Influence of restoration spirit: Fixing a 19 year old washing machine

[Level42]

I just wondered how our hobby influenced our attitude to other things.

I just fixed our 19 year old Bosch WFA1010 washing machine (it's so old, Google doesn't even produce a picture of it ! ).

We got this machine as our wedding present from my mum and dad and cost a good amount of money in those days. Washing machines have become cheaper now, and if you calculate the inflation of currency, they have become _really_ cheap compared to then.

Anyway, the machine was starting to seriously shake when centrifuging and the last time it became very scary and the dryer (which is on top of it) almost fell off. I already knew the cause. A couple of months ago the machine was leaking water (it's in a big "catch" stone so no harm done) and it was a defective rubber hose which I replaced. I already noticed the shock absorbers were "a bit weak" then but thought it would be OK for some more time.

Anyway, the machine had shocked so badly that the drive belt had jumped loose. It wasn't actually broken, but damaged enough that I didn't trust it anymore.

So, we talked about replacing the machine or repairing it and we decided for the last thing. The total cost of the belt plus two new shock absorbers was less than 80 Euro's incl. shipping. For that money, you can't get a new machine and I figured if it would now run for another 2/3 years it would be worth it.

Replacing the belt was very easy and the shocks wasn't hard too (Just remove two bolts on each). I did have to borrow some tools from my neighbor to reach one of the four bolts.
The shocks were completely 100% gone. If I turned it over, the plunger immediately dropped down completely. So it was about time to replace them !

Anyway, it was quickly fixed, and now it's running like new again.
One of the reasons for repairing it is that I also think that they don't make those machines like they used to do back then.

It just crossed my mind that this machine was almost as old as some of my cabs and somehow it just felt "right" to not just throw it out but keep it running for a bit more of time. It's probably because I'm a bit older, but I just have something against throwing a whole machine away when only (small) parts of it are defective.

Of course there is the risk of something else dying on it sooner or later, but I'll take the chance.

I wonder if any of you guys have gone and (tried to) fix stuff that before this hobby they might not even tried before.
Fixing stuff really always give me a satisfied feeling

[Nipedley]

If it weren't for my first arcade machine, I'd never have known how to even undo a bolt or join a wire. As a result, all of the devices I've managed to repair are from the skills I learnt fixing my first cab

I try to fix anything if it can be, as a result I've managed to revive a couple of vcr's, a dreamcast, a crt tv, two amiga's, a laptop motherboard... many things! If it weren't for buying such a duff cab to start learning with I'd never have known where to start!

[Ken Layton]

That's why there are helpful forums like this one:

http://applianceguru.com/forum1/

[SavannahLion]

I ended up flat out replacing my mother's dish washing machine. It was about 30 years old and we couldn't even find parts for it. So old in fact that it comes from an era when Avocado Green and Wheat Yellow were still in vogue for kitchens. (This model was wheat yellow.)

What eats me isn't that we replaced a 30 year old washing machine. It's knowing we replaced it with something that won't even last a 1/3 as long as the original.

[ChadTower]

The dishwasher that was in our house when we bought it worked GREAT.  I loved it.  But it was 25 years old and before long the rack bracket rusted out the wall and it just couldn't be fixed.  So I replaced it with a nice new modern good model Kenmore.  The new one sucks and does half as good a job in 3x the time. 

I wish I could find a nice old float fill dishwasher now.  All I can find are timed fill and we have low water pressure so it never has enough to do the job properly.  Thanks, "advancing technology".

[Kevin Mullins]

We still have a float fill dishwasher in our house.... Whirlpool, probably 20 years old, works fine.
And no, the new stuff just does not hold up like the older stuff.

I've always worked on my own (and everyone elses) appliances and such, so the arcade stuff didn't influence me there.

BUT..... I was helping work on my mom's washer machine the other day, one of them good ol' machines, that needed belts and then started blowing a fuse inside for no reason. Traced the blowing fuse down to dual switch setup that told the machine when the lid was open or closed. (bad check switch, stuck between open and closed)
Needless to say I giggled when I found the problem.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where this is going once you look at the pics..... had it fixed in about 5 minutes. (took longer to walk next door than to actually fix it)

So point being having a diverse appeal to dabble in many things can always come back to help in other ways.

[Level42]

Heh, 25 years ago only the very rich had dishwashers over here. We're on our second already. This one actually is a lot better than the first we had, but this one is a Siemens and the previous a Pelgrim. When it's running now you barely hear it. The other one was LOUD. We always run it in night time because we get lower rate electricity at nights and weekends.

I'm not sure what a float fill dishwasher is but I guess I get the idea. I actually never heard about that type of dishwashers.

While we are at this subject, it always strikes me that US kitchens (almost) never have the appliances integrated. In our kitchens everything is integrated as much as possible. You won't see the difference between one of my cupboards or the dishwasher. Same goes for fridge.
I always wondered why it (apparently ?) not very popular over there...although of course, fridge magnets don't work here because of this

Mind you, integrated stuff is much more expensive compared to "stand alone" appliances.

[ChadTower]

I'm not sure what a float fill dishwasher is but I guess I get the idea.

Keep the water flowing in until it has enough, using a float switch to determine enough.  Guaranteed to always get enough even if your pressure is low.  Now they're all timed fill and if you don't have enough pressure yer fooked because it doesn't have enough water to do the job.

[danny_galaga]

I wonder if any of you guys have gone and (tried to) fix stuff that before this hobby they might not even tried before.
Fixing stuff really always give me a satisfied feeling

Always. When you're poor you have no choice. About feeling satisfied? Sometimes yes, sometimes I wish i was just richer 

[SavannahLion]

sometimes I wish i was just richer 

+1

[shmokes]

I've found that modern dishwashers seem to do a much better job of cleaning than old ones.  Shrug.

Also, I've spent a fair amount of time in Europe (about six months) and I've never seen a place with "integrated" appliances.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they exist, just as they exist here in the US, but  like the US I think that they are primarily found only in the homes of wealthier people.  And I think they represent a small minority of kitchens on either continent.

[DaOld Man]

I wonder if any of you guys have gone and (tried to) fix stuff that before this hobby they might not even tried before.
Fixing stuff really always give me a satisfied feeling

I've been fixing stuff for as long as I can remember. Got interested in electricity when I was in the fourth grade. (approx. 41 years ago).
Momma would never have to hire someone to fix her appliances, I was standing by waiting for them to break. LOL.
Now as for the arcade building: I think about 3 years now?

It is always a personal reward to fix things. Now building things from scratch (I.E. arcade machine), is much more rewarding, for me anyways.

[Level42]

I've found that modern dishwashers seem to do a much better job of cleaning than old ones.  Shrug.

Also, I've spent a fair amount of time in Europe (about six months) and I've never seen a place with "integrated" appliances.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they exist, just as they exist here in the US, but  like the US I think that they are primarily found only in the homes of wealthier people.  And I think they represent a small minority of kitchens on either continent.

I can tell you I am certainly not rich (in financial terms), I guess I'm "Joe Average" here) but my kitchen has all appliances integrated. At least in The Netherlands it's very common.

[SavannahLion]

I've found that modern dishwashers seem to do a much better job of cleaning than old ones.  Shrug.

Also, I've spent a fair amount of time in Europe (about six months) and I've never seen a place with "integrated" appliances.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they exist, just as they exist here in the US, but  like the US I think that they are primarily found only in the homes of wealthier people.  And I think they represent a small minority of kitchens on either continent.

Integrated appliances? You mean as in, tucked in under the countertop kind of integrated?

If so, I have a hell of a time finding some appliances that aren't integrated. When I moved out on my own, one of the first appliances I bought was a dishwasher convertible and it was special order only. My grandparents had that kind of dishwasher and it was the norm fifty years ago, but good luck finding someone under the age of twenty who even knows what that is today.

Maybe it's more to do with the region in question? If you go down to San Francisco, you'll find all sorts of stuff sold in the hardware stores that can't be found (or even imagined) in a place like Reno and vice versa.

[ChadTower]

Sounds to me like he means hidden as in your dishwasher has the same front as the rest of the cabinets.

[Ed_McCarron]

but my kitchen has all appliances integrated.

Uh oh, another thread headed for P&R...

[Level42]

Sounds to me like he means hidden as in your dishwasher has the same front as the rest of the cabinets.

Exactly.

See this picture. This is not my kitchen (don't like the black oven and microwave) but it's similar in concept.

My dishwasher is actually completely hidden. This one still has a control panel on top that you can see. Mine has a fake drawer there (by which you open the door). The controls are on top of the door in the edge of the lid.

The oven and microwave are separate here, mine is a combined oven/microwave.

(Mmmm, the fridge could be under the microwave as well, not sure )


A lot of homes have "open" kitchens here, which means that the living room has an open connection to the kitchen, so you can see the kitchen from (part of) the living room. Maybe that's one of the reasons to want the kitchen as "tidy" as possible.

Here's a "typical" American kitchen set-up as I've often noticed:

[Level42]

Heh, I had to dig up this old thread again.

Couple of days ago my wife said the machine had some trouble again, like it wasn't pumping off the water. So I checked and when I selected the P (for Pumping off) I could a pretty loud hum but didn't hear the sound of gulping water being pumped away. The sound of the hum reminded me somewhat of a blocked electric motor.
I thought that now I would have to replace the pump (didn't open the machine, it was WAY too hot a couple of days ago).

Looked up the price of the pump, would be another 85 Euro incl. shipping.

I thought this time it was time to write the machine off. So we already were looking at new machines (which do have very nice new features) but I _still_ had that feeling that I had to check it out a bit more. Luckily today it was a lot cooler so I went upstairs and did the most simple thing that I could think of: open the filter cap that is on the lower front of the machine. Of course the water came gulping out (it was still in the machine, not a nice smell !) and I quickly closed it again. Then, for the sake of it, I tried Pumping again and this time I could hear the pump running and the water being pumped away !

So after everything was pumped away, I again opened the filter cap and sure enough there was the cause of the trouble: A cut-off ty-rap end that I had put in one of my trouser pockets during work.... This had been blocking the pump I'm sure, and once I opened the filter and the water was gulping out it had been dragged along with the water.....

Took me 10 minutes from start to end, and I was glad that I hadn't placed the order for a new machine....so bring on the next 5 years for this baby

Plus I saved at least 350 Euro's for a new machine, said to my wife I could now spend that money on the hobby