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Old 11-15-2014, 12:18 PM   #561
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Don't know if this counts as a repair.
My dyson randomly turned off the other day while I was running it. I looked for obvious clogs, made sure the house circuit breaker hadn't popped, sniffed for electrical issues... Nothing obvious.

I googled and found that the unit is designed to shut down if it overheats. So I did the filter maintenance and then started looking for less obvious clogs.

These vacuums are highly modular - take-apart-able. Turns out there's a tube from the where the beater brush is to where it feeds into the "ball" of the vacuum... You have to have the ball's filter off to see it... but you can disconnect this tube and poke inside it... Big clog of dog hair around one of those little plastic clippy things that come on bags of bread. (Not a twist tie - a plastic square with a hole notched in it.)

Vacuum running better than ever. Repair was free. I was worried I was looking at a new vacuum.
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Old 11-15-2014, 04:06 PM   #562
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Yes, rodi - that counts as a repair. Thanks for the tip - I'll file it in my brain for when the vacuum cleaner shuts down
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Old 11-18-2014, 12:53 PM   #563
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Got a pair of coil "helper" springs and installed them over the rear axles of my old Ford Explorer. Air shocks were shot. Got some new, regular, shocks to install but didn't get around to that yet. Did replace the front sway bar links. Much better ride now! Several hundred $$$ saved in repair bills for about $100 in parts and less than an hour under the vehicle.
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Old 11-18-2014, 02:09 PM   #564
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I've been busy with several minor DIY jobs for my daughter in her new house -- well, new to her but the house is old. But I tackled my own repair last night:
One of the two bolts holding the toilet tank to the bowl spontaneously broke a couple of weeks ago. That replacement was easy. But despite my valiant efforts could not loosen the other bolt. So I chose to let that sleeping dog lie.
Alas, apparently those efforts resulted in a very slow dripping. More valiant efforts were in vain until I did the smart thing: I took a break, went on the internet and voila! found the solution. Good ol' fashioned hacksaw cut that bolt in about three minutes, and now I have a leak free toilet. Sometimes you gotta take a break to clear your head, and the answer will come to you.
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Old 11-24-2014, 07:29 AM   #565
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Replaced the idler wheel in the dryer. Less than 30 minutes and it runs like new! Took the time to vacuum out the lint while it was apart. Strongly suggest, especially if you have a gas drier, to pop the bottom cover and vacuum the lint out of the base. Fire hazard you know!

Second repair--Got a call at 9pm Sunday that a renter had shut water off to commode. Seems they had been told earlier in the week by the water co. they had a leak. So, of course they waited until 9pm Sunday to call! Found "somehow" the excess chain to the flapper had gotten unhooked and was under the valve so the toilet was always running. (Nice new furry tank and seat cover I despise was installed.) This was on the other side of the wall from their bedroom and even though they heard it, they ignored it for about a month. How do people like this survive? 5 minutes hooking the chain and done.
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Old 11-24-2014, 12:32 PM   #566
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....flapper had gotten unhooked and was under the valve so the toilet was always running. (Nice new furry tank and seat cover I despise was installed.) This was on the other side of the wall from their bedroom and even though they heard it, they ignored it for about a month. How do people like this survive? 5 minutes hooking the chain and done.

Loud snoring or noisy sex. Or both Remember they reproduce
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Old 11-24-2014, 12:39 PM   #567
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Loud snoring or noisy sex. Or both Remember they reproduce
Don't remind me! They also were pushing for me to cover their water bill. I would normally pick up at least part of it if it was really broken but it wasn't. This didn't happen by itself. Personally, I can't stand to hear the water running thru the pipes if I don't know something is on. My hearing isn't perfect anymore but even I know when water is going thru the pipes. You think they would complain about the lack of water pressure if nothing else!
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Old 11-24-2014, 03:52 PM   #568
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This has been my most recent repair job. I checked and replaced tubes, replaced all capacitors, cleaned switches, etc.:
Restored Grundig Konzertschrank 9068 from 1958. - YouTube

Most recently I repaired the electrostatic tweeters:


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Old 11-28-2014, 11:15 AM   #569
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It was a cold night last night! The furnace quit.

Today I soldered a thick twist of copper from the burned-out relay terminal to the circuit board. These are "before" pictures...I didn't take an "after".
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Old 11-28-2014, 11:35 AM   #570
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It was a cold night last night! The furnace quit.

Today I soldered a thick twist of copper from the burned-out relay terminal to the circuit board. These are "before" pictures...I didn't take an "after".
I had a similar problem with my furnace/AC. Apparently, the blower motor had a 'dead spot' on it, and would very occasionally stall upon start-up (maybe zero to a couple times a year?). This would draw a lot of current, and melt the solder at the relay and/or burn the copper trace. I made several repairs to the PCB over the years. Two things to fix this:

1) They wired the furnace into a 20 Amp circuit, and the furnace states it must be on a 15 Amp breaker. I'm pretty sure the relay and board would have held at 15A, and tripped the breaker instead. But that's not much margin, so maybe not. Anyway, I wired in a 15 Amp breaker right at the furnace switch.

2) The motor started squealing a few years back, I was able to take it apart and lube it, but started making noise again a year later. Got a new motor for $100, and not too bad of a repair job. No stalls with the new motor.

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Old 11-28-2014, 11:48 AM   #571
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Sister has 2.5 year old a POS Samgsung front load washer , with "steam". About $950 new. Constantly stopping with various error codes. The start switch is getting flaky now, ( part of a $120 circuit board ) takes 2 weeks to get circuit board.

Repair solution, BUY ANOTHER WASHER .GE/Hotpoint still make a top load , agitator water hog model. Hotpoint w/ plastic drum $399 , GE with stainless drum, $539 on sale, Both Lowes and Home Depot , same price. Has Dynasor style Electro-mechanical controls , user can set load/water level. Apparently they sell a lot of this model, almost always to pissed off former front loader owners and only discount a few bucks off list $. Washes in about 1/2 hour , vs an hour or so for "energy saver top or front load" models.

The Samsung has been a real POS . Parts service info/support from Samsung is pathetic.

If you are in San Diego and want a 2 year old POS SAMSUNG WASHER , needs a little work , send me a PM

Great phones , and TV's , But Major appliances ?, avoid Samsung like the plague
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Old 11-28-2014, 04:22 PM   #572
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..

Most recently I repaired the electrostatic tweeters:


Can you fill us in on any more detail on the repair of those electrostatics? Looks interesting.

-ERD50
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Old 11-28-2014, 05:29 PM   #573
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2) The motor started squealing a few years back, I was able to take it apart and lube it, but started making noise again a year later. Got a new motor for $100, and not too bad of a repair job. No stalls with the new motor.
When I was in there, I saw that the motor is to be lubricated every 2 years. It's been 18, and no lube
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Old 11-28-2014, 06:31 PM   #574
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When I was in there, I saw that the motor is to be lubricated every 2 years. It's been 18, and no lube
Mine was 'permanently lubricated', which I translate as - 'when the lube runs out, the motor dies, so the lube is good for the life of the motor'.

But actually, I found instructions on how to disassemble the end plates, and re-saturate the thick felt pads with oil. If it wasn't for the other problem I was having (the dead spot creating stalling), and the fact that the motor was only ~ $100, and it takes a bit of effort to get it in and out, I might have tried another re-lube. But $100 later (well, I bent the fan taking it out, so another $50 oooops), I have a new motor, no stalls and no squeaks, and a warm house.

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Old 11-29-2014, 12:29 PM   #575
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Mine was 'permanently lubricated', which I translate as - 'when the lube runs out, the motor dies, so the lube is good for the life of the motor'.
Basically that's it. When I was doing heating/A/C service in the early '70's most motors I saw did have oiling ports. They were supposed to be lubed either every six months or annually, which of course almost everyone forgot to do and then they complained about the motor bearings wearing out.

But if lubed as instructed (usually 20 weight motor oil) those motors would last "forever".

But the sealed bearing motors would last "long enough" if they never got any attention so that's what the manufacturers went with.
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Old 11-29-2014, 07:10 PM   #576
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.....Second repair--Got a call at 9pm Sunday that a renter had shut water off to commode. Seems they had been told earlier in the week by the water co. they had a leak. So, of course they waited until 9pm Sunday to call! Found "somehow" the excess chain to the flapper had gotten unhooked and was under the valve so the toilet was always running. (Nice new furry tank and seat cover I despise was installed.) This was on the other side of the wall from their bedroom and even though they heard it, they ignored it for about a month. How do people like this survive? 5 minutes hooking the chain and done.
They have the landlord do it
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Old 11-29-2014, 07:23 PM   #577
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..
2) The motor started squealing a few years back, I was able to take it apart and lube it, but started making noise again a year later. Got a new motor for $100, and not too bad of a repair job. No stalls with the new motor.
-ERD50
Nice to hear someone else changed their furnace motor. I was starting to think maybe I was crazy cheap for not getting a new furnace.
On ours, the AC tray under the condenser over flowed and leaked water on to the stuff below, including the motor.
Who would notice that ?
So the motor stopped working in the summer (thank goodness).
I took photos, ordered a new motor from Grainger for just under $100 and labeled all the wire connections, unplugged them and pulled out the motor and fan and did the replacement, then put it all back.
I was half surprised when it worked !!
It has been running fine for over 4 years now
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Old 11-30-2014, 10:23 AM   #578
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Can you fill us in on any more detail on the repair of those electrostatics? Looks interesting.

-ERD50
Happy to oblige.

Lets break it down into parts, first.
1. Plastic body.
2. Wool backing.
3. Mylar sheet (square)
4. Mylar piece (small rectangle)
5. Terminals
6. Screen

My research indicated two common failure points for early electrostatic speakers:
1. The foam or wool backing used to hold the two mylar sheets together degrades. Solution-new foam backing. (Modern electrostats work differently-eliminating the need for the foam)
2. Oxidization causing a poor connection.

This electrostatic speaker works by sandwiching two mylar pieces together such that the smaller piece touches the larger one. When a large charge is applied to the smaller sheet it is conducted into the larger sheet causing it to "flutter" to the screen and back. A foam or wool backing is used to keep the smaller piece in place, ensuring it is the large piece that moves. At least that's the best I can explain it.

Here is what I did:



First I de-soldered the terminals from the wire going to the radio and removed the speaker from the unit.



Second I opened up the plastic body. In this case I was able to pry it open with a knife. In other cases one might need to open it by applying heat to the small plastic tabs holding it together. Be careful!





Third I disassembled the wool, terminals, screen and both mylar pieces. I was careful to note polarity on the mylar. Also note that one end of the terminal is permanently attached to the screen, the other to the small piece of mylar. Be careful not to break. (This is the point of the process that you originally saw a picture of.)




Fourth I lightly sanded (with a fine sand grit) all mylar and both sides of the screen. After 56 years they were well oxidized. Be VERY CAREFUL here. Tear the mylar and it is game over for this repair.



Fifth I checked the wool was still doing its job of holding the small mylar piece against the mylar square. It was. This is a common point of failure for early electrostats, as most were made with foam. The foam degrades, and no longer pushes the two mylar pieces together.

Sixth reassembly. Opposite of disassembly. Again, watch polarity on the mylar sheets.

Seventh reinstall in radio and test it.
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Old 12-01-2014, 04:32 PM   #579
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Installed a new light socket on MIL's living room lamp.

Then heard a pop in the garage - garage door spring snapped in half. After my last tussle with a garage door spring, I'm leaving this one to the pros.
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Old 12-01-2014, 09:52 PM   #580
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Happy to oblige.
...
Thanks. Looks like a fun project. I find these 'off the beaten path' speaker designs interesting. I still have a pair of speakers with the Heil 'air motion transformer' tweeters that sound pretty good (fairly cheap speakers, unimpressive woofer/mids/crossover, but still sound good). And my main speakers are Maggies (planar speakers similar to electrostatics, but all done electro-magnetically rather than with high voltage fields) - no bug zapping!

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