Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

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SteveM
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by SteveM »

Greg_Lewis wrote: Mon Jun 22, 2020 9:21 pm We want the ice maker in the door as the others use an auger to push the ice toward the dispenser, a system we have now which is problematic.
<snip>
The in-door ice maker is gravity feed. In the end, it probably doesn't matter all that much as the lifespan of these things is limited and this one will probably last until we're both in nursing homes drooling on our shirts.
Look at the actual ice maker - I know of several in-door units that use an auger. My in-laws' in-door ice maker (with auger) has exactly the problem you describe.

Steve
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Yes there is what you might call an auger but it is still gravity feed. In the end there is no perfect solution but we think the in-door will be better. If it was just me I'd simply skip the whole thing and just use ice trays but The Boss wants the ice maker.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
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spro
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by spro »

Most of this is about side by sides and ice makers. This is perfect fine but some of us aren't there. We need a main or "backup" fridge. I texted about my Whirlpool "Roper" made in the late '80's or early '90's. They are well made and too often, go away when they don't fit the decor. Going on 5 years when I replaced the main timer/ defroster unit with the newer timer/ defrost. That was all it was, to take down these fine heavy refrigerators.
Roper didn't build the timers. There were months when I defrosted the freezer coils. They are inside the freezer section. Remove everything in there.
Take off a panel and it is a block of ice. Sure I checked every connection and you start to see how these worked.
So close to pulling this out ...but it didn't have to happen. Roper knew there had to be defrost cycle at times. One timer and one fan.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well, folks, after much ruminating, research and reflection, we have decided to repair what we have. We figure it will be about $500 while a whole new unit would be at least $1400. The main takeaway from our research is that these ice makers are inherently troublesome. In reading the on-line reviews I see a common thread in the negative reviews which tells me there is a problem with these things. The in-door ice maker/bin units seem to leak and dribble water out the dispenser unit which then trickles down the door and onto the floor.

But the ice maker in our current fridge worked for many years and if we get another four years out of it after the repair we'll still be ahead. The pain of finding a suitable unit and getting it in place and getting rid of the old one is not worth the $500.

So thanks again for all your comments and suggestions.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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NP317
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by NP317 »

I repaired the ice maker in our lower - freezer refridge. Twice. At no cost.
Of course I cannot remember what I did! But it could not have been too complex because I fixed it.

Maybe you can repair yours too.
RussN
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Russ:
I could as I've pulled the parts already while investigating it. But I can't be sure if the problem is in the control board. It's just not worth my time to take a guess and get it wrong. I figure the extra I'll pay for a pro is worth it as he'll have to guarantee the work. My time is valuable, too, and I'd rather spend it playing with my trains.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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NP317
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by NP317 »

Greg:
I totally understand your reasoning.
We had a long-lived washing machine that required circuit board replacement, and we let the pros take care of that one.

I used to train service technicians for Physio-Control Corp., a manufacturer of acute cardiac care devices, so Im tuned into the value of trained service people.
...if you can find ones actually trained for appliance repairs...
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liveaboard
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by liveaboard »

If the information was available, many of us could do many of the repairs.
It seems to me that if you can repair a car, you should be able to repair a refrigerator or washing machine.

I have a few rental properties, they have Bosch washing machines, the cheaper ones that cost around $350 each.
Repair callout usually runs around $200.
If it goes wrong again, they bicker.
If they need parts, my tenants have no washing machine for weeks. Once the man has been called, I have to pay.

So now when a machine goes wrong, I just get a new one.
Delivered and installed free within 24 hours, I pay online and it all gets done while I spend my day happy in my workshop in Portugal.

I hate that, but it works out more profitable for me.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

As a member of a board populated by guys who fix things, you realize, of course, the blow this represents to my ego, my masculinity and my self-image. As a person who fixes the unfixable and repairs the unrepairable, one who, when someone says, “You can’t fix that,” replies, “Watch me,” one who, when parts are no longer available, makes the parts and makes them better than original, to be forced to concede defeat and call an outside repair tech will require months if not years of counseling and therapy. My reputation in the family and the neighborhood is ruined. I’m going to lock myself in the bedroom.

(And I'm going to ask that the repair tech arrive at night in an unmarked van.)
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Harold_V
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Harold_V »

NP317 wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 9:50 am ...if you can find ones actually trained for appliance repairs...
RussN
Chuckle!
Yeah, and how does one know? I recall the time I had a repairman come to service a bulky clothes dryer, gas fired. The gas didn't always come on, so he installed a new valve and charged me an arm and leg for the service. The dryer now had a new valve, but his "expert" service didn't solve the problem.

Just because a person is employed in a given capacity doesn't mean he/she will be capable of doing the work involved. That seems to be even more common today, as our illustrious leaders, long ago, determined that we no longer needed to be schooled in many of the badly needed skills today.

I do my own repairs.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
atunguyd
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by atunguyd »


Harold_V wrote:
Just because a person is employed in a given capacity doesn't mean he/she will be capable of doing the work involved. That seems to be even more common today, as our illustrious leaders, long ago, determined that we no longer needed to be schooled in many of the badly needed skills today.


100% agree. Have you also noticed that these days because someone sells something the general public regards them as an expert in that product.
A guy who buys a Lawn Mower shop is suddenly schooled in all aspects of the lawn mowers he sells? Me I call him a business man or a salesman, not a lawnmower technician.
And it is worse in the large department stores. You get people going into those taking advise from a 23 year old kid on a product range spanning hundreds of products.



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Jorg50
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Jorg50 »

Greg_Lewis wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:19 pm As a member of a board populated by guys who fix things, you realize, of course, the blow this represents to my ego, my masculinity and my self-image. As a person who fixes the unfixable and repairs the unrepairable, one who, when someone says, “You can’t fix that,” replies, “Watch me,” one who, when parts are no longer available, makes the parts and makes them better than original, to be forced to concede defeat and call an outside repair tech will require months if not years of counseling and therapy. My reputation in the family and the neighborhood is ruined. I’m going to lock myself in the bedroom.

(And I'm going to ask that the repair tech arrive at night in an unmarked van.)
I do understand your frustration, a lot of us could repair the items, like someone said we don't have access to the technical information and these electronic board that are in these appliances do intelligent function and chip can do a lot of different functions once programed. Once a repair thec came to repair my dryer under warranty he told me that he needed to take the dryer with him after 2 months he calls me saying it was repaired and I told him that I taught he stole the dryer. It would be worst if it was the washing machine. When he took the dryer was advised by me the condition of the dryer which was new without scratches, imagine how it came back? Next time I have to take pictures.
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