[crowdog]

Re: split liners

Any of you seen or used this stuff:
http://sugru.com/guides/how-to-fix-fridge-shelves-drawers-and-lining-with-sugru
Looks quite good and could be an alternative to replacing a complete fridge door for such a small thing 🙂

[crowdog]

Re: split liners

Yeah thanks, I’ve used it myself but for washing machines. I never found it smoothed off as well as I’d have liked and if I had a 2mm crack spreading along the back wall of a fridge, I’m not sure the customer would like the change in appearance 🙂
I can see it’s use on broken door lugs or runner supports though, it sets rock hard.

[crowdog]

Re: Samsung RS21DGRS

Right I get your point. Didn’t realise what you meant exactly but that does make perfect sense.
I did suspect the compressor as it begins to labour before turning off but then again I suppose that could just be it loosing the power too.
I will check for continuous power and if so I will refer to local systems guy for a new compressor.
Thanks again.

[crowdog]

Re: Samsung RS21DGRS

Morning and thanks for the reply.
I’ve not checked for power to the comp but it runs for about 5 seconds before labouring them going off so I’m presuming the supply is there.
I did fear a faulty comp but at least that is fixable rather than a blocked system.
Does it sound right?

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

I always tried to give a quality repair on laundry and dishwashers, even basic refrigeration but I could maybe benefit from doing a refrigeration systems course. I don’t know of anywhere I could train as yet and I’m not sure if it would be worth it.
It would be interesting to get a couple of views on here about it’s worth? I heard mixed reports in the field but the decent systems guys had a pretty good success rate. Then again there was the odd one who could never clear a block system or insisted on an internal leak more than the rest!

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

iadom wrote:

crowdog wrote:

All the time, the important word in that sentence is EXPERIENCE. 😉

Absolutely! I like to think that when I make mistakes, I learn from them and take a positive approach to make sure I don’t make them again. It’s all part of gaining experinece 🙂

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

iadom wrote:

crowdog wrote:

Easy Peasy, just click the QUOTE button, top right of any post you want to quote from, edit out the bits you don’t want and add your comments, Simples. 🙂

I have been self employed for around 36 years after just under 12 at Hotpoint. This has allowed me to build up a considerable customer base. This week alone I have fitted two ARM20 armatures to one 12 and one 20 year old Hotpoint machine, five sets of motor brushes and one drum support spider. All of these on machines over 10 years old.

I can afford to be choosy at this late stage but as Martin has said, if you are taking the first steps into the ‘wilderness’ then you should not limit your options. It will soon become obvious which machines are of dubious quality or in other cases very difficult to obtain spares or tech info for.

That is why UKWG’S is such a valuable resource. 8)

Jim.

Well I’ve been a member on here for some time but for the last 8 years I’ve not really had much input… worked too many long days and as I worked from home, I’d often be sat finishing work up at this time… at least now I can look at this site in more depth but I already knew it’s worth is invaluble 😀
Interesting how you said you’ve replaced 5 sets of motor brushes, it amazed me in the field how some guys would try and get away with fitting a motor ‘because it was quicker’! I’m sure they wouldn’t do it if it was their money… in fact I’m certain!

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

Martin wrote:

crowdog wrote:
So is it wise to have exclusions? Maybe over a certain age or certain brands or maybe specific models?

Starting out in this trade from scratch you cannot be selective. You just have to take what comes along. Your competitors will already cover all products and brands anyway. Your gently toe dipping exercise is understandable I suppose but in order to venture out in this business you will need to be a good swimmer in a force 9 gale. Choppy waters dead ahead matey!

I did everything but gas (cooking) before so I’m willing to keep it like that but would I really want to tackle something that could become a saga? I suppose it could be a case of judgeing a call on it’s value and deciding if it’s really worth fixing something that isn’t in great condition and hasn’t been kept very well?
Do you never take enquiries that you turn down because your experience tells you it’s just not worth it?

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

Certainly not by age, most of my really profitable work is on Hotpoint/Hoover machines between 8 and 25 years old.

I won’t list them here but there are several brands I won’t go near. 😉

Really Iadom, that’s interesting. Can’t imagine either of those lasting anywhere near 25 years these days but having said that, most of the customers I’d see would have multiple children doing 2 loads a day with little to no maintenance, then complain that it had broke down after I’d cleaned the filter of things that had been left in their pockets

Maybe you could pm me some of the brands you don’t touch?
I understand why you wouldn’t post them on here, I don’t believe it’s the done thing too.

I’m not sure how to quote someone correctly by the way but I will figure it out I’m sure!

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

Thanks for that Ally.
I’ve always done the odd job for mates and mates of mates and they’ve never really been too troublesome to get going again but I wasn’t sure if I’d just dropped on some easy jobs. I also know that over the years I’ve been in whitegoods my material costs have never been too high but being brand specific, I had a good backup and knowledge of the products I was faced with.
I get the point about cheap chineses rubbish…. I started to see more and more of it unfortunately! The integrated dishwashers that no independents would touch but we had to were a pain to say the least! I guess you have to choose your jobs wisely to a point?
So is it wise to have exclusions? Maybe over a certain age or certain brands or maybe specific models?

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

Sorry, maybe I should’ve explained my situation better.
I’m dipping my toe into being independent but I’m worried about cost implications and as I was tied to a certain brand for so long, I was also looking for opinions on brands that may be more troublesome that others.
I know it’s not easy out there but it would be a gradual thing anyway and my first aim is to figure out if there would be enough work to make the switch permanent. Given that many customers don’t want expensive repair bills and would rather buy cheap new products, I have to be sure that that there would be enough blocked pumps and worn brushes to make a go of things.
I don’t mean that to sound naive as I know it’s not as easy as that but I just mean there would be enough jobs out there to make sure that parts cost doesn’t escalate until the customer decides it’s not worth it.
Hope that makes more sense.

[crowdog]

Re: Average material cost.

Thanks for confirming.
I suppose I need to hope for the easily fixable ones then 🙂
Do you think there are certain brands I should be more cautious with?
It’s difficult for me because I was brand specific for so long but I’m still figuring that a good chunk of whitegoods will go by the same principle of customers thinking there’s a problem or, if its fairer to say, thinking the problem is worse than it is?

[crowdog]

Re: Norfrost C6AEW fault

Thanks Don 😀

[crowdog]

Re: Candy GO F462-80 Cold Wash Only

Hi Snappa,
Sorry my posts fell short of help or advice.
Helo is right about e5 relating to the ntc or temperature sensor but the e16 fault relates to a short circuit heater and as such the programme would usually abort during the wash phase at which point a light would flash 16 times to indicate the error. An open circuit heater is e14 and that would allow the cycle to finish, albeit with no heat and at the end the light would flash 14 times.
Did you see a light on the front flashing?
If you have any future issues you can pm me and I’ll gladly offer you some advice.

[crowdog]

Re: Candy GO F462-80 Cold Wash Only

Specialist01269 wrote:Hi Crowdog: helo certainly knows this company, how they work & how they do things. Quite possibly better than anyone else on the site.

I’m sure he knows the company but so do I and I’d dare say better than you’d imagine.
It’s unfortunate that all he has are bad memories but with a company as large as Hoover Candy, there will always be good and bad management. Maybe if he’d been in a different area under a different manager his outlook would have been different.
While I agree that money seems to be a huge focus for them, they are trying to give engineers a better working environment with some of the things being put in place (partially fueled by the increase in revenue from consumable sales).
It’s a shame that bad managers lead to engineers voicing their opinions on sites like this while the good ones go unnoticed.
I’m sorry for his experience but, while I wouldn’t say that the engineers are all happy, certainly they all don’t share the entirely negative feelings expressed.
The grass is always greener and there are companies far worse.

[Author]

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