Whats the best thing you ever saved or got from the dump / rubbish ?

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#1877156 4-Oct-2017 12:02

Senecio:

When my wife and I moved into our first home together I picked up an old 2 stroke lawn mover from the side of the road that someone had left for council collection. A new spark plug, a new air filter and a spit and polish it started first pull with fresh fuel mix in it. It lasted for 10yrs without a further penny spent on it and survived not one but two floods. It might not have as fancy as the neighbour's fancy 4-stroke Honda but it did the job and cost me nothing.

A Masport 2-stroke with aluminium body? Those things last for *ever*.

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#1877172 4-Oct-2017 12:32

Senecio:

When my wife and I moved into our first home together I picked up an old 2 stroke lawn mover from the side of the road that someone had left for council collection. A new spark plug, a new air filter and a spit and polish it started first pull with fresh fuel mix in it. It lasted for 10yrs without a further penny spent on it and survived not one but two floods. It might not have as fancy as the neighbour's fancy 4-stroke Honda but it did the job and cost me nothing.

You sure the owner hadn't just nipped away for a minute to empty the catcher?

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

kryptonjohn

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#1877179 4-Oct-2017 12:43

floydbloke:

Senecio:

When my wife and I moved into our first home together I picked up an old 2 stroke lawn mover from the side of the road that someone had left for council collection. A new spark plug, a new air filter and a spit and polish it started first pull with fresh fuel mix in it. It lasted for 10yrs without a further penny spent on it and survived not one but two floods. It might not have as fancy as the neighbour's fancy 4-stroke Honda but it did the job and cost me nothing.

You sure the owner hadn't just nipped away for a minute to empty the catcher?

Nor noticed that the exhaust was still hot? :-D

Senecio

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#1877228 4-Oct-2017 13:40

kryptonjohn:

A Masport 2-stroke with aluminium body? Those things last for *ever*.

A Victa, steel body.

Senecio

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#1877229 4-Oct-2017 13:44

floydbloke:

You sure the owner hadn't just nipped away for a minute to empty the catcher?

Definitely not. This was back in Oz where the council would organise roadside collections twice a year. The mower was next to a rusted out Westinghouse fridge freezer and a heavily soiled lounge suite. Even knocked in and asked the owner could I take it.

Would have been a far more interesting story however had it been running!

Senecio

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#1877231 4-Oct-2017 13:51

I just remembered this one.

When my Grandmother passed away I took possession of her 1929 Singer sewing machine. It was one of the early electrified knee operated machines, much like this one. She had bought it new in Edinburgh and brought it to Oz when she emigrated in the 70's so it had a bit of sentimental value.

https://goo.gl/DzT6gu

The electrics were long gone, totally melted. I managed to find a near similar one in an Op-Shop for $20 so I swapped all the electrics over and got my Grandmothers working. I sold the Op-Shop one on Ebay as an ornament and my Grandmothers machine is still going strong today.

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#1877235 4-Oct-2017 14:02

floydbloke:

Senecio:

When my wife and I moved into our first home together I picked up an old 2 stroke lawn mover from the side of the road that someone had left for council collection. A new spark plug, a new air filter and a spit and polish it started first pull with fresh fuel mix in it. It lasted for 10yrs without a further penny spent on it and survived not one but two floods. It might not have as fancy as the neighbour's fancy 4-stroke Honda but it did the job and cost me nothing.

You sure the owner hadn't just nipped away for a minute to empty the catcher?

I had a friend that was doing some gardening out the front of her house and had a wheelbarrow that she was putting garden rubbish into. It was the time of the yearly inorganic collection and she was called inside by her husband for afternoon tea and left the wheelbarrow at the front of the house. Returning 10 minutes later she found the wheelbarrow gone, along with some of her real rubbish that she had left for the collection. Running down the road she managed to catch up with the people that had taken it and of course they had thought she was throwing it out so thought they'd help themselves.

msukiwi

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#1877237 4-Oct-2017 14:11

Local small town dump grew the best pumpkins. We used to "claim" them by scratching our name on the shell when they were big enough to do it.

Never had one of mine taken by someone else.

kryptonjohn

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#1877246 4-Oct-2017 14:24

MurrayM:

floydbloke:

Senecio:

When my wife and I moved into our first home together I picked up an old 2 stroke lawn mover from the side of the road that someone had left for council collection. A new spark plug, a new air filter and a spit and polish it started first pull with fresh fuel mix in it. It lasted for 10yrs without a further penny spent on it and survived not one but two floods. It might not have as fancy as the neighbour's fancy 4-stroke Honda but it did the job and cost me nothing.

You sure the owner hadn't just nipped away for a minute to empty the catcher?

I had a friend that was doing some gardening out the front of her house and had a wheelbarrow that she was putting garden rubbish into. It was the time of the yearly inorganic collection and she was called inside by her husband for afternoon tea and left the wheelbarrow at the front of the house. Returning 10 minutes later she found the wheelbarrow gone, along with some of her real rubbish that she had left for the collection. Running down the road she managed to catch up with the people that had taken it and of course they had thought she was throwing it out so thought they'd help themselves.

I put down a new driveway at our old house, and put my foldable workbench/clamp/vice thingamy at the footpath so nobody would drive on it. Naturally some bugger pinched it.

It would always amaze me how cr*ap put out on the kerb would soon disappear. Someone's muck is someone's brass!

SepticSceptic

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#1877300 4-Oct-2017 15:21

Inphinity:

... people really go digging through rubbish dumps ?

No so much digging thru, but a quick perusal ..

My dad, back in the 70's, and being a carpenter/builder, used to reclaim lumber, taps, etc, from the Takapuna rubbish dump. It wasn't frowned on back in those days, and probably even encouraged.

He's drop a trailer load of his junk off, and come back with nearly the same amount ...

The Takapuna rubbish dump is now the playing fields by Fred Thomas Drive

Lizard1977

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#1877305 4-Oct-2017 15:31

SepticSceptic:

Inphinity:

... people really go digging through rubbish dumps ?

No so much digging thru, but a quick perusal ..

My dad, back in the 70's, and being a carpenter/builder, used to reclaim lumber, taps, etc, from the Takapuna rubbish dump. It wasn't frowned on back in those days, and probably even encouraged.

He's drop a trailer load of his junk off, and come back with nearly the same amount ...

The Takapuna rubbish dump is now the playing fields by Fred Thomas Drive

Haha! I went to school round the back of those "playing fields" in the 80s/90s. Always amazed me that not long previously it had been a tip.

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MurrayM

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#1877344 4-Oct-2017 15:49

SepticSceptic:

The Takapuna rubbish dump is now the playing fields by Fred Thomas Drive

I remember going there with my father to drop of trail loads of stuff. I loved looking around at all the neat things people would throw out.

reven

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#1877346 4-Oct-2017 15:49

the one and only thing i kinda saved from a dump was a spade left next door when some people we evicted. it was rusty and crappy and I just wrapped duct tape around it. Still have it today in the shed. Not like i do much digging...

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#1877417 4-Oct-2017 19:13

About 5 years ago I came back from ‘Waiuku recycling depo’ with a brand new (if lightly dusty) Bullin laptop backpack. It immediately became my daily ‘work laptop’ bag, and to this day (on its third laptop) it’s still the one thing I use almost every day that I truely appreciate the origin and cost of ☺️

Fred99

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#1877533 4-Oct-2017 23:00

Rescued a Technics turntable which has a Dynavector MC cartridge alone worth > $1k from a house that was going to be demolished post Chch quake. Legitimately acquired, the demo guy had salvage rights, asked him if it was okay as he was about to drive a digger at the house, he said go for it - so I did.

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