When do you get rid of something?

[RC10th]

When do you get rid of something?

For example, I've got many RC bodies dating back to my first dealings with RC, some are in good shape, others trashed. I went to throw a bunch out the other day when my wife stopped me and told me to hang onto them, they are my rc history and could be displayed when we get a bigger place. Some of them I don't care for and I wouldn't miss them.

I also need to go through my tire box and throw out all the worn out tires.



We all have piles of ESC's, servos, bodies, useless stuff etc. When does something get chucked?

[Coelacanth]

Good question...

I realize that one man's junk is another man's treasure, but if I have parts that are stripped, cracked, broken, or worn to near the end of their life; tires that are torn, weather-checked, misshapen; electronics that are DOA, shorted out or malfunctioning, I ask myself: "Would I feel comfortable selling this stuff to someone else?" If after looking in the mirror, the answer is "No"...I throw it out if I have no use for it myself.

[DaveM]

Hi Guys,

I have thrown parts out and gone back to the bin to retrieve them.

One part I threw away 3 times, it now sits in a bin in the shed just in case!

But saying that if something is completely unusable I will throw it out, there is no way I would try to

sell something I think is junk even mixed in with other parts.

Cheers, Dave.

[kaiser]

i don't throw away anything, ever.
i have bins sorted by manufacturer, and hardware by sae or metric.
the only things that get tossed are bad electronics, don't need those mixing in with known good stuff.

[j-sou]

I have the same prob, where I feel like I have too much junk sitting around and there's stuff no one would want so I should just toss a few things. But then I think back to R/C stuff and 1:1 cars/parts I've off'd in the past. I would love to have some of that stuff back! It makes you stop and think.

Plus- I figured out I had so many of those old worn out parts, that it was cool to put them all together into a complete car built from parts not worthy of other builds. Like a clapped out old barn find.

[markbt73]

Tough call, with bodies. A little packing tape, and a "trash" body can be serviceable again, if not pretty. But I guess if you have no attachment to it, then there's no reason to keep it.

With mechanical pieces, if something's truly broken, I toss it with no qualms whatsoever, unless I just don't have another one, in which case I try to fix it. Worn out parts I hang on to, if it was difficult/expensive to get the replacement; if not, see ya.

Burned-out electronics I seem to amass. I need to go through and chuck several dead ESCs and servos. I think I hang onto them because they used to be expensive, so I still assign them value. I need to remind myself that standard servos and Traxxas XL-5s are a dime a dozen now, so dead ones are essentially valueless.

[Incredible_Serious]

I have boxes in my shed with the label "RC Junk".... old chassis', busted up engines, heaps and heaps of plastic parts for long-forgotten cars, and masses of really really old radio gear (think pre 3-wire stuff). Every now and then, I go through the boxes, looking for something, and find parts that can help with a current project.... or I'll go through and sort all the hardware into my screw and nut and washer tubs, which then gets used on everyday builds. If I find BROKEN plastic parts, though, I throw them out. I'm never going to be able to repair a plastic part, so even if it's the only one I have, it's busted, so it's useless.

Regarding radio gear and ESCs, every few months I get together all my untested gear, and run a testing program - I set up a complete known good set (ESC, motor, transmitter, receiver, servos, crystals), and I replace one piece at a time and retest. Anything that doesn't work properly gets marked as 'DUD'. Anything that works properly gets an 'OK' sticker, and goes into the good parts pile. Bad transmitters are kept for worthwhile parts, or thrown if they are rubbish. receivers are kept for their case and/or antenna wiring (I have a LOT of non-2.4 radio gear!), broken servos are usually kept for their gears, leads, and case - if these are rubbish, the servo goes out. ESCs are placed into a bag with all the other blown ESCs I have, and I try to repair / rewire / test these more thoroughly about once a year.

Bodies.... now that's a problem that I've been recently working on.... and I have to agree, if there's an attachment to a body, then it's kept, no matter the condition. If it's usable or repairable, it's kept. If it doesn't fit in the previous boxes, it gets cut up and trashed (doesn't happen very often!!).

Most of the usable parts are stored according to the type of car - I currently have parts storage dedicated to the following:
- Kyosho Raider
- PB Mini Mustang
- HPI Onroad and Offroad
- Tamiya M-Chassis, TL-01, SuperHornet, 959
- Associated B2/B3
- Schumacher (sooooo many boxes!)
- There's also separate bags / boxes / containers for shocks, body mounts, bearings, motors, etc....


Does it make parts easier to find? Um...... no.

Alex

[romulus22]

You guys would be flabbergasted at the stuff I've thrown away cause I didn't feel it was worth the time to sell. If it has no meaning to me its gone. I hate clutter.

[hugger19]

i've tried to get rid of the wife, BUT SHE KEEPS FINDING HER WAY HOME!!!

[slotcarrod]

i've tried to get rid of the wife, BUT SHE KEEPS FINDING HER WAY HOME!!!

Your not digging a deep enough hole!

[Incredible_Serious]

i've tried to get rid of the wife, BUT SHE KEEPS FINDING HER WAY HOME!!!

Your not digging a deep enough hole!

It's Florida.... wait a few hours, and a sinkhole will open up in the earth, take care of things for you......



Alex

[hugger19]

thanks

[Incredible_Serious]

thanks

Hey, I live in a very sinkhole-heavy area as well.... http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/01/30/3934871.htm

So it's not just you

Alex

[josh]

... I went to throw a bunch out the other day when my wife stopped me and told me to hang onto them, they are my rc history and could be displayed when we get a bigger place...

sounds like a keeper there!!

[R Cane]

... I went to throw a bunch out the other day when my wife stopped me and told me to hang onto them, they are my rc history and could be displayed when we get a bigger place...

sounds like a keeper there!!

No kidding.
Mine doesn't get pissed at me and lecture me on other "more productive things I could do with my time", but I get the evil eye pretty often when I bring something new into the house...
Today is her birthday...I thought about giving her something RC - you know, the something we can do together thing - but she would just think I was being a jerk...