Fixing HOusehold applicances

[JPinMaryland]

Anybody like to do this? I am not much of a handyman, actually my wife is better than me at this but due to much online stuff you can actually look stuff up at like fixitnow.com or repairclinic.com and figure out how to do stuff.

I fixed my dryer for $18 a few weeks ago, and then the bathroom shower. Buoyed by this I took apart the dishwasher which seems like a major struggle. I need an impeller for a Maytag and they sell a replacement kit but I cant get the damn thing out of the cylindrical housing it is in. ANd they dont sell the entire housing for this old unit. This project sits because the next thing you know, my 15 year old washer goes out!

Ive got it narrowed down to the timer, and the repair clinic people will take most anything so I ordered the timer and in a week will see if it works.

Anyhow, just thinking out loud, had anyone purchased used appliances on ebay? I decided to take a swing by as the timer cost $112 and you can find real cheap washers and such, sold as is...Gee. Anyone have any fun with that? Just curious.

[Gibbon]

Need help on repairing an appliance?

http://www.repairclinic.com/0003.asp
click on a picture. Care and maintance tips.
Also, troubleshooting guide.

Google is great for finding free PDF manuals.







_____________________________
Beethoven was so hard of hearing, he thought he was a painter.

[KYJACK]

Anyhow, just thinking out loud, had anyone purchased used appliances on ebay? I decided to take a swing by as the timer cost $112 and you can find real cheap washers and such, sold as is...Gee. Anyone have any fun with that? Just curious.JPinMaryland

I once searched for a replacement drop-in range cook-top unit on ebay. I found one close, but it was too small - almost got it!

Still, I would imagine that the shipping charges for a good-sized appliance that's not local pickup could be a real downer! Unless it's a real winner ("I just gots to have it!" :jump: ), it might be more cost effective to cruise the used appliance stores, including the thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army stores! You can actually find good bargains there! I once snagged an unopend/unregistered copy of the classic communications software package "Procomm for Windows" for $1.00 at a Reno thrift store!

The only appliance I've ordered on ebay was a small 60s handheld ice cube crusher (we had one when I was a kid - Great memories!). you dump a tray of ice in and cranked a handle and crushed ice was collected in the bottom of the unit. The ice made really cold drinks!

Jack

[JPinMaryland]

Yeah some of the stuff made way back is better made than the stuff nowadays. They said my dishwasher is actually very well made with quality parts compared to comparable mid priced dishwashers today.

I did a search on ebay for the clothes washers and finally figured out you can search it by location. This guy near Lancaster had a decent model for $20 that he had purchased used but had never installed it owing to the fact he would have had to modify the pipes in the basement where he was renting. I know it sounds a little flakey, he said he didnt want to have to do all the plumbing work it would take but one wonders if he hadnt thought of that first and what is he doing for laundry nowdays??

OTOH he did have a 98% approval rating which is pretty decent, so who knows? It would have been tempting to go up there and pick it up but then you still have to get rid of the old one, and you still have all that time to pick it up and set it up...

[JPinMaryland]

On the aforementioned websites, repair clinic is good as they can show you a general picture of the unit and general troubleshooting. They will also answer emails, takes a few days but they get to them. Fixitnow is good as they have a forum with lots of specific questions and answers, gets more detailed. Sometimes they have more detailed diagrams on line, although repair clinic can also send you diagrams once you correspond with them.

Best of all repair clinic has a very mellow return policy on the parts they sell they take back just about anything, very nice. A few other places have even cheaper parts e.g. apdepot and pcapplicancerepair.