They had a fridge from 1957 that still ran, and the guide said it's had maybe two repairs in its whole life. It made me think about how much simpler the stuff we used to fix was, even if it was heavier. What's the oldest appliance you've ever had to service that was still in daily use?
Bought one to spot heat leaks in fridge compressors, but the resolution is so bad it just shows a big blurry blob. It can't even tell the difference between a warm capacitor and the actual hot motor windings. Anyone have a real budget tool that actually works for this?
Got the FLIR One Pro last year. Found a bad compressor overload on a Sub-Zero that was just warm, not hot. Another job, it showed a full frost pattern behind a panel without taking anything apart. Saved maybe three hours of guesswork already. Anyone else using these for quick checks on sealed systems?
Customer's dryer wouldn't heat, and the diagnostic pointed to the relay on the main board. The relay itself was $25, but the whole new board was $180. I went with just the relay to save them money, but it took me over an hour to desolder the old one and put the new one in clean. Honestly, I'm not sure the labor time was worth the savings for them in the end. When do you guys decide to replace a whole board versus trying a component fix?
Now I only install them after checking the LRA and voltage drop, which has cut my callback rate by half. Anyone else find they're being used as a band-aid too often?
I noticed the diagnostic port is now a USB-C connector instead of the old proprietary plug, which seems great for easier access but also makes me worry about customers trying to plug random things in and frying the board.
He said it back in 2009, and just last week it kept me from swapping a perfectly good start relay on a Whirlpool fridge, so what's the one piece of old-school advice you still follow every day?
I was at a job in a small town called Millerton last year, fixing a twenty year old dryer for an older lady. It was a simple belt and idler pulley. She asked me, 'Is it even worth fixing?' I told her for about eighty bucks in parts and my hour, she'd get another five years easy. She said the last guy she called told her to just get a new one because 'they don't make parts for these anymore.' That stuck with me. We all know that's often not true. I found the parts in ten minutes online. I think sometimes we say that because the job is small or we don't want the hassle, but it hurts our trade's reputation. It makes us look like we're just pushing for big sales. How do you handle those small repair calls when the customer is already being told to replace?
I spent nearly two hours on a Samsung dryer in a mobile home park yesterday before a quick call to a mentor made me realize I'd been assuming motor failure for years without first confirming the 120VAC signal from the board was actually present at the connector.
Found it buried on page 18 of the PDF I downloaded. How many service calls are just from people ignoring that one line?
I found this in a trade magazine survey from last month. It means nearly half the time I drive out to a house, the problem is something like a tripped GFCI or a clogged filter. I spent two hours yesterday on a 'broken' dishwasher that just had its drain hose kinked behind the cabinet. Does anyone else track their call reasons to see if this number matches up?
I've been to three calls this month where folks were convinced their fridge was broken because it wouldn't close right. Every time, the door just swung open on its own. They'd already ordered parts! All it needed was a slight tilt backward, maybe a quarter inch higher in the front. The door needs gravity to help it seal. One guy in Tempe had a brand new unit and was ready to send it back. I showed him the manual, page 4, where it says to adjust the leveling legs. He just stared at it. How many good appliances get junked over this simple fix?
Everyone pushes the digital ones for their accuracy, but when you're chasing a flickering voltage on a dryer board, the needle swing on my old Simpson 260 shows the drop in real time. The digital readout just lags and jumps around. Anyone else still keep an analog meter in their truck?
I had three calls in a week for washers making that grinding noise, and each one was the same motor bearing failure on a 2018-2020 model. The last one was for a customer in the Maplewood area who said the sound 'started like a coffee grinder and got worse fast.' What's the best source you've found for a reliable replacement part that doesn't cost a fortune?
I was on a call last Tuesday for a noisy fridge in a basement apartment. The unit was an older Whirlpool, maybe 15 years old. I pulled it out, heard the compressor knocking, and went to unplug it before checking the terminals. The second my hand touched the plug, there was a loud pop like a firecracker and a spray of oil shot out from a small hole in the compressor shell. It got all over the wall and my tool bag. I had to tell the customer the whole system was shot and the repair cost would be more than a new fridge. It was the first time I've seen one fail that violently. What's the safest way you all handle a compressor you suspect is locked up? Just kill the breaker from the panel first?
I was replacing a control board on a fridge in a rental unit, and the property manager said 'you know, you're the only one who even checks the door seals first.' It made me realize I was jumping to the expensive fix without the basic check. Anyone else get caught in that routine?
The customer in Springfield said it was a loud grinding noise every 20 minutes, and I was sure it was the compressor. Turns out the evaporator fan motor had a chunk of ice stuck in the blades from a slow drain line leak. After clearing the line and replacing the motor, it's whisper quiet now. Has anyone else had a noise that pointed to one part but was something totally different?
Fried a $300 motor last week because the manual specifically says to wait 5 minutes after unplugging, and I didn't. Anyone else run into this yet?
Got a call for a dryer not heating, figured it was the thermal fuse. Found the vent line behind the dryer was crushed flat for about three feet, a total fire hazard. The homeowner had no idea because the previous owner boxed it in with drywall. Ended up spending four hours cutting out drywall and running a whole new rigid metal duct. Anyone else run into a hidden vent issue that turned a quick fix into a big job?
I was swapping out a control board on a fridge, and the homeowner just slid a cold one onto the floor next to my toolbox. He said, 'You look like you need this more than I do.' It was a simple act, but it reminded me that a lot of this job is about the human connection, not just the wires and parts. What's the nicest thing a client has done for you while you were on a job?
I was under a house in Mobile last week, and a mouse nest I didn't see caught fire from my inspection light. I had to use my water bottle to put it out, and the customer just saw smoke coming from the crawlspace. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a mini disaster like that?
I was looking at my repair logs from the past year in Cincinnati and noticed over 60% of my calls for that one popular fridge line were for the damper door motor. Found the exact part number on a supplier site and it's a common failure point after about 3 years. Anyone else see this pattern or is it just my area?
I had a customer last month with a Whirlpool washer that kept stopping mid-cycle, and I had to pick between replacing the whole motor for $350 or just swapping the brushes for $40. I went with the brush job, and it's been running fine for three weeks now. When do you all decide a part is too far gone to save?