Daily Archives: July 26, 2019

Wash Day Blues . . .

As I mentioned, I have a chore list of stuff to do while Jan is gone, and at the top of the list was to  get the dryer working again. It quit right before we left for Europe, and with my recent ‘under the weather’ phase, and the problem at work, I’m just getting around to fixing it.

The reason I was able to let it slip for a while is that the park’s laundry is just two sites away. So I had some breathing room

So the first thing I did was get my washer dolly out of the bays and then pulled the washer out onto it until I could get the top off.

Washer Dolly

A while back I had configured the hoses so that I could partially remove the washer from the cabinet and get the lid off, since that’s usually where most problems are.

Since everything worked fine except no heat from the dryer, I figured it was the Thermal Overheat Fuse like a couple of times before.

Dryer Thermal Fuse Bad

A fuse of the correct temp is no longer available, and the replacements I found on Amazon aren’t quite the right temp rating so they only last a couple of years. But when I checked the fuse it was still good, as was the thermostat also.

But as I looked around I noticed the heater blower motor was loose on the mount, enough to make the motor twist around so that the squirrel cage fan rubbed against the inside of the blower housing, tearing it loose from the motor shaft and damaging the fan itself.

So my first call was to Westland Sales out in Oregon, but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. And I was right.

A replacement was no longer available, not the first time I’ve heard this on my 20 year old Splendide Washer/Dryer.

A few years ago I had to replace the no-longer-available water pump with one from another make of washer by kluging up a mount for it in a new location with new hoses. But it’s worked for 5 or 6 years with no problems.

So now my Plan B is to check our storage room for my box of Splendide parts. These are parts that I salvaged out of our friend Nick Russell’s old 2000 unit when he upgraded to a new 2100. But it’s been so long I don’t know if I pulled the blower motor or not. So I’ll see tomorrow.

But if I don’t have a replacement, my Plan C is to repair the squirrel cage and then create a new mount for it on the motor shaft.

So we’ll see how it goes.

My Alexa has a new response. We have an Echo Dot in the bedroom that controls several devices there, including a fan that’s mounted up by the ceiling that she controls. So when I get up, I say, “Alexa, turn the fan off, please”. And after she does it, she says, “OK”. And I, wanting to be polite to our future robot overlords, always say, “Thank you!”

Now, normally Alexa goes silent at this point, but today she said, “You’re Welcome. And have a great Friday!”

Hopefully Alexa will remember my obeisance when they take over.


Thought for the Day: 

The following statement is false. The previous statement is true.

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