lewmonst 0 #1 March 30, 2004 Since I had purchased the $200 warranty on my 10D that covered everything but theft and fire... I though I might try to salvage my 10D remains and make it look like a different accident... So it's soaked in several batches of oxyclean and been scrubbed with a toothbrush and cleaner... all the charred parts removed... but I still can't get the fire smell out... is it hopeless? the remains are quite a sight to see... all those fragile parts bent and smashed and mangled... it's amazing what those chunks of metal, plastic and electronics used to do... think anyone on Ebay would buy a destroyed 10D? desperate for a digital camera once again... lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #2 March 30, 2004 You try Ammonia? That or Sulfer? Those are powerful enough to over come almost any other oder. Not that I'm endorsing insurance fraud or anything...Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #3 March 30, 2004 or you could try being honestYou are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky) My Life ROCKS! How's yours doing? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpy 0 #4 March 30, 2004 Quoteor you could try being honest personaly i'd go with the amonia or sulfur ideas but... then you'd have to try to explain why it smells like amonia or sulfur.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nacmacfeegle 0 #5 March 30, 2004 Could you take a couple of cans of vegetable soup, pour it over what remains of your cam, and tell the ins. co that the cutie you are holding in your avatar 'honked' all over it? How closely would they examine the remains? Especially if it was all crusty and nasty when the assessor called round. Hell my wee one burped/honked/peed and pooped his way over countless pieces of furniture/carpets/favourite shirts/jeans etc.-------------------- He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefalle 0 #6 March 30, 2004 try spraying the heck out of it with fabreeze. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #7 March 30, 2004 I bought a camera off ebay, and when I got it, it smelled overwhelmingly like cigarette smoke. (so bad I didn't want to look through the viewfinder). After yelling at the pawnshop that sold it (the rat bastards) for saying it was 'clean and perfect shape', I went on a quest to get rid of the smell. Two things basically got rid of it: 1) on external sufaces, I used a 'Smoke Remover' spray (I got mine at home depot made by zep (?) over with the trashcans and cleaners). Used it on a cloth, and wiped it down repeatedly. 2) For the guts, I ended up setting the open camera on an ionizer for days on end. Eventually (and some airtime), it removed the smell. But is it only smoke damage? or is it actual fire damage also. If it is smoke damage, it may still be covered. If the warranty is through Mack Camera, good luck -- I have found them to be utterly dispicable. I had a warranty on my PC100, and sent it in for warranty. They wanted to charge me 260 bucks to put the handle and doors back on, and said they would not fix it unless they did. Ridiculous. For $260, I can send it to sony and get all of it fixed for the same price. j Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeiber 0 #8 March 30, 2004 Just throw it in a wood chipper, and mail the parts back in a box. It wasn't stolen, and it wasn't burned, so it MUST be covered, right?! If they ask what happened, tell them it fell in a wood chipper! You're telling the truth! Or you could just tell them it broke on a camping trip, and it smells like smoke from the campfire. I like the woodchipper idea better though! JShhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #9 March 30, 2004 well... a couple of things... It's not insurance that I have on it, it's the Ritz Camera Extended Service Plan... which specifically says "Our Expanded Service Policy provides your equipment with coverage from almost every possible occurrence (except fire and theft) while you are using your equipment."... And i talked to the salesman for an hour about skydiving, showed him my helmet, and talked about dropping it... He said as long as i could bring in the pieces, it's covered. so... we cleaned it, and ran it over with the truck which sufficiently smashed it, threw out all the charred and melted pieces, and doused it with febreeze for the last couple hours. The febreeze seems to be working better than anything, but it's dried once, and the smell was still noticeable... I'm not really expecting to get a replacement, but I figure I might as well try. Looking at the sum of all our losses, if there's a chance I can get one major thing replaced without paying for it, it would help a lot. sad photos attached... lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymedic 0 #10 March 30, 2004 are you asking how to commit insurance fraud?? Marc otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #11 March 30, 2004 did you read my most recent post?http://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeiber 0 #12 April 1, 2004 WOW, just got done looking at those pictures! I've had a couple beers , so I couldn't help but laugh when I pictured you running over it with your truck! Woodchipper idea aside, perhaps just take the pieces in and tell them it got run over. If they ask why it smells like smoke, just tell them you grabbed the closest shirt to wrap the parts in, and it smelled like smoke; now the parts do too. Just out of curiosity, have you tried perfume? Personally, if I were you, I'd go into the store, give them the parts and tell them it got run over (the truth). If they ask why it smells like smoke, put on your most sympathetic face, bat your eyes a few times, and tell them not to ask that question. I'm 'morally flexible' (just call me Robin Hood), but sometimes honesty is the best solution. Holy cow, did *I* just say that?!?! A low cut shirt might help too! JShhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #13 April 1, 2004 Zep Smoke Eliminator Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #14 April 1, 2004 Quote Zep Smoke Eliminator From that site: "Zep Smoke Eliminator is a water-based aerosol that chemically eliminates the source of smoke odors and odors caused by cigars, cigarettes, body waste, garbage, animals and fire. ... Leaves a pleasant light floral fragrance." lewmonst: "Uh, dear Customer Service Person, it smells like flowers 'cause that's what I was shooting when this BIG HUGE UGLY attacked me!!! Honest!" ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teamhypoxia 0 #15 April 1, 2004 If it didn't suck so bad to lose such an expensive piece of equipment, it sounds like great fun to intentionally destroy such an expensive piece of equipment I think I'd have gotten a little bit more creative though... roof testing, slow pitch camera ball, something along those lines. As far as insurance fraud goes... the biggest frauds in the insurance biz are the insurance companies themselves. Screw 'em I say Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #16 April 1, 2004 ha! yeah, it doesn't actually smell like flowers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #17 April 1, 2004 Well, you all should be happy to know that I dropped the camera (remains) off at Ritz... The original salesman I had purchased it from was there. When I put the plastic bag of chunks on the counter, he was like, "Uh oh... Is that the 10D?" and I said, "...was...". Another woman who worked there said, "Did you buy the ESP?" and the salesman said "Yes she did" so she said, "Oh great, you're fine then..." and I said, "Well... not really... I have to be honest with you. It was destroyed in a fire, and I know the ESP doesn't cover fire damage, so I really don't have my hopes up here." And the salesman said, "That doesn't look like fire damage to me." "Me neither," said the other woman. So they took out the Repair Order form (ha ha, repair, yeah right) and started filling it out... The salesman suggested I make up some story of dropping it off a bridge into a river to explain the water vapor inside parts of it... And I said I wasn't planning on lying. So, on the form, in the section "Describe the problem" we just wrote "Camera was in horrible accident". We had to look through a stack four inches high of copies of ESP's since I didn't have a copy of mine with me. The salesman said, "I'm really rooting for you on this one. I hope they give you a new camera. With all the ESP's we sell, they make a fortune off of them and rarely ever get a claim. It would be nice to see someone get the benefits of it for once." That stack we looked through was several hundred ESP's for between $100 and $500 each... So, that's the deal. They'll call me in 3 weeks and let me know the verdict. I still don't have my hopes up. I mean, the febreeze helped a lot, but still... I saved a little piece of the camera that said 10D as a momento. It's funny... on the form, there were some check-boxes, and one for "Any visible scratches" um... "lots" we said. peace lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #18 April 2, 2004 Crossing my fingers for you, lew! :^) ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjf98 0 #19 April 2, 2004 Good for you Lew. I hope it works out.See you this weekend? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VisionAir 0 #20 April 3, 2004 Lew, I'm glad you stuck to your morals and told the truth about it. I had the same thoughts of lying to the insurance company to have my home owners coverage cover my mishap. I even called in the claim and as soon as I hung up with them my conscience took over (and the fear of insurance fraud) so I had to immeadiatly call them back and cancel it. I also thought about taking it out to the street and runninig over it some but I figured the claim specialists would be smarter then that. I also figure they are trained for finding fraud and I didn't want to keep the lie going. I'll bet this will turn out well for you by doing the right thing. In my case... I'm just out $3k My wffc mishap... http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=8419261 Huh?!? What cloud?!? Oh that!!! That's just Industrial Haze Alex M. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmfreefly 0 #21 April 5, 2004 Well, I specifically asked about that kind of stuff on my homeowners insurance, and they said it was covered. "Even if it is my fault it is destroyed?" Yep. It also covers lost items or theft, even off premises (taking your video camera on a vacation is a good example). The only catch is there is a cap on the claims. j Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #22 April 5, 2004 Most homeowners insurance does have a clause that excludes items included in busineses. So... if you're doing tandems for profit, you might have issues claiming homeowners insurance, but if you're doing free or "buck-up" video for formations, then you'll have an easier time. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeiber 0 #23 April 5, 2004 This is perfect timing - I just trashed my Sony TRV... The Lortab's are numbing the pain, but it does nothing for the pain of knowing I forgot to turn the camera on before 'landing'.... JShhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeiber 0 #24 April 7, 2004 I just looked into this, but I have a $500 deductible, and a claim could cause my insurance to go up, so I'll just buy a new camera... When I called the local AllState office, they asked how it was done, and I said I had it on my skydiving helmet, and it got knocked off a table. Her response was, 'skydiving? bwahahaha, no, it's not covered'. I called the corporate office and determined that even if it was covered, it wouldn't be worth claiming it... JShhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lewmonst 0 #25 April 7, 2004 Yeah... after the fire, I got renters insurance. After sorting out the details, I had to ask for a seperate business policy to cover my cameras and skydiving gear. And when the real agent in charge finally found out it was used for skydiving, he said he couldn't even sell me a business policy on any of my stuff as State Farm will not cover anything for any business with skydiving... So, i'm still looking for coverage for my skydiving gear. If we were to suffer another such devastating loss like that fire, I don't know if I could keep jumping. peace lewhttp://www.exitshot.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
