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Anyone an appliance repairman?

Gunpowder

Gunpowder

Cigar Search & destroy V 1.20
Joined
Nov 2, 2003
Messages
1,401
Location
Indiana
Just checking to see if anyone was in the appliance repair business that could help give incite into what to buy. My Consumer Report Best Buy Dryer that is maybe 4 years old just isn't drying fast enough. It's either the dryer not drying well or the washer just isn't spinning fast enough top get the water out. Same reason I bought the new dryer 3-4 years ago.

Looks like 15 year old fridge wants to freeze up lately and probably time to go as well.

Reliability seems to be an issue these days with the electronics so thought I would ask.
 
On the dryer , I'd check and clean out all the vents. You would be surprised how the efficiency is diminished by lint in the vent. The same applies to the fridge, the rear fins and front intake need to be cleaned on a regular basis. Hope that helps you short term.
 
I just did some repair on my frige and have fixed a dryer or two in the past.

For the refrigerator, clean out the coils that are either on the back or under the unit. Over time dust will gather on the coils and the exchange of heat will not occur the way it should. If you have frost build up in your freezer or the top of your refrigerator, try defrosting the unit for a day and see if that brings it back to life. If it does, your problem is either the defrost coil, the defrost timer or possibly the thermostat switch.

Dryers are pretty simple. Clean out the vents as suggested above, and check the heater coil. Heater coils are not hard to replace and don't cost much money.

There are a number of appliance repair sites on the web that will help trouble shoot the problem and provide some tips on repair.

Linky for you.
 
What brand are the washer and dryer? If the dryer is a Kenmore/Whirlpool, is it the large capacity or the super capacity? Also is your dryer gas/natural gas or electric?

bilder said:
Dryers are pretty simple. Clean out the vents as suggested above, and check the heater coil. Heater coils are not hard to replace and don't cost much money.
Click to expand...

The element on an electric either works or it doesn't, there's no in between.

tone-ny has a very good suggestion regarding the venting of the dryer. How long of a run does the vent pipe have to make? It is hard ducting or that lame flexible plastic stuff? It's best to use the aluminum ducting for the entire lenght of the vent pipe.
 
After much searching and research, the wife and I ordered a set of the Frigidare ATF7000 series washer and dryer last week. The 6000 series was a best buy last year but there aren't any ratings on the 7000 yet. We expect them to be delivered this week. :thumbs:
 
coventrycat86 said:
My 34 year old Kenmore washer is still working fine and so is my 30 year old Kenmore dryer! :thumbs: These are really Whirlpool machines with the Kenmore (Sears) name on them.
Click to expand...

My father likes to point out that he's been in his house almost 40 years and he's had only 2 dryers, both Kenmore. Still has the second one and its working fine.
 
I do have to admit that the dryer we are replacing is a Kenmore and it's pushing 25 years. The washer died 11 years ago though.
 
I am familiar with Repairclinic.com and have had my share of repairs to my previous Gibson. I was also luck to have a wife that used to work for a Whirlpool dealer (commercial laundry). Ordered lots of timers and other parts for the Kenmore dishwasher (long gone) and previous washer.

My present dryer is a Whirlpool Gold Electric ultra capacity that was consumers Best Buy a few years back. I bought it because drying time was so long with my previous Gibson which was on it's last leg. I found that the new dryer was just as bad. I had it looked at soon after purchase and they said it seemed to be working ok but it might be my venting. Some say gas drys faster but not by much and I have that option since I ran a gas line right under my dryer for a new duel fuel stove in the kitchen.

My venting is metal I installed a few years back but since it is on an inside wall I have a few elbows and some length on its way to the outside wall. "They" say no longer than 25 feet and you add 4 feet for each elbow. I am under that.

I checked the outside vent and air is flowing. I am running the dryer two cycles (70-90 min/cycle) to get stuff dry with moderate sized load.


Another idea that the powers that be have suggested is that the washer is not getting cloths dry enough in the spin cycle. I have an extra large Roper top load washer. I just replaced the beater/etc.

I was thinking of selling both units and getting a washer with a faster RPM spin. A front mount or Paskel top load both have over 1,000 RPM spins.

The Fridge is a 18cubic Kelvinator purchased in 1991. the freezer drain located at the back of the fridge froze up. I thawed it out twice and it is ok for now. Seems it did that a few years back once. I figured it was the defrost timer. Repairclinic said debree gets in there sometimes and plugs the hole causing it to freeze up.
 
coventrycat86 said:
These are really Whirlpool machines with the Kenmore (Sears) name on them.
Click to expand...

Kenmore has a deal that all new technology/models come out in the Kenmore brand first. Then the Whirlpool brand the next year. My mother-in-law swears by Kenmore. I tend to dislike them but just bought a Kenmore Duel-Fuel stove this fall. I just couldn't beat the price/options ratio.
 
AVB said:
I do have to admit that the dryer we are replacing is a Kenmore and it's pushing 25 years. The washer died 11 years ago though.
Click to expand...
:D
Yep, the dryers are virtually indestructible and many times, last for 30 years with no problems.

The Whirlpool washers are pretty reliable too but I've had to replace the timer once and some minor things over the years. The pump went recently because I changed the drain pipe and made it pump almost seven feet in the air to the new drain and that beats the heck out of the pump.

One thing that is EXTREMELY important (at least with old Whirlpool washers and probably most others as well) is to make sure the machine is LEVEL. Most people just take them out of the packing box and stick them in their spot without properly leveling the machine by adjusting the feet. This beats the hell out of the bearings and will cause the machine to crap out long before its time. I have to admit that when I moved the machine to its second location in my finished basement in the late 1990s, I was not careful regarding making sure it was properly leveled after I had moved it a few times. Sure enough, the bearings got ruined with pretty much means the machine should be trashed but I have a few of these old washing machines hanging around because I fix them up and sell them. I was able to use some parts from an old junker and now she's ready for another 20+ years of service. :thumbs:
 
My dryer takes about 70 minutes to do a load as well. I think it is a fairly common drying time.

Patience Grasshopper. He who waits for pants to dry, gets chance to hang loose. :)
 
bilder said:
My dryer takes about 70 minutes to do a load as well. I think it is a fairly common drying time.

Patience Grasshopper. He who waits for pants to dry, gets chance to hang loose. :)
Click to expand...

ya but two 70 minute cycles? I expect that with jeans or towels but not regular items. Maybe I am just impatient. Seems that it take two cycles for many loads. She is only caught up during the summer when the cloths line is used. We can run two wash loads in the time one dryer load is completed.

The cloths are piling up and the wife isn't happy. Mom has to be happy or none of us are :D
 
Two cycles? Sorry missed the word two in your post.

Yep you got a problem. Is it heating up enough? You may have a heating element that has given out or is about to. If air is circulating it is probably a heating element.
 
bilder said:
Two cycles? Sorry missed the word two in your post.

Yep you got a problem. Is it heating up enough? You may have a heating element that has given out or is about to. If air is circulating it is probably a heating element.
Click to expand...

It's not the heating element, I already explained why.

Gunpowder, it your dryer gas or electric?
 
bilder said:
Two cycles? Sorry missed the word two in your post.

Yep you got a problem. Is it heating up enough? You may have a heating element that has given out or is about to. If air is circulating it is probably a heating element.
Click to expand...

...or just too long of a vent run. I tend to think it is either too long of a run or the cloths are too wet going into the dryer meaning I shuld look at a washer with a faster spin cycle to get more water out.

My vent leaves the dryer and then makes a 90 (1)down into the basement, then makes a 90 (2) to the next floor joist, a 90 (3) up and to just below the floor then a 90 (4) and then travels to the outside wall. Hey I didn't design the house.

Seems if I could cut a 90 out and maybe a few feet by going down (1) then direct to the outside wall diagonally to the next joist. Then 90 (2)up and 90 (3) out. Makes enclosing that portion of the basement out for the future but the rest of the plumbing makes that difficult anyways.
 
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