Opinions Matter

c/appliance-repairers

17

shane244•9h ago

Swore by my old multi-meter for a decade, then got zapped by a fridge compressor

I used to just grab my beat up analog meter for every call, figured it was good enough. Then last Tuesday in a commercial kitchen in Philly, I went to test a compressor start relay and the thing gave me a jolt that had me hopping. Turns out the leads were frayed and grounding out on the metal casing. Bought a Fluke 117 the next day and now I get consistent readings in seconds without risking my arm hair. Anyone else ever get shocked into an upgrade?

10

robert_roberts•1d ago

Debate: Should we give full part lists to customers or just fix what's broken?

I had a chat with a old repair guy in Phoenix last week. He said he never tells customers about every worn part he finds, just fixes the immediate problem. Said listing everything makes people think you're upselling. I always lay out every issue I see so they can decide. But he's been doing this 30 years and has a packed schedule. Which approach builds more trust in the long run?

23

jenny_sullivan97•1d ago

Hit 200 fridge compressor swaps last week, lost count at that point

I hit 200 compressor replacements on fridges last Wednesday, which surprised me because I never thought I'd see that many in under three years. Most of them were basic LG and Samsung models from 2018 to 2022, same sealed system issues over and over. Anyone else keep a running tally of a specific repair and get shocked by the number?

13

the_sandra•3d ago

Just found out most compressors fail from acid buildup, not wear and tear

Read it in a trade journal from the 90s at my mentor's shop - acid forms when moisture mixes with refrigerant and oil, then eats the windings from inside out. Has anyone else seen this happen on units that still had good pressure readings?

27

cameron_webb•3d ago

Lost $120 on a used washer because I didn't check the suspension rods first

Picked up a used Samsung washer off Facebook Marketplace for $150 last month. Seemed like a steal, drum was clean, cycle ran smooth when I tested it at the guy's house. Got it home, hooked it up, and on the first spin cycle it sounded like a jackhammer in my basement. Turns out three of the four suspension rods were completely shot, the drum was banging against the cabinet. Looked up the cost for a replacement kit, $45 plus shipping, but then I realized I'd have to pull the whole machine apart and the frame was already starting to rust. So I ended up hauling it to the scrap yard and eating the loss. Anyone else get burned by a machine that looked fine during a quick test but fell apart after a real cycle?

22

zara447•3d ago

I finally listened to the old timer who said to use a shop vac on the drain line first

Had a customer with a washing machine that wouldn't drain, water just sitting there. My usual move was to pop the pump and check for socks and coins. But this guy's dad, been fixing appliances since the 80s, told me to just hook a shop vac to the drain hose before touching anything. I figured it was a waste of time but tried it. Pulled out a whole clump of hair and gunk from 8 feet away without even tilting the machine. Saved me 20 minutes of messing with the back panel. Anyone else found a weird shortcut that goes against the manual but actually works better?

10

richard_sanchez43•4d ago

Rant: The dryer vent situation at that laundromat on Foster

Walked into a job at the Super Suds on Foster last Tuesday and their dryer vent setup was a straight up fire hazard... lint packed 4 feet deep in the main line. How do these places pass inspection with stuff like that?

23

thomas.cameron•5d ago

My old roll-around toolbox vs the new packout system

I spent 10 years lugging a heavy metal roll-around to every job site. Got a Milwaukee Packout setup about 6 months ago after I kept leaving my 10-in-1 in the truck on a Saturday. The difference is wild for someone like me who works out of a van. Loading and unloading takes me maybe 5 minutes now instead of 15. Plus I can just pop the top box off and carry it into tight laundry rooms or under sinks. The old box would scrape up door frames and I'd always be hunting for screws in the bottom tray. Anyone else make the switch and find their back thanking them?

4

holly_price•5d ago

That one Samsung fridge drain line took me 4 hours on a Sunday

I got a call about a Samsung fridge leaking water everywhere. Pulled the back panel, cleared the defrost drain tube in about 15 minutes, thought I was done. Next day they call back, same problem. Ended up having to take apart the whole freezer floor to find a crushed drain line hidden under the ice maker harness. Cost me four hours on a Sunday that I'll never get back. Anyone else run into hidden drain line issues on these newer fridges?

23

ray_mitchell•7d ago

A landlord told me to just 'bang on the disposal' to fix it

Honestly, I showed up to a rental in St. Louis where the tenant said the sink was backing up. The landlord was on site and insisted I just whack the garbage disposal with a wrench to unstick it. Ngl, I thought he was nuts but gave it one tap - and the whole thing sheared off the mount bracket. Water flooded the cabinet and I had to replace the entire unit. Has anyone else dealt with owners giving terrible advice on site?

27

iris_jones89•9d ago

The time I used a cheap multimeter versus a Fluke on a fridge compressor

I had a call last month over in Oakville for a fridge that wasn't cooling. Pulled out my old $15 multimeter from Harbor Freight and it was showing 120 volts at the compressor. After an hour of chasing my tail, I grabbed my buddy's Fluke and it read 108 volts. That cheap meter was off by a mile, and the compressor was bad all along. Has anyone else run into this kind of headache with low-end test gear?

17

adams.harper•9d ago

Hot take: buying a thermal imager was way smarter than guessing with a multimeter every time

I spent about 6 months chasing a fridge compressor issue in a 2019 Whirlpool by using my clamp meter and checking resistances. Finally broke down and got a Flir One for $200 at a pawn shop in Denver. Found the relay was barely clicking and running hot, but the compressor itself was fine. Replaced that $12 part instead of swapping a $400 compressor and the thing has been running smooth for 3 months now. Anyone else find thermal imaging saved them more time than it cost?

7

umac71•10d ago

TIL that old timer who told me to always check the door seal before ordering a control board was actually spot on

Ignored his advice for two years and replaced three perfectly good boards on Samsung fridges before I finally checked the seal on the fourth one and found a tiny tear causing all the frost issues; has anyone else wasted time swapping parts that didn't need replacing?

4

the_drew•12d ago

Spent 6 months installing dishwashers with the drain hose looped too high before a tip from a guy in Toledo set me straight

I was working on a kitchen remodel in Akron last spring and kept getting calls back about water pooling under the unit. Checked everything, leveling, connections, even the pump. Finally the homeowner's dad who used to do installs walks over and says 'your loop is catching debris instead of blocking it, bring it down about 8 inches.' Sure enough, that was the issue. Has anyone else dealt with a simple installation detail that tripped them up for way too long?

25

brooke475•12d ago

I finally switched from plastic to metal dryer vent hose

I was using the cheap white plastic vent hose for years because it was easier to bend around corners. Last month I had a call where a customer's plastic hose had melted and nearly started a fire in their basement. That pushed me to swap all my personal hoses to the semi-rigid metal stuff. Took me about an hour to replace the run from my dryer to the wall vent, and it feels way more solid. Anyone else made the switch and noticed better airflow?

6

kai_brown23•13d ago

Pro tip: a bad door switch can fake you out for 45 minutes

Last Tuesday I had a Whirlpool dryer that wouldn't start. I checked the thermal fuse, the start switch, even the control board. After 45 minutes of testing parts that were all good, I finally looked at the door switch. It was intermittent - would buzz out fine one second, then go open the next. Replaced it for $8 and the thing fired right up. Has anyone else gotten tricked by a part testing good on the meter but failing under load?

0

the_daniel•14d ago

That $60 Viking igniter from Amazon was a dud, almost cost me a whole repair

I ordered a replacement igniter for a Viking range off Amazon last week, $60 after shipping. Got it in two days, installed it for a customer in Albany, and it sparked nice for about three cycles then just died. Had to go back to the house, pull the whole thing apart again, and put in a genuine part I paid $95 for at a local supply house. The cheap one looked identical but the ceramic was clearly weaker, it cracked under heat. Customer was not thrilled I had to reschedule, and I ate the labor on the second trip. Anyone else had bad luck with knockoff gas range parts from those big online sellers?

2

troy_palmer76•14d ago

LG vs Whirlpool washer drain pumps, no contest

Did a repair last week on a LG front loader, drain pump was seized. Pulled the old one out, plastic housing cracked, impeller chewed up. Second LG pump I've seen fail this year. Whirlpool pumps on the other hand, I've only replaced maybe 3 in the last 5 years. They're built better, metal housing, less headache. Anyone else see way more LG pump failures?

32

dakota_murphy90•14d ago

That ice maker on a Samsung at a lake house in Michigan flooded the whole kitchen

I was in Traverse City fixing a fridge that was only 14 months old, and the ice maker line had a pinhole leak that sprayed water behind the cabinet for weeks, so I had to rip out the floorboards and charge the customer $600 for the repair plus dry-out, anyone else dealing with these new plastic water lines failing way too soon?

10

jones.blake•16d ago

Hit 1,000 sealed system repairs this week and it finally clicked why I keep burning through my recovery tank filters

I pulled my logbook from the last 3 years and realized I've done exactly 1,003 sealed system repairs. Around repair 850 or so, I noticed I was changing my tank filter every 4 or 5 jobs instead of every 8. Then it hit me - I'd been skipping the deep vacuum step on smaller units like mini fridges and wine coolers. Has anyone else noticed their filter life changing based on what size system they work on?

34

rosep87•18d ago

Came across a stat that 90% of fridge compressor failures are actually just bad start relays

I was digging through some old trade journals I found in a box at a shop in Cleveland last spring. Thought it was just outdated stuff, but one article from 2019 had a chart showing how often start relays and capacitors get blamed as the compressor. So I started checking every no-cool call that way first. Has anyone else saved themselves a compressor swap by testing the relay before anything else?

21

patp79•18d ago

Spent $400 on a thermal imaging camera for appliance diagnostics

Honestly, everyone online says you need a fluke or nothing else, but I grabbed a cheaper brand off amazon last month. It found a bad relay in a dryer and a failing compressor on a fridge in the same week, so it paid for itself fast. Has anyone else had good luck with a budget thermal cam or am I just getting lucky?

4

jones.blake•19d ago

Had a control board failure on a LG washer yesterday that was a total nightmare to diagnose

I got called to a house in Fresno yesterday for a washer that would fill, drain, fill, drain, never spin. Customer said it had been doing this for 2 weeks. I checked all the usual stuff, door lock, pressure switch, drain pump, all tested fine. Then I noticed the main control board had a tiny burnt spot near the relay. I've seen these LG boards fail before but this one was sneaky because it still showed power to the display. I ended up replacing the whole board on site and it fired right up on the test cycle. That repair cost the customer $285 for the part plus my labor. Anyone else running into more of these intermittent board failures with LG stuff lately?

9

wadeyoung•21d ago

A homeowner chewed me out for using too much silicone on a fridge seal

I was repairing a fridge door gasket in a house over by Oak Park last Tuesday. The guy watched me lay a thick bead of silicone and said, "You're making a mess for the next guy who has to clean that off." I thought I was doing a solid job, but he was right. Ever since, I only use the minimal amount needed to hold the gasket in place. Any of you got a similar story where a customer's complaint actually made you better at your job?

6

wesley_fox92•21d ago

That magnetic bowl thing I laughed at is now on my truck every day

A few months back I saw a guy at a supply house with one of those heavy duty magnetic parts bowls strapped to his service van bumper. I thought it was the dumbest thing ever, like just put your screws in your pocket right? Then I dropped a 1/4 inch hex bit into a drain pan on a Bosch dishwasher call and spent 15 minutes digging it out. I picked one up for 12 bucks at a local hardware spot and now I use it for every single dryer and fridge repair. Has anyone else had a cheap tool they ignored that ended up saving their butt?