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Re: Amusing Anecdotes & Other Tales
I get this all the time as i am leaving.
‘Thank you for coming so quickly’ 😆
Whats more they tell my wife on the phone.
‘He always comes so quickly’ 😳
To which my wife always replys…………………….. 👿
Andy
Re: Amusing Anecdotes & Other Tales
Went to a house a while ago to repair a cooker. When the job was sorted this woman asked me to have a look at her Hoover w/m. ‘It keeps stopping and I have to move it’ on she said. When I checked the machine out I discovered that it was not letting any rinse water in, just initially filling with hot on wash. As the machine was only 14 months old I thought its unlikely that the valve coil had gone so I pulled the machine out and found the cold service valve was turned off. Turned on the valve and everything was OK.
After explaining to her the problem I was amazed to discover that she had had this problem since the washer was new, whoever had installed it had not turned on the cold tap! She had not had her clothes rinsed for 14 months!!!! She just kept moving it on until the final spin.
I asked her why she had not complained while it was under warranty but I think she just did’nt want to cause any bother.
It never ceases to amaze me how much people differ.
Andy
Re: Amusing Anecdotes & Other Tales
Goatboy wrote:
Nice ‘house on fire’ joke too, you made me laugh spit all over my monitor.
Nor suprised with teeth like yours Goatboy 😆
Andy
Re: newest model Neff and Bosch dishwashers-beware
Thanks for the tip dpm, i used to have a small gas iron but it went walkies somewhere 😥
Andy
Re: UKWG charter – spares warrany
And this page
Re: Cheapest Genuine HPT carbons?
Chris – SEME do a Bosch replacement carbon at this size for £1.75 per pair PN:- W1-18102/A (2.6mm connection)
They also do another Bosch at £2.30 / pair ( 5 X 12.5 X 43 ) PN:- W1-18121/A (4.8mm connection)
These are very good quality carbons I have used loads of them. They will fit most black brushes holders around today with the silver inner, either by removing the connector and soldering the lead to the holder, or with the connector depending upon the motor. The main exception nowadays is the wider brush (usually in a bronze coloured inner) as used on Philips etc.
I use SEME W1-18105/A @ £4.75 / pair (in holders) for these.
I usually solder up a load of inners in the workshop using the 43mm carbons then i trim them flat under full spring compression to leave about 4mm protruding from the end. Before I fit them I file the angle on to suit the motor – takes a few minutes. I usually fit these for £42 so I make £40 of the job. When you price up some of these carbons and holders they are an unbelievable rip off. This way the the profit goes in our pockets. 😀
My price for the Connect carbons is £5.08 (1off) for a single brush not with holder. £6.50 for a pair
Andy
PS. As a matter of interest when you fit carbons using these type of carbons and holders do you remove the motor or do them from the front with the machine leaned back?
Re: UKWG charter – spares warrany
If the goods are faulty within the first 6 months of the contract, it will be for the trader to show he is not at fault. After that time, or if the service is faulty, it is for you to solve the problem”
This could be the basis for many suppliers giving a six month warranty (probably on the advice of their solicitors).
“It is for you to solve the problem” implies that after this period the onus is upon the consumer to prove his case, probably in a civil court.
The important point is that this again implies strongly that after the six month period bodies such as trading standards are not interested.
So where does this leave the supposed statutory obligation of a twelve month warranty that we originally started with?
The following page from the DTI is worth a look.
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts … rvices.htm
Andy
Re: newest model Neff and Bosch dishwashers-beware
Resistors and capacitors are not too bad to lift as enough heat can be applied to the tiny componant to losen both end at once, allowing it to be quickly lifted off. Triacs can be a bit more tricky.
The secret is to use as little heat as possible especially when removing the old componants this ensures that the track does not detach from the pcb. Use a solder sucker to raise as much of the old solder of the pad so that you have as even surface as possible. Put a tiny blob of surface mount solder paste onto each pad then carefully place the triac / resistor onto the pads by sticking it to the end of a pointed instrument with something sticky. This gives you something to hold it in place with while you solder it. Apply minimum heat to each pad in turn until the solder runs. Job done.
A small iron (15W) with a pointed bit is essential, and having a mounted magnifying glass with fitted illumination helps a lot, by leaving both hands free.
Desoldering surface mounted DIL IC’s is virtually impossible without a special wide bit that can make contact with all the pins on one side simultaniously allowing one side to be lifted first. Once bent up you can get hold of it and the second side is easy. The biggest hazard as mentioned is detaching the tracks from the PCB by applying too much heat so be careful.
Even places like QER sometimes do this. I have had NON S/M modules off them that looked like they had been repaired by a partially sited butcher!
Hope there’s no butchers reading this! :eeek:S/M IC’s that have pins on all four sides of the chip – well i would’nt even attempt one!
Andy 😀
Re: Cheapest Genuine HPT carbons?
Chris – What are the actual dimensions of these brushes L X W X B?
Andy
Re: UKWG charter – spares warrany
There are a lot of people out there that will extract the Mick given half a chance
Yes Ken and this probably contributes a lot to the problem. Because suppliers get abused by some individuals (eg. sending for spares to attempt to isolate the fault because they do not have the expertise to do it properly, then wanting to return it because it is not the problem etc). I can understand suppliers getting a bit cheesed off with this, but rather than punish everybody why cannot they establish some sort of system to isolate the abusers. Not hard to do nowadays with computerised systems.
It is my position that if a spare fails under the twelve month warranty that I will not accept the cost of a call to replace the part again, invariably it incurs a further two visits so already we’re in a loss situation and I don’t see why I should pick up the tab for a poor product on contract rates. But that’s another story.
Are you saying here that you will charge labour for any recalls even though you must replace the part?
In the instance you have there I’d be asking why the new motor was at fault, whas there some other cause?
Yep! sometimes parts are taken out by other parts and proving that this is not the case is difficult. IMO it all boils down to mutual trust between you and your suppliers. If you only return parts infrequently and there is otherwise a good relationship (eg you pay your bills on time etc) Then the supplier should give you the benefit of the doubt, regard you as honest and replace the part.
This topic opens up a whole can of worms that many a manufacturer and/or wholesaler doesn’t want opened……………..However, it does not detract from the fact that if we want to promote Repairs@ to the public WE have to stay within current legislation, whether we like it or not.
Yes these are matters that need to be discussed because both sides have valid arguments which we need to understand and appreciate.
You may have concluded from my earlier post that I have problems in this area, but this is not the case. I very seldom have cause to return a part and when I do I do not usually have any problems. Even Connect seem to have improved very much with their customer services dept and I now find them very pleasant and helpful. At one time this firm used to infuriate me because they were so unco-operative if a problem arose, which was often because of thier mistake.
I do also understand the point that UKW have to remain with legal requirements and I do not intend for this to prevent me from joining repairs@ if you will have me.
As mentioned earlier the manufacturer should be the one who takes the responsability for failed spares as he has the least to lose financially. If he has a large number of returns then this should make him examine his quality control and/or manufacturing process. Most other businesses have to operate under these conditions so why should white goods spares manufacturers be any different? If this was the case then wholesale suppliers would be much more co-operative with us knowing that they in turn could return the part.
Its common sense and common decency really.
Andy
Re: newest model Neff and Bosch dishwashers-beware
I had a similar experience with a Hoover six. Checked the pump for continuity and it was OK. Replaced the module BANG!
Oh dear! was what I said – honest. 👿
When I checked, the pump was short circuit.
On machines using a 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} electronic control, relatively low current componants (solonoid valves and pump) are driven by a small triac eg. MAC97A8 rated up to about 1A. These are now largely superceded by similar surface mount componants (eg. ZO107), and this is almost certainly what had blown on eastlmark’s module. These small triacs are usually driven almost directly by the Microcontroller chip.
Anyway I managed to get a look at another module and identified the componants that had blown (the s/m triac and two s/m resistors) which I obtained from Seme. The little suckers were a bit of a pain to solder onto the board because they are that tiny but I managed. Popped it into the machine and hey presto the little darlin worked! 😛
I relate this story to encourage you guys to have a go at things like this. These componants are DIRT cheap (pence) and by the time you have sent for another module you could have had a go. All you need is a small soldering iron, some paste solder, a magnifying glass and a selection of s/m resistors and triacs – easily identified off each module you come across. Total investment about a fiver maybe.
This will earn you a massive wedge of brownie points with your customers when you save them lots of £’s. Not to mention they will think you are a genius. Plus you can get some extra cash for the module repair rather than put it into your suppliers pocket. If it do’snt work – well it did’nt cost you much just send for the new module.
Incidently – if you see any surface mounted resistors (the little black ones with numbers on them) that have 0 on them then these are just links (0 ohm).
Have fun – Andy :wave:
Re: UKWG charter – spares warrany
I have no problem providing a twelve month warranty on work that I have control over, and the parts are relatively cheap eg. bearings. If a problem occurs then fair do’s, its my fault and I should have done a better job in the first place.
BUT consider this nighmare scenario:-
Fit a new motor cost £160 (inc VAT – not reclaimable as not registered)
Add £XX labour cost – bearing in mind that this is already an expensive repair and the customer has limits.
9 months later, said motor blows its guts and takes out the timer / module with it!! The customer insists that she is legally entitled to a 12 month warranty and that their was nothing wrong with the module before the motor WHICH I HAD FITTED destroyed it. And she is right.
I have to fork out £160 for a new motor + £XXX for a new module and do the job again at no extra cost.
Being a bit peeved about this I contact my supplier and insist that he honour the 12 month warranty to which I am legally entitled, in an effort to recoup at least some of my losses. He replies that they only give a 6 month warranty as they have to sustain the loss themselves due to
a) The manufactures does not warranty the parts
b) They have an agreement with the manufacturer that they will bear the cost of failures in return for a reduction in the price. If they provide a 12 month warranty then the cost of the part would have to be increased substantially. This would make them less competative in the marketplace and so they would lose sales………! (Get the hankies out!)But you can see their point. The real issue here is where does the buck stop? Manufacturer – wholesaler – retailer / repairer – customer. In truth the manufacturer is the real culprit he produces substandard goods and Joe Bloggs who can least afford it ends up footing the bill. The manufacturer who has the least equity in the goods gets off scott free!
It does not seem right somehow does it?
The trouble is that the multi-national companies that now control the vast majority of industry have such power and financial clout that they even have the ability to influence the financial (and other) policies of governments worldwide. So how would we stand if we attempted to enforce our legal rights against these manufactures with billions of £/$ at their disposal. Forget it.
Ok. In real life this sort of scenario probably would’nt happen very often but it will happen – and if you deal on these sort of terms then make sure you provide enough contingency in what you charge to lessen the sting when it does. The problem with this is that it is your customer who will ultimately pay the cost, and indirectly you the repairer will because of your higher prices ie. less people will choose the repair option.
One possible way around this dilema is to allow the customer to decide what level of warranty they want, this would then be reflected in the price they pay. This way the risk is shared by two parties and therefore is lessened for both. It would be easy to work out a table of charges dependant on the cost of the part and the warranty period required. If the customer signed a piece of paper to this effect would that negate her legal right to the 12 month warranty?
Andy
Re: Cheapest Genuine HPT carbons?
My prices for Connect D.S. Ltd
1 off = 4.99
10off = 4.75
25off = 3.95SEME NEDIS (SALI price)
1off = 3.25
Andy
Re: Carriage charges for spares delivery
Do you get much microwave work nowadays Phidom? I have a buddy who repairs microwave ovens and his work has all but dried up due to the low prices in the shops. Any work he picks up is mainly commercial repairs and some sales.
Andy
Re: Carriage charges for spares delivery
Brains wrote:This is why I stopped using Connect as my main supplier.
A few years ago, they were charging p&p when backed ordered items were sent out despite the fact that I was being charged p&p on the orginal order.
On some orders I was getting charged three or four times for p&p if items were out of stock!!! 👿
Forgot to say – I have never been charged carriage by Seme on any backordered item that was on an original order over £12
Andy
