Dryer Repair

[johnjk]

The 17 yr old dryer stopped heating last week. Was surprised to find OEM heating elements still available. $40 and 30 min work, it’s drying once more. Was not looking forward to dropping $400 on a computer filled unit that would not last as long as

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Yep. Keep the old non- computer appliances as long as you can. Repair them. Much simpler.

The new modern stuff is junk.

 

[DaveFromMi]

We opted for a 20 year old Speed Queen for about $100 cheaper than a new washing machine. That was about 3 years ago.

 

[D2Cat]

Na, I want the fanciest thing that's available, the same as tractors and cars!

 

[Workerbee]

We had a sears stacking set, lasted about 17 years when the transmission started to knock. We figured we would just get another stack set, so bought a GE. It wouldnt work properly from the get go. The store sent out a repair service and he changed a part, but still couldnt get it to work right. He ended up coming out 3 times, finally telling us that the new GE was total junk and he had plenty of service calls on these same machines from others. So we went in to the store, talked to the owner a bit, and he admitted that he has had lots of complaints on those, and was no longer going to sell them. He gave us 100% refund which we applied to a split set of speed queens which havnt gave a lick of trouble in 4 years now.

 

[Speed25]

Love the non-computer fridges, stoves, washer/dryer, etc. Dryer is on its third heating element, second belt, and third set of bearings. All parts have probably run $120 in the past 20 years, and the parts are really easy to replace, especially compared to cars or tractors.

20-year old freezer stopped freezing last year. Learned the refrigerant loop was sealed, so I just added a tap to it, added the correct amount/type of refrigerant and we're good to go again. YouTube is REALLY helpful for some of these repairs.

 

[chim]

But but what about the tech geeks who need to access the camera in the fridge to check and see if they need Swiss Cheese while standing in line at the deli?

 

[cliffboyer]

Our 1998 Whirlpool electric oven recently developed an issue whereby once it got up to heat, it would not maintain it consistently. Flipped off breaker and popped off the front panel. Sitting inside was an envelope with schematic complete with operational, testing & troubleshooting procedures. Located relay for lower element. Popped its cover off and found it's contacts had carboned up. Hit it with some sandpaper and was back in business. A 30 minute repair.

Sometimes you win.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Our "general rule of thumb" has been to get the "base models" of appliances to keep them simple.

That has worked out pretty well for us.

I just replaced the heating element and a few other things on our dryer about a month ago.

The entire kit was something like $14.99, and came with all the misc parts to replace.

Here is arguably one of the most useful tools I have.

I can't believe I paid something stupid......(like $500 bucks for that thing)....many, many, many moons ago.....Now they are like $16.99 or something like that.


But I also can't believe there are people out there that don't have one......

I guess I will chalk that up to my amazement that there are people out there without compressors too (or air tools......or welders.....or lathes....or CNC plasma cutters........etc....etc....)

I'm just "easily amazed" I guess.

 

[mcfarmall]

Our "general rule of thumb" has been to get the "base models" of appliances to keep them simple.

That has worked out pretty well for us.

I just replaced the heating element and a few other things on our dryer about a month ago.

The entire kit was something like $14.99, and came with all the misc parts to replace.

Here is arguably one of the most useful tools I have.



View attachment 161373


I can't believe I paid something stupid......(like $500 bucks for that thing)....many, many, many moons ago.....Now they are like $16.99 or something like that.


But I also can't believe there are people out there that don't have one......

I guess I will chalk that up to my amazement that there are people out there without compressors too (or air tools......or welders.....or lathes....or CNC plasma cutters........etc....etc....)

I'm just "easily amazed" I guess.

Not only do most people not own a VOM, but they wouldn't know how to use it if they did.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Na, I want the fanciest thing that's available, the same as tractors and cars!

And women!

 

[jyoutz]

We had a sears stacking set, lasted about 17 years when the transmission started to knock. We figured we would just get another stack set, so bought a GE. It wouldnt work properly from the get go. The store sent out a repair service and he changed a part, but still couldnt get it to work right. He ended up coming out 3 times, finally telling us that the new GE was total junk and he had plenty of service calls on these same machines from others. So we went in to the store, talked to the owner a bit, and he admitted that he has had lots of complaints on those, and was no longer going to sell them. He gave us 100% refund which we applied to a split set of speed queens which havnt gave a lick of trouble in 4 years now.

Speed Queen is definitely the best option for washer/dryer sets. The quality is above and beyond other brands.

 

[johnjk]

Our "general rule of thumb" has been to get the "base models" of appliances to keep them simple.

That has worked out pretty well for us.

I just replaced the heating element and a few other things on our dryer about a month ago.

The entire kit was something like $14.99, and came with all the misc parts to replace.

Here is arguably one of the most useful tools I have.



View attachment 161373


I can't believe I paid something stupid......(like $500 bucks for that thing)....many, many, many moons ago.....Now they are like $16.99 or something like that.


But I also can't believe there are people out there that don't have one......

I guess I will chalk that up to my amazement that there are people out there without compressors too (or air tools......or welders.....or lathes....or CNC plasma cutters........etc....etc....)

I'm just "easily amazed" I guess.

Own one? Just did a quick count and I have 8 including an old Simpson analog meter. They all get used a lot. Throw in a dual channel Oscilloscope and a variable DC power station to round it out for V/IR. I have a kit from my first job they were gonna trash that can terminate anything from coax to fiber and test it too. Don’t get me started on the spools of cable and assorted connectors to make my own. My favorite least used tool is the powered wire wrap gun for replacing broken wires on the back of old school circuit boards. Ahh memories. No fun tools like plasma cutters, lathes, end mills……

 

[johnjk]

Got me thinking. How old is this dryer so I did a little research on homespy.io/decoded. Don’t tell the boss but I was wrong. Build date is 09/2002. I need to buy that dryer a beer. 23yrs and back in service.

 

[lynnmor]

We just replaced four kitchen appliances and I am not impressed. The old fridge had a wasted compressor and nobody replaces them anymore, I could have done it myself but opted to just order a fridge. Waited months and couldn't get one in the bisque color. The old dishwasher was a Kitchenaid made by Hobart, it worked great for roughly 30 years but the door gasket leaked and a replacement hasn't been available in this century. The stove was OK except for a minor door closing issue. The microwave wasted a lot of space so I opted to replace it. I got everything in stainless steel hoping it won't go out of style next year. In my opinion, none of these appliances are an upgrade. The stove is difficult to keep clean and the very quiet dishwasher just pees on the dishes, takes forever and doesn't clean well. I learned that it might be a good idea to buy the noisiest unit available, maybe it will work better.