Need Suggestions for Repair/Replacement of Washing Machine

Posted by Mike on October 7, 2006, 9:23 am

Hi, when I bought my house three years ago there was a top loading Kenmore
Fabric Ultra Care I washing machine in the basement.
It worked OK but not great. Last night I put a load of washing in but left
the lid open. a hour and a half or so later I went to remove the
clothes from the washer and smelled an electrical burning smell and the
found the washer w/ the tub full of water. The agitator works
but the tub won't spin. I believe there is a safety switch that blocks the
tub from spinning when the lid is open. It probably burned out a switch
due to the lid being left open.

Question:

I wonder if it's worth while calling Sears too repair the machine or should
I buy another top loading washing machine. After reading the reviews
in Consumer Reports I don't want to buy a front loading machine. Where else
can I find recommendations for washing machines?
I failed to mention I had the original documentation for the machine but
misplaced it. Still might find it though.

Should I post this message in another group?

Thanks,

Mike

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on October 7, 2006, 9:39 am

> Question:
> I wonder if it's worth while calling Sears too repair the machine or
> should I buy another top loading washing machine. After reading the
> reviews
> in Consumer Reports I don't want to buy a front loading machine. Where
> else can I find recommendations for washing machines?
> I failed to mention I had the original documentation for the machine but
> misplaced it. Still might find it though.

It is NEVER worth calling Sears to fix anything. They are very high priced
and have a reputation for mediocre service at best. Visit you local
appliance dealer. They sell at very good prices these days because they
belong to co-operatives with good buying power. Most will only handle brands
they are comfortable with from a quality POV because they don't want the
headaches. I'd buy Amana, Whirlpool, Maytag. I'd avoid Frigidaire (and
any of their brands), GE, Hotpoint.

Since you wee never happy with the way it washed, why dump $150 to make it
last a little longer?

Posted by Mike on October 7, 2006, 9:53 am

>> Question:
>> I wonder if it's worth while calling Sears too repair the machine or
>> should I buy another top loading washing machine. After reading the
>> reviews
>> in Consumer Reports I don't want to buy a front loading machine. Where
>> else can I find recommendations for washing machines?
>> I failed to mention I had the original documentation for the machine but
>> misplaced it. Still might find it though.

> It is NEVER worth calling Sears to fix anything. They are very high
> priced and have a reputation for mediocre service at best. Visit you
> local appliance dealer. They sell at very good prices these days because
> they belong to co-operatives with good buying power. Most will only handle
> brands they are comfortable with from a quality POV because they don't
> want the headaches. I'd buy Amana, Whirlpool, Maytag. I'd avoid
> Frigidaire (and any of their brands), GE, Hotpoint.
> Since you wee never happy with the way it washed, why dump $150 to make it
> last a little longer?

It's got a corkscrew agitator which seems to be hard on clothes that doesn;t
clean very well unless I use the heavy duty cycle.
I don't know how well new one clean compared to the one I have.

Mike

Posted by Mikepier on October 7, 2006, 9:54 am

I believe there is a safety switch that blocks the

> tub from spinning when the lid is open. It probably burned out a switch
> due to the lid being left open.

I doubt it. That switch just opens up the circuit, thus no electricity
will flow.
What could have happened ( and this happened to me) is that during the
agitation, the motor somehow got stuck or ceased, overheated and
tripped its internal thermal breaker. After a few minutes cooling off
the breaker will reset. This happened to me once and has not happened
since. I don't know what caused it.
If you want try jumping out the lid switch to see if it works again.

Posted by Mike on October 7, 2006, 10:06 am

> I doubt it. That switch just opens up the circuit, thus no electricity
> will flow.
> What could have happened ( and this happened to me) is that during the
> agitation, the motor somehow got stuck or ceased, overheated and
> tripped its internal thermal breaker. After a few minutes cooling off
> the breaker will reset. This happened to me once and has not happened
> since. I don't know what caused it.
> If you want try jumping out the lid switch to see if it works again.

I tried it again this morning but the same thing - the agitator works but
the tub doesn't spin in spin cycle and a loud kind of grinding noise
emits from the machine. Sure wish I could locate that documentation.

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