The last
THREE (
@JonB slipped one in before I finished my "tome") posts make tons of sense for anyone who isn't in it just for the "fun" of it and has the desire to learn more about the subject of electrical controls. I don't want to discourage anyone who wants to learn, but there is a point where diminishing returns takes over and the first attempt will likely eventually be upgraded or replaced at some point and there goes the "economy" we rationalize when doing things ourselves. The economy of it is an illusory point, and I think when we tally what we have invested over the years to "save money by casting and reloading," we can admit it's about much more than that.
Since I've done electrical controls for a living fro over thirty years, a PID controller is a naturally basic project, and I had parts. Not much of an equipment investment for me, but years of dinking with this stuff for a loving meant I didn't have to look anything up. let alone learn about it first. We all envy the fellas with lathes and how they can turn out a bullet nose-punch or sizing die, but don't always factor in the tens of thousands of dollars'-worth of equipment an the years to learn that trade. The welders who can magically make two pieces into one or fill in pits on an action can make a little jealous as well, but the equipment, the experience - way more than a short bit of welding wire and five minutes.
If we do new things out of curiosity, stubbornness, or anything BUT economy, there is an intangible payout in the end, but if we bother to quantify it materially, we've likely been in the red since before the material was acquired. It's a log-term investment, which only ever really pays in practical terms over a long period of time. For a one-shot deal, it makes more sense to trade skills - do what we do for a living to pay someone else to do something THEY do for a living.
Practicality and pragmatism rarely deters the determined, independent-minded person, which most here happen to be. I've done a lot of things just to be able to say that I did it. I have a $90 Harbor Freight wire welder, but I ain't no welder. I've spent as much on wire (probably more on grinding wheels) as I did on t he welder, to make a set of hinges for a blanket chest, put a new shock mount on a Jeep, reattach an exhaust hanger and fix a toilet seat (long story - not going into it), so for probably $200, I didn't save any money and I still sure ain't no welder. It's the luxury of stubbornness, more than anything. Now, if I really need something important welded, I'd pay a real welder to do it.
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