Sandy asks…
What is the smallest size cabinet for a tumble dryer available?
My old dryer was only 49cm wide and need to replace it.
James Conley answers:
I highly recommend the older Whirlpool apartment size dryers from the 60’s and 70’s. Yes, they are still around. Utilize your small independant appliance community! Why the exclaimation? Because people need to wake up and realize that it’s usually NOT the big chains with the most knowledgable employees, it’s the small shops. I am a vacuum cleaner expert and I suggest you keep my name handy for any expert info on vacuums. I know them all… Ie. The Rainbow D4 is the best made vacuum EVER!…
Now for your dryer question. The Whirlpools from the era I mentioned has just one knob on it, it came in a 110v AND a 220V version. I had the 220 version for several years and it performed excellent. The 220v gets your cloths dryer much faster than the 110v version. And these little 220V dryers, though cute and small, will dry a full load straight from a full size washing machine-3/4 of a full load if it’s all jeans. So, yeah’, it’s about the same as a full size dryer. I’m not sure about the 110v dryers. I can’t stress enough how GREAT those old apartment size 220v Whirlpool dryers are. When I bought mine it was a used model from a Grovecity,Ohio appliance store. I paid $100 cash for it and it fit in my backseat of my 4 door car! They gave me a 30 day warranty for my own piece of mind.
I certainly WILL plug Whirlpool as being the best right along side of Maytag. If the heating element in the Whirlpool goes out it’s just a matter of removing 1 screw and pulling out the entire assembly. We’re talking maybe 10-15 minutes work tops! You can get the replacement element assembly from nearly any local appliance parts carrier and I paid $17 for the element for mine. As far as the thermoswitches, they are only a couple of bucks each. Now if you try to change the same part on a General Electric for instance, you will first need to take the entire dryer apart… And spend 10 times longer doing the repair. By the way, there is really not much to a dryer. That heating element, a timer ( usually encorporated into the knob assembly) ,and a couple of thermoswitches(diamond shaped w/ a round center about the size of a 1/2″ thick quarter) is ALL there is to a dryer. Oh’, and the belt and the wheel the drum rides on… What I’m getting at is this. Find an old Whirlpool apartment size dryer and if you have to, get it fixed, but I’m telling you, PLease PLEASE PLEASE check out the small guy first. If you tell him you are after a particular vintage unit, I guarantee he will give you a five minute sermon about how much better the old stuff is. IS not WAS, but IS! – good luck.
Hoover just laid off 800 people here in Ohio. What’s sad is that the Hoover’s integrity is 100%. As your Vacuum cleaner expert I give NO other manufacture this prop. Now just so I don’t stray too far from this question, the manufacture that bought Hoover first was Maytag. Maytag didn’t have a clue as to what to do with Hoover. Ultimately Hoover has ended up in the hands of a huge vacuum cleaner company that in my oppinion made plenty of garbage, I guess on the bright side I can say they have improved over the years, but the PERFECT record that Hoover MAINTAINED for nearly 100 years, is soon to be compromised. I’d love for some executives to read this and make it a point to make me eat my words, but I doubt it.
Ruth asks…
how much should be charged for the repair of the lid switch on a washer?
it is a maytag topload mav7700aww, part serial# 21493201zy
James Conley answers:
Lets see…
Like say $35-$45 for the service call….then probably another $25-$30 for labor…..and then say (hopefully) $10-$15 for the new part.
So you are looking at somewhere in the $75-$100 range.
This is only a guess…I just know how my Maytag or otherwise service calls have been.
It kinda ticks you off when you put 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost of a new machine into the old one just for a simple repair job.
Call your appliance dealer for a guesstimate. Don’t be a bit surprised.
Laura asks…
Is the Maytag repairman really as idle as they say?
It’s not good to have nothing to do, even if you get paid for it.
James Conley answers:
Usually the bronze bushing found on the replacement idler pulley and the bushings in the rollers are impregnated with softer metals that act as a lubrication. I’ve repaired appliances for several years and have yet to find a lubricant that will last. Once th rollers or pulley start to squeek, it is only a matter of time before they will need to be replaced. In the amount of time it takes to regrease the parts, with a little expense, you can change the parts and solve the problem.
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