Appliance Motor Repair?

treitz3

That will probably outlast anything today, given proper maintenance. No lie.

Tom

billbillw

Companies (or CEOs) have realized that making high quality stuff that lasts forever is not profitable. Everything now is designed to last the length of the warranty or less in some cases. Which is why I buy used items mostly.

dromunds

“Not profitable” only in the short-term. Lose a customer for life is what’s really unprofitable. It is “profitable” in the short-term to move all the jobs to China, but long term it’s suicide as the middle class deteriorates and the gap between the haves and have-nots widens and widens, while meantime you have given China your middle class and associated wealth. Any CEO worth a shite realizes that long-term profits is the true path. Look at Caterpillar and John Deere. People are still using their products from the 1950’s on a daily basis and they support their vintage products. CEO’s are now being paid astronomical salaries to run the companies into the ground. Boeing being current case in point. Untold damage to the workers, their communities and the country. They’re not CEO’s, they’re delivery boys for grocery clerks.

treitz3

Correction. Many John Deere products no longer offer parts, even for 8 year old machines. I found this out when I was in the market for a professional lawn mower. Ended up buying a Gravely because they still offer parts for 5 year old machines.

Well, that and a whole host of other factors but parts availability (now and in the future) was a big factor in such an expensive machine.

Tom

billbillw

Also, the consumer grade John Deere has gone down in quality significantly. The stuff that sells at big box stores are not much better than Craftsman/MTD which are throwaway units because stuff like the hydro gearbox are not user serviceable.

dromunds

JD does make consumer grade stuff and especially the lines from HD and Lowe’s, etc. I don’t buy those lines nor do I shop at big box stores for many reasons some of which are alluded to in my previous post. I spend a bit more and get quality that will last. It’s like buying a consumer grade Stihl chainsaw or a pro model. Obviously, the pro model will cost more initially, but in the long run you are economically way ahead. However, I routinely get parts from John Deere for tractors and implements from the 1950’s and 60’s. Several days ago I got a drive belt for a deck for a 1974 garden tractor. There are exceptions but they do a good job of supporting their vintage equipment. And for the most part their stuff is made to last.

treitz3

I dunno, man. My neighbors (most of whom have or have had JD, up until recently) would beg to argue. It was mostly their real life feedback that swayed me away from them.

All of them honestly put them in the same category as Cub Cadet. While I feel that is a little harsh, everyone can't be wrong. Many if them feel a hatred toward the company because they thought they were spending more for something that would last. (Or they could get parts for later down the road). The biggest complaint was probably transmissions going out and not being available anymore....so they had to buy new or scavenge for replacement parts that they hoped would last.

It just didn't paint the prettiest of pictures for me. So far (*knocks on wood*), the Gravely has done an exceptional job with just basic maintenance and a heavy workload.

YMMV.

Tom

dromunds

I don’t know what your neighbors had. My experience is otherwise. But I don’t buy consumer grade. I doubt your Gravely is consumer grade. Every JD I’ve ever had was a very good product. I own probably a dozen JD tractors and maybe half-dozen JD garden tractors. Notice I did not say lawn tractor. But I am not going to argue. My original post was commenting on the false economy and philosophies of modern CEO’s, and the falsity in general of this “short-term” profit motive that has decimated our middle class by outsourcing all our jobs overseas. I don’t want to get into a sidetrack about the merits of JD products. Let’s just let that go.

msg

[eh, just cranky talk. del'd]

F1nut

JD riding mower purchased 16 years ago at a JD dealer. Other than routine maintenance, trouble free.

treitz3

@dromunds - My apologies if it seemed to you that I was arguing. That was not my intent. I do have a commercial Gravley and the neighbors all have/had a mix.

Tom

JCL

I have a JD that’s always worked fine with little maintenance. Debated between gravely and JD but due to cost and size I opted for the JD from a JD dealer. I had a Gravely before that that was probably 25-30 years old before I replaced it. The old Gravely lasted forever and were bulletproof. My dads was a model L from 58 and was running fine in 93 when he moved.

billbillw

My experience is that even the good brands are putting out lower quality stuff. My current riding mower/tractor is a Simplicity, bought used a couple years back. I think it was a 2016 model. It cuts nice, but I feel a heck of a lot more chassis flex in it than I did in my low end 1998 Craftsman EZ3 42" riding mower (with a Kohler Command 15HP single). I got that old Craftsman used (for free) in 2012 and used the snot out of it for 10 years. The Kohler engine always started and ran fine. The Hydro was still working even though it was never serviced. It had issues, mainly with the steering, which is why I eventually got rid of it, but I never felt the chassis flex, like I do with this Simplicity. I also don't think the newer Briggs Professional will last as long as that old Kohler did.

BlueBirdMusic

dromunds wrote: »

JD does make consumer grade stuff and especially the lines from HD and Lowe’s, etc. I don’t buy those lines nor do I shop at big box stores for many reasons some of which are alluded to in my previous post. I spend a bit more and get quality that will last. It’s like buying a consumer grade Stihl chainsaw or a pro model. Obviously, the pro model will cost more initially, but in the long run you are economically way ahead. However, I routinely get parts from John Deere for tractors and implements from the 1950’s and 60’s. Several days ago I got a drive belt for a deck for a 1974 garden tractor. There are exceptions but they do a good job of supporting their vintage equipment. And for the most part their stuff is made to last.

CHAINSAW

That is a beast of a different color. Needs it's own thread.

All should experience tuning the carburetor.

msg

Yeah, don't get me started on Stihl tos. My first kombi one went 10yrs before losing a wrist pin circlip (suspected). That thing was awesome.

Got the "same thing" again and was sorely disappointed. Had it in the shop twice because it would just cut out at random times. Never ran right, and was too inconvenient to get it back in a third time. Warranty ran out. Had I known that, I'd have spent up for a pro model. Waste of money, and extremely disappointing, not to mention disgusting.

I heard the newer ones use sucky carbs. I've managed to get it running better myself, but it's still not as good.

Also - my newest mower... greater displacement, more HP but less torque? Wtf guys... I shake my head at times when I roll over barely dense grass. Disgusting again. It's like you get ripped off at every turn, only "not really" ripped off? so you can't do anything about it. Get to be too much bother returning stuff all the time. Shouldn't have to buy full on pro rated gear to have efficient, satisfactory performance, but I guess that's "economic science subjective" now, and you gotta go pro just to get stuff that works as it should, and not just bare minimum, if even that.

billbillw

I have one Stihl, a chainsaw, model 027. Its from the late 80s. It was before they started offering the consumer models. Yep, it still works great, and it has a split case and removable jug if I ever need to rebuild it. Probably won't because it doesn't get used often. My new house doesn't have a wooded lot, so I'm not cutting up downed trees every year like I used to.
My push mower is another example of older is better. Its a 1990s model Honda Harmony with the plastic/composite deck, 2 speed self propel, and a made in Japan GXV140 engine (that was the pro model). Still works great. Picked it up for $50 during COVID and the only thing I've had to do is replace the rear wheels because they split down the middle. The originals wheels were a semi-pneumatic style. Super pricey to replace. I found that you could use the solid rubber ones that were a fraction of the price (like $10 each) and put those on instead. Works great again. Sometime along the way, I bought the mulching plug, and a set of mulching blades for it because it was setup for high-lift bagging only. I like to have both options.
Regarding Honda mowers, back in 2004, I bought a new consumer model one from Home Depot. That thing gave me fits almost from the first year. Difficult to start after sitting, frequent carb rebuilds, then after about 10 years, it broke a bolt off into the head trying to remove the carb (to rebuild again) and that was the last straw. I gave it away for parts and went on a spree of picking up free/cheap mowers, fixing and selling until I settled on the current plastic deck Honda.

dromunds

I have a Stihl 026 I got in the very early 90’s and I’ve worked the living shite out of it. It’s a great saw. The cylinders and compression are still good after more than 30 years of hard work. I just used it today.

billbillw

dromunds wrote: »

I have a Stihl 026 I got in the very early 90’s and I’ve worked the living shite out of it. It’s a great saw. The cylinders and compression are still good after more than 30 years of hard work. I just used it today.

You know, I was wrong on mine, I went and checked and it is an 026 model as well, not 027.
It was/is a great saw. I had to change the clutch on mine and it needed a new bar because the old one got warped, by me, from using a dull chain and letting things overheat...that's about it.

billbillw

UGH...
Several power interruptions this morning, the worst kind, on/off several times, then off for an hour, then on/off a few more times before it came back for good.
Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a dishwasher cycle when this happened. Now my Bosch seems to have an issue with the drain pump staying on constantly. I suspect the logic board didn't like the unstable power.
Time to troubleshoot and possibly shop for a replacement.

msg

Gah. Did you reboot? Pull all devices, sub-boards, connectors, and the main board button battery, and reset CMOS?

Curious, do you happen to have a whole house surge? Not that it would have helped here, necessarily, but something I'm considering as I mull some other electrical upgrades I'm looking at

Guess we're at the stage where appliances need UPSes? Watch - next marketing push >> whole house UPS connected to whole house generators on alt fuel for power blips.

pitdogg2

12 gauge.....

Kex

billbillw wrote: »

UGH...

Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a dishwasher cycle when this happened. Now my Bosch seems to have an issue with the drain pump staying on constantly. I suspect the logic board didn't like the unstable power.
Time to troubleshoot and possibly shop for a replacement.

I would unplug it first. Wait a minute or two, and plug back in.

If that didn’t work, my next stop would be to search the model on the Bosch website or the wider internet. Sometimes, those have shortcuts using different buttons to reset or troubleshoot.

billbillw

Dishwashers are usually hardwired underneath to a dedicated circuit so no simple unplugging. I did flip the breaker off/on (with a good delay in between). Issue remained. I have the service/troubleshooting guide for these models and I've read through it. It could be a stuck float or something. I'll be tearing into it later tonight. For now, I've accepted that I may be hand washing dishes for the near future.

pitdogg2

billbillw wrote: »

Dishwashers are usually hardwired underneath to a dedicated circuit so no simple unplugging. I did flip the breaker off/on (with a good delay in between. Issue remained. I have the service/troubleshooting guide for these models and I've read through it. It could be a stuck float or something. I'll be tearing into it later tonight. For now, I've accepted that I may be hand washing dishes for the near future.

Every dishwasher I have installed had a heavy duty electrical cord that plugged into a outlet. The outlet was either under the unit or under the sink. I'm not a fan of the outlets under the unit level with the floor for obvious reasons. Turning off the breaker would have done the same yet I would take off the kick plate under the DW door and look to see, unless you know for a fact that yours was hard wired. Each of the DW I installed I did have to install the cord to the unit. There were either wire nuts or brass eyelets that you screwed to the power center of the unit. I will tell you I do like the eyelet models much better.

billbillw

pitdogg2 wrote: »

billbillw wrote: »

Dishwashers are usually hardwired underneath to a dedicated circuit so no simple unplugging. I did flip the breaker off/on (with a good delay in between. Issue remained. I have the service/troubleshooting guide for these models and I've read through it. It could be a stuck float or something. I'll be tearing into it later tonight. For now, I've accepted that I may be hand washing dishes for the near future.

Every dishwasher I have installed had a heavy duty electrical cord that plugged into a outlet. The outlet was either under the unit or under the sink. I'm not a fan of the outlets under the unit level with the floor for obvious reasons. Turning off the breaker would have done the same yet I would take off the kick plate under the DW door and look to see, unless you know for a fact that yours was hard wired. Each of the DW I installed I did have to install the cord to the unit. There were either wire nuts or brass eyelets that you screwed to the power center of the unit. I will tell you I do like the eyelet models much better.

I installed it. It is hardwired. Previous house was also hardwired. House before that, hardwired. 3 houses I've owned, all three were hardwired. Maybe different houses that were retrofitted for a dishwasher?
Maybe certain regions have different code? Not sure, but that's what I've seen in Georgia.

Kex

billbillw wrote: »

Maybe certain regions have different code? Not sure, but that's what I've seen in Georgia.

AFAIK in our area, a dedicated circuit is required, but they are usually just plugged in.

For the pump issue, you should follow the troubleshooting, which required removing the filter and clearing any debris from the area under the filter. There is a flap of some sort right there, hidden in a small drain passage. That may be stuck, hence the pump thinks it has to keep working.

I’ve helped someone unstick a 15 y/o Bosch that was constantly draining by doing this.

Use a syringe or something if you have to, or even a jet from a garden hose, and squirt water through that passage.

VR3

Some states require a plug

Southeast is usually hardwire with a wall switch nearby

billbillw

Kex wrote: »

billbillw wrote: »

Maybe certain regions have different code? Not sure, but that's what I've seen in Georgia.

AFAIK in our area, a dedicated circuit is required, but they are usually just plugged in.

For the pump issue, you should follow the troubleshooting, which required removing the filter and clearing any debris from the area under the filter. There is a flap of some sort right there, hidden in a small drain passage. That may be stuck, hence the pump thinks it has to keep working.

I’ve helped someone unstick a 15 y/o Bosch that was constantly draining by doing this.

Use a syringe or something if you have to, or even a jet from a garden hose, and squirt water through that passage.

I checked all my filter screens earlier and they were all clean as can be. I rinse my dishes, so there is very little debris that gets in there. I will look at it more later. There could be some water in the safety pan too, perhaps loosing power during the wash cycle caused some back flow or something.

The drain is not clogged either. When the pump was running earlier, I poured some fresh water into the tub and I could hear it flowing out through the sink drain.

msg

The three I've worked with, and one new install, have been hard-wired, too. Interesting to hear that others have a cable and receptacle option.

Same for my disposal, which I need to replace: hard-wired.

billbillw

I think I dodged a major repair/replacement.
Pulled it out and noticed some water coming out on the floor.
Side panel off and there was about 1/4" of water in the safety tub.

Soaked it up with a towel and (crossing fingers) it seems to be working again.
Running it empty through a quick wash to reset everything.
Hopefully that's all it was. Watching for leaks now.