Appliance Repair Wisdom for the Ages

Monday, June 28, 2004

Check out all the pictures from this hike.

Saturday, June 26, 2004

You've heard them, you love them, you want to BE them...ok, that's just too weird for words. But you can read the the text of the ads here. For your reading pleasure, the text of the 15-second appliance tips spots I'm running on WNTK talk radio is presented along with supporting links for more information. Happy fixing!

Washer Flooding

Samurai Appliance Repair Man says: Washing machine floods can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home. Here are two things you can do to avoid this disaster: 1) never tamper with or remove the protective screens on the washer's inlet valve and 2) install stainless-steel braided fill hoses. For more tips on preventing washing machine floods, go online to Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man.
Link ==> Preventing Washer Floods

Icemaker Early Warning

Samurai Appliance Repair Man says: If your icemaker stops making ice, this could be an early warning that your refrigerator is starting to warm up. Icemakers won't make ice if the freezer temperature is above 17 degrees. So, even though your freezer may feel cold, your icemaker may be telling you to go online to Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man.
Link ==> Online Icemaker Repair Manual

Electric Dryer No Heat

Samurai Appliance Repair Man says: If your electric dryer runs but doesn't heat up at all, the first thing to check is the circuit breaker to make sure it's not tripped. Electric dryers use a two-part circuit breaker and it's common for one part to trip which cuts power to the heating elements but not the motor. For more dryer repair solutions, go online to Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man.
Link ==> Electric Dryer Not Heating

Spring Cleaning: Refrigerators

Samurai Appliance Repair Man says: Get your refrigerator ready for the hot summer days ahead. Help keep your beverages ice cold by vacuuming all the hair and lint off the the condenser grill underneath. Use a mild bleach solution to clean the black mildew off the door gaskets to keep them soft. For more refrigerator tips, go online to Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man.
Link ==> Online Refrigerator Repair Manual

Spring Cleaning: Pest Control

Samurai Appliance Repair Man says: During winter, mice come inside your home and like to make nests in the insulation around your dishwasher and range. Now's the time to look for signs of mouse activity and take appropriate pest control measures. To find out what you can do about mice in your appliances, go online to Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man.
Link ==> Rodent Rage

Friday, June 25, 2004

Link ==> Free Appliance Repair Hotline

So, I'm doing an 'xpearmint with a new appliance repair hotline system. This one isn't toll-free, but it's more than just a voicemail system, too. With this system, if I'm available, you'll talk to me real-time when you call. If I'm not available, you can leave a voicemail message.

The purpose of the Appliance Repair Hotline is, and has always been, to help you find the resources here at Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man so you can fix your appliances. I can point you in the right direction in your repair and give my opinion on what the problem might be. If it turns out you need detailed instructions on an appliance repair problem, we can continue our discussion either in the repair forum or in a Live Help session.

Here's how the new Appliance Repair Hotline works:

• Call the Appliance Repair Hotline Number: 1-775-244-6321.
• You'll hear a greeting telling you you've reached Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man and to leave a message.
• Just start talking, as though you're leaving a voicemail message. If I'm available, I'll pickup the phone while you're talking and we'll talk about your appliance problem.
• If I'm not available, continue leaving your message.
• Your message can only be one minute long, and I get lots of voicemail, so please keep it short and sweet:
• Name. First name is all I need and don't bother spelling your name--that just wastes time.
• Phone number. Say it twice and only give one number. Your phone number is the only thing you should say twice in your entire message.
• Type and brand of appliance. Don't waste time leaving the model number on voicemail. If it's a cooking appliance or a dryer, state whether it's gas or electric.
• A brief problem description.
• A poetic expression of your great love and adoration for the Samurai, preferably a haiku rendered in traditional 5-7-5 meter. This is entirely optional; however, four out of five dentists agree that it does expedite my return call to you.
• After you leave a message, I'll be notified of your voicemail at my cell phone and I'll return your call as soon as I can, usually within 24 hours.

I'll try new this system out for a while and, if it seems to work well, I'll replace the present toll-free voicemail system in favor of this one. Ok, talk to you later.

Monday, June 21, 2004

Check out all the pictures from this hike.

Sunday, June 20, 2004

In his relentless efforts to feed his Grasshoppers the exact grains of appliance repair wisdom they seek, the Samurai has installed a new and improved site search utility. It's powered by Google and it works extremely well. The option to search Fixitnow.com is pre-selected so all you have to do is type in what you're looking for. Yea verily, seek and ye shall find! Go ahead, try it out:

	Web Fixitnow.com

Friday, June 18, 2004

Looks like Ol' Lonely is at it again. According to Maytag's Technical Bulletin TDL-0052-B, replacing the wax motor along with the machine control board is the prescribed corrective action for a burned out R11. This machine is such an electronic abortion that even Maytag's engineers haven't fathomed all of its myriad failure modes.

First, I'd go back to Maytag and tell them they should send you a replacement machine control board because you just replaced it along with the wax motor per their technical bulletin and the board blew again. I think an argument can be made that the board was defective and they should send you a new one under warranty. Most parts have a 90-day to a year warranty, anyway.

Anticipating that you'll not have much satisfaction dealing with the Customer Disservice Reps at Maytag, you could try repairing your existing board instead of spending almost $200 on a replacement.

Lock n' load!

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

I consummated my lust for Mt. Jefferson today, doin' the dirty with yet another one of New Hampshire's 48, 4,000 footers. (That's number 47 for me, but who's counting...besides me?) I know what you're asking, "O, Aging Seeker of Mountain Summits, why, pray tell, dost thou hikest so much?"

Good question, Grasshopper, though I recommend you drop the King James English--it makes you sound pretentious.

Why do I hike these mountains, you ax? See for yourself. Once you feel the power and grace of a mountain summit that you earned by your own sweat and toil, you're hopelessly hooked--from that moment on you are reborn as a shameless mountain ho. So, when I'm not tinkering with this website or fixing broken stuff, I'm either laying on the couch drinking Bud n' watching Gilligan or I'm whoring myself out to another summit in the White Mountains.

I've been saving Mt. Isolation for last. After that, I'll have hiked all 48, 4,000-footers. And then I can die. No, wait, then I have to hike them all in winter. Then, I have to hike them all at night. Then, I have to hike them all blindfolded and barefooted. And then, I have to ...

Sunday, June 13, 2004

If you're reading this post, that means you've pulled this page off our new, zippy servers in Boston and that the DNS change has propagated throughout the internet...or at least your neighborhood of the internet. Welcome to the fast lane!

Things might be a little glitchy around here for the next several days as we migrate Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man from our present crucible here in Hong Kong to our new servers in Boston. Our excellent web hosting company, ICDSoft.com, who we've been with for over a year, is based in Hong Kong and recently opened a server center in Boston.

Oh, I know what you're saying, "Excuse me, Thrice-Blessed Samurai, but there must be more web hosting companies here in Ameedica than there are defects on GE appliances. Why then, pray tell, O Gracious One, didn't you simply host with a U.S.-based web host to begin with?"

A reasonable question, Grasshopper, and respectfully posed. The short answer is because, just like GE appliances, U.S.-based webhosts SUCK! This website has been around since 1996--by internet standards, it's paleolithic (for those of you in Bagdad, Kentucky, that means "reeeeel freakin' old"). So we've had more than enough time to become intimately familiar with the slimy, seedy underworld of web hosting. Prior to finding ICDSoft.com, we dealt exclusively with US-based web hosting companies--mostly because we didn't know any better. We had already been through over a dozen web hosts before we finally found ICDSoft.com. Finding them was like taking a hot, soapy shower after wallowing around in a lumpy cesspool of steaming pig manure.

Anyway, the address for the new domain name servers (DNS) for Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man will take several days to propagate throughout the internet. So if things seem flakey around here for the next few days, you know why. Just be patient, everything will be back to normal by mid-week.

Saturday, June 12, 2004

A serendipitous hike up Mts. Adams and Madison today. I caught the weather just right and the mountain gods did grin down upon me, granting me expansive views and temperate hang-time at the summits--every peak bagger's fervent hope and prayer. Being a beautiful Saturday with ideal hiking conditions, the trail head was jammed with cars from all around New England. I was a little concerned about the trails being choked with people. And while it's true there were lots of people out, they were spread thin and none of them were dilettantes. Every single person or group I had the pleasure to meet were all hard-core White Mountain hikers, which you'd expect on the most rugged trails in the White Mountains.

The stark mountainous landscape of this hike coupled with the uncommonly placid weather yielded some of the most stunning mountain pictures I've ever taken. Take a moment from your appliance repair trivial pursuit and check out all the photos from this majestic hike. You'll be glad you did.

Friday, June 11, 2004

Like crimson rays extending from the rising sun, the Samurai's glory shines all over the globe. Lately, the Samurai was nearly flooded by hundreds of thousands of emails from every country on the planet asking, nay, begging for an autographed picture of the Samurai practicing his appliance repair martial art. Fortunately, a global internet email glitch prevented any of those requests from being delivered; however, since the Samurai is omniscient (and he knows it), he was aware of their incipient arrival.

As always, the Samurai indulges his devoted Grasshoppers. Here is a genuine photo of yours so very truly in action, preparing to deal harshly with an insolent appliance that has dishonored me. Note that I have personally autographed each photo. Go ahead and take one. They're free just like the copious pearls of appliance repair wisdom here at The Samurai School of Appliantology.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

When it rains, it pours and Maytag is getting swamped with troubles. First, they get slapped with a class-action action lawsuit for their Neptune front-loading washer--this machine is an orgy of engineering blunders. Now, surprise, surprise, the bungling Maytag management (or, more accurately, "manglement") decides they need to cut 1,100 jobs (and probably move them to Mexico) citing increased labor costs. Yeah, it wouldn't have anything to do with bone-headed Manglement decisions authorizing the production of poorly-designed products. Or their decision to move away from making quality machines, like their flagship product, the Maytag Dependable Care washing machine with a bullet-proof transmission and drive assembly, opting instead for the cheesy Norge-style machines in their current-production Atlantis and Performa washers with plastic gears in the transmission. And they must have hired some crack-heads to design all their electronics control boards because they all SUCK! From refrigerators and ranges to washing machines, their electronic control boards are going snap, crackle, pop.

And can someone tell me why none of the knuckleheads at any of the major appliance manufacturers have figured out that electronics and wet appliances just don't mix? What's wrong with discreet switches and mechanical controls? Oh, wait: they're too reliable and they don't provide enough residual revenue in parts sales. Ok, got it.

Anyway, the workers at Maytag plants do their jobs and make these pieces of crap that Manglement tells them to make. So when all these appliances start breaking down in the field, the workers take the hit. It's interesting how I frequently have to replace an electronic part on some Maytag appliance that failed just a couple days after the warranty expired, or install some service kit to fix a design blunder, but I can't remember the last time I had to fix a Maytag appliance because of a defect in workmanship from the factory. Seems to me they were all made exactly to plans and specifications--you could say they were made perfectly wrong. And Manglement wants the workers to take the hit. Well, the UAW workers at Maytag's Iowa plant had a different idea.

Manglement has no one but itself to blame for Maytag's troubles.

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Start by removing the front panel to see where the leak is coming from. Then, pray to Allah, who is compassionate and merciful, that it's just a leaking hose because if'n it ain't, start practicing yoga so you can kiss your sweet derriere goodbye.

If the tub seal is leaking, you'll need to replace the hub and seal kit on this puppy. I hope you enjoy spending hours on end in a dark, damp basement, breaking apart old parts fused together by years of corrosion while another glorious summer day gallops by outside, leaving you more pallid and one day closer to the bed pan. Time and pain--that's what awaits you in this repair journey to Hell, Budrow. And there's a fair chance that this will be a one-way trip, too, since your hours of weeping and gnashing of teeth may not result in a successful repair. How much time and pain? Let's just say that it's off the scale on the SUDS-o-meter. This is one of those jobs that makes even crusty old appliance warriors wet themselves and pretend they have a bad phone connection when they get a call for one of these jobs.

Ahh, Grasshopper, let this be your wakeup call. But if, after reading my wise admonitions, you think you have the cohonas for this job, then here are a couple resources that'll hepya:

• The Amana factory service manual for this washer.
• Some disassembly tips from American Appliance.

Do you hear your phone ringing yet?

Saturday, June 05, 2004

Friday, June 04, 2004

A superlative hillstomp on the three southerly peaks in the Mt. Cardigan range. We were planning on hiking up Mt. Moosilauke today but I forgot I had a dental appointment this morning so we settled on this shorter hike a little closer to home. This is a fine seven-mile, half-day hike that coughs up the eye candy with relatively little effort compared to, say, hiking most of the Kinsman Ridge in a day. And I don't think the boys minded having a mellow hike after the Memorial Day hillstomp on Franconia Ridge.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

The Samurai was invited on the Morning Liftoff radio show this morning. I wish Morning Liftoff had a website I could link you to for more information about the show 'cause I'd do it in a Samurai second! It's a first-rate, locally-produced morning show that airs from 6 to 9 every weekday morning on WNTK, the voice of the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. The G-Team, shown here to the left, is the three-person crew of this outstanding show. They are George Russell (front and center, flamboyant leader after whom the team is named), Pete Merrigan (left), and Hilary Cogen (right).

In case you missed the show, some of the appliance topics we yakked about were:

• Do-it-yourself is a growth business. Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man gets over 2,400 visitors a day and traffic has increased every month for the past two years!
• Who is the Samurai and how'd he get into fixing stuff?
• How long should appliances last?
• Washer flood prevention: steel-braided washer fill hoses are the cheapest flood insurance money can buy.
• White vinyl dryer vents are a big bozo no-no!
• In the New London, NH, area, call 526-7129 anytime for fast, expert in-home service.

I also recorded five new appliance tips to run as time/weather spots. Listen for them on WNTK!