There are many things or services that, when we take time (which may be very little) to learn, we find out that we can do them ourselves and in so doing cut off some unnecessary costs.

The term DIY means "Do It Yourself" and it is a common term used by hobbyists, geniuses and most tech savvy populace.

We are usually too lazy to do stuffs on our own, stuffs that once we get the hang of, seem too easy that we literally beat ourselves for paying others to do it.

Some services also seem like rocket science but in fact, they are not.


Some jobs are so easy that we should do them ourselves ... .....

Changing car engine oil, fixing a blown bulb, changing a blown fuse, changing a door lock, painting a small room, fixing a single tap, assembling and installing a new tv/fan, formatting a system ....... The list is endless.

The purpose of this long overdue thread is to provide information (from the net with sources and from personal experience of the OP) on some things that are fairly easy to do by oneself without paying for others to do for you.


DISCLAIMER: Many of the info's posted here will not be the handiwork of the OP. Most will be culled from top DIY sites (with links provided of course).

Every job posted here will be at the risk of anyone who attempts it. I would not be held responsible for any accident due to your carelessness. I will provide safety guidelines though.

Some jobs that will be posted on this thread will involve the use of electricity powered devices as tools. Please follow general safety guidelines when handling power tools.

Lastly, not everyone can try every job that will be posted here.

Try the one that you feel you can do. Or anyone that applied to your area of specialization.

Finally, I also appeal to members to kindly contribute positively to this thread.

There are lots of geniuses on this forum.

Lets share our ingenuity with others.

For the Agric inclined, kindly check out my DIY how-to on how to propagate woody plants by the process of Marcotting/ Air-Layering.

www.nairaland.com/1841287/marcotting-air-layering-turn-plant

DIY: GENERAL SERVICING OF GASOLINE POWER GENERATING SET

This is one of the easiest jobs to do. Unless there is a major fault, like engine knock, unusual excessive fumes from the exhaust, burnt coil etc, changing the plug and engine oil of the "Gen" is no rocket science. Piece-Of-Cake (POC) if you like.

It is baffling people pay mechanics to do this for them. Some even leave the "Gen" at the mercy of these mechanics (with due respect to the honest ones, I mean no disrespect). The unscrupulous ones will definitely swap the "follow-come" parts of the "Gen" for sub-standard ones. The "Gen" starts to misbehave, and then the cycle of returning-the-gen-for-repairs every other day begins.

If you are not the extremely busy type, and have time for "petty" things like this, this how-to guide is for you.

If you have always wondered how this is done, this how-to guide is for you.

If you already know how this is done, no need to bother yourself with this.

To Be Continued .....

Ride on bro

Contd:

THINGS NEEDED:
1. A Rag Cloth: Trust me, you don't want to leave your generator room floor messy and irky.

2. Suitable Engine Oil: If your gen is still new I advice you not to buy the roadside refill-by-pint varieties. They will eventually reduce the lifespan of your gen.

.

3. Spanners: 10, 12, 13 or 14 spanners depending on how big your gen is. They don't cost much and are essential in any generator house. The numbers above indicate their nut head size in millimeters and NOT the number of spanners you should buy.

4. Plug Spanners, Screwdriver: Usually come with your gen in the pack if its bought new. You shouldn't lose them.

5: New Spark Plug: shouldn't cost more than N200.

6: Trough: for collecting the waste oil that will be drained off from the bottom. It should be low enough to sit directly under the gen and wide enough to collect all ∂ oil withou spilling. You can make use of a tray, if its wide enough, or you can fabricate one by cutting an oil car engine oil gallon in symmetrical half I.e. Standing the keg in an upright position and cutting it into equal halves from the top down.

with all our tools complete, we can then begin.

Step 1:

Run the gen for a few minutes to make the oil warm so that it can drain off easily.

Turn it off, cut off fuel supply from the tank, detach the cable taking power to the house and take your gen to an open place.

Look for the oil drain nut (in the pic below, my finger on it) below the gen, use a suitable spanner to loosen it in anti-clockwise (clock hand moving backwards) direction. Mine uses size 12 spanner.

Remove the engine oil house cap so that the oil will drain faster.

By now the trough should already be beneath the gen.

Leave the oil to drain fully, then move onto the next task ...

Step 2:

While the oil is being drained, look for the air cleaner compartment. Pictured below.

Open the cover by lifting off the top and bottom latches.

Remove the black foam, rinse it with petrol, then squeeze out excess fuel, leave it to dry for some minutes.

Pour some of the new oil on the foam, squeeze the foam in your hands to distribute the oil round the foam fully.

Return it to its rightful place and cover up ∂ compartment properly.

Next, we move to the spark plug section.

Step 3:

Remove the plug wire to get to the spark plug.

Use the screwdriver as a fulcrum to drive the spanner, to remove the plug. Usually in anticlockwise direction.

Replace with new plug and reverse the above task for putting back to plug and plug wire.

Make sure you first turn the plug with your hands to ensure that it sits properly and doesn't jump threading. Then clamp tightly with the plug spanner.

Clamp the plug wire back in place properly.

By this time, the oil should have drained fully.

Step 4:

Return the bolt of the oil drain and tighten properly to avoid leakage.

Pour the new oil into the engine, and cover the yellow cover tightly.

Don't tilt your gen while pouring the engine oil in.

The oil will flow into the piston which is not good.

You also tend to overfill the engine with oil when you tilt the gen. This will cause smoking.

Get a suitable funnel to pour the oil in without tilting the gen.

This will make you observant while refilling so as not to overfill the engine with oil.


So that's it, your gen has been serviced!

Start it up, and provided you followed ∂ instructions properly, it should start with no problem.

Isn't that fairly easy?

My next DIY topic will be on fabricating a funnel for refilling engine with oil without tilting.

Very educative. Thanks.

DIY TITLE: Refilling deskjet printer cartridges.

Have u ever had this annoying scenario whereby you are printing a document that is very important and just when the last few pages are about to be printed, you get this ...... (Pic below)

Printer runs out of ink.

Annoying isn it??

The black catridge is usually the culprit here.

Not to worry.

With this DIY how-to guide, you will learn how to refill your printer catridges yourselves.


www.nairaland.com/1924534/diy-refilling-deskjet-printer-catridges#26705887

good job you are doing bro...

interesting

I had a thread on the following on nairaland but lost it after the crash of '14. rewriting it would take time and patience, which I don't have.

1. How to convert rechargeable lamps and fans into USB powered lamps and fans that can run off a PowerBook.

2. How to print from an android phone via USB

3. How to use greasemonkey scripts on android.

the only thing I could find is my how to make hand sanitizer

http:// www.nairaland.com/1847674/how-make-hand-sanitizer

currently working on making a Sharwama press. love making sharwama but hate rolling the bread but with this device, I can make the bread in no time. Will finish it before Friday

Ialso have schematics for a DIY device that can make normal AA or AS A batteries last as long as a powerbank but getting the parts is proving difficult

May God bless you all immensely for contributing to this thread.


Let's contribute more.

I am working on another DIY job. A menial one that is very easy to do.

It will be ready after the eid celebrations.

Leopantro: interesting

I had a thread on the following on nairaland but lost it after the crash of '14. rewriting it would take time and patience, which I don't have.

1. How to convert rechargeable lamps and fans into USB powered lamps and fans that can run off a PowerBook.

2. How to print from an android phone via USB

3. How to use greasemonkey scripts on android.

the only thing I could find is my how to make hand sanitizer

http:// www.nairaland.com/1847674/how-make-hand-sanitizer

currently working on making a Sharwama press. love making sharwama but hate rolling the bread but with this device, I can make the bread in no time. Will finish it before Friday

Ialso have schematics for a DIY device that can make normal AA or AS A batteries last as long as a powerbank but getting the parts is proving difficult

Could you provide links to the schematics and parts?

I can be of help.

Or send to my mail. (On my profile)

done it already. came across a YouTube video explaining how to do it. saves time making the bread.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTEnWmF4B98

Leopantro: done it already. came across a YouTube video explaining how to do it. saves time making the bread.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTEnWmF4B98

Lemme ff suit and download.

Following

..... Am so sorry!!!!!!!!

,,,, Av Been scarce on this thread.

Preparing for two weddings .....

My brother and sister.

.... One after the other .....

.....Has Been taking my time .....

Will be back fully (soon) with more DIY topics.

New post on how to install a ceiling fan to a new or old room.

https://www.nairaland.com/2122598/it-yourself-thread-how-install#30295679

Finding the cardinal coordinate without compass.





https://www.nairaland.com/2122872/how-find-true-north-direction#30296993