My lunch paid for itself.

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10-15-2014, 05:28 PM
Freakbilly

My lunch paid for itself.

Sunday, decided to go out to Little Ceaser's to get a $5 pizza. Started to drive over, and passed the high rise apartment building that is one block down from my house, and a guy was throwing a battery operated power chair seat in the dumpster. I work for a medical equipment company, only reason I knew what it was. So I decided on the way back I would stop and grab it for the metal frame on the bottom, some of them have a good bit of weight. So stopped back by and he is tossing a set of power chair wheels in the dumpster. I pulled up and asked him if he had anything else he was tossing out, if it was metal I would get it for him and toss it in the truck, if it wasn't metal I would help him get it to the dumpster. He was a older guy and seemed to be having some trouble with the slightly heavy items and the tall dumpster. Said he only had two more things to grab but he would appreciate the help cause they are heavy. I walked over to the door and he had two 35AH batteries from a power chair. Said a family member came by and switched out the parts and forgot to take the old ones to the dumpster for him.

So I got the wheels, seats and batteries and it wasn't even trash night! :) Normally power chairs have one of three batteries, 15AH, 35AH and 55AH, AH meaning amp hour. I normally get $2 a piece for the 15's, $4 a piece for the 35's and $7.50 for 55's, so the batteries alone paid for the pizza, woot woot. No big score or anything, but I was happy.

We now return you from my little victory to the massive pulls of the other forum members... lol

BTW if anyone finds anything home medical wise and has any questions that google can't answer, (doesn't happen often), send me a PM and I will help out if I can.
10-15-2014, 05:32 PM
PickerBenny

sounds like a good day for you sir! its always nice to be a good citizen for the older folks. Happy scrapping!
10-15-2014, 05:33 PM
DopenScrapple

I know of a way to get almost unlimited free little ceasars pizzas. from the op, I can tell you're not against dumpster diving...
10-15-2014, 05:43 PM
Mechanic688

Quote:

Originally Posted by DopenScrapple

I know of a way to get almost unlimited free little ceasars pizzas. from the op, I can tell you're not against dumpster diving...

In our town the extra's go to the local food bank for the freezer.
10-15-2014, 05:45 PM
hobo finds

I see this picture you holding up 2 dumpster pies from Little Ceasers while sitting in the electric chair for free heat! "Hot and Ready!"
10-15-2014, 05:51 PM
DopenScrapple

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobo finds

I see this picture you holding up 2 dumpster pies from Little Ceasers while sitting in the electric chair for free heat! "Hot and Ready!"

and then I drive the electric chair thru the mcdonalds drive thru next door and pick up all the loose change under the window.
10-15-2014, 06:17 PM
newattitude

Quote:

We now return you from my little victory to the massive pulls of the other forum members... lol

Billy, any score is a good thing no matter how insignificant it seems to be. If its good for you its a WIN!!!! It's something you didn't have when you left your driveway, you helped someone in need and helped yourself as well! Nice!
10-15-2014, 06:42 PM
Sirscrapalot

Quote:

Originally Posted by newattitude

Billy, any score is a good thing no matter how insignificant it seems to be. If its good for you its a WIN!!!! It's something you didn't have when you left your driveway, you helped someone in need and helped yourself as well! Nice!

Just needed to be said twice.

Sirscrapalot - Playing the parrot. An yes I would like a cracker. BWAK!
10-15-2014, 07:52 PM
Freakbilly

If a dumpster looks promising, I'm not above poking around and seeing what I find. My buddy pulled a 1960's era Fender guitar amp out of a dumpster behind a antiques store he frequently bought things from. It had old soda cans crammed in the back, but was in great shape. He spent 15 minutes with a volt meter, found a short and after replacing some wires, it sounds like new. He has been offered $600+ for it, but he is a huge music nut so I don't think he will ever sell it...

I've pulled a 4 foot tall wooden jewelry box with not a scratch on it from a dumpster, A like new $150 gas grill that only needed a tank line from a dumpster, pulled a cracked aluminum truck rim from a dumpster, etc. Although I prefer making contacts, curbco or random finds MUCH more than dumpster diving.
10-15-2014, 10:14 PM
DakotaRog

I have a power wheel chair story for you.

My mom never learned how to drive. She grew up in a small Mass. factory town where it was easy to walk to things, her dad never drove, and later mom thought she had epilepsy but was really vision migraines (which I have--they mess my vision up for about 20-30 minutes and then are gone with no real pain involved).

Anyway, she was in her late 70s and they were living in a big multi-step retirement center. She had neuropathy in her feet from the strong chemo that was used when she first came down with ovarine cancer about 5 years before. She had gotten a regular wheel chair when they were still in the house but now after moving into this big place, she thought a power wheel chair might be the ticket.

As typical, government regulations tend not to have any common sense. Medicare will buy (at least back then) 1 wheel chair for someone, doesn't matter if its a simple plain jane or a power chair, its all the same. Because they bought her the $300 chair 5 years before, the nearly $4,000 power chair came out of their pocket.

So mom has her new wheels and is ready to go. The wifey and I are over in their apartment to help out. Mom has the thing fired up, hits the go pedal, and proceeds to slam into one of the bedroom's door jab with good force messing it up a bit. That freaks her out that she wouldn't be able to control it out in the corridors and she never rode the thing again. Of course the medical supply company (a for-profit company of one of our not-for-profit hospital systems in town) wouldn't take the power chair back.

It sat in their various apartments over the next few years until she died. I ended up selling it through a used medical supply consignment store. They had to replace at least one (or more) of the batteries. I think they sold it for around $1400 and after their cut dad or the estate (me and my bro) got around $875 for it. An expensive 10 second ride...
10-17-2014, 06:37 PM
parrothead

Ever vigilant! Nice work!
10-17-2014, 07:06 PM
newattitude

Quote:

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

I have a power wheel chair story for you.

.

DR, sounds like my Aunties issue- she had one from my uncle and she didn't need it after he passed and she kept it charged all the time ''just in case'' but nobody ever came back for it. AFAIC it was hers to do whatever she wished with. Now that she is gone it will still be sitting in her house.
10-17-2014, 08:53 PM
DakotaRog

NewAtt- Do you have any cousins from your Aunt's family? If so, you should convince them to sell the chair while it still has value. Or whoever the next in kin is...
10-20-2014, 05:15 AM
MattyNoNeck

Man, those power chairs seem to cause all sorts of ruckuses (rucki?)

When I was an EMT, I worked for a few private companies that mostly did hospital discharges. So we’d always have folks who would need to take their wheelchairs home with them and the standard ones were easy enough since they usually folded up or came apart somehow and would stow nicely for the ride even in the small Type II ambulances we had.

One day, we go to pick this guy up and take him home. Dispatch told us he had a wheelchair that would be going with him, ok no problem, right? Of course it’s going to be a problem because some reason and somehow he got his ginormous power wheelchair into the hospital with him and absolutely refused to leave without it. I was like “Sir, we didn’t drive semi-trailer to pick you up, we have a tiny ambulance and just…no. Now if you want to go home, someone’s going to have to come get this chair or you’re going to have to leave it here and have someone come get it another time.” Dude flips out and starts throwing stuff around the room. Holy crap. We leave the room, the nurses are laughing (they know this guy too well), security comes up and calms the guy down. What a mess. So we end up convincing the guy to go without it after he speaks to his family (son I think?) about the chair, but man, what a headache!