Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips?

   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #481  
alchemysa said:
Thats a nice line spun by dishwasher companies but anyone with a dishwasher knows its bogus. That theory relies on not pre-rinsing any dishes, efficiently stacking the dishwasher to the absolute max everytime, using the most economical setting everytime, conveniently ignoring any trays, pans or saucepans that will need to be hand scrubbed anyway, and having a dishwasher that will perform faultlessly without any need for servicing for about 20 years.

I've fixed a few dishwashers over the years and i can tell you they are probably the worst designed of all home appliances.

I guess we are both right, sort of, except for the anyone with a dishwasher part. I do not doubt your opinion regarding your personal experience.

However, I stand by my original statement,
"Hand washing of dishes is less energy conservative than a good dishwasher and typically takes more hot water."

The most important word in my claim is probably GOOD.

With a GOOD dishwasher pre-rinsing is not usually needed. Most good dishwashers have a fair disposal built in. If you really burn some BBQ or such, you may not get acceptable results in any dishwasher. I can remember the commercial "strippers" I learned to use on KP in the service. They would almost take the porcelain off a pot but still on occasion there would have to be some hand scouring. We rarely need hand scouring in our kitchen which is a good thing since I am the duty scourer.

I have had several poor dishwashers over the years that I would gladly concede to your condemnation. Any dishwasher that you have to essentially wash the dishes by hand before loading them in the dishwasher is in the category you describe (lots of units are in this category) but I have a dishwasher that does not require "pre-washing" and virtually never fails to produce satisfactory results. That, plus it is so quiet that most of the time you don't realize it is running.

Our home has a great room with the kitchen off to the side in an "L" open to the great room and the dishwasher is in an island in direct line with our seating for watching TV, reading, listening to music and just talking with friends and not very far away. The washer rarely is noticeable and then mostly if something is being rattled by powerful jets of water. I like the delayed start feature but SWMBO does not voluntarily use it, go figure. I have run loads on the most poerful cycle in the middle of the night and you can't hear it any where in the house with a door between you and the great room.

The dynamic range in performance and noise between various brands and models of dishwashers is quite wide especially between economy models and top of the line models in good brands. I have done no extensive testing, just made observations from my limited personal experience but did rely on Consumers Reports for guidance as I have considerable faith and trust in their methodologies and protocols. Even if it was a fluke, we still ended up with a powerful quiet dishwasher that requires little or no (usually no) prewashing, does a terrific job (it must to get by SWMBO), and is so quiet you can hardly tell when it is running.

MY wife and I both like the ability of the dishwasher to use hotter water than we can stand, keep it hot, and even use a really hot dry cycle for sanitation if we want. Sure we could bake dishes in the oven or something but the dishwasher is more convenient for us. If in those instances when we may run a cycle that heats the water more and does a sanitize dry and the cost is a break even or a couple cents more than regular cycle, it is still a GOOD thing, for us.

Again, I'm sure you have accurately related your personal experience and it does agree with some of my experience but remains in sharp contrast to our current situation.

Pat
 
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   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #482  
I've fixed a few dishwashers over the years and i can tell you they are probably the worst designed of all home appliances

You mean I found someone who agrees with me?:D I've repaired a few, too, although it's been several years since I did. I've always said dishwashers are the sorriest appliance invention in the world, and I never use one. I can do a better job quicker by hand.

Naturally, my wife disagrees and likes the thing, so we've had Gaffers & Sattler, GE, Maytag, and now a KitchenAid dishwasher. I'll have to admit that the KitchenAid is by far both the best and quietest one we've ever had, but I'd still rather have the additional storage space; drawers, cabinet doors, or whatever!:cool:
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #483  
alchemysa said:
Thats a nice line spun by dishwasher companies but anyone with a dishwasher knows its bogus. That theory relies on not pre-rinsing any dishes, efficiently stacking the dishwasher to the absolute max everytime, using the most economical setting everytime, conveniently ignoring any trays, pans or saucepans that will need to be hand scrubbed anyway, and having a dishwasher that will perform faultlessly without any need for servicing for about 20 years.

I've fixed a few dishwashers over the years and i can tell you they are probably the worst designed of all home appliances.

Growing up we called ours the "Dish Rinser"
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #484  
Egon said:
Every time I use gloves for mechanical work small stuff gets dropped.:D

At the end of the project there is usually as much oil inside the gloves as on the outside.:D

But I do keep on using them.:D :D

I've heard a lot of the farm boys around here complain that the only thing you can do with gloves on is wet your pants. Anyone I've ever met who ascribes to this theory wears gloves a size too big. YMMV

It seems there's this misconception out there that having big hands makes you more of a man. I think it's the same phenomenon that makes women think that if they wear a dress a size smaller than they are, they'll look a size smaller. In reality they just look too fat for the dress they're wearing.

When I was scrubbing down for surgeries in a vet clinic in college I realized that the surgeons wear gloves that are tight enough to be almost uncomfortable. The upside is that they can do the equivalent of needlepoint while wearing gloves. Ever since then I've worn the smallest gloves that I can get my hands into.
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #485  
I surely don't have large hands and wear gloves that fit snugly. Only problem is they get slippery and slip on things. The other problem is working overhead. Everything runs down the glove and then back into it when you lower your arms.:D :D :D

Then of course the really thin snug gloves always seem to be on the losing end when they run into abrasive steel or iron products.:D :D :D
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #486  
Bird, My mom absolutely and totally agreed with you. She actually used her dishwasher for storage. I don't think the thing was turned on the whole time she lived at Sun City, AZ. I was amazed that when I tested it prior to her selling and moving back to Oklahoma that it didn't need oodles of water stopping repairs. The darned thing worked as good as could be expected for the level of quality it was (mediocre.)

I see you also agree with me too, Bird, on the function and noise factors. You have found a wide variance in the performance and noise. There are machines that do really well and then there are machines that make noise, use hot water and electricity, and take up space. I definitely wanted one that I didn't have to wash the dishes before it washed the dishes.

Some of the upscale import brands had me wondering if they were worth the $ (maybe yes, maybe no, it depends) but forewarned by Consumers Reports I was careful and got a terrific performer. Did I mention it is also quiet?

I have plenty of cabinet space so that wasn't an issue but performance and noise certainly were. If I couldn't have one that actually works and had to wash the dishes before it washes the dishes I'd be in your camp and just do the little extra by hand.

I will maintain plausible deniability that the following events actually happened... I was flying a tad low in my '97 Dodge Cumins 1 ton with service body while transporting the dishwasher after picking it up. The tailgate of the service body is not as high as a standard tailgate. There was no traffic on the highway, excellent visibility, I was late for a meeting, and I was incredibly stupid. Anyway the slipstream picked up the new dishwasher and pulled it over the tailgate. Luckily I noticed it in the rear view mirror (I was looking for a certain class of government representative) sliding down the highway behind me, upright. I braked to a stop, shot a U and went back and loaded it into the bed, again. When I unboxed it the only damage was to the little pallet it was on inside the box was busted up AND one of the 4 little plastic wheels it rolls out on for service was busted.

I built and installed a replacement wheel. The unit was stored for over a year prior to activating the warranty (pre-arranged with dealer) and it suffered no other damage or impairment and functions as previously mentioned. Did I mentioin that it is quiet too?

Oh, by the way, fwiw, the Dodge goes about 85 at 2000 RPM in double OD and I was seriously over 2000. I don't even try to go fast like that anymore.

Pat
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #487  
Egon said:
I surely don't have large hands and wear gloves that fit snugly.

When I go into the typical farm store I can't find gloves that fit. The typical glove in size XL will not let me get my hand in it. Some of the glove designs are a lot looser fit, such as the part leather and part cloth cheaper gloves. I can get my hands in those usually but most generally the fingers in those gloves are way too short.

Every so often I find XXL leather gloves that aren't built like a leather sack. If I am lucky they might fit (including good finger length) and if I am extremely lucky they may be at a price I am willing to pay (unfortunately it is the more expensive gloves that seem to have XXL that fit.) I'm not really a freak of nature with out sized hands as my hands are fairly in proportion to the rest but I typically wear XXL shirts and often find the sleeves too short.

I prefer thinner relatively tight fitting gloves with drawstring wrists as they seem to only make me about 2-3 times as clumsy where many other styles make me maybe 10 times as clumsy and prestidigitation is hard for me with bare hands so with a 10 fold disability I am worse than useless which is why in winter I work a bit, stick my hands in my pockets to warm up or put gloves back on and them work a bit more in bursts of feverish activity. When it is just too cold to go bare handed I just have problems.

Pat
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #488  
patrick_g said:
...Some of the upscale import brands had me wondering if they were worth the $ (maybe yes, maybe no, it depends) but forewarned by Consumers Reports I was careful and got a terrific performer. Did I mention it is also quiet. Pat

Well after saying I think they are inefficient junk can you believe I'm going to buy TWO in the near future. One for the beach house we hope to retire to one day, and one to replace the busted one in our existing home. So Pat, don't keep it a secret!.. WHAT IS THIS WONDERFUL BRAND YOU HAVE GOT?

Bird, we are in agreeance here (unless Pat changes my mind). You know theres a design problem when you look under the washer and discover it has two 'factory fitted' concrete blocks bolted inside to stop it moving every time someone yanks on the door! I could go on and on about disgusting door seals, fragile knobs, screwed up electronics, bent door hinges, wobbly shelf rollers, etc, etc, but I wont...I have to go dishwasher shopping. (Maybe this subject should go to Rural Living).
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #489  
can you believe I'm going to buy TWO in the near future

Of course I can believe it. My wife likes'em, too.:D Several of the biggest homebuilders in the Dallas area in the '60s and '70s installed Gaffers & Sattler dishwashers in the homes they built. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who could buy the parts wholesale, so between my sister's home, our own home, and a neighbor's home, I got pretty good at changing out pump seal kits and motors.:( But the last one I worked on myself was a 3 year old GE that we got new. When the pump started leaking, I pulled the dishwasher out and took it out in the shop where I had room to work, and couldn't figure out how you could separate the pump from the motor. So I called GE and was told you can't; you have to buy pump and motor as one assembly for too close to the price of a new dishwasher.

Just this morning, the next door neighbor pulled his dishwasher out when they found they had a leak under the sink. It's a GE, but maybe he's going to be lucky this time since it appears that the only current problem is a split in the discharge hose.
 
   / Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips? #490  
two 'factory fitted' concrete blocks bolted inside

Maybe that's like our Maytag washing machine. I deliberately bought small (apartment sized?) front loading washer and dryer for two reasons: (1) normal sized would fit into the laundry room we had at the time, but it would be tight, and (2) I knew we were going to be moving someday and I wanted something small enough and light enough for me to move and/or work on if I had to.

Imagine my surprise when we did move to find this thing is the heaviest washing machine I ever tried to move.:eek: I asked a repairman about it and he told me they put concrete in the bottom of them to keep them from vibrating or moving around.:rolleyes:

And now . . . while this washer and dryer are less than 3 years old and working just fine, my wife already wants bigger ones.:(
 

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