kept the inverter with him for five days, and would have charged me 500 rupees for a 10 rupee fuse.
The other day I found a gentleman on the road struggling to replace the punctured tyre in his car. I was excited again ! Opportunity to dirty my hands !! This time I hadn't to worry about any screw-up, it was his car after all. Moreover, putting a jack and fixing wheel are screw-up job any ways !! He had successfully lifted the car with the jack but was toiling to unscrew those nuts. He did not read in the manual that he has to loosen the nuts by one or two turns before the wheel is lifted from the ground, else the the whole wheel will rotate along with the nut with no grip. Who reads manuals including me ! My past experience and expert advice by another passerby had made me aware of that fact. I helped him to get it fixed. He saved some time and money by not calling an expert.
I am sure a few of you would be thinking that I am trying to portrait myself as a big hero. Don't think like that, even I don't do !
There is always a 20-20 chance of me being successful. 20% times I get it right, 20% of times I fail and I go to the service engineer to get it fixed. Rest of the 60% I will end up in buying a new piece as the old one would have become beyond repair even by the best expert - thanks to my handiwork !
Whenever some thing becomes half functional, the moment I stare at it, my wife will say "why don't you call the service engineer and get it fixed" She is well aware of the fact that there is every chance that I will try to fix it my self followed by trauma for a few days !
There are many things I have junked like that in the past. There are many live examples at home too, it's better not to mention about those.
All I can say is that it all depends on one's interest. Curious to know what has gone wrong and get a thrill while fixing it by self. But then you need to have stomach to digest the risks and expenses associated with it. The other option is to depend solely on the service guys. Then you need to have a lion's heart to absorb what they say and believe that those people have not taken you for a ride.
While you people ponder on whether you should have an efficient, digestive stomach or have a big lion's heart - let me conclude this discussion with a prayer - "may all your equipment live long and they do not break down in the near future. Best of luck !
Yes. I got excited. Time had arrived to carry out my experiments. Preliminary investigation revealed that the battery would have died. I knew for sure, what my battery Babu ( his name is babu, so do not get confused with other types of babus you know of, though he is not much different from them !) would tell. "A few cells are dead"! Unlike our human body which can survive death of millions of cells, poor battery can not make it like that.
While I bought a new battery and was about to fix it to the inverter, I decided to lay my hands on the inverter as well. Why not ? Dismantled the power plug, tightened all connections. Once assembled it back I found a a screw and two washers lying extra, as usual. Preserved them for future use ! All set and connected to the power - bhoom - I heard a noise and the inverted just died. No beep, no light, no life !
I might have to take the inverter to the service engineer to get it rectified, As I was negotiating that vis-a-vis my own "do it yourself" stuff, my hand accidentally touched a knob behind the inverter. I just tried to rotate it and it worked. I found a small fuse inside and noticed that it was charred beyond recognition. Bought another fuse from near-by shop and yes all was well, Inverter was up an running. I patted myself at my back for this incredible work that saved me a lot of money. Had I taken it to the service engineer, he might have kept the inverter with him for five days, and would have charged me 500 rupees for a 10 rupee fuse.
The other day I found a gentleman on the road struggling to replace the punctured tyre in his car. I was excited again ! Opportunity to dirty my hands !! This time I hadn't to worry about any screw-up, it was his car after all. Moreover, putting a jack and fixing wheel are screw-up job any ways !! He had successfully lifted the car with the jack but was toiling to unscrew those nuts. He did not read in the manual that he has to loosen the nuts by one or two turns before the wheel is lifted from the ground, else the the whole wheel will rotate along with the nut with no grip. Who reads manuals including me ! My past experience and expert advice by another passerby had made me aware of that fact. I helped him to get it fixed. He saved some time and money by not calling an expert.
I am sure a few of you would be thinking that I am trying to portrait myself as a big hero. Don't think like that, even I don't do !
There is always a 20-20 chance of me being successful. 20% times I get it right, 20% of times I fail and I go to the service engineer to get it fixed. Rest of the 60% I will end up in buying a new piece as the old one would have become beyond repair even by the best expert - thanks to my handiwork !
Whenever some thing becomes half functional, the moment I stare at it, my wife will say "why don't you call the service engineer and get it fixed" She is well aware of the fact that there is every chance that I will try to fix it my self followed by trauma for a few days !
There are many things I have junked like that in the past. There are many live examples at home too, it's better not to mention about those.
All I can say is that it all depends on one's interest. Curious to know what has gone wrong and get a thrill while fixing it by self. But then you need to have stomach to digest the risks and expenses associated with it. The other option is to depend solely on the service guys. Then you need to have a lion's heart to absorb what they say and believe that those people have not taken you for a ride.
While you people ponder on whether you should have an efficient, digestive stomach or have a big lion's heart - let me conclude this discussion with a prayer - "may all your equipment live long and they do not break down in the near future. Best of luck !
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