A triumphant repair was made, thanks to both the internet, and a local store

[Shop-Teacher]

Wednesday night, whilst up to my eyeballs in lesson planing and grading (ugh, I still haven't finished the grading!), my wife announced that our dryer wasn't working.

Now, the dryer came with the house, which we bought over 10 years ago. It wouldn't be entirely unreasonable to have to buy a new dryer ... but I don't wanna buy a new dryer!

A simple google search of "gas dryer not heating," got me to an excellent video made by repairclinic.com. I'm giving them a plug, because I feel a little guilty about not buying the replacement part from them.

Anyways, it seemed very repairable. Turns out there really isn't much to a dryer. Saturday morning I dove in. To disassemble my dryer, I again turned to google, and searched "How to disassemble a Whirlpool Series 90 dryer," where I found yet another excellent video from Repair Clinic.

I then followed their trouble shooting suggestions, and with the help of a multi-meter, discovered that my dryer had a bad flame sensor.

Now, what I did not do is search the internet for the cheapest flame sensor I could find. No, because my town is awesome, we have an actual appliance parts store in town! It closes at 1:00 on Saturday, so I made the arduous journey quick 2-mile drive to an actual local brick and mortar business.

I have no doubt that the $53.77 I paid is more than I would have paid online for the same thing. I didn't bother to look that up though, because I don't care. Whatever few extra bucks I spent, is well worth it to have a place locally that can grab the exact part off the shelf and sell it to me RIGHT MEOW!

I will say, that if I didn't have a parts store right nearby, I would have ordered it from Repair Clinic, because their videos were VERY well made and super helpful.

Oh yeah, the dryer works now.

[smobgirl]

I gave up on the last gas dryer I owned and got the cheapest electric unit Home Depot had after stockpiling $300 in “turn your work in early” gift card rewards from work. But I’m impressed that you fixed it! Gas appliances scare me a bit as someone who is frequently gone. Then again the sketchy hundred years of upgrades to my electrical system are probably more likely to burn this place down, statistically speaking.

(Also hello, I seem to have made it here but now have to read the post on how this place works!)

[barnie]

Amen. A couple years ago I used Repair Clinic's videos to diagnose The Sue's dryer. It, however, was terminal. Fine by her since she didn't like it much anyway (came with her house, too). We went to Lowe's and she got a new one delivered next day that she does like. Glad that you bought local and I, too, can't recommend Repair Clinic enough.

[barnie]

@smobgirl said in A triumphant repair was made, thanks to both the internet, and a local store:

(Also hello, I seem to have made it here but now have to read the post on how this place works!)

Arrrgh, welcome aboard, M'lady! Manual is pinned to the top of the front page but it's much like what we're used to over there. I, for one, am not feeling any real loss for over there as @jminer, and company have done such a good job over here.

[MUSASHI66]

Good job! I managed to fix a washer and a dryer and a fridge, after following YouTube videos. It is so, so much cheaper than calling for appliance repair.

Case in point - I had a a furnace go down, and repair guys charged me $400!! for a $30 igniter. I just paid $160 for that same part again as I turned the house into a rental and I’m 90 minutes away one way, and it was impossible to find the part locally. Repair guy had the part, so I said screw it and had him do it.

Anyway, glad to hear you were able to fix it easily. It’s very satisfying.

[VincentMalamute]

@shop-teacher Nice. I would also hate to have to buy one of the new hi-tech internet connected appliances. Your 10 y/o dryer still seems too new to me as I find the 30-40 y/o stuff the simplest and most fixable.

@MUSASHI66 Those kinda stories drive me nuts and why I try to do as much as I can myself. I had a coupon (scams!) for a furnace cleaning and watched the tech break the igniter.

He charged me $100 for a new igniter saying it's difficult to get at and they're fragile and yours was ready to be replaced anyway. Yeah, a few years later I got a new one for $15 online and it was incredibly simple to do.

[sn4cktimes]

We have a dryer from the early 80's. Harvest Gold Kenmore. Thing is a beast. I will keep it alive as long as humanly possible. We rarely use heat on our clothing (air is very dry in Calgary) and just hang it up. But when we do want heat, this beast B L A S T S it out.

[jminer]

@barnie Thanks for the kind words - we're doing what we can. But I agree with you that we seem do be doing alright here.

[Shop-Teacher]

@smobgirl Good to see you here!

Now that I've seen the inside of the dryer, I went from not particularly scared of a gas dryer, to not scared at all. There is no way the gas is going to light the clothes on fire.

We do a lot of laundry here, having two little kids, so I would have to step up to a more expensive dryer. Not that I've seen how few parts there are in there, until somethings rusts out, I'll just keep fixing it.

[Shop-Teacher]

@barnie Yeah, sometimes things just can't be, or aren't worth fixing. We've been quite happy with the dryer, so I'm glad it was fixable.

[atfsgeoff]

Welcome to the world of appliance repair! Makes home ownership far less expensive.

[Shop-Teacher]

@musashi66 Yeah, sometimes you just have to suck it up and pay the service call. I had my furnace go out a few years ago. My research said the likely culprit was the thermo-couple, which I did replace on my own ... but that wasn't the problem. I had to pay almost $600 to get that one fixed. The guy was great though, he let me see what he was doing (I always ask so I can watch and learn, and because I'm a shop teacher, most will let me), and he pulled the burners apart and cleaned everything while he was in there.

Last year my water heater, which was only four years old, went out. That actually was the thermo-couple, which I replaced on my own despite it being a "sealed" burner. That one only cost me $14ish at the local Ace.

[Shop-Teacher]

@vincentmalamute I would guess it's actually closer to 20 years old. It came with the house when we bought it 10 years ago, and it wasn't new then. I definitely don't want any internet connected appliance!

The washer came with the house too. Recently we were watching an OLD episode of Myth Busters. They went and bought, "The heaviest duty washing machine we could find." It's the same model we have!

[Shop-Teacher]

@sn4cktimes Nice! We use low heat usually, but we hang dry all of our shirts, so they don't shrink.

[Shop-Teacher]

@atfsgeoff Yeah, for sure. Last year our 4-year old water heater (which I installed) went out. Bad thermo-couple. Bought a replacement for around $14 at the local Ace Hardware, and installed it despite it being a supposedly "sealed burner". They wanted to charge me like $180 for a whole new burner. Screw that! I cut the old thermo-couple out, and forced the new one through the rubber grommet that the old one went through.

[Exage03040]

@shop-teacher

Yeah, my dryer needs a new belt.

I got a new washer though. I was sort of holding off not thinking it was too much of a big deal for me (I only do like once a week) but it's from the 80's and the transmission broke for the agitation.

I can't believe how much parts are though to repair old washers. The transmission is almost as much as a new low end washer (and that's not including all the seals and bits and bobs) so even if I did it myself (free labour) it doesn't make much sense to repair.

Also had a leak from the plug of an unused hot water tee-off hidden behind a cupboard so I was getting mold and woodlice at the back. Rotten copper lines.

[Shop-Teacher]

@exage03040 That's a good example of one that isn't worth repairing. It definitely makes sense to cut bait sometimes.

[MUSASHI66]

@shop-teacher I don’t have a problem paying for complex stuff. However, igniter is a 20 second, 2 screw, $30 cost affair, so I hated being taken for a ride.

[Shop-Teacher]

@musashi66 I've been on the other side of this, as my dad is a contractor. Taking the time to drive to your place, isn't worth it for much less than you got charged. Nobody works for free, and time is money.

[sn4cktimes]

@shop-teacher I'm an inbetweenish size so I could buy them big and try and shrink them like I used to do. Or buy to fit and keep them that way. Since I stopped drying shirts in machines my clothes easily last 2-5x as long, and I'm already pretty easy on most clothing.

[Shop-Teacher]

@sn4cktimes I'm a big enough guy that I have to buy from Big and Tall stores, so a shrunk shirt may as well get cut up into rags.

[VincentMalamute]

@shop-teacher said

@musashi66 I've been on the other side of this, as my dad is a contractor. Taking the time to drive to your place, isn't worth it for much less than you got charged. Nobody works for free, and time is money.

Good point. I'd have no issue paying someone for their skill and competence. My HVAC tech broke a functioning igniter and then charged me full replacement price. I've got too many examples of Incompetence and poor quality work. That's what gets my goat.

[Shop-Teacher]

@vincentmalamute Yes! That is unacceptable, I totally agree with you. I've been pretty fortune with the few companies I have hired for various things. I think growing up in the trades has helped me develop a good BS detector for the incompetent boobs who unfortunately populate the trades en-mass.