@gerrymcgovern Just don't buy new stuff.

Forget about all the repurposing and handing-it-on bullshit. _You_ are still complicit in trashing the "planet".

Certainly and under no circumstances buy replacement cos the older is just ... not the must-have any more.

My fav lifestyle line was "Got a new car coming tomo, the ashtray on this one is full".

Repair if it's easy - broken plastic or cable etc. Go out of your way and pay to get skilled repairs on tricky stuff.

@wavesculptor @gerrymcgovern

I try to live this way, but especially the last part - finding skilled persons for tricky stuff - get`s harder year over year. I upskilled myself for many things, but there are some things I do not want to touch.

Actual example: I have a solar-heated garden shower. Through winter it developed a thin crack (yes, my fault) and is leaking. This needs welding. I do not weld, and I do not want to. But no professional comes for such a small task...

@gmoretti @wavesculptor @gerrymcgovern

The material of those solar showers is usually alloy or steel - paited black to heat faster. So I fear soldering is not enough. I also cannot reach into it from inside, otherwise I would have tried to seal it from the inside.

Right now all I can do is ask friends, if they know someone who knows someone etc... because welding is a skill, I am not confortable learning from DIY-videos...

@RomanVilgut @gmoretti @gerrymcgovern

stuff such as you describe is the fabric of my daily life.

Often it's fix A in order to fix B in order to ... C...Z.

Your example: plate it with similar material - use magnet / surface scrape to determine material; thoroughly abrade and clean and clamp with self-tappers and silicone. The silicone seals but has no strength, needs compression and strength of the hardware which will not seal on its own.

Done well, expect 2-5 years before something else fails.

@wavesculptor @gmoretti @gerrymcgovern

I yet have to determin if it`s steel or alloy - but since the crack is in a corner, I do not think, that plating can be a solution. Since the crack is in a deepening, I did think of filling it with epoxy, but I am not sure, if this will hold...