Here's the question: who should I call to repair this thing?

An authorized Whirlpool repair place, right?

I want to get a decent deal, not be overcharged.

It's a pretty new, fairly nice $1000 side-by-side, with icemaker and water
through the door, or I would just buy another one. It is no longer under any
sort of warranty that I know of.

Thanks for all and any help, you guys are great!

P.S. The AC is still working, yay!

"cybercat" wrote in message
om...
Here's the question: who should I call to repair this thing?

An authorized Whirlpool repair place, right?

I want to get a decent deal, not be overcharged.

It's a pretty new, fairly nice $1000 side-by-side, with icemaker and water
through the door, or I would just buy another one. It is no longer under
any sort of warranty that I know of.

Thanks for all and any help, you guys are great!

P.S. The AC is still working, yay!


Is it safe to assume you don't want any advice on how to fix it yourself.
That would naturally be the least expensive route costing only the part
price and maybe a generic repair manual (in most cases the parts list,
exploded view and schematic are in the owners manual or stuck to the back of
the unit or tucked into the bottom chassis or online at the Mfg website).
To bridge the few days it will take you to figure it out and acquire the
part, get a few blocks of dry ice and pack the freezer.

A first test might be to hotwire the compressor around the thermostat so
that it runs without the normal controls. If the freezer starts to cool
then it is not the cooling loop but one of the control mechanisms or
sensors. You would need a schematic to know how to do this.

If you want someone to repair it (and get it done ASAP) then you have to
have a little faith that the company you call is competent and honest. If
you want a specific recommendation for your actual location then try that
website www.angieslist.com or Google "contractor referals" for other
websites. My first questions to them would be "what does it cost to come
out and diagnose but not repair, do you do that? and "what if you can't fix
it today, I assume I pay only after it is finished?" and "do you charge
hourly, what is the rate?". Waiting for parts to come in can delay anybody
but you want a way to fire them if they just bumble around trial and error
without fixing it for days, you don't want to pay for that, you'll just want
to get another company at that point to finish the job right. (I threatened
that to some plumbers and that got some better supervisors on site quite
fast)

"pipedown" wrote

Is it safe to assume you don't want any advice on how to fix it yourself.
That would naturally be the least expensive route costing only the part
price and maybe a generic repair manual (in most cases the parts list,
exploded view and schematic are in the owners manual or stuck to the back
of the unit or tucked into the bottom chassis or online at the Mfg
website). To bridge the few days it will take you to figure it out and
acquire the part, get a few blocks of dry ice and pack the freezer.

We actually have an old one--really old, like, from 1950--we are using
now. I think your suggestion is a good one, but not for us. I would lose
so much money in the time I worked on the repair, it would not be
worth it. (I have my own business and am swamped.) The other thing
is ... I am a mechanical retard and so is my husband, %/

But thank you for taking the time to explain this.



If you want someone to repair it (and get it done ASAP) then you have to
have a little faith that the company you call is competent and honest. If
you want a specific recommendation for your actual location then try that
website www.angieslist.com or Google "contractor referals" for other
websites. My first questions to them would be "what does it cost to come
out and diagnose but not repair, do you do that? and "what if you can't
fix it today, I assume I pay only after it is finished?" and "do you
charge hourly, what is the rate?". Waiting for parts to come in can delay
anybody but you want a way to fire them if they just bumble around trial
and error without fixing it for days, you don't want to pay for that,
you'll just want to get another company at that point to finish the job
right. (I threatened that to some plumbers and that got some better
supervisors on site quite fast)

I will follow this advice, thanks so much!

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Most refrig, the "sealed system" is five year warranty. What I'd do, look
in
the phone book under refrigerators service, or appliance repair. Explain
you'd like prices for someone to come out. Tell em, if it's sealed system
problem, you'll pay the trip charge, and then call Whirlpool.

I've worked on enough refrigerators. It's easy enough to tell.


Thanks, good to know. I have to dig out the paperwork for the unit, anyway.

"cybercat" wrote in message
om...
Here's the question: who should I call to repair this thing?

An authorized Whirlpool repair place, right?

I want to get a decent deal, not be overcharged.

It's a pretty new, fairly nice $1000 side-by-side, with icemaker and water
through the door, or I would just buy another one. It is no longer under
any sort of warranty that I know of.

Thanks for all and any help, you guys are great!

P.S. The AC is still working, yay!


At 4 years, it is still a good unit that probably has 10 or 15 years of life
left. It may be something as simple as the evaporator fan or defrost time,
a $50 part plus the cost of a service call, maybe $100 to $150 more.
Cheaper than a new unit.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
news

"cybercat" wrote in message
om...
Here's the question: who should I call to repair this thing?

An authorized Whirlpool repair place, right?

I want to get a decent deal, not be overcharged.

It's a pretty new, fairly nice $1000 side-by-side, with icemaker and
water through the door, or I would just buy another one. It is no longer
under any sort of warranty that I know of.

Thanks for all and any help, you guys are great!

P.S. The AC is still working, yay!


At 4 years, it is still a good unit that probably has 10 or 15 years of
life left. It may be something as simple as the evaporator fan or defrost
time, a $50 part plus the cost of a service call, maybe $100 to $150 more.
Cheaper than a new unit.
Yes, this is what we were hoping. I'll have someone come out this Friday if
I can get anyone.

I found a family-owned appliance (and AC and heating) repair company that
has been in business here for over 20 years, called Wednesday, and they came
out today, 15 minutes earlier than expected!

The thing that was broken is a little plastic thing that looks like a fuse
or one of those adaptors you plug into a two-prong outlet to make it take
three prongs. He told me the name and I forgot what it is. He handed it to
me, and said, "shake it, and you'll hear that it's blown." It rattles,
almost like a blown lightbulb. (It is beige plastice with an orange dot on
it and says "made in Mexico" on one side.)

He said it was a cheap piece of junk on this particular model, and he
recommended a "start kit" that he used on all Whirlpools with this problem.
The start kit part number is RC0410. He charged $65 for the call, one
half-hour labor $40, and $73 for the start kit. $178 total!

What do you all think? I thought under $200 was pretty good. He said if it
had been the compressor it might have been more like $500+.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
I should have some time available. My basic trip charge is $60. Figure a
buck a mile from Rochester NY, calculated one way. Plus parts and labor.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


"cybercat" wrote in message
. com...

Yes, this is what we were hoping. I'll have someone come out this Friday
if
I can get anyone.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
"compressor start relay".

For me, it woulda been $60 for the trip charge (local to me). $50 labor
for
an hour labor, and $40 for a hard start kit. Sounds like I'm too cheep.
You
did OK. I looked up that part number on the net. Same start kit that I
use.


Thanks, Norman! It sure is nice to have the fridge working again!

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Who you calling Norman?

Slight brain malfunction. *blush*