c/appliance-repairers

Hit 2,000 service calls this month, still hate the count talk

I passed 2,000 total service calls this week, which sounds big until you tell anyone outside the trade. Everyone brags about how many jobs they finish, but nobody mentions the 300 that came back for a second visit. Number 2,001 was a dishwasher someone already paid me to fix last fall, same leak, same seal kit I installed. My boss treats the count like a badge, but I keep a separate list of callbacks that matters more to me. Double the calls means double the chance I missed something the first time, especially with ovens that need leveling checks. I track my revisit rate under 8 percent now, and that feels like the real milestone. Anyone else keep a callback log separate from their job count?

0 comments

ellis.charles•1d ago

Took me 3 hours to find a clogged dryer vent that was 6 feet in

I spent a whole morning chasing a Samsung dryer that kept throwing high temp errors. Turns out the vent was fine at the wall, but there was a crushed flex section behind the drywall that I only spotted after pulling the machine out a second time. Anyone else ever get burned by duct work they can't see without tearing stuff apart?

0 comments

joelsanchez•1d ago

Hot take: I think torque specs on fridge compressors are optional until they are not

I used to tighten compressor bolts by feel, same way my old mentor did, for like 6 years in Austin. Then last month I got a sealed system leak call back and found the discharge line cracked right at the fitting. I checked with my torque wrench and I was probably 40 in-lbs over on every single job. What tipped me off was a newer tech on the same truck telling me he follows the spec sheet to the letter and never had a leak. I mean, is the feel method actually fine for most people, or am I the only one who skipped the manual this whole time?

0 comments

sean_foster52•2d ago

One call on Tuesday made me rethink my whole diagnostic approach

I mean, I used to jump straight to swapping the control board on any fridge that threw a code. But this week, a Kenmore from 2012 had an error that pointed to the main board, and it turned out to be a $14 thermistor reading 40 degrees off after I checked it with my Fluke 87. The board was fine, the wiring was fine, the compressor was fine. Has anyone else had a sensor throw a false code that sent them down the wrong path for a full morning?

1 comments

jesse84•3d ago

Dryer vent ducting swap made a 20 minute difference on a load

Had a customer in Aurora call about clothes taking 90 minutes to dry. Went in there and found they had that flexible foil accordion stuff running about 25 feet with two 90 degree bends. Swapped it out for rigid metal, kept the runs short and straight. First load after the fix dried in 70 minutes and the second one was even faster. Also the dryer itself was way cooler on the outside. I knew flex duct was bad but seeing the actual time drop right there in front of me was something else. Anyone else keep a log of before and after dry times when they redo ducting? Curious what numbers other guys are getting.

1 comments

webb.val•5d ago

One Tuesday I fixed three dryers with a single $8 part

Found the same faulty door switch in a Samsung, an LG, and an old Whirlpool all before lunch, so has anyone else noticed these common parts failing in waves lately?

0 comments

johns18•7d ago

Warning: hit my 300th compressor replacement today and realized I never once checked the start capacitor first

I kept a log for 6 years and 300 compressors plus today I finally noticed 40 of those were just bad capacitors, so has anyone else ever wasted a full day swapping a whole unit over a $12 part?

0 comments

stellafisher•7d ago

Found a raccoon living inside a dryer vent last month

Customer in Akron said the dryer was making a weird thumping noise for two weeks. Opened the exterior vent flap and this fat raccoon jumped out, scared me so bad I dropped my multimeter. Anyone else ever evict a critter from a vent, and how do you keep them from coming back?

1 comments

wrenwilson•10d ago

Gas range igniter swap: OEM part vs. the cheap knockoff

I had to choose between a $45 OEM igniter for a Whirlpool range and a $12 generic from Amazon last Tuesday, so I went with the cheap one to see if it'd hold up. It clicked and lit fine for about 40 cycles, then the electrode cracked and left the customer with a cold oven on Thanksgiving prep day. Has anyone else gambled on the budget parts and regretted it, or do you stick with factory every time?

0 comments

faith_lopez48•13d ago

That customer who watched me work for 45 minutes and then questioned my price

Had a call last Tuesday in Phoenix, a fridge not cooling. I diagnosed a bad compressor start relay, a $35 part, and quoted $180 total for the service call and swap. The homeowner stared at me the whole time, then said, 'That seems steep for something so small.' I explained the diagnostic time, the drive, and the warranty on the work, but he kept pushing. I offered to just sell him the part for $35 and let him do it himself, and he went quiet real fast. He paid the full amount, but it made me wonder, do we undervalue the knowledge part of this job just because the physical fix looks easy? Has anyone else had a customer judge the price based on part size instead of the actual skill involved?

0 comments

jessicamiller•14d ago

Conversation with a landlord changed how I quote dryer vent jobs

Last Tuesday I was swapping a thermal fuse in a rental dryer and the landlord said they'd rather pay me double for a 2-hour job than have me do it in 45 minutes. He explained that previous techs who rushed left lint behind and caused a tenant complaint later. Do you factor in time for proper cleaning when you quote, or just price by the repair?

0 comments

jesse_barnes37•15d ago

Vent: that one landlord who handed me a live wire taught me to check everything twice

Last Thursday in Austin, a guy insisted his disposal was fine and shoved the cord at me, it was still plugged in and I got a nasty zap before he said oh yeah that might be hot, has anyone else had a client try to hand you something dangerous like that?

0 comments

noahchen•16d ago

Talked to a dishwasher tech from Detroit, changed how I look at error codes

Was waiting on parts at the supply house last Tuesday and this older guy, been doing dishwashers for like 25 years, sees me staring at a control board. He goes, "You're chasing the code, not the problem." Said most of his calls are people who already swapped a board or sensor based on the blinking light, but the real issue was a pinched wire or a bad ground somewhere. Showed me on his phone a picture of a heating element that tested fine but had a hairline crack, only showed up when it got hot. That hit different because I've probably cost myself hours on those, and I didn't even need a meter for it. He said he starts every job now by wiggling the harness and checking voltage at the terminal block before he even plugs in the diagnostic tool. Has anyone else had a case where the error code pointed one way but the fix was totally something silly like that?

1 comments

nathan_bailey•16d ago

Still think changing motors is faster than rebuilding, here's why I switched

Did a washing machine rebuild in Akron last Tuesday, took me about 3 hours with new bearings and seals versus the 45 minutes I used to quote for a motor swap. The customer's drum was wobbling bad on the old motor mount, and swapping the motor alone would've left the real problem sitting there for another call next month. Anyone else find that rebuilding the whole drive assembly saves more headaches than just doing the quick fix?

1 comments

ben436•16d ago

That $90 bearing puller set saved my compressor job, skip the cheap ones

Bought a cheap puller set online for $25 and it bent on the third use, then dropped $90 on a proper set and finished the same job in under an hour. Trying to force apart seized bearings on a 5-year-old fridge compressor without the right tools is how you strip threads or break housings. Anyone else had luck with a specific brand that handles the seized stuff? I need to replace mine before the next call.

1 comments

parker_campbell•16d ago

Two-Week Battle: OEM ice maker against a second-hand one in Phoenix heat

My customer's fridge ice maker quit in June, and the OEM part was $210 with a 3 week wait. I grabbed a used one off a parts site for $60 to get them through, thinking it would be fine. That thing jammed up every 4 days in the 110 degree garage heat, sticks and clogs nonstop. Finally the OEM came in and I swapped it, no issues in 10 days so far. The used one was probably stored wrong or worn out, but it cost me 2 extra service calls and a lot of frustration. Anyone else ever roll the dice on cheaper used parts just to lose money in the long run?

1 comments

ivan_hayes29•18d ago

Stop torquing dryershaft nuts to 60 ft-lbs, it's stripping them

I've pulled three failed dryer drums in the last two months and every single one had a stripped shaft nut. People are cranking these things way past spec because the old manuals say 60 ft-lbs, but modern drums use a different hub design. I checked my torque wrench against a certified one last week in Phoenix, so I know my readings are right. The real number for most Whirlpool and Maytag models since 2019 is 35 ft-lbs, plus a drop of thread locker. Has anyone else seen this pattern or am I the only one dealing with this lately?

1 comments

pipera50•20d ago

That flooded basement call changed my whole approach to dryers

I showed up to a job in Akron last month, water ankle deep, and the homeowner kept yelling about the dryer not heating. Turns out they never checked the vent after the flood, it was full of mud and lint. Now I always pop the exterior vent cover first on any water damage call, cost me an extra 10 minutes but saves a whole redo. Anyone else got a quick check that became routine after one bad job?

0 comments

ninas70•23d ago

Appreciation post: finally cleared that clogged drain line on a Whirlpool washer

Spent 45 minutes fighting a slow drain on a Whirlpool yesterday, ended up finding a sock wedged in the pump housing after I took the whole thing apart. Second time this month with that exact issue, so I grabbed a cheap inspection camera for next time. Has anyone else started carrying one of those in their van?

1 comments

sage_lewis10•23d ago

Condenser coil brush caught fire on a GE fridge in Akron

Was doing a routine clean on a 2018 French door model Tuesday and the coil brush sparked bad. The bristles had worn down to bare metal and grabbed the compressor wire. Smoke started pouring out before I could yank the plug. Took me 20 minutes to swap the harness and add a tie-down clip. Any of you guys had brush material fail like that, or am I just cursed with old tools?

1 comments

nancys90•23d ago

Dodged a mold claim thanks to one stubborn homeowner in Flint

Last spring I got a call about a fridge that was 'leaking water from the top shelf,' and when I pulled the unit out in Flint, the drain line was clogged so bad the back wall had black mold creeping up the seam. The owner kept insisting it was a compressor issue and wanted me to replace the whole sealed system, but I took a photo of the clogged line and showed her the 4 inch ice plug before she finally backed down. Has anyone else had a customer fight you on the obvious fix when the real issue is just a $20 part and a shop vac?

1 comments

thomas_young•24d ago

I finally gave that cheap capacitor tester a shot

Been avoiding the $25 no-name tester from Amazon for like a year, figured it'd be junk. Used it on a whirlpool fridge that kept tripping the start relay, caught a weak 12uF that read fine on my old meter. Has anyone else had luck with the budget testers or am I just getting lucky?

1 comments

evanfox•24d ago

Changed my mind about ultrasonic cleaners after a nasty fridge compressor job

I always thought ultrasonic cleaners were just for jewelry or carb parts, not worth the bench space. Then last month I had a sealed system job where the compressor terminals were covered in burnt oil and crud. Tried wire brush and contact cleaner for an hour, still sketchy. Buddy in Tulsa swore by his unit, so I borrowed his old 2.5 liter one. Dropped the terminal block and wiring harness in for 10 minutes with some simple green. Came out looking new, no scrubbing. Tested fine with my multimeter, zero corrosion left. Now I'm eyeing my own unit but not sure what size to get. Anyone running a 6 liter or bigger for appliance parts? Seems like overkill but I hate waiting on small batches.

1 comments

taylorcarr•26d ago

A customer's complaint about my dryer vent work actually fixed my process

They said my flex duct looked like a crushed soda can and refused to pay until I redid it with rigid pipe, 6 months of doing it the easy way came back to bite me. Now I check the duct path before I even pull the machine out, has anyone else had a cheap shortcut turn into a double trip?

1 comments

dianab68•27d ago

Had to pick between a used motor from a junkyard or a new one off the shelf, I chose wrong

Last Tuesday I was fixing this old Maytag dryer for a lady in Beaverton, the motor was shot and she wanted it cheap. So I had two options, drive 40 minutes to the salvage yard for a $35 used motor with no warranty, or order a new one for $180 and make her wait three days. I figured I'd save her money and grabbed the junkyard one, figured how bad could it be, right? Well it ran fine for about an hour on the bench, then the shaft started grinding like a bag of rocks. Took it back, the yard guy gave me another used one, same brand, and that one threw a thermal fuse within ten minutes. I ended up eating the gas cost and finally ordering the new one anyway, plus she tipped me $20 for the hassle. Anyone else ever try to cut corners on parts and just make the job take twice as long?

2 comments