*Repair Shops*

[Zippi]

You know....back in the day a company use to try and make things that would last for ever. It made a company stand out and show they had a superior product. Now a days companies pay engineers to design their product to last so long and fail. Repair shops have become a dying trade. There use to be a fellow that would come in the barber shop and sharpen the scissors and now they buy replacement blades for their scissors. I think out last TV repair shop in the Tri-state went out of business a few years ago. Other than automotive repair about the only thing left that I see is one guy on the side doing lawnmower repair. Most things now a days are pretty much throw away and buy new. Now Covid came along and changed the world once again.

[special-K]

Yep. I had a push mower that I really liked. A Husquvarna with magnesium deck and steel ball-bearing wheels. You could set deck height up way high and bush hog with it, 6hp. No gimmick features at all. I used it many many years. Much longer than any mower I've owned. But eventually it got harder to start and finally wouldn't. I deducted that it had a burnt valve. I had to have a mover once a week. It would take me too long to get the parts and make the time to fix it so I bought a $200 simple mower at Lowe's. I bet a shop would have to charge more than that. So now I have a half plastic POS I know I'll be throwing away after a while. I have kept the old mower to repair one day.

Now my 30 year old Maytag washer has a fill pressure valve gone bad. For years I have known to not use the medium fill setting because it will overflow, never go to wash cycle. I got stupid and pushed that button and now the problem occurs no matter what button is used. I do not want a Chinese POS. I am looking hard for the part that the online places is no longer available. I will search and scrounge until I can get parts to fix it before giving up.

I hate hearing "It will cost more to fix than buy a new one". I used to fall for that but no longer. My reply now is "I'd rather pay to fix this old well made USA product than pay for a new piece of crap that I'll be throwing away after a fraction of how long this one has already lasted".

I buy used well made products over new whenever I can. It's a shame when an antique can outlast a new product.

[67C10Step]

Tim,
Cannot help on the mower front, they are all pretty much disposable these days.

On the washer/dryer front remember Speed Queen? There was a time almost every coin laundromat had Speed Queen equipment. Well, they still make home washer/dryers and they are still made for the most part old school. Don't think you can buy them in the big box stores, gotta find a local appliance store. Not cheap but claiming they still last up to 25 years.

[Zippi]

Our front load washer and dryer we bought a couple years ago has a sticker on the front and if something goes wrong you hold your smart phone in front of the sticker and it diagnoses the problem, contacts whoever, then an appointment is set up to come replace the part. Nothing about repair. My old furnace an AC unit were about 28 years old. Had a few repairs over the years but still worked fine. I decide to upgrade for better efficiency. I was told by the installer that the new ones only last 10 years.

[Rich84]

After our third washer in 10 years I tried to talk my Wife into a speed queen, but she didn't want to pay that much for a much smaller capacity washer.
Maybe next year when this one goes, now that it's just the 2 of us....

[Axle]

Originally Posted by special-K

Now my 30 year old Maytag washer has a fill pressure valve gone bad. For years I have known to not use the medium fill setting because it will overflow, never go to wash cycle. I got stupid and pushed that button and now the problem occurs no matter what button is used. I do not want a Chinese POS. I am looking hard for the part that the online places is no longer available. I will search and scrounge until I can get parts to fix it before giving up.

Before you buy anything, pull the hose off the vacuum valve behind the water temp valve. Blow in it. If its getting clogged it'll be difficult to blow through it, just blow on it till you get air movement. Over time build up clogs the hose and it won't put pressure on the vaccuum diaphram properly. Blowing through it usually takes care of it for me for a few months.

Alex.

[special-K]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that, but pretty sure this is an issue with controls since it's been having this problem for a decade only in medium mode. I think I saw what you suggested on YouTube. One thing's for sure, I have no intentions of replacing this washer unless all possible options that involve keeping it are exhausted. If possible, I'll bypass all that as lon g as I can do large loads, the only mode I ever use. Anything less is a waste of water and electricity. Ever had an issue coming up with a full load of laundry?

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by Rich84

After our third washer in 10 years I tried to talk my Wife into a speed queen, but she didn't want to pay that much for a much smaller capacity washer.
Maybe next year when this one goes, now that it's just the 2 of us....

Speed Queen is the way to go! No gimmicks, no Computer Engineering Degree needed to operate.
There's a reason the laundromats of yesteryear used these things, as they are virtually bullet proof and trouble free.

[hairball]

We bought a new GE refrigerator a while back to replace our old noisy one. Within a few months the ice maker started acting up. The whole ice maker had to be replaced, luckily it was still under warranty. We never buy extended warranty on anything until now. The tech suggested we buy the warranty because 3 future service calls (which was normal) would pay for the extended warranty. I don't believe he was trying to sell us something we didn't need just offered some friendly advice. In the meantime, the old one continues to run out in the garage.

[special-K]

It sure is ridiculous how things have changed for the worse. We used to make our own products that were high quality. The cheapest brand back then was better than the best consumer model today. I guess Speed Queen is in it's own league... and it sounds like the price is as well. It used to be the product was advertised by telling you how good the product is. It doesn't seem so long ago Maytag's ad campaign was showing how bored their service men were having nothing to do. And it wasn't false advertising. My washer and dryer are proof of that. Now when you go to buy an extended warranty is offered. It's as if they are letting you know how crappy the product is. As if they know you shouldn't expect it to last that long and you should expect troubles with it. My thought when I am asked, and what I have said many times is, "If this thing is worth what I am paying I shouldn't be needing that warranty. It's not "what if" any more, it's "when" and "how many times" you have to consider. I figure since the products now require an extended warranty, then the product should come with an extended warranty.

[Rich84]

The whole extended warranty thing is a reflection of where we are as a society. Everyone is an opportunist. Bait and switch, rebates, "cash back" ...sell you something you are most likely never to use. If I had a 3 year extended warranty on my washers they would have been just out of warranty each time they broke.

[Zippi]

Yeah the ole bait and switch. I do buy the extended warranty on electronics. When we bought out new car in 2016 the only warranty package I bought was for the electronics. Good thing I did cause 3 years later the navigational system failed. Almost $6000 to replace it. You know....I go by this place every day on my way home from work and never thought about it but there is still a shoe repair store in the end of one of the little strip malls. Roys Shoe Repair….this fellows dad use to run it years ago and now he runs it. I use to take my work boots to his dad years ago to have them re-soled. Not much call for that anymore.

[special-K]

I still use shoe repair shops because I buy quality footwear that is worth repairing. And I take care of the leather. Redwing takes their boots back to repair as well. Shoe repair shops are good for repairing anything that requires the heavy machine, belts, baseball gloves, anything leather or heavy fabric that needs stitched. I've had favorite ball caps stitched back up

[Axle]

Originally Posted by special-K

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that, but pretty sure this is an issue with controls since it's been having this problem for a decade only in medium mode. I think I saw what you suggested on YouTube. One thing's for sure, I have no intentions of replacing this washer unless all possible options that involve keeping it are exhausted. If possible, I'll bypass all that as lon g as I can do large loads, the only mode I ever use. Anything less is a waste of water and electricity. Ever had an issue coming up with a full load of laundry?

If yours is like mine, the diaphram is just an on-off switch for the water control. More water = more compression on the air column that is trapped by the rising water. The water level switch is more mechanical, so less pressure from less water = easier to trip the diaphram.

Put a peice of vacuum hose on the diaphram and try it by mouth, each time you trip it just set the water level to another setting and you can blow in it again. If its tripping, I'd put money on the "sensor" hose being restricted.