Funny how things work out some times...
On Wednesday, the washing machine died - right in the middle of the cycle. Tub full of clothes, and water. It died right after the wash cycle finished. Just before the tub would be drained prior to the rinse.
We tried everything we could think of to make it work - at least to get it to drain. But, no matter which position we tried on the dial - all we would get is a bit of a whine.
Finally, we resorted to draining the tub by dipping the water out with a cup, and then placing the soaking wet clothes into a garbage bag and taking them to the laundromat to complete the load.
After doing a little research on the web, I finally found a site that gave me enough information to figure out how to take the machine apart.
Not that I knew anything about fixing a washing machine, but, chances were that it would have to be taken apart to diagnose, much less fix the problem.
Well, after much head scratching, I determined that I thought the problem was a failed transmission. I went next door to ask my neighbor who can fix anything how involved replacing a transmission on a washer was. He indicated that it was a difficult repair. For him to say something is difficult is equivalent to him saying it is impossible for me to do. That, combined with the $175 cost of the part, was enough to convince me that the most appropriate course of action would be to purchase a new washer.
After a fair amount of research and discussion, Jeanie and I decided on a front loader. Even though front loaders are significantly more expensive, we felt that the advantages of a front loader - significantly improved efficiency, being more gentle on clothes, less detergent usage, better water extraction resulting in shorter drying times, more effective cleaning - justified the added cost.
Not that we really have any extra in our bank account at the moment... The last few months have had a number of significant unexpected expenses. But, we have learned that in the long run, buying a quality product that we really want provides better value than going cheap.
So, today, we headed off to purchase a new washer. We ended up going to Sears, as they were having a 10% off sale. Sears offers a number of front loader brands and models - well, three brands with two models each. We selected the Kenmore lower end model. The main difference between the two models was that the higher end model offers a sanitize mode and a 300 RPM higher spin speed. We didn't feel that the $300 extra cost was justified. So, we plunked down the plastic and went off to do some holiday shopping.
Fast forward to this evening...
It seemed such a shame to have Sears just cart the old washing machine off to the dump. The bulk of the machine still appeared to be in good shape. It just was such a waste to dispose of the whole machine. So, knowing that my neighbor is a bit of a tinkerer, I asked him if he would like any parts from the machine before Sears came to cart it off tomorrow. He said that he would like the motor, so I told him that I would remove it for him and bring it over.
Back to the laundry room I went to remove the motor. As I was disassembling the machine, it occurred to me that I could salvage other parts and sell them on e-Bay. In order to remove the motor, you must first remove the pump. Now mind you, I had already separated the pump unit from the motor shaft as part of my diagnostics, but, I had not removed to pump unit from the hoses. Since I had decided to salvage what I could, I removed the pump from the hoses. After removing the pump, being the inquisitive type that I am, I performed a thorough inspection. The pump unit has two fittings - an inlet and an outlet. In looking into the outlet, I noticed that the pump is an impeller type pump. Imagine my surprise when I looked into the inlet port and saw...
... a large black fuzzy mass. Gee, it didn't seem like that was part of the design specification.
A few minutes of probing with a pair of needle nose pliers confirmed that the fuzzy black mass was in fact not factory installed. Further detailed examination of the fuzzy black mass resulted in its identification as a footie.
Now, it seemed really hard to imagine that one little footie could jam such a powerful high torque motor, but...
... only reassembly of the machine could confirm or disprove the hypothesis that rather than a failed transmission, the problem was simply a jammed pump.
Well, much to our delight, the reassembled machine worked!
Funny how things go sometimes...
The desire to something nice for a neighbor, to reduce the needless waste of resources and impact on our environment, to try to recoup some of our financial investment, and a little inquisitiveness, resulted in allowing us to avoid making a needless major purchase.
Sometimes, you just have to wonder...
Digg It!
Bookmark it!
Posted by David at November 29, 2003 11:22 PM