adminI want to have nice things. I want good things that work. I want things that look good. I want things that improve my life. The things I want are expensive. So, I try to look for cheaper or second-hand alternatives. Unfortunately, this route always costs more. Let me explain.
When you buy a good tool, in this specific example, a professional sausage stuffer, you have to spend about €80K and thousands in yearly maintenance. The other option is to buy one second-hand at an auction. That’s what we did, obviously. The problem is that we’ve bought a 25-year-old machine.
It’s exactly like buying a used car. From the outside, it can look nice. But underneath the hood, the car might be full of nasty surprises. Unforeseen repairs and time wasted going to the garage are some of the risks. Because it’s an old car, you don’t buy premium motor oil. If you’re like me, you’ll think: oil is oil, right? However, using cheap and the wrong oil could lead to motor problems. Not what you want.
Let’s get back to the sausage stuffer. First of all, I have to spend days cleaning the machine from the inside out. Especially the inside of the machine is rusty and greasy. There are a lot of small hooks and crannies, impossible to reach (even with a toothbrush). However, a couple of days of cleaning is well worth the price difference of €75K.
The machine is waterproof-sealed on the outside to keep all electronics, the motor, gears, and vacuum pump dry. However, when I opened the machine, it was all greasy and dirty. That means there’s an oil leak somewhere. So I started inspecting the original 1997 manual. There I found that the oil of the vacuümpump, gears, and motor needs to be changed every two years.
And here’s what I didn’t expect. Today, I had to research the three different kinds of oils that I need. Every oil had its specific ISO class. One needed to be synthetic, the other mineral. They all need different kinds of additives and work in specific temperature conditions. I had to make a distinction between all kinds of classifications, such as EP ISO-VG 100, HV 46, and VPL S68.
Because the manufacturer of the machines recommended very specific oils, I started looking. Of course, for the best deals. But unlike cheap car motor oils, these specific oils are not cheap. Especially if you need 40L. So tonight, I’ve spent over €300 on lubrication. That was not on my bingo card.
The hidden cost of better things is that the better things get, the more expensive they get. For example, you can find a vacuüm pump for €100 or so. But the pump we have will set you back €3500. You can buy vacuum pump oil for around €10 for one litre. The one I needed was €30 per liter.
So yeah, better things. Higher cost. And even though I would have never thought that I would spend €300 on lubrication, it’s better than having to replace parts. That would cost more money and more time. Maybe one day, I’ll have enough money to buy time (let someone else do the maintenance work). But for now, I’ll stick to tirelessly finding the best deal and hacking my way through having nice things.