I'm taking this off topic thing pretty far - dishwasher repair!

[GOTTSPD]

So, the handle to open our Maytag dishwasher broke recently. I coulda called the Maytag repair guy seeing as how he seems pretty bored (based upon the tv commercials) or I coulda called the home warranty company, but I figured that it was worth at least investigating doing the repair myself. Well, there are loads and loads of posts on several message boards about this problem. It's like Acura with their glass 5 speed auto transmissions. Bad design. Anyway, some of the posts went on and on about its a challenging repair even for a tech... blah blah blah... That got me a bit concerned because I'm a lawyer, I'm not an appliance repairman. Man, it must be hard if the techs are saying its hard. Nonetheless, I kept reading the threads on the repair and I ordered the part, which came today. I tell my wife we have to budget some time for the project this weekend. She cautions me not to start it if I can't finish because I'd read of people who couldn't get humpty dumpty back together, and it was a minor disaster for them and she reminds me that I have filled our weekend with social events from the beginning of the weekend to the end, so there's not going to be much time to work on this repair. Well, being the impatient person that I am, I figure, I'll tackle this beast tonight. My wife sees me lugging in to the kitchen every possible tool one might need to build a house and says in that voice that only wives have, I guess you're not planning on going to bed anytime soon. I scoff. I've got the internet and tools (however, I didn't even know if I'd ordered the right part), how long can it take (apparently the Maytag people think it takes a tech 2 hours acc'd to one post that I read)? Well, it's Thursday, so if it takes forever and a day, I've only got to make it through tomorrow before I can catch up on some sleep on Saturday. Guy logic is sooooo stupid. Married guys with children should not start projects at 10:40PM on a Thursday night. Smart married guys no this. I'm apparently not part of that group. I figure, hey, I read the posts on the internet, I know what's going on here. It sounds like some folks had major issues with the repair and others didn't. So off I go (assuming I'll be in the latter group)... First, I cleverly turn off the breakers to the dishwasher because shorting out the entire machine seemed like just the kind of thing that would ruin my night. Next I removed the 498 screws that hold the door liner to the door (did it really need 498 screws to hold a thin piece of plastic in place? My NSX only has 5 lugnuts to hold each wheel in place and each wheel weighs 2-300 lbs (when I am putting it back on, otherwise, it's a lightweight sculpted piece of art (stock 7 spokers)), but a dishwasher door liner made of 2 oz's of plastic, that takes 498 screws... I digress...). Anyway, with the liner loose I can see all the broken bits of the old handle. Hmm... yup, the sucker's definitely broken. Yup Yup Yup. In case you didn't know, broken bits are a great indicator of stuff being broken. Alright, so I collect up all the broken bits and start going about installing the new, not yet broken handle.

Well, wouldn't you know it. I tinkered, I futzed, I studied, I poked, I prodded, and 3 minutes later, the whole dang job was done, including confirming that the new handle worked as Maytag intended, turning the power back on, and testing to make sure that I hadn't found a creative way with the power off to short the machine. Nope, it's all done. Well, how about that???

FWIW, writing this post took much, much, much longer than the repair!

 

[robr]

Nice. You would have been charged a couple hundred if you had someone come out.

Here's a REALLY stupid one. Moved into the new house, needed a water line for the fridge run for the ice maker/water dispenser. I notice that there is a hole in the floor by the location where the fridge goes. I say, that can only mean one thing... previous tenant must have already done this. I go into the basement, find the other side of the hole and look at all the pipes along the ceiling. I can't find a place anywhere where a tap was inserted.

I get my plumber out, he hooks up the basement end in literally 60 seconds, I get whacked with $60. At this point I hadn't moved the fridge in yet, so he left me with the parts to do that myself. Fridge finally comes, I can't figure out how to keep the water line securely fastened to the fridge, but think I finally got it, I go into the basement, turn on the spigot and hear the wife start screaming. I shut it off, go upstairs, water all over the place. I had to call the guy and have him walk me through the procedure to.... tighten down the nut with PLIERS rather than hand tightening it so that the little nubby thing that fits over the line gets crushed ONTO the line effectively holding it in place underneath the nut.

 

[Hrant]

Good stories and great off topic if I may say so ........ I did both of the above myself too! That is the GE dishwasher handle - once by brushing the rust and greasing it a bit and another time installing a new one, and the line to the fridge though I didn't need pliers to connect it to the fridge, and there wasn't a line before!

However, my nightmare was installing the new LG dishwasher last year. Their mannual was totally useless. After calling them a few times, they finally noted it needed a 12 gauge wiring! Well my house was built in the late 70s and the previous washer was hooked with a Romex 16 gauge wire coming straight out of the sheet rock to the dishwasher This is what we got when we did remodeling 10 years ago with licensed contractors So much for doing things by code heh ... Decided to call my cousin who is an electrical engineer in East Bay, he explained the amperage and all that until I told him the garbage disposal was wired on the same circuit While learning all the tech terms, also checked with our Prime member SMGNSX (Steve) who is an electrical contractor in Stockton. Yes I had free time on my hands ...... We finally came to a consensus that a 14 guage would do the job and try to avoid using dishwasher and the disposal at the same time. OK, this seemed simple enough though no one is taking any liability except moi :wink: But then again, had I listened, ..... this was the same thing that the old geezer manning Lowe's electrical isle told me 3 days earlier :redface:

Long story short, following the precautionary steps of turning off the circuit breaker, I created a receptacle so I didn't have the Romex wire coming out the wall. Actually, I had to cut the wire from the old dishwasher as I could get the dishwasher to move forward .......... had I not done that and just unwired it from the facia of the dishwasher, I would not be telling this story, and perhaps not lived to tell it either! First attempt after hook-up failed because the receptacle even with a kinked 14 gauge male, was hitting the back of the dishwasher. Talk about poor design or lack of foresight. Another run to Lowe's for more supplies and different options for trial and errors .... Had to cut the sheet rock again, relocate the receptacle, cut the cabinetry to install a receptacle under the sink instead of behind the dishwasher, and finally after several attempts of inserting the damn thing leveled (yet another poor design of how the adjustable legs rotate on themselves as you push it in place (Bosch has a lock in mechanism), we have a fit. First water cycle, and the damn thing leaks not from any of my connections please It turns out that the tube that collects the water evaporation is made of two plastic pieces in the door. The top piece instead of sitting inside the lower piece as it accumulates the condensation sits on top of the lower piece and is "sealed" with a piece of cloth! Call the LG for warranty and three of the service companies they list refuse to do business with LG. Finally LG sent a guy who replaced the tubing but said all it needed was some silicone sealant instead of that cloth. When it came time to buy a new washer and dryer, I refused to purchase the highly rated LG and opted for a Bosch. If LG had so little common sense in logical designs, I didn't want to find out with twice as expensive machinary what else could go wrong also. And why were the service comapnies mentioned by LG refusing to do warranty work for them?

So, moral of my story, it took about 3+ days to do the install, several trips to Lowe's back and forth as I measured and remeasured and over analyzed all the aspects of the engineering involved. Would a contractor have done it better, or Home Depot's installation people No way :biggrin: True, it cost me three days, and some bruised knuckles, but I can claim having the satisfaction of learning how to do it and did it better than what I would have paid for it. But don't count the "real" cost of the free advice and my time :tongue:

Enjoy the project pics ..... :smile: I am off to the track tomorrow while the dishwasher is set in delay mode :tongue:

 

[steveny]

So what did the wife say when you were done so quick.

 

[GOTTSPD]

So what did the wife say when you were done so quick.

She was pleased that it was fixed and gave me a "nice work", but it was 11:15PM by the time I told her, so her level of enthusiasm was somewhat less than what it might have been.

 

[Cairo94507]

Good job counsellor. It is stuff like that which allows you to relate to anyone in the jury.