Sunday, January 06, 2008

New Pump

It is amazing what a difference a new pump made to the washing machine. The old one was eleven years old and had suffered the indignity of being poked with an under wire, metal bits from small boys pockets, and other various things. This, along with (almost) daily use, had made it a bit leaky and very loud. I didn't realize how loud it had gotten until Bill put the new one in on Friday.

New shiny one in, old scuzzy one on the floor in front.


I was also amazed at how abrasive hair is. Mira and I both have long hair and apparently one occasionally gets through to where the pump is. And some got wound around the shaft creating ridges that were really astonishing.

Thanks for the new pump Bill.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The goddess is most welcome, I assure you. I'm also glad I don't have to pay some service person to do these jobs. Amazing what one can do with a few tools and a love of tinkering.

I too was surprised at the reduction in noise, and by the abrasiveness of hair. But even shorter hair would get wound around the shaft, so we can't really blame yours and Mira's hair.

Now to get that dryer glitch fixed.

Much love,
DH

David T. Macknet said...

Isn't it nice to realize that things are really, when it comes down to it, simple?

I have a friend who used to be an appliance repairman. He used to get calls for something not starting - usually a washer, dryer, dishwasher, or stove - and would ask them if they'd checked the fuse. They'd say that of course they had. He'd go out, and 90% of the time end up charging them $50 to flip the breaker in the fuse box.

As to the hair - it's my hair that does it - mostly around the beater-bar in the vacuum. :)

Anonymous said...

@ Davimack

I've had that kind of thing with people using computers. Really stupid simple fixes.

The pump replacement in the washing machine was easy. But the dryer has a problem that is a bit more elusive to identify. The electronics are more complex, and what's worse, they seem to work as prescribed when the circuit board is "on the bench", as does the motor, but there's something going on that is making one function fail. But that problem is also going to be sorted out this week. Now that I have the circuit diagram mapped out, it's just a case of a long sequence of troubleshooting tests, gradually eliminating the suspects. Could take a few hours, but better that I do it than some third rate technician who charges up the wazoo for the time.

Christine said...

We problems with our washer, it was oozing oil and was doing weird things so we bought a new one. The new one is total garbage. I wish we would have kept the other machine and paid what we spent on the new one for repairs.
:(

David T. Macknet said...

I used to work for HP, writing software for some of the engineers who worked on microwave instruments. They had a standard description for things that they couldn't troubleshoot & which resolved without any reason: they said they had been possessed by demons, and they listed as the solution that they waved a dead chicken. Sometimes there would just be no reason for things to go wrong, nor for them to quit going wrong. Frustrating for them.

I'd take a look at the power supply, if you haven't checked it; I've had it happen in a computer - burned out component after component trying to find it, too, because power supplies aren't supposed to go bad, you know? The other simple thing I'd look at would be whether everything is really soldered in place, because the vibrations transferred to the board could be flexing or jiggling the it, causing a disconnect if they're not completely soldered. Also, you may be building up a bit of static in that system that you're not getting on the bench. Anyway, those are my guesses at it - and my hopes that it really does work out to be an easy fix.

I miss having a dryer. Sigh.

As to the new vs old: people who use farm machinery know that the old ones are better & it's shown by the fact that tractors actually increase in value over time, rather than behaving like cars.

Christine said...

'Waived a dead chicken' :)
I love that solution.

Anonymous said...

Living in the UK where houses are tiny (and so are the appliances) I have a front loading combination washer and dryer. It has only broken down once in 4 year, thankfully while it was still new enough to have some guy come and fix it for free. The thing lives in a closet (a new build flat, so this was the architect's idea). The fun bit is you have to take the door off the hinges to get it out of the closet. It took the repair guy and I longer to get the thing out of the closet than it took him to fix the thing.