yupp Mr. DIY is becoming my stable store to checkout too. on the cautionary note items are of less than decent quality. i tried hand tools from them since last year and sadly most items i had to return.
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Wow! That sucks. Which town/city is this? Perhaps this is a sign for you to go complete solar! 
Has anyone used âtwist-on wire connectorsâ? Pros/cons of using this in India?
saw them used in vids. they are good for temp connections and checks.. proper secure way is still joint + heat shrink tape..
Some safety tips:
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So it would look like there is someone monitoring the complaints.
We had a really bad power situation this morning and the electricity board people showed up with about a dozen people and replaced a bunch of aluminum cabling and redid their giant fuse boxes. It took around 5 hours but we havenât had a single issue since then (which is rare for a Saturday).
Apparently this work was planned out a couple of weeks ago, probably around the time I logged a dozen or so complaints about low voltage. The bad power situation this morning is what made them to fix it today (of all days).
Itâs a miracle, not a single outage or fluctuation in eight hours!
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You can do ârafuâ, really? How did you learn doing all this?
I do basic fixingâŚ. Like change tap, nal in hindi, replace a switch⌠put some cement on wall, etc..
I end up sending upwards of 2-3k whenever I visit DIY and the worst part is I go there to buy just one or two things and somehow return with all random items. 
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Personally never had great experience with âprofessionalsâ these days either they delay the visit, mess something up or do a very careless job at it.
Electrical- minor switch, blub, holder/socket replacement is done by me. Slightly complicated work like getting new connection which require cable pulled is assigned to professional.
They charge around 500+material for a small work usually self learned local Electrician and professional charge anywhere between 1500-2000.
Plumbing all basic one other than those that are not safely accessible, something to do with the dirty side of things or older metal plumbing connection that are stuck and no longer easy to remove safely.
Only faced delay in these area, they usually show up late or next day always making false excuses.
Basic motor cycle maintenance - chain,clutch,brake pads, puncher and general maintenance other than that required something to do with carburetor or engine or tire change.
Gave up on mechanics after repeated issues over the past decade, always had issues after every service and had to make multiple visits so I just decided to learn and fix things myself.
They were charging me around 3-5k per service once every 3 months.
Car - Cleaning and puncher only, everything else is fairly good with official service center so far. 1 annual service costing around 5-8k and some time extra for worn out/replacement parts.
masonry - Only which needs immediate attention or small patches, everything else is for them to do.
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For me I can manage basic electricial things
- Changing switches/sockets
- Changing lights
- Replacing geyser rods
- Basic painting
- Makeshift cement application to close wall damages (wonât look good but does the job)
- Cleaning chimneys
- Other odd things like running Ethernet cables etc
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This is an interesting thread .
I have a âCrirahâ ( bug ) inside me to dissect anything which is operating at low voltage . Fixed quite a few stuffs like Home UPS , Quartz Wall Clocks mechanism , Chargers , Digital compacts , mini-DV handycams etc . etc. Needless to say burnt few expensive stuffs too , the latest being a D70S DSLR while replacing itâs LCD .
Now opened up a Nikon FM2n & fairly now know how itâs meter works . The circuit looks daunting & complicated due to quite a few mechanical lever switches .
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I tried to open a vintage slr to see if I could fix a jammed shutter release. I was young and foolish and broke more things in the process.
I quietly threw out my shame in the middle of the night into another neighborhoodâs dumpster and told everyone I lost the camera on a bus.
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I usually avoid precision machines - donât have much knowledge .
But I opened the internal components [ almost like doing a postmortem kind of thing ] of FM2n and separated them piece by piece . So got some idea now how shutter / winding lever / mirror box works . Itâs complex & very precision - specially the shutter mechanism . I loved the machine .. itâs not plastic like DSLRS or MLC
I learned that when a device wonât open, force should always be the last resort. Most of the time, there is a proper way to open it.
The key is to locate where the tension is. By carefully sliding something thin like a flat-head screwdriver or a guitar pick into the grooves and gently prying, you can feel where the resistance comes from.
That feedback usually reveals the position of a hidden locking tab.
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Do you have a write-up for this? Some images or diagrams might be great.
I sually try to stay away from electrical stuff due to lack of actual experience and training plus the quality of pre-existing work in Indian houses is shoddy at best.
For fixing things around the house I do have a drilling machine which can be used on walls (Bosch GSB 183 Li). For the drill bits and other stuff I bought Bosch X50Ti set, itâs good enough for stuff around the house.
For electronics I only have a soldering iron which doesnât see much use since I know fuckall about complex stuff like water filter PCBs, the schematics are somewhat confusing to me since Iâm not an EE grad.
The soldering iron is PINECIL â Smart Mini Portable Soldering Iron (Version 2) - PINE STORE, works well my macbook charger. I bought the multimeter mentioned in the other thread just now.
I do have a smattering of the usual tools (hammers, pliers, wrenches etc.) around the house.
I can do basic plumbing for overhead tank repairs and usually have the stuff available (adhesive âcementâ, joints, pipes) since we had to get some major work done not too long ago.
Iâve had largely negative experience with handymen locally, the quality of work leaves a lot to be desired even with the most âskilledâ professionals.
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Everything except Mains current
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