c/appliance-repairers

PSA: Check the door switch before you replace the whole control board

Wasted 2 hours swapping out a control board on a Whirlpool washer that ended up just having a bad door switch. Has anyone else ever chased a simple 10 dollar part after tearing down half the machine?

Tried a $20 capacitor tester off Amazon and it actually worked...

I was always skeptical about those cheap capacitor testers you see on Amazon for like $20. Figured they'd give false readings or just break after a few uses. But my regular Fluke was in the shop last month and I needed something fast for a call. Grabbed one just to get through the day and honestly the readings matched the Fluke within 5% on every cap I tested. Been using it for about 6 weeks now as a backup and it hasn't let me down yet. Has anyone else found a cheap tool that surprised you?

Thought those fancy multimeter clamps were a gimmick, but nope

I was always team analog meter for diagnosing fridge compressors, thought the clamp-on ones were overpriced. Then I picked up a Uni-T UT210E for around $40 last month and used it on a dead Whirlpool in Dallas. It caught a micro-amp draw the old meter missed completely. Has anyone else switched tools after a stubborn no-start call?

Finally realized I was overtorquing washing machine bolts for years

Last Tuesday I was swapping out a drum bearing on a Samsung front-loader and the new bolt just snapped off halfway in. I had been using my impact driver on high speed this whole time because I figured tighter was better. Then a guy I met at a supply shop in Cleveland told me those bolts only need like 8-10 ft-lbs of torque. I stripped three perfectly good machines before that tip. Anybody else make this mistake or just me?

Flat rate vs hourly billing - which one actually works better for you?

I've been going back and forth on how to charge customers lately. One guy I know only does flat rate pricing for stuff like refrigerator repairs and says it keeps things simple for him and the customer. But another repairer I talked to last month swears by hourly billing because apparently some jobs take way longer than you'd guess, like that whirlpool washer I had that looked like a 30 minute fix but took 2 hours. He said flat rate only works if you've done the same model a hundred times before and know every little catch. So which do you guys lean towards and have you ever gotten burned by quoting a price that was way too low?

Told a guy his 'condenser coil cleaning' trick was snake oil...

Had this old timer at a supply house swear by using a leaf blower on outdoor condenser coils instead of a proper coil cleaner. I laughed it off for like a year. Finally got a call last August where a unit was tripping on high head pressure and I forgot my chem spray at the shop. Grabbed his leaf blower trick as a Hail Mary. Blew out about 15 pounds of cottonwood fuzz and dog hair in under two minutes. Pressure dropped right back to normal and I saved myself an hour of spraying and rinsing. Has anyone else found a 'wrong' tool or method that actually works better than the proper stuff?

PSA: Don't buy those cheap $15 dryer vent cleaning kits from the hardware store

I spent 2 hours using one of those brush kits last weekend and it just pushed all the lint deeper into the wall, probably clogged it worse than before who knows how much that'll cost me for a professional fix.

Tried a Harbor Freight multimeter on a tricky fridge compressor and learned my lesson

Had a fridge that kept tripping the breaker in a house near Austin. Used a cheap $15 multimeter from Harbor Freight to check the compressor windings and got readings that looked fine. Swapped in my Fluke 117 and found a short to ground that the cheap meter totally missed. Anyone else had a cheap tool cost them more time than it was worth?

Stuck between buying a compressor-driven fridge or a propane camping unit for my off-grid cabin job

Last summer I had to pick between a standard compressor fridge and a propane absorption unit for a cabin install up near Flagstaff. The customer wanted something that would run off-grid but not drain batteries, and I kept going back and forth. I ended up going with the propane one because it was simpler to set up and didn't need a huge solar array, just a good vent. But man, the first time I lit it I had to adjust the burner three times to stop it from sooting up the flue. It ran fine after that, but I still wonder if the compressor model with a big battery bank would've been more reliable long term. Has anyone else dealt with this tradeoff and regretted one choice over the other?

Took a chance on that advice from an old Maytag guy about dryer thermostats

I was working on a 6 year old dryer in West Kelowna last week that kept shutting off after 15 minutes. An old timer I know from the parts counter told me to check the cycling thermostat even though my multimeter said it was fine. Sure enough, I swapped it out and the dryer ran through a full load with no issues. Cost me $14 for the part instead of guessing and replacing the whole board. Has anyone else had a thermostat test good cold but actually fail under heat?

Tried a compressor restart relay swap on a fridge that was clicking - worked for 2 days then died again

Had a customer's Frigidaire that was clicking every 30 seconds but the compressor wasn't kicking on. Read online it was probably the relay so I swapped in a generic Supco one from the supply house. Fridge ran cold for about 48 hours then started doing the same thing. Learned the hard way that a clicking relay is sometimes the symptom, not the problem - the compressor windings were probably shot. Anyone else had a Supco relay fail like that on a newer compressor?

Dropped $150 on a universal fridge compressor and it was junk out of the box

Went cheap trying to save a customer some cash on a Frigidaire top-freezer in Phoenix, and that thing lasted maybe 20 minutes before it seized up completely. Anyone else have better luck with specific compressor brands or should I just always go OEM from now on?

Had to pick between fixing a crusty old dryer or telling the customer it's done

Went with fixing it cause the lady had three kids and no car. Managed to patch the drum with a used part from my junk pile and it ran fine.

Picked up a weird trick for stuck ice maker augers yesterday

I was helping a buddy swap out a fridge compressor in an old Whirlpool and he showed me something. He used a heat gun on low for about 30 seconds right where the auger shaft meets the plastic housing. Said it expands the plastic just enough to break the ice bond without melting anything. It worked like a charm on a unit that was totally locked up. Has anyone else tried heat instead of prying or soaking?

TIL I hit 500 fridge compressor swaps in 3 years

Was cleaning out my truck last week and found my old notebook. Counted up all the compressor jobs I've done since 2021. 503 total. Didn't think I'd hit that number so fast. How many swaps do you guys average in a year?

Hit 25 years in the trade today, didn't even realize it was that long

I was going through old receipts and found my first service call from 1999 for a busted washing machine in a basement on Elm Street. 25 years of fixing fridges, dryers, and ovens just flew by. Has anyone else had a milestone sneak up on them like that?

Shoutout to the $80 universal dryer heating element I bought online

It was the wrong fit for three different models and I had to eat the cost. Anyone know a good supplier for actual OEM parts?

Debate: Do you still replace old control boards or repair them component by component?

I used to swap out entire control boards on washing machines without even thinking. It was faster and I didn't want to mess with soldering. But about two years ago, a customer in Denver showed me her 12-year-old board with just a burnt relay. I fixed it for $3 instead of charging her $200 for a new board. Now I repair about half the boards I see if the damage is small. It saves people money but takes way more time on site. Which side do you lean on for older machines?

A homeowner in Phoenix called me out for not checking the condensate drain slope

I was wrapping up an AC install near Scottsdale last month and the guy walks over, points at the drain line, and says it has to drop at least a quarter inch per foot. I always just eyeballed it, but he pulled out a level and showed me it was barely half that. He said if it clogs later I'd be back out there on my dime. Now I carry a small level in my bag and check every single one before I leave.

Just spent $400 on a thermal camera for my phone... best money I ever burned.

Question about a weird fix for a Samsung washer that wouldn't drain

Had a call last week for a washer stuck on the spin cycle. The pump tested fine, no clogs in the lines. I was about to order a new main board, which is a $200 part and a pain to install. On a hunch, I unplugged the machine for a full 10 minutes, then plugged it back in. It started working perfectly. My boss says this is just a lucky reset and we should always replace parts to be sure. I think sometimes these machines just need a hard reboot like a computer. Has anyone else had a simple reset fix a problem you thought was major?

A lady in her 80s taught me something about old washers last month

I was on a call for a noisy Maytag top loader from the late 90s. The owner, Mrs. Ellis, watched me work and told me she'd had that machine since her husband bought it new. When I got the tub off, I found a worn-out drive block, a part I don't see much anymore. I explained the fix, and she said, 'You know, most young folks would have just told me to buy a new one.' She made me a cup of tea while I finished up and paid with a check from a checkbook. It was a simple job, but her thanks felt real good. It made me think about the value in keeping the old stuff running. What's the oldest appliance you've brought back from the brink lately?

Showerthought: A guy in Denver offered me a vintage toaster as payment for fixing his fridge.

I was finishing up a job on a 1990s side-by-side when he brought out this chrome Sunbeam from the 50s, saying it was a 'family heirloom' and worth more than my service call. I took the toaster, it works perfectly, and now I make my breakfast with a piece of appliance history. Has anyone else gotten a truly weird trade instead of cash?

Just realized my neighbor's comment about fixing his own dryer changed my view on DIY repairs

He said 'I saved $200 but spent 6 hours and still had to call you,' which made me rethink if we should always encourage people to try fixing things first. Has anyone else had a customer's story shift their opinion on giving out repair advice?

A customer told me they fixed their dryer with a YouTube video and a $5 part

I was on a call for a noisy dishwasher in Tempe, and the homeowner mentioned they'd just fixed their own dryer last week. They said they watched a 10 minute video, bought a new belt for five bucks, and it's been fine for a month now. Part of me thinks that's great for simple fixes, but I also worry they might mess up something bigger next time and cause a safety issue. Where do you all draw the line on DIY repairs versus calling a pro?