Dominican Ingenuity

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
I have posted before about various 'fixes' I have encountered here...

Sloppy hydraulics on the engine hood... fixed in a flash - permanently !!

This one is a keeper -
I had an older model iPhone that seemed to talk only with the loudspeaker on... no regular speaker
I took it to the Apple store in Canada - Dead meat
T took it to a USA store - dead meat

My housekeeper asked about it - lying around...
I explained the problem... she took it.

She just came back from Sto Dom where they installed a new speaker... regular speaker
CONTRARY TO MY NoAmerican Advice...

Works like new
I had installed a new battery and IOS upgrade already
Apple had a deal last fall.... new batteries $30 not $80/90

Never ceases to amaze me what can be fixed here
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
9,503
4,023
113
Cabarete
I agree - they can fix almost anything here. In the US and Canada we have too much of a "repair by replace" mentality.
 

Farmer

Antiguo
Dec 2, 2003
229
96
28
My rental car's battery dies. A group of Dominican men gather around and then start stopping passing vehicles. Open hood, look, close hood, wave on. This happened about 10 times before there was a cheer. They told me to get in my car and turn the key and they flipped the other guy's battery upside down and touched the posts. Who cares about battery acid dripping all over the place. Fired right up. Its what you do when nobody carries jumper cables.
 

jd426

Gold
Dec 12, 2009
9,511
2,781
113
Saw a group of guys once Hotwire a Fuel Pump ( in tank) with Telephone wire for a lady who had the car battery almost dead trying to start it .. it was obvious that no fuel was getting to the engine, as the pump was making no sound at all .
.wire like an extension cord right into the window and through the car ... got the car running.. Sure it had to be properly fixed later ,but at least she got it off the street and where she was going.
A Guy who flies his own plane, myself, and 2 other guys with engineering and auto mech skillls we just shook our heads and said " yep , that'll work I guess " ... amazing on the spot ingenuity ..
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
My 'piston' fix was a beauty

The little piston that holds up the hood was shot.

My local mecanico said-
I'll give you a Dominican fix'

Took the piston off, cut a little PVC tube the right length and slid it on

Up goes the hood.. touch the PVC tube and it holds against larger sleeve of the piston

Good for life.......

and free !!!
 

CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
Apr 1, 2014
11,679
7,928
113
I once saw a prostitute in Sosua have a blow out with one of her flip-flops
whist on an evening stroll down PC. She stopped for a minute, pulled a
bobby pin out of her hair, heated it up with a lighter then pulled the strap
tight through the bottom of the sole and pushed the hot bobby pin into it
to secure the strap... and off she went.

Its no different in any of the other developing countries I've visited or lived in.
I guess when you grow up without the means to replace things, you learn how
to fix them out of necessity.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
Now that is GENIUS..... yikes !!!!!!!!!!!

My watchyman has a radio ... no plug
He sticks the 2 wires into the outlet.... Shazam !! Musica !!!!!!!!!!!
 
Sep 4, 2012
5,931
57
48
I once saw a prostitute in Sosua have a blow out with one of her flip-flops
whist on an evening stroll down PC. She stopped for a minute, pulled a
bobby pin out of her hair, heated it up with a lighter then pulled the strap
tight through the bottom of the sole and pushed the hot bobby pin into it
to secure the strap... and off she went.

Its no different in any of the other developing countries I've visited or lived in.
I guess when you grow up without the means to replace things, you learn how
to fix them out of necessity.

Exactly.

In the USA labor is too expensive and for the most part is cheaper to replace/buy new than to repair anything.
 

RockyM

New member
Jul 16, 2018
119
0
0
Now that is GENIUS..... yikes !!!!!!!!!!!

My watchyman has a radio ... no plug
He sticks the 2 wires into the outlet.... Shazam !! Musica !!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap. I did something like that when I was 2 years old. Never did it again :cross-eye
 

Timotero

Bronze
Feb 25, 2011
689
29
48
Holy crap. I did something like that when I was 2 years old. Never did it again :cross-eye

Lol, I did the opposite. Cut the electrical cord off the base of an old lamp. Then I plugged the cut cord in...WOW!!!!! (Wow in a bad way)
 

mofongoloco

Silver
Feb 7, 2013
3,002
9
38
How about the umbrella repair men who collect the thrown away broken umbrellas repairs and sells them. too cool. also, first time I went to brasil saw a guy who took apart bic lighters and refurbished them.
 

Tom0910

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2015
884
640
113
My rental car's battery dies. A group of Dominican men gather around and then start stopping passing vehicles. Open hood, look, close hood, wave on. This happened about 10 times before there was a cheer. They told me to get in my car and turn the key and they flipped the other guy's battery upside down and touched the posts. Who cares about battery acid dripping all over the place. Fired right up. Its what you do when nobody carries jumper cables.
my battery died in front of Juniors tire shop in Sosua,they ran and got a spare battery and two box wrenches and used the box wrenches as jumpers. I told them to put a new battery in the car,they didn't have the correct battery as the new one was too tall,they cut a plastic soda bottle in half and put it on top of the battery posts so the terminals would not touch the inside hood of the car (unbeknownst to me),first bump in the road I hit the battery hit the hood and boom!! sparks and of course the car stalled. I call them up they come to look at it,opened the hood and were going to take a huge hammer and pound on the inside of the hood and create the clearance needed,I stopped them just before they started pounding on the inside of the hood,what idiots.
 

Sua Sponte

New member
Dec 29, 2017
50
0
0
I once saw a prostitute in Sosua have a blow out with one of her flip-flops
whist on an evening stroll down PC. She stopped for a minute, pulled a
bobby pin out of her hair, heated it up with a lighter then pulled the strap
tight through the bottom of the sole and pushed the hot bobby pin into it
to secure the strap... and off she went.

Its no different in any of the other developing countries I've visited or lived in.
I guess when you grow up without the means to replace things, you learn how
to fix them out of necessity.

That's awesome! In my line of work, they call that field-craft. It's a dying art to most developed countries, but a necessity (like you said) to lesser developed countries. That cracks me up! Make it work until the wheels fall off!!!! Another reason I love DR, the level of entitlement is so much lesser than 1st world areas. They know how to survive!
 

EphraimH

New member
Jul 12, 2017
16
0
1
I saw a guy run out of gas on his pasola. He stopped one of the concho cars, used a hose to suck gas out of the car into his mouth and then spit the gas into the pasolas tank until he had enough to get to the gas station. Then off he went.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,328
113
THIS ONE IS A TROPHY WINNER

In STI today --- i had a red light.... the windshield wiper salesman came by

As it happens , I bought new wipers in the US over Christmas....2 fronts and the midget rear window one
The rear didn't fit.... awkward size, clip-on - todo

So I ask the guy if he can give me a rear wiper.....
Claro....he says.... 250 pesos
I give him the Winston Churchill signal & he agrees

BUT - he has a different solution to the problem.

He removes the rear blade... piezza enetera.... and strips the rubber from it.
Proceeds to insert new rubber into the old steel frame....
Basically - exchanging the rubber, not the blade mechanism itself

Red Light - Remember !!??

The buzzer sounds - time's up !!

He instructs me thru the intersection.... and finishes the job.... 200 pesos

He then says - turn it on , see if it works
I tell him --- get me some rain and we'll really see if it works !!

He laughs.... and we part ways

I still can't believe it......Incredible ..... IMO

hahahahaha

After that demonstration ...
I saw no reason why he couldn't summon a sprinkle of lluvia.....
 

Dr_Taylor

New member
Oct 18, 2017
351
2
0
THIS ONE IS A TROPHY WINNER

In STI today --- i had a red light.... the windshield wiper salesman came by

As it happens , I bought new wipers in the US over Christmas....2 fronts and the midget rear window one
The rear didn't fit.... awkward size, clip-on - todo

So I ask the guy if he can give me a rear wiper.....
Claro....he says.... 250 pesos
I give him the Winston Churchill signal & he agrees

BUT - he has a different solution to the problem.

He removes the rear blade... piezza enetera.... and strips the rubber from it.
Proceeds to insert new rubber into the old steel frame....
Basically - exchanging the rubber, not the blade mechanism itself

Red Light - Remember !!??

The buzzer sounds - time's up !!

He instructs me thru the intersection.... and finishes the job.... 200 pesos

He then says - turn it on , see if it works
I tell him --- get me some rain and we'll really see if it works !!

He laughs.... and we part ways

I still can't believe it......Incredible ..... IMO

hahahahaha

After that demonstration ...
I saw no reason why he couldn't summon a sprinkle of lluvia.....
I like this story. When I was a poor university student, I used to simply purchase the rubber inserts instead of the complete blade. I do not care what anyone says: I have much respect for many a Dominican entrepreneur.