Leak and Dryer

It started raining sometime late Saturday. It's almost done now. But there was a big wet spot in the living room rug this morning (Monday.) The roof guy is supposed to call back.








I did get an email back today from our Craigslist ad and someone is calling a friend to help pick up the dryer. We've figured out the new washer and how to keep it from dripping onto the floor. The new dryer works fine. (Unfortunately, we can't stick the wet carpet into the dryer.) So, it's time to get the old one out of the garage.

Maytag A207 August 1974 - May 2007

In January, the washing machine had its first serious leak, but with the help of automaticwasher.org I was able to diagnose the problem, get the parts and repair it. But in April there was a new leak. I first checked to see if my repair was the problem - it wasn't.

It was leaking from down below.



After the repair man said this was the beginning of the end, that he could stop the leak, but it would come back, we bit the bullet and bought a new stackable washer and drier. They arrived today. The Maytag was a great machine. Everyone says they don't make them like that any more. I know the market economists think that the market is incredibly efficient. But appliances that last for 32 years without repairs mean fewer machines are sold. Now they make machines that break down in 5-10 years.

On the upside, our old machine, they tell us, used 45 gallons of water per load and the new one only uses 16 gallons. So if the Anchorage Water and Waste Water Utility billed us by how much water we use rather than a flat fee, we'd save some money. And while Anchorage has no shortage of water, I can feel good that we are using much less.

Another thing, the salesman said the electrical cord was on the left of the drier, but it's on the right. The longest cord is 6 feet, so we can't push the new washer/drier all the way back. We'll have to either have the 220 outlet moved or see if we can get a longer cord.

Oh yeah, anyone want to buy a 7 year old GE drier?

Raven and Magpie Square Off

Wild screeching in the back yard. A magpie hopping around the in the trees scolding a raven who seemed to be gathering twigs.




These are two birds who spend the winter here. The magpie's a pretty good sized bird, but next to the raven it looks puny. A second magpie joined the ruckus and eventually the raven lifted off.

Maytag fixed - thanks automaticwasher.org

I have to give another thank you to automaticwasher.org for a) convincing me that our 32 year old Maytag was worth repairing and b) walking me through the repairs. I was able to get a new 'water injector kit' - Part No. 204660 - here in Anchorage ($60 at Harold's Appliances) and we leak no more. The insides of the washing machine are also very clean now. You can compare this picture with the ones on my earlier post.



As some people (like the author of "Bowling Alone") lament the loss of community groups and organizations, this experiencs reinforces for me that we still have community, it's just shifted to the internet. I had people all over the US helping me fix my washer and giving me encouragement when I was about to quit and call the repair man. If you want to see how the process worked go to the link (click on the title of this post) then go to "Imperial" and my thread is #9522 (first post 12/18/06).

May 31, 2007 update
This story has, unfortunately, been updated several times. Later posts are

May 22, 2007 and May 30, 2007

The Power of Old Maytags and New Websites

There was water under the washing machine the other day. Change is hard. Maybe it will just go away. But when my wife watched another load, there was more water. Not a lot, but enough.

We got Consumer Reports from the library. Their advice - any top loading washer older that 4-6 years is better to replace than repair. Our Maytag is 32 years old. We bought it when our son was born.

The Maytag repair number in our local book suggested we have the repairman come look. They don't build them like they used to. All our calls are for new ones, and they don't last very long.



A quick Google search got me to Automaticwasher.org. I found the Discuss-o-mat page and went to the Imperial link (machines built before 1985). There I added Thread #9522 Maytag A207 - purchased 1974 in which I put a picture (above) and asked the world if we shoul repair or replace.

There were 8 responses by the time we got home from the movies (Factotum.) Not only were they unanimously for repair, but they suggested what the likely problem was, told me how to get the front and top panels off, and gave me a diagram of the insides of the washer.

To see this amazing example of community recreated on the web, hit the link above, go to the Imperial link, and then click on Thread 9522. Thanks to all the guys - I think they were all guys - who helped diagnose and give me great instructions.





On top you can see pictures of the Maytag as it normally looks. Then there's the picture of the top panel lifted up. Finally, we have the fill-flume that was suggested as the culprit and so it appears to be. Lots of calcium build-up. There was a lot more gunk where the screwdriver is, but we cleaned it up a bit. But most likely the water that deposited all the gunk, was the water that was leaking.

[for later post on this topic click here.]

Back Home

Here I am at the computer at home after nearly six weeks of traveling. It seems like nothing has changed, yet much has - for the better. It was low 30s when we got here, pretty much what it was when we left. The visit in Seattle got us a little closer to this weather, so it didn't really feel cold. I've got lots of India processing in my head and will try to post more pictures and thoughts. In the meantime, here's Kona, Joel and Carrie's new dog, with Monica (and Joel's feet), and solo.