Restoring Grills and Teaching Kids a thing or two


 
Willard

Willard

TVWBB Fan
I’m using this hobby to teach my kids about restoring things and not throwing them away because they require fixing. I also use IKEA furniture to teach them about planning and solving problems. With grills, it’s like a game because they see that thing Dad picked up from someone’s trash that can be transformed into the thing that cooks their burgers.

The couple I’ve sold, I ask them to take the money and count it. I also give them part of the cash for their work.

There’s a lazy epidemic in the world where younger generations have no work ethic, no sense of value because everything is disposable. Growing up, we used things until they were worn out. We washed and reused paper towels (Bounty)

I’m sorry if this is not the place for this idea/rant.
 
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That is all good Willard. It makes me think I wish I had this hobby back when my kids were pre-teens.
 
I was really proud of my 26 year old son, when his 40" Samsung TV broke went on YouTube and looked up how to fix it. He ordered a soldering iron and some capacitors and the TV is still working 4 years later! He is also an ER doctor so I guess I am proud of that also;-)
 
I have always tried to teach my kids to fix/recycle before tossing anything into the garbage. I also explained to my kids that they have the best tool now available to do this-the internet.

It saddens me to see so much "broken" stuff go to a landfill.
 
Great idea - I'm going to see if my 17 year old will help me replace the burners on my Genesis. I wouldn't categorize him as "LAZY" but does spend way too much time gaming/snap chatting. Generally speaking, he likes to tinker with things but the allure and gravity of the screens is hard to break away from. Maybe he'll be interested in helping me tinker.... maybe I'll even ask him to take the lead.
 
I also want to thro in a friendly counter rant here - people for generations have been talking about "Kids these days" - we should not forget, that we are the leaders of "Kids these days" , just as our parents were, and their parents and so on. If kids these days are turning out lazy and no good, it's our fault as their leaders.

The biggest difference between NOW and when I was a kid is the smart phone and social media. It sounds simple, just don't let your kids have smart phones/video game access but once that more than half of the kids have them it becomes a social norm and kids that don't have them can't fit in at all. To me, this was a societal failure. As a society we "Know" how harmful social media can be to kids and there is really no way to stop it on a large scale. It's up to the individual families to manage it, which is OK I guess.

I really hope our government will start leaning in HARD on sources of misinformation and other harmful content on social media platforms and help families keep their kids safe. More than 80% of this burden will always be on the family, but I think a little help from Uncle Sam on this front is past due. For anyone that thinks posting harmful content on a social media platform is "Free Speech" please think about what Free Speech meant when the bill of rights was written over 200 years ago. It was meant to protect people with unpopular/contrary opinions from persecution by the government at a time when King George would toss someone in the tall tower for disliking the Duke's favorite color or choice of Rib Rub.....

Rant over, I feel better now ;)
 
John K, I’m with you 100%

I’d argue that our parents didn’t have to fight with social media, video games and smartphones at the SAME time. A whole new ballgame
 
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Yah, I pulled my generator out of storage today to give a yearly run and refresh the gas. Pulled the cord and nothing. No engine turning over and no rewind on the starter cord. My first though was, just get rid of it. It has been a PIA since I bought it used 6 or 7 years ago. The only way to get it started is to remove the spark plug, dump a touch of gas in the cylinder, replace the spark plug and then pull the cord. Just a big PIA every time to have to do that. Not sure why the choke doesn't do anything. Anyway, when the recoil starter failed, I was just ready to say the heck with it. It is a Boliy brand 3600 W inverter generator and I don't think they are even in business any longer. When it is running, it is great, but when you need a generator for an emergency, the last think you need is to have to jerk around with it to get it started. I relunctantly pulled it apart to get to the starter recoil and removed it. Sure enough, the tab holding the wind in the spring is broken. Easy enough to just put a new recoil starter assembly in and shouldn't be too expensive, but I can't really find any outfits that carry parts for them. So, it might wind up in the scrap heat anyway, but I am least trying.
 
Bruce said:
Yah, I pulled my generator out of storage today to give a yearly run and refresh the gas. Pulled the cord and nothing. No engine turning over and no rewind on the starter cord. My first though was, just get rid of it. It has been a PIA since I bought it used 6 or 7 years ago. The only way to get it started is to remove the spark plug, dump a touch of gas in the cylinder, replace the spark plug and then pull the cord. Just a big PIA every time to have to do that. Not sure why the choke doesn't do anything. Anyway, when the recoil starter failed, I was just ready to say the heck with it. It is a Boliy brand 3600 W inverter generator and I don't think they are even in business any longer. When it is running, it is great, but when you need a generator for an emergency, the last think you need is to have to jerk around with it to get it started. I relunctantly pulled it apart to get to the starter recoil and removed it. Sure enough, the tab holding the wind in the spring is broken. Easy enough to just put a new recoil starter assembly in and shouldn't be too expensive, but I can't really find any outfits that carry parts for them. So, it might wind up in the scrap heat anyway, but I am least trying.
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They are still in business
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Thanks Joe.

Hmmm, they used to be based in Minnesota, I believe. I will have to call them Monday. The owners manual and listed Hugo, MN as the address and when I checked the web site listed it was "Available"
 
If you're referring to the tab on the spring that hooks into a notch to hold it in place, I used a dremel cutoff wheel to cut a new tab on one of my mowers last year (if you can find the part that broke off as a template). Hardest part was getting the spring/ pull cord all back together.
 
This was just a plastic catch that the spring connects to on one end. It broke off and I really dont see any way to fab another piece. Really, after seeing it, it really makes me wonder how it held up this long.
 
My sons will eat my steaks and bbq, but they were older by the time I really got into the grill restoration hobby (and occasional loser business). My older son once helped with moving a bunch of my uncompleted projects from sitting outside in our side backyard to an old unusable house my organization let me stick them in. As we were moving them, my son said to my wife, "Why couldn't Dad just collect stamps?!!"
 
Jon Tofte said:
My sons will eat my steaks and bbq, but they were older by the time I really got into the grill restoration hobby (and occasional loser business). My older son once helped with moving a bunch of my uncompleted projects from sitting outside in our side backyard to an old unusable house my organization let me stick them in. As we were moving them, my son said to my wife, "Why couldn't Dad just collect stamps?!!"
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That's a good one. You know as far as kids go, or even my wife for that matter, I'm the only one in the house that knows how to operate the grill, the lawnmower, and the snowblower. I like it that way because really, I don't want anyone touching my stuff! I do encourage free use of my tools to fix anything else in the house that may break.
 
Just make sure she knows how to access you bank accounts, investment accounts, pay the bills, and knows about the insurance. If you ever wind up in the hospital or coma (like I did) or die, you family needs to be able to take care of sh**t. It took months before I was able to even remember the password to get into my laptop at the time as it was encrypted.
 
Joe Anshien said:
Just make sure she knows how to access you bank accounts, investment accounts, pay the bills, and knows about the insurance. If you ever wind up in the hospital or coma (like I did) or die, you family needs to be able to take care of sh**t. It took months before I was able to even remember the password to get into my laptop at the time as it was encrypted.
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Joe, you're absolutely right and believe me, I would be more screwed if something happened to my wife than the other way around.
 
Bruce said:
I agree Steve. My wife doesn't touch the grills, mower, snowblower or my truck. I have had the truck for over 8 years and she has yet to sit in the drivers seat.
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It's funny how that stuff works out. Don't get me wrong, if someone wanted to cut the grass I certainly wouldn't stop them.
 
Willard said:
I’m using this hobby to teach my kids about restoring things and not throwing them away because they require fixing. I also use IKEA furniture to teach them about planning and solving problems. With grills, it’s like a game because they see that thing Dad picked up from someone’s trash that can be transformed into the thing that cooks their burgers.

The couple I’ve sold, I ask them to take the money and count it. I also give them part of the cash for their work.

There’s a lazy epidemic in the world where younger generations have no work ethic, no sense of value because everything is disposable. Growing up, we used things until they were worn out. We washed and reused paper towels (Bounty)

I’m sorry if this is not the place for this idea/rant.
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Very good approach...except the IKEA furniture will be landfill fodder in a few years and isn't the best example of quality and sustainability. I know a bit about the IKEA stuff.
 
Jay D, I prefer to buy solid furniture, preferably used. IKEA is trash but for some things and for a couple of years (kids bedrooms) it does the job.

Things these days are just NOT built to last because companies play on the whole renew and redecorate every few years. Don’t get me started on cars.

I used to work for a fancy bank in the 90s and during one of their office moves, kept some solid wood bookcases they were getting rid of. For 25 years, I have bought and disposed many IKEA pieces only to have to trash them. The solid ones are still there.
 
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