Some guys were wondering how to replace a door boot on a Whirlpool Duet washer without removing the front panel. This is how I do it.
Please excuse the background noise on the video – this was recorded with my cell phone ….
Bypassing safety devices like fuses and overheat thermostats is about the dumbest thing you could do to your appliance. Those devices are there for safety. If something were to go wrong, those devices will save your life!
This is another dryer with a grounded out heating element. It got hot enough to blow the high temp safety thermostat. Somebody (not sure who) decided to just bypass the thermostat and keep using the dryer. They are lucky they did not have a house fire with this one!
This was a unique problem. The complaint on this Whirlpool dryer was that the drum would not turn, but the heating element was on. Right away this is a hint as to where the problem was. The element should never be able to be on if the drum is not turning.
So I pulled the back off and removed the element. When I flipped it over it was easy to see what the problem was. The plate that holds the element has warped which was causing the element to ground out. This means that anytime the dryer is on, it will be on and would not cycle off.
Replaced the element and the open safety thermal fuse and all is well.
EDIT: Oct 24, 2011 Here is another one. See how the center support warped up enough to touch the element.
Invented by a second year computer-engineering Bhutanese student in New Delhi, India, the pedal powered washing machine called “dhobi”. “Dhobi” won 22-year-old Vishma Rai, the first prize for innovative Green Energy technologies for India 2011. The prize was that Green Energy would help mass produce and market the product. “But I wanted this to be a Bhutanese green product with a Bhutanese name before it’s mass produced,” Vishma said.
It took Vishma two months to get a no-objection certificate from his university to mass produce Dhobi. He has taken a semester off and is now planning to approach His Majesty and various agencies for support, both financial and administrative.
The idea to invent this product, which is under process for registration, was inspired from a cycle rickshaw. With a capacity is five kilograms, it took Vishma about seven months to make Dhobi.
“There was no washing machine in our boy’s hostel and we go to the gym to burn calories,” he said. “They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I thought of making something that would help us wash clothes and burn calories by pedaling.”
Neighbour’s Editorial: I’m not sure how handy this would be … Plus the caloric calculations in the original article seem to be wrong. It’s kinda big – but in the world of green energy and all things ‘eco’, I suppose it might have a spot to fill.
Read full article here.
One of the problems that I run into as a serviceman are appliances that have been ‘built-in.’ This is especially true of dishwashers that were installed before ceramic or hardwood floor was laid down. If the floor was not installed under the dishwasher, then it is virtually impossible to remove the dishwasher without either damaging the floor, damaging the dishwasher or lifting the countertop.
Other examples are cooktops that are siliconed or glued down. Hood fans or OTR microwaves that have been siliconed or grouted into place. Stackers installed into closets before the doors and door frames were installed. etc.
Pictured below is a regular Whrilpool washer that has been built-in with walls and a hard plumbed washtub. This unit appears to have a transmission problem, but until the customer has someone remove the washer from its current position, I cannot do anything further. Think about this when renovating or designing your home.
This is what the inside of a dryer with blocked venting looks like. Mounds (inches thick sometimes) of lint. A real potential fire hazard. At least twice a year you should check the air flow at your outside wall cap. Also make sure that there is not a lint buildup. This is especially true if you have a mesh cage over the wall cap to prevent animals from getting in. Those meshes are notorious for catching and building lint.
Chart from TorontoGasPrices.com.
Customers are often quite surprised by the cost of hiring an appliance professional to work in their home. I can sympathize. I feel the same way every time I have to bring someone into my home to upgrade or repair something. The truth of the matter is that costs keep going up. The above chart shows the changes in fuel costs since early 2009. As you can see, my fuel costs alone have gone up over 50%. But that is not the whole story. Every company in the repair supply chain has also seen their fuel costs go up over 50%. They transfer that cost to me … and I, in turn, transfer it to you. In the end, it is you the consumer that is hit hardest.
Tax changes are also costing consumers more. In July, Ontario Premier McGuinty combined the GST (Goods and Services Tax) with the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) to create the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax.) This should have been a neutral change … except it was not. Gasoline used to only have the GST added to it at a rate of 7%. Now it has the HST added at a rate of 13%. This tax increase comes directly out of the pocket of small (and large) business owners … again, we in turn, pass those costs onto you the consumer.
The consumer is at the bottom of tax pile. While I am a service supplier, I am also a consumer – so I totally understand the frustration that people feel when they see their basic cost of living continuously going up. I will always do everything that I can to help keep repair costs low, but much of the cost is directly out of my control. We all are paying more for pretty much everything these days.
I never really thought about this before … but the invention of the washing machine may very well have been the tipping point that brought humanity into the modern age. What then took so much time and energy now literally takes an hour a week (or less) to complete. Energy savings and time savings … halmarks of modern society? Maybe.
BTW – have you ever tried washing your jeans by hand? I’ll bet not…
Here is a great article and video that talks about how washing machines have changed our society. Why The Washing Machine Pushed Humanity Forward.
This is the worst leaking tub bearing leak I’ve ever seen. Each load leaves pools of black water on the floor. We will be replacing the rear outer tub and inner basket. 
I’m seeing more and more of these Duets with funky MCU (motor control unit) boards. Often the washer will not even lock – just gives 3 beeps. When you disconnect the MCU at the CCU then at least the door will lock and you know you have a MCU problem. In this case, when I pulled the board out of the plastic housing, you can see that there has been soapy condensation dripping down the back of this board. I will keep checking these as I replace them to see if this soap residue is common to all these. FTR – this customer did have HE detergent in the laundry room. That does not mean they’ve always been using it, but right now they are. 
EDIT Aug 15/11: Here is another one. You can see the soapy drip trail heading right at the burnt out spot on the board. 
EDIT Aug 15/11: Here is another one.
Edit Sept 30/11: Another one. Multiple trails of soap residue.
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