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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

Soot: A Clear and Present Danger in your Gas Oven

I was at a service call on gas range the other day for an oven that wouldn't bake or broil. The cause turned out to be a bad range control board. Nothing unusual about that. The astonishing thing with this range was the inside of the oven cell-- all the surfaces inside were coated with a thick layer of soot (click the images for a larger view): This is NOT a normal condition in any gas range. If you see soot accumulated on your oven cell walls, even a little, STOP USING IT AND GET IT CHECKED O

The Silver Bullet Fix for LE Error Codes in LG Dishwashers

Of all the error codes seen in LG dishwashers, the LE error is probably the common one asked about in The Samurai Appliance Repair Academy Kitchen Forum. So much so that it seemed like this one needed a Silver Bullet answer. And who better to fire that silver bullet than the Dean of LG Appliantology himself, john63. Y'all go grab you a cold one and let's listen to the big guns going off: Source: LG LDF6810ST Error Code "LE"

How to troubleshoot a Bosch dishwasher that won't finish a cycle, runs forever, or shows 2H in the display

This is always a problem with the dishwasher's water heating system. In Bosch dishwashers, if they can't heat the water enough, they'll just keep running until they do. Kinda dumb design, I think. In comparison, Whirlpool-built dishwashers at least give you an obvious fault code like the clean light flashing seven times. But, I rectum that's my Pro-Amerkan bias bleedin' through. Water heating problems in Bosch dishwashers come down to one of two problems: - problem with the control board not se
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

0

Every day should be a day of thanksgiving

It's interesting how just finding the little things to be thankful for each day can transform our outlook and affect everything about us-- our mood, attitude, memory, even our health. Sometimes, I lose sight of that in my day-to-day struggles and get bogged down in tedious things or things that are not uplifting or beneficial. Or I focus and dwell on things that give me tension or irritation. That's why I'm glad there's a special day just for giving thanks-- it's a reminder that everyday shoul
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

2

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

What brand of appliance can you buy today that will give 10 to 15 years of trouble-free operation?

Many appliance owners are frustrated today because they don't realize that the days of buying an appliance and having it work trouble-free for 10 to 15 years are long gone. The good news is that you can buy an appliance today for about what you would have paid 15-20 years ago. The bad news is that there's an on-going cost of appliance ownership in doing repairs-- industry average is every 2 to 4 years. What varies among brands and models is how big will that repair need to be, not whether or not
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Announcing the Winners of the First-Annual-Ever-yet-(somehow)-World-Famous Appliantology Photo Caption Contest!

We held the First-Annual-Ever-yet-(somehow)-World-Famous Appliantology Photo Caption Contest both at our Facebook Page and here at my Appliantology blog. The judges have all harumphed, guffawed, flatulated and conferred. And now, finally... The results are in! Before I reveal the clever and literarily-endowed recipients of the coveted Appliantology Photo Caption Award™, I'll show you the uncaptioned photo. Behold... Here, now, I give you the two winners for the First-Annual-Ever-yet-(somehow)-
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Caption Contest! There's even a prize... read on!

I removed the back of the control panel on a range the other day, and found this little critter. (My customer freaked!) Seems like this pic is just a-squeakin' for a good caption. If you've got one, put it in the comments below. Vote for a caption by "liking" it. If your caption gets the most "likes," you'll win your very own official Appliantology travel mug and will be the envy of all your friends. Contest ends at midnight this coming Sunday, November 24.
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Learn Samurai's Secret that Stops the Stink in Your Front-Load Washer

One of the most common complaints I hear people make about front-load washers is about odor: stinky basket, stinky door gasket, stinky towels, stinky underwear... okay, I'll stop there. In almost every case, when I see (smell) this problem on service calls, they all invariably have the same cause: incorrect detergent usage, either too much or the wrong kind. For front-load washers (and HE top-loaders), you should only be using HE detergent. And, no, using less of the regular stuff is not the sam
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

2

Customer Qualification: The Cheesedork Challenge

You are a cheesedork if... you resent paying anything to have me drive to your house to troubleshoot your appliance, even if you decide not to repair it. You are a cheesedork if... you call troubleshooting your appliance "just looking at it." You are a cheesedork if... you expect me to drop what I'm doing and get right over to your house, know exactly how to repair your appliance, have the part on my service van, and get it repaired in that same service call but you carp and whine nine ways to S

Oven Self-Clean Folly

This is the time of year, the countdown to Thanksgiving, that we professional Appliantologists lovingly refer to as “Cooking Season.” I love cooking season. It marks the next season in my local appliance service bidness from the warm refrigerator fire drills all summer long, through the inevitable slowdown after Labor Day, to cooking season when families get together to break bread and turkey legs, crack a few cold ones, catch up on each other’s lives and generally get on each other’s nerves.
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

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Naked Before Millions

Hoo-wee! We just passed One Million views on my YouTube channel! With over 140 videos (and counting) of my gnarly, naked knuckles whuppin' up on a bunch of appliances, you're sure to find some inspiration for your own appliance battles. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and observe, first-hand, my patented appliance repair battle techniques.
Samurai Appliance Repair Man

Samurai Appliance Repair Man

3

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

Defective customers and Youtube

There's a lot of great stuff on Youtube on just about any topic you're interested in. You can even find detailed how-to information on appliance repair, for which the premiere, go-to channel is this one. But unless you know how to apply what you're seeing on Youtube to your exact, specific appliance repair problem, then Youtube videos just become a source of noise and confusion. In fact, if you are someone specially endowed with the Cheesedork mentality, then Youtube videos will only make you d

Understanding how the Water Level Sensor in LG Washing Machines work

Water level sensing in LG washers is done differently from how you may be used to seeing it done in other brands. Whirlpool, GE, Electrolux and others use an air tube connecting an air dome on the tub to a pressure sensor with a physical diaphragm or transducer that "feels" the water level increase as an increase in pressure inside the air tube. LG uses frequency measurements. How's that again? I'll let Brother john63, Dean of LG Appliantology explain: Source: LG PRESSURE SENSOR OPERATION

A Backdoor Test for the Mode Shifter in the Whirlpool VM Washers

These new Whirlpool vertical modular (VM) top-loading washers are pretty easy to troubleshoot, mostly because they practically troubleshoot themselves with fault/error code combinations that you can read in diagnostic mode. The mode shifter has turned out to be one of the common-fail parts on this washer and it's regular rolling inventory for me. Although the fault/error codes will point specifically to the mode shifter if there's a problem with it, there may be situations where you want to t
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