kristinkle
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Post by kristinkle on Dec 13, 2016 13:15:44 GMT -5
perhaps not "homemade" but we roll our own cigarettes. We went from spending about $720 month (at $8.00/pack and they are a little higher now) to a little less than $100/mth. Huge savings.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Dec 13, 2016 13:58:43 GMT -5
Amazing - when I was in college, cigs were 19 cents per pack (a 10 pack carton was $1.90). That's about a factor of 40 - when the Govt decides to punish us for out-of-favor behaviors they go after it in a powerful way.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Dec 13, 2016 14:18:44 GMT -5
I don't make anything. It is all I can do to sew up the holes in my cat's toys (he obviously thinks he is a dog).
I do enjoy baking from scratch in the winter (too hot here in the summer). I don't like cooking though. I eat lunches out a lot and I don't eat much for dinner, usually just some cheese and fruit or something light.
I am impressed by those that make their own cleaning supplies. I buy cleaning supplies and toiletries in bulk.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Dec 13, 2016 14:32:07 GMT -5
But remember - the hospital's goal is to safely remove/neutralize blood, med spills, bodily fluids (from patients w/ viral issues), sores, skin conditions, yada. And your goal is get your 'whites' whiter than new - ie, the products that meet those two very different goals may be very different. Can't speak for any other poster, but getting whites whiter than new isn't on my radar screen at all. None of us tend to wear much white clothing - white isn't a great color on us plus it's hard to keep clean and we're more practical than fashionable. We have white towels and white socks, but that's about it. And since I use laundry water for greywater to water parts of the lawn, bleach is a no-go. I've long ago made peace with the idea that our few "whites" will only be whitish, but clean. Instead, I triage our laundry mostly by level of stink. The really stinky (and stained) stuff gets washed in Persil - CR's top stain removing detergent. The nonskinky, nonstained stuff gets washed in Oasis Biodegradable detergent which does a fine job for most things and is not toxic to the plants. Prior to this thread I also used to do some of the laundry in the hippie laundry "soap", but after seeing what came out of the clean laundry when I stripped it of soap, I'm not using that any more. Where do you buy the Persil and Oasis Biodegradable detergents?
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Dec 13, 2016 14:40:39 GMT -5
Really none of these things are meant to save money, just more personal preference. We can homemade tomato puree(with stalks of basil and hot peppers) like the family did in Italy. It's something that has been passed down and we're all used to using it for sauce and other things. We usually do it every other year. The whole family gets together and cans a few hundred quarts. We also do cold pack tomatoes. I also can strawberry, blueberry and raspberry jams. Can applesauce using the apples from our trees and can cherries from our trees. I compost just because we're used to it. Why throw things in a bag to go to the when I have enough land to just drop it in a compost pile. I keep a bucket on the deck and when it's full take it for a walk out back. DH has been brewing his own beer that he kegs for the last 30 years. He does grain brewing also. We cut and split wood for heat. Use a wood burning stove. Why burn propane when we can just burn wood? DH doesn't mind the work it takes. In winter I put my clothes drying racks around the stove. We also use the top of the stove to heat water and food. I look at it as just capturing the energy. We don't clean out all the vegetable plants from the garden. Often the next year we get "volunteers".
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Dec 13, 2016 14:47:35 GMT -5
My interest in this topic is only slightly about the money savings, and more about using up what I already have around the house I think the same way. I almost never follow a recipe to the letter. I just substitute what I have on hand. I like to use up things that are perishable so will base what I cook on what I have.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Dec 13, 2016 15:25:42 GMT -5
My interest in this topic is only slightly about the money savings, and more about using up what I already have around the house I think the same way. I almost never follow a recipe to the letter. I just substitute what I have on hand.I like to use up things that are perishable so will base what I cook on what I have. If I tried this the food would be completely uneatable .
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milee
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Post by milee on Dec 13, 2016 15:26:43 GMT -5
Can't speak for any other poster, but getting whites whiter than new isn't on my radar screen at all. None of us tend to wear much white clothing - white isn't a great color on us plus it's hard to keep clean and we're more practical than fashionable. We have white towels and white socks, but that's about it. And since I use laundry water for greywater to water parts of the lawn, bleach is a no-go. I've long ago made peace with the idea that our few "whites" will only be whitish, but clean. Instead, I triage our laundry mostly by level of stink. The really stinky (and stained) stuff gets washed in Persil - CR's top stain removing detergent. The nonskinky, nonstained stuff gets washed in Oasis Biodegradable detergent which does a fine job for most things and is not toxic to the plants. Prior to this thread I also used to do some of the laundry in the hippie laundry "soap", but after seeing what came out of the clean laundry when I stripped it of soap, I'm not using that any more. Where do you buy the Persil and Oasis Biodegradable detergents? Persil is only available at Walmart. Of the versions they have available, the one that says "2 in 1" on the label is the one that Consumer Reports rated as #1. The Oasis used to be more widely available at hippie type stores, but it was bought by Bio Pac (a competitor to Oasis) and now it's harder to find. Not sure if Bio Pac is trying to kill it off. I think the last time I got it online at VitaDigest. Here's a description: www.bio-pac.com/oasis-biocompatible-cleaners/
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Dec 13, 2016 15:36:27 GMT -5
Where do you buy the Persil and Oasis Biodegradable detergents? Persil is only available at Walmart. Of the versions they have available, the one that says "2 in 1" on the label is the one that Consumer Reports rated as #1. The Oasis used to be more widely available at hippie type stores, but it was bought by Bio Pac (a competitor to Oasis) and now it's harder to find. Not sure if Bio Pac is trying to kill it off. I think the last time I got it online at VitaDigest. Here's a description: www.bio-pac.com/oasis-biocompatible-cleaners/Both are available at my (lazy) go to store when I am looking for something → Amazon
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milee
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Post by milee on Dec 13, 2016 15:49:00 GMT -5
Just looked at Amazon. They're both there, but holy guacamole - the price!!! I paid $25 a bottle for the Oasis last time I ordered and the Persil 100 oz is less than $12 at Walmart. So yes, you can get them on Amazon, but at double or triple the normal price.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Dec 13, 2016 16:41:08 GMT -5
Thanks, Milee! I'll have to check WM for the Persil and see if I can find Oasis anywhere local before I try online.
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Peace Of Mind
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Dec 13, 2016 17:14:22 GMT -5
Oh hell no to making laundry detergent! I already work hard enough as it is. No way am I going to give myself another job to save .02 cents a load. I can regularly buy a 32 load bottle for $2 and on sale it is half that. Even at the higher price doing a load a day would still only net me a whopping.14 cent a week. I am not sure I couldn't save save more in gas each week if I cleaned out the trunk of my car. LOL! I feel the same way even now that I don't work that hard any more. I liked Rukh's Ruhk's? post because she impresses me but no way am I doing that. I'm saving money by not trying to do any of those things because I'd probably burn the house down or poison one of us or something. I do, however, save lots of money at the dentist by using peroxide and baking soda now and then when I brush my teeth. I only have to go to the dentist every 4-10 years and at my last appt. the hygienist told me that whatever I'm doing keep doing it and her hands thanked me as she had little to no scrapping/polishing to do. That's all I can think of at this time unless you count using microfiber cloths when cleaning the car, boat, shed, windows, mirrors and the like. I almost never need chemicals or store bought cleaning supplies when cleaning those items. I also use those Wal Mart brand magic erasers to get hard water type stains off sinks, counters, shower doors, boat, shed... that also doesn't require anything but water.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Dec 13, 2016 19:03:34 GMT -5
Oh hell no to making laundry detergent! I already work hard enough as it is. No way am I going to give myself another job to save .02 cents a load. I can regularly buy a 32 load bottle for $2 and on sale it is half that. Even at the higher price doing a load a day would still only net me a whopping.14 cent a week. I am not sure I couldn't save save more in gas each week if I cleaned out the trunk of my car. LOL! I feel the same way even now that I don't work that hard any more. I liked Rukh's Ruhk's? post because she impresses me but no way am I doing that. I'm saving money by not trying to do any of those things because I'd probably burn the house down or poison one of us or something. I do, however, save lots of money at the dentist by using peroxide and baking soda now and then when I brush my teeth. I only have to go to the dentist every 4-10 years and at my last appt. the hygienist told me that whatever I'm doing keep doing it and her hands thanked me as she had little to no scrapping/polishing to do. That's all I can think of at this time unless you count using microfiber cloths when cleaning the car, boat, shed, windows, mirrors and the like. I almost never need chemicals or store bought cleaning supplies when cleaning those items. I also use those Wal Mart brand magic erasers to get hard water type stains off sinks, counters, shower doors, boat, shed... that also doesn't require anything but water. What was I doing? Soup, bread, garden? I can't think any of those are so so"out" there so much...watcha thinkin, Lincoln? What seemed labor intensive? But some times, I do instinctively do things the hard way,
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Dec 14, 2016 11:29:34 GMT -5
Where do you buy the Persil and Oasis Biodegradable detergents? Persil is only available at Walmart. Of the versions they have available, the one that says "2 in 1" on the label is the one that Consumer Reports rated as #1. The Oasis used to be more widely available at hippie type stores, but it was bought by Bio Pac (a competitor to Oasis) and now it's harder to find. Not sure if Bio Pac is trying to kill it off. I think the last time I got it online at VitaDigest. Here's a description: www.bio-pac.com/oasis-biocompatible-cleaners/I don't know about the second one but Persil available at every store I ever shop at. I have seen it at Acme, Shoprite, CVS and rite aid and Target. About the only place that I haven't seen it is the Dollar Store.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Dec 14, 2016 12:14:34 GMT -5
LOL! I feel the same way even now that I don't work that hard any more. I liked Rukh's Ruhk's? post because she impresses me but no way am I doing that. I'm saving money by not trying to do any of those things because I'd probably burn the house down or poison one of us or something. I do, however, save lots of money at the dentist by using peroxide and baking soda now and then when I brush my teeth. I only have to go to the dentist every 4-10 years and at my last appt. the hygienist told me that whatever I'm doing keep doing it and her hands thanked me as she had little to no scrapping/polishing to do. That's all I can think of at this time unless you count using microfiber cloths when cleaning the car, boat, shed, windows, mirrors and the like. I almost never need chemicals or store bought cleaning supplies when cleaning those items. I also use those Wal Mart brand magic erasers to get hard water type stains off sinks, counters, shower doors, boat, shed... that also doesn't require anything but water. What was I doing? Soup, bread, garden? I can't think any of those are so so"out" there so much...watcha thinkin, Lincoln? What seemed labor intensive? But some times, I do instinctively do things the hard way, gardening is pretty labor intensive, especially if your yield is small.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Dec 14, 2016 12:58:50 GMT -5
I'm only an hour into an experiment and can categorically say - no homemade laundry soap for me. Background: I use greywater from the washing machine to water parts of the yard. Keeps the extra water out of the septic system and also cuts back on supplemental watering. Due to that and the fact that we're right on the bayfront, I try to be really careful about not putting harmful chemicals into the wash. I try to use the sanitize cycle and use heat to sterilize instead of using bleach, for example. And for about half the wash loads, I use the supposedly environmentally safer laundry soap I get from the hippie store. So after reading that link to the article about why laundry soap isn't a great idea, I had the same reaction as the writer - what are you talking about? My laundry seems fine. But I already had 2 of the 3 ingredients she mentioned to do the "strip" of soap out of laundry so I decided to try it this morning. OMG - gross! My "clean" white load is producing slimy, grey water. Nasty. I'm going to finish stripping the rest of the laundry and then no more laundry "soap" for me. Do you also use fabric softener? That might be some of the source of your slimy grey water - not just the laundry soap.
Just as a general FYI: it's best to read the instructions on the Jug of detergent/fabric softener/etc to determine how much to use - and NOT just assume a full cap = a load of wash... it's very easy to use too much product in each load. Which will also leave behind 'residue' since the machine can not remove all of it.
Meant to add: it was interesting that the "strip" of the laundry involves borax and washing soda - both water softeners - the "strip" recipe is NOT unlike the first step I use when attempting to clean some vintage, stained or yellowed cotton tablecloth/napkins I may have determined is worth the effort of 'cleaning'. First - all the old soap, fabric softener, whatever else got used on the fabric has to be removed... before working on the stains... I've revived some kitschy colorful fun 40's and 50's era tablecloths that were grey, yellowed, and with a few stains.... to white, colorful, unstained and useful once more.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Dec 14, 2016 13:21:31 GMT -5
I also make most of my own cleaners. I have granite cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, window cleaner, and hardwood floor cleaner. tcu - methods or links please - I need a safe granite cleaner. Will it also work for other stones? For granite cleaner, I use 1/4 cup rubbing school, 3-4 drops of Dawn or Castille (like Dr Bronner's) soap, and 1 cup water. I just keep it in a spray bottle and use to clean my counters. I usually wipe them down with warm water first, and then follow up with this. I've not tried it on other stones - as long as the running alcohol and soap are safe for other stones, then this cleaner should be as well.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Dec 14, 2016 13:32:24 GMT -5
Thanks tcu. I will try it on a small part first and see how it goes.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2016 16:00:21 GMT -5
I don't make products per say but I do however make dinner at home and seldom buy take out or fast food.
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Peace Of Mind
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Dec 14, 2016 21:14:40 GMT -5
LOL! I feel the same way even now that I don't work that hard any more. I liked Rukh's Ruhk's? post because she impresses me but no way am I doing that. I'm saving money by not trying to do any of those things because I'd probably burn the house down or poison one of us or something. I do, however, save lots of money at the dentist by using peroxide and baking soda now and then when I brush my teeth. I only have to go to the dentist every 4-10 years and at my last appt. the hygienist told me that whatever I'm doing keep doing it and her hands thanked me as she had little to no scrapping/polishing to do. That's all I can think of at this time unless you count using microfiber cloths when cleaning the car, boat, shed, windows, mirrors and the like. I almost never need chemicals or store bought cleaning supplies when cleaning those items. I also use those Wal Mart brand magic erasers to get hard water type stains off sinks, counters, shower doors, boat, shed... that also doesn't require anything but water. What was I doing? Soup, bread, garden? I can't think any of those are so so"out" there so much...watcha thinkin, Lincoln? What seemed labor intensive? But some times, I do instinctively do things the hard way, I will say yes to all of this ^^^ but I never said anything was "...so so "out" there... It's just a bit over-achieverish for me and my lazy self. You always impress me with what all you do even when you don't need to do it. I understand it's value though and why it's important to you.
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milee
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Post by milee on Dec 14, 2016 21:47:36 GMT -5
I'm only an hour into an experiment and can categorically say - no homemade laundry soap for me. Background: I use greywater from the washing machine to water parts of the yard. Keeps the extra water out of the septic system and also cuts back on supplemental watering. Due to that and the fact that we're right on the bayfront, I try to be really careful about not putting harmful chemicals into the wash. I try to use the sanitize cycle and use heat to sterilize instead of using bleach, for example. And for about half the wash loads, I use the supposedly environmentally safer laundry soap I get from the hippie store. So after reading that link to the article about why laundry soap isn't a great idea, I had the same reaction as the writer - what are you talking about? My laundry seems fine. But I already had 2 of the 3 ingredients she mentioned to do the "strip" of soap out of laundry so I decided to try it this morning. OMG - gross! My "clean" white load is producing slimy, grey water. Nasty. I'm going to finish stripping the rest of the laundry and then no more laundry "soap" for me. Do you also use fabric softener? That might be some of the source of your slimy grey water - not just the laundry soap.
Just as a general FYI: it's best to read the instructions on the Jug of detergent/fabric softener/etc to determine how much to use - and NOT just assume a full cap = a load of wash... it's very easy to use too much product in each load. Which will also leave behind 'residue' since the machine can not remove all of it.
No, I don't use fabric softener. That has a lot of really nasty stuff in it that not only do I not want on my yard, but I don't want next to my family's skin. That stuff is chemical fragrance (irritant) soup. I definitely measure the detergent and change the amount based on the size of load. Then again, with boys in the house, it's rare that we don't do a full load.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2016 8:11:59 GMT -5
I don't try to make anything to save "money." I use coupons for most stuff so even toothpaste, toothbrushes, laundry detergent, etc. is dirt cheap. In fact, one of my recent resolutions was to use up all that sort of stuff stored in the basement or give it away.
Anyone who sews knows that you can buy most stuff cheaper than you can make it. I am sure that it is true of almost anything. The difference is generally quality, not cost.
It feels better to dry my hands on a towel or a pot with a towel. T-shirt rags seem less likely to scratch my furniture.
If that sort of thing saves money, great. But that's not why I do it.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Dec 15, 2016 23:02:30 GMT -5
Amazing - when I was in college, cigs were 19 cents per pack (a 10 pack carton was $1.90). That's about a factor of 40 - when the Govt decides to punish us for out-of-favor behaviors they go after it in a powerful way. I expect that it has ceased to be an issue of managing behavior, and has become a significant revenue opportunity for government.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Dec 16, 2016 10:27:46 GMT -5
The past few weeks I have been thinking more about making homemade products. My laundry soap is about empty and I cringe to think of paying the high prices at our store when I could make some for about 5 cents a load. I am also looking into making cleaning products. Toilet paper and kleenex are two items that I just hate to buy. I use a lot of kleenex so I thought I could always try handkerchiefs. I bought a pack of double roll toilet paper 12 count the other day for almost $11 and it is half gone. But that is an item that is a necessity. I am going to look into making lotions and soap. I don't know if I could do the homemade deodarant but I could always try it for the days I stay home. I don't know how effective it would be working out at the gym and getting really sweaty. I wanted to try making dog food. I have already made dog snacks. And I try to cook as many meals from scratch that I can and have time for. What have you tried making that you think works out well to save money on? Clean laundry is 95% clean water. If you are really interested in saving money on laundry soap, it is doubtful you could save as much by making your own soap as you could save by cleaning up your water and using far less. We learned this by accident when I was researching water treatment systems for my paranoid tin foil hat prepping activities as my wife used to call them until we rode out Hurricane Matthew without a care in the world- but that's another story. We installed a GE AvantaPure (Top Line- not to be confused with those found at the Home Depot) system and it produces amazingly clean water. We cut our laundry soap consumption by 75% (we also have a high efficiency washer- and if you have one, you'd better have clean water or that thing is going to eat itself and cost you money). Good paper products are quality of life issues for me. I buy what I like, which is Charmin, Puffs, and Bounty. Paper towels are critical to good sanitation in the kitchen. If you're in the habit of smearing everything with bacteria using dish towels- quit that sh**. Soaps, lotions, and deodorant are once again quality of life issues. I use deodorant when I have inspections- otherwise, I just rely on a dip in the pool and a rinse in the shower a couple times a day. I honestly don't like using deodorant at all- I use it for social purposes, though, like most normal human beings. In my opinion, if you like making your own stuff and you enjoy it- you should do it. To me, it's a hobby, not a way to save money. In fact, it's doubtful there are any real savings from manufacturing your own lotions and soaps. My philosophy is that people should "do what they do best and outsource the rest". Most people would be better served by working on their career, updating their resume, or applying for a new job over "saving money" by doing a bunch of weird crap. I'd much rather go get a new gig than make a five gallon bucket of laundry soap. Everything costs something- in other words, maybe you can get your laundry bill down to 5 cents a load. But you can never get it to $0. So, for example, my cost is between 5 cents a load if I make goop in my garage (not including my time) and the most expensive laundry detergent I could find (that I would realistically ever buy)- Tide Pods at $1.52 per load from Sam's). We do approximately 8 loads of laundry per week. If we used the max, we would be at about $12.16 per week. I get paid, at the very lowest-- $45 for a simple wind mitigation verification inspection on a condominium unit (however, to get that price- unit owners must get together in a minimum group of 10). So, is it more advantageous for me to spend my time over on A1A talking with condo management companies, and insurance brokers to get a batch of inspections for $450 bucks- or make goop in my garage to save $11.76 a week on laundry? You see the obvious problem I have with this DIY stuff.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Dec 16, 2016 10:28:47 GMT -5
perhaps not "homemade" but we roll our own cigarettes. We went from spending about $720 month (at $8.00/pack and they are a little higher now) to a little less than $100/mth. Huge savings. Do you put that aside for your eventual care for emphysema / lung cancer? The real savings would be to quit.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Dec 16, 2016 14:10:47 GMT -5
What was I doing? Soup, bread, garden? I can't think any of those are so so"out" there so much...watcha thinkin, Lincoln? What seemed labor intensive? But some times, I do instinctively do things the hard way, gardening is pretty labor intensive, especially if your yield is small. It's fun though, and brings a lot of dividends😇 But, I can see how that could be considered a time issue. How ever, I often think that people underestimate the times of grocery management if not gardening. Buy, load car, unload car, put away. Find half of me it rotted away at the back of the fridge 6 weeks later. I love meal planning walking along with a colander and scissors, popping things into my mouth as I go.
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Dec 16, 2016 14:13:18 GMT -5
What was I doing? Soup, bread, garden? I can't think any of those are so so"out" there so much...watcha thinkin, Lincoln? What seemed labor intensive? But some times, I do instinctively do things the hard way, I will say yes to all of this ^^^ but I never said anything was "...so so "out" there... It's just a bit over-achieverish for me and my lazy self. You always impress me with what all you do even when you don't need to do it. I understand it's value though and why it's important to you. Thanks, peace! I do feel I have a past life as a pioneer homesteader ETA: I do have a weekly cleaner come in. So, I'm not that industrious;)
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quince
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Post by quince on Dec 16, 2016 15:00:22 GMT -5
I will say yes to all of this ^^^ but I never said anything was "...so so "out" there... It's just a bit over-achieverish for me and my lazy self. You always impress me with what all you do even when you don't need to do it. I understand it's value though and why it's important to you. Thanks, peace! I do feel I have a past life as a pioneer homesteader ETA: I do have a weekly cleaner come in. So, I'm not that industrious I kind of love the things you do for yourself, and also have a weekly cleaner. Don't like cleaning/like these other things, well since you can afford it, hire a cleaner and work in the garden.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Dec 16, 2016 19:39:33 GMT -5
I always wonder if folks who make stuff factor in their wage per hour even at minimum ? I admire all you folks though. There is a great satisfaction in making stuff yourself. This is why I won't try to sell a quilt. My hand quilted baby quilt already has 100 hours into it (not completed). My Grinch quilt, just shy of 5'x7', pieced with large squares, and hand eta-- oops,I meant machine-- pieced and quilted has about 25 hours into it (it's completed). Labor alone, at minimum wage, would be almost $250. Since I really want handmade quilts for me and for gifts, I'm willing to put in the time, but buying one would be way out of my price range.
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countrygirl2
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 7, 2016 15:45:05 GMT -5
Posts: 17,519
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Post by countrygirl2 on Dec 17, 2016 12:52:36 GMT -5
We make and do anything and everything.
Hubby is remodeling rent houses, we got 3 on the market this year, I helped too. Since he is retired and can't stand sitting around, it keeps him busy and saves us a small fortune. He is now working on number 4, it was his mom's house though we apparently owned half of it since 1992 along with his brother and didn't even know it. A new kitchen going in, bathroom upgrade and other upgrades.
I can and preserve during the summer, it might save some, lot of work, I've had all my supplies forever so my main cost is new lids. I generally buy sleeves of them and they last for a couple of years. But I love the taste of the products and we all like the tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, and stewed tomatoes I can. I misjudged my peach jam this year and we are already out, also make relish, can potatoes, green tomatoes, applesauce, canned apples, peaches, freeze strawberries and more.
I plan to do more sewing as I have enough fabrics and patterns plus supplies and the machines for a lifetime.
Right now I'm redoing the interior of the motorhome. I've spent well over $1500 for fabrics and supplies but if I had it done easily add more thousands to that. Most of the items are recovered now, today going out and see if it got warm enough to start wallpapering. Hubby turned on the furnaces last night but its out in the far garage and even though it gets air the carbon monoxide monitors may have gone off, if they do it will turn off the propane. Didn't think about it till later and was to cold to go out and check.
Sometimes he does not have the tools or the means to do something even if he has the knowhow. We did spend huge bucks to get the diesel engine overhauled, just couldn't do it and it goes in for brake adjustments and work this week, items to heavy, no pit, no big big tools. But generally he does a lot of vehicle work on the older ones. He does have diagnostic equipment so he knows what needs to be done on the newer electronic stuff. so for us its a combination. But we have saved a small fortune over the years and still do by DIY.
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