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Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

A blog by Samurai Appliance Repair Man in General

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About this blog

Pearls of appliance repair wisdom from the Appliantology Forums

Entries in this blog

Non-PCM Repair on a Jazz Board Refrigerator

This is a newish Maytag jazz board refrigerator presenting with a warm FF and cold FZ. This was not your typical defrost failure. The failure here was the evaporator fan was not running. I troubleshot the problem without disassembling the freezer-- did it all from the jazz board.  Even though this is a modern, computer-controlled refrigerator, what you're about to see are actually old skool troubleshooting techniques that have been largely lost in the appliance repair trade today: r

Feliz Navidad from the Master Appliantologists at www.Appliantology.org!

Here, now, for the first time on film, is the elite Dancing Corps of the Samurai Appliance Repair Academy. The Dancing Corps members are just a few of the actual, real-life Master Appliantologists you'll meet here at Appliantology.org helping you fix your broken appliances. They've worked and trained countless hundreds of hours of their own time to bring you this traditional Christmas greeting dance. The composition of the Corps varies from year to year; the 2011 Appliantology Dance Corps mem
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

Share the Gospel of Appliantology, change the world, and retire early!

Everyone with an IQ above room temperature knows that Social Security is bankrupt (think Detroit on steroids)-- if you're under 50 years old, you're gonna get stiffed and it ain't gonna be there for you. The Samurai, who is omnipresent everywhere, who is omniscient and he knows it, who is ever on the look out for his fellow carbon units and cold beer, didst beat his breast and rend his garments and gnash his teeth until he came up with the perfect FREE solution to secure domestic tranquility and

Off to the 21st Annual Appliance Service Training Institute (ASTI) in Orlando...

Heading down to the ASTI in Orlando tomorrow (March 5) to bask in the cornucopia of pearls of appliantological wisdom being cast out by the various appliance manufacturers! The ASTI is going on from March 6 - 9 and I'll be returning on Sunday, March 10. Since I won't have my desktop computer with me, I won't be able to upload service manual requests but I may still be able to PM download links from my Dropbox. I'll still have my iPhone and iPad with me and will check in with the Appliantology fo

How to upload files to the Downloads section of the Appliantology Academy

Join Samurai Appliance Repair Man and Mrs. Samurai in this latest installment of our award-winning screencast series. Tonight's exciting episode explains how to upload files to the Downloads section of this site in such a way that other folks can come along later and find your contributed scrolls of Appliantological wisdom. <iframe src="http://www.screenr.com/embed/CfVs" width="650" height="396" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

Valentine's Day and 21st Wedding Anniversary Dinner with Mrs. Samurai

I took Mrs. Samurai to the Inn at Pleasant Lake last night to celebrate both Valentine's Day and the 21st anniversary of our Greek Orthodox wedding (we had our pagan wedding two years prior-- we've been married for almost 23 years of pure bliss). The meal was a gourmet six-course affair at a flat rate of $72/seating. I have never had a meal like that! It began with a cocktail hour during which the chef and owner of the Inn came out and introduced the guests to the coming meal with mouth-wat
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

Appliance Repair Pricing Systems: Comparing Flat Rate vs. Time and Materials

After reading a lively and long-lived discussion about flat-rate vs. time and materials pricing at another blog that Brother Durham brought to my attention, Mrs. Samurai felt The Calling to weigh in and write up her own opus magnum on the topic. We decided to post it here at my blog since she wants hers to be mostly about food, home, and health-related topics. So I'm posting it here under her by-line. It's a great read! Whether you're a professional appliantologist or a client of a professional

Troubleshooting a Whirlpool Duet Washer with an F11 error code and repairing it without replacing parts

Many appliance servicers have been befuddled by the elusive and mysterious F11 error code in these Whirlpool Duet front loading washers (also sold under the Kenmore brand). In their confusion and frustration, many will go into Parts Changing Monkey mode and start blindly replacing expensive control boards without really fixing the problem (but still charging the customer, of course). The Appliance Guru never does business that way. Customers hire me to solve a problem. Period. I give a quo

The Master Samurai Tech Ten-Step Tango for Troubleshooting Appliances

Troubleshooting is the big missing skill among appliance techs today. This is the skill that distinguishes parts changing monkeys (PCMs) from Master Samurai Techs. It's the difference between a drunken street brawler making monkey jabs versus a trained MMA fighter making kill shots. PCMs will thrash about wildly, monkey-jabbing at components hoping to get lucky and usually end up getting their asses kicked. Anyone can monkey jab and the sad truth is that this is the dominant practice o
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

How to Fix All Serial Communications Error Codes in Whirlpool-built Front-load Washers

The dreaded “serial communications error” in Whirlpool-built front-load washers appears as various codes, depending on the particular model. On the Old-Skool Duet washers, the most common communications error code was F-11: communications error between the Central Control Unit (CCU) and Motor Control Unit (MCU). On the new model Duet washers, this same error has been re-labelled as F-28. On some Maytag front loaders (all built by Whirlpool, in case you didn’t already know that), you may see an F
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

Scientists discover toxic dishwasher fungus

Scientists discover toxic dishwasher fungus June 22, 20 Once rarely found in nature, the potentially deadly black yeast fungi have begun to expand their territory. And the new frontier could be your kitchen. A team of European scientists sampled nearly 190 dishwashers in family homes around the world. They found black yeasts living on 62 percent of the rubber seals surrounding the dishwasher door. The study appears in the journal Fungal Biology. According to the researchers, black yeasts ar

What about Protection Plans or Extended Warranties for New Appliances? Are they worth buying?

I get asked about new appliance protection plans and extended warranties a lot both during real-life service calls as The Appliance Guru and via emails from this site. So, FWIW, I thought I'd offer my contemplations and musings on the topic. First off, you gotta realize that protection plans and extended warranties are only as good as the people offering or doing the actual service work. Protection plans are basically a form of insurance. Lots of companies want to get in on the protection plan b

Great News for current Professional Appliantologist members!

Great news: the annual fee for Professional Appliantologist members will never increase as long as you keep your membership active. That last part is very important for reasons I’ll explain below. The annual fee for new Professional Appliantologist members has increased. This does not affect current members as long they do not allow their membership to expire. The annual fee increase is also great news for prospective new members! Huh? Why? Because it means we are still accepting

Interview with The Appliance Guru in New London, New Hampshire

The Appliance Guru offers expert appliance repair service in New London, New Hampshire, and surrounding towns.  Listen to this short interview with The Appliance Guru to learn how he can solve all your appliance repair problems!   <iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F45285744&show_artwork=true"></iframe>
Tech Talk

Using a Resistor Substitution Box to troubleshoot appliance temperature sensing circuits

Many modern appliances use a computer to control the various loads in the appliance. But computers are also used for temperature monitoring and sensing. Typical temperature sensors used in modern appliances are NTC thermistors (refrigerators, dryers, washers, dishwashers) and RTDs (resistive temperature devices--used in ovens). If you're a member here at Appliantology, you can watch this webinar recording on Appliance Temperature Sensing Devices & Technology for a deep dive into how the comp
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man in Tech Talk

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Troubleshooting a Samsung Gas Range E OE Error Code with Rats Nest and Yapping Little Dogs

In this glimpse into the glamour life of an appliance tech, we troubleshoot an E-OE error code on a Samsung gas range with the added twist of rat infestation and yapping little dogs. It's winter in New Hampshire and rodents will seek out warm places but this place was a literal rats nest. The smell of rodent piss was gagging us (me and @Son of Samurai) as soon as we walked in the door. It would have been stronger if it was actually warm inside the kitchen but it was probably only about 45F which
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

4

Welcome to the New Digs!

It was a long, tough day yesterday being a keyboard warrior, getting the forums converted to from UltraBB to this new forum software, Invision Power Board. Most stuff came through fine though there are plenty of bugzillas scittering about. If you find one, lemme know and I'll squash it. Some known problems: - About 30 to 40 Chief Apprentice Appliantologists (Permapprentices) transferred over as Grasshoppers. If you're one of those, let me know and I'll fix it for you. - The user titles an
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

3

Troubleshooting a Frigidaire Refrigerator Ice Dispenser Crush Cube Problem

Join The Appliance Guru on a troubleshooting safari where he hunts down a problem on an ice dispenser on a Frigidaire refrigerator that only dispenses crushed ice even when cubed ice is selected. Is the problem the dispenser control board? Is is the ice augur? Is it the crusher/cuber solenoid? Watch and see! [media=] The Appliance Guru Fast, Expert Appliance Repair Service in New London, NH Call 526-7129 for service http://ApplianceGuru.com

Blizzard!

Got a bonafide blizzard going on here! Finally some decent snow to go with the cold. We're supposed to get a foot and half of the white stuff. Cold weather without snow is just depressing. I'll post some winter wonderland pics tomorrow. Meanwhile, making final preps for the trip to Greece. We leave Wednesday. Here's a fun fact to know and tell: AT$T doesn't have an international voice plan for cell phones, it's just a flat $1.29/minute even if someone calls you and even if you don't ans
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

3

Countdown to Takeoff

Today's zie big day: the pilgrimage to Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain, in Greece. It all starts with a two hour bus ride to Boston Logan airport. After clearing the TSA anal cavity check, we'll have a seven hour, bone crushing flight to Zurich where we'll enjoy a five hour wait for our connecting flight. Mmm, five hours hanging around a stinking airport with blaring loud speakers and and constant threats of more body cavity violation. Jealous yet? From there, we'll take another five hour fl
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

3

Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Hard-Earned Pearls of Life-Wisdom

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in. I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jerks. I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only suspicion, not proof, to destroy it. I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more messed up than you think. I've learned that you can keep puking long after you think you're finished. I've learned that we are responsi

How to Troubleshoot Any Appliance

I've heard a lot of appliance techs complain that the reason they can't fix more appliances on service calls is because they don't get enough training from their company or from the manufacturers. I'm here to tell you that you can get all the appliance training in the world and still be nothing more than a trained monkey unless you have one crucial skill: Troubleshooting. Troubleshooting is the higher mental function that separates the real technicians from the parts changing monkeys. A technici
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