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Power off when working is the most important piece of advice we on this site can give to the general public all agreed. But what bothers me is that we point people in the direction of the fault { ie T/ Dryer thermostat change back off etc] and off they toddle to get the new part. This is all very well but we as responsible engineers would be checking for any dangerous fluff build up within the cabinet which could cause a fire also carrying out an earth continuity and insulation test at the start and on completion of the work.
So with every bit of advice we give should there not be a link expaining the possible short falls of a DIY job.
TurboRe: Power Off When Working
I’m not sure that it was your intention to post this important topic in the public forum, but I moved it into the trade forum anyway. The message after all is addressed to trade members, so it more suitable for further discussion if required within the general trade forum.
Giving advice such as in your example does indeed require a cautionary stance especially over the safety factors. It has been discussed time and time again on UKW as well and it all boils down to the same thing each time. Trade members reply to the general public because, first and foremost, they know the answer to the question and then give it freely. Now you can say “Unplug it first!” as much as you wish to cover your tail by all means. But ultimately the onus is on the recipient of the advice to do that anyway whatever the consequences.
The main bone of contention for the majority of trade members is that we give too much advice far too freely. All good stuff and a boon to the potential DIY’er to save a bob or three. But this plethera of free advice is doing little for the benefit of the repairers nationwide overall. Therefore careful consideration needs to be given before sharing your hard earned knowledge for free in future.
For example: Joe Public tells us his washing machine is not spinning. Often within moments someone has replied “It’ll be the motor brushes that need replacing.” Joe Public then ask’s “How do I go about finding out if my brushes need replacing then?.and so on…after 10 replies on the subject Joe Public has got his brushes (from shop@ more than likely 🙂 ) and has reported his machine is ” now working lovely, thank you very much!!” The upshot of it all is yet another lost call to a local independent trader 🙁
But how can we stop that happening anyway? We cannot suddenly tell Joe Public that we think we know what’s wrong with his machine, but get in touch with a local repairer to fix it for him. Even citing chapter and verse over the safety factors that need implementing in order such a repair be carried out would not justify such non-complience towards helping the public out.
The only correct solution is what already is in place and by carefully monitoring each post to ensure all safety aspects are covered. And going back more specifically to your original point about explaining the short falls when attempting DIY work? That for the most part if very often added by those that give the advice anyway. But again, so very often Joe Public is concerned more with fixing what is wrong and takes little account as to the reasons why it went wrong in the first place? If fluff build-up was the cause of the thermostats blowing then that’s more for them to realise and less for us to be concerned over surely? I for one would not lose any sleep over that! 🙂 😉
Re: Power Off When Working
Sorry for the incorrect posting of this topic onto the public forum.
Having taken on board your views on this subject I shall not bother to give out anymore advice to the general public, as you are right it is doing us out of work.
It still bothers me however that the unplug it first quote to cover your tail is the only bit of safety advice given on most posts falling well short of what a good safe job really requires.
Perhaps this site could go fee paying trade access only one day to solve this problem.
Having had my moan I must say what an excellent website this is and do all I can to spread the word within the trade
Thanks TurboRe: Power Off When Working
The counter to that is there are probably just as many people who read the “do this, get into that” and simply decide, “bu**er that, let’s get an engineer” and over 500 a month do so through repairs@. I’ve done it before as well with several things where I’v efound how to do it on the net but I didn’t feel confident enough to do the job, even with a manual in the case of a bit of work I wanted done on the car.
I called a mechanic.
The number of repair requests, consequently, is a greater number than the number of topics posted in any month in the public forums in isolation so I’d argue that a lot of the information is actually driving repairs our way.
K.
Re: Power Off When Working
It’s one of those difficult decisions. In a way it’s similar to the dilemma of whether you sell spares to DIYers, and most in the trade do. Although there’s an obvious “profit” involved in selling a part, it’s often not that much compensation for the loss of a repair, but we all know if we don’t sell the spare, they will just buy it from a competitor – and next time something goes wrong they may ask that competitor to fix the machine for them.
As K says, lots of people will see it’s more trouble than it’s worth and look for an engineer and there’s plenty of links to repairs@ on the replies. Another argument is that if someone’s determined to fix it themselves there are hundreds of other forums and sites answering questions, many without the quality of advice found here. Then there’s the fact that someone may fix a blocked filter or worn carbons with free advice from UKW, and be so pleased that they recommend the site to many others who may not be capable or willing to go down the DIY route. They should also come back here next time something fails when it’s a fault beyond their capabilities, and look for a repairer.
The way I personally advise is pretty general, and littered with warnings. Advice should be useful for fixing very simple faults, or to assist someone already skilled in similar trades such as electricians, engineers etc. but the rest of the DIYers (the majority) should be rightly scared into searching repairs@
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