Recent content by viewsaver

OCD can be a bee-otch when people leave stickers on an appliance for 40 years. Drives me NUTS. One of my pet peeves is the people that leave the clear plastic film on keypads (microwave, etc.) for years and it's half peeling and all greasy and nasty. Any time I see something like that I...

I am also interested in the latest models as my current unit is a 23 year old Maytag middle of the line mechanical timer model. It has been fed softened water its whole life so the interior looks like new aside from the racks which are starting to rust out. It works perfectly still but new...

Range hoods should vent outside It seemed like every house had a vent hood that actually vented OUTSIDE when I was young (70's/80's) whether the stove was electric or gas. The later 80's is when I remember seeing my first non-vented range hood and I thought it was dumber than a screen door on...

I have a Sharp that I use daily for oatmeal in the morning plus many other cooking/heating tasks. I knew it was getting old but I didn't realize HOW old until I looked at the back - 1994! There were a few years where it was a backup and not used but other than that it's been a daily driver...

Hi, David. All OEM compressors come pre-filled with oil, charged with slight pressure of dry nitrogen and then plugged (at least the ones we use which do indeed come in bulk by the pallet). The manufacturers give a particular order to remove the plugs to minimize/avoid having the residual...

Linseed oil is what makes traditional paint dry Linseed (or flax) oil is pretty darn useful, though! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil I guess it depends on what "version" of the oil is being used. Chris

Many, MANY old 2-cylinder John Deere tractors were built that ran on kerosene. They used a small tank of gasoline for starting and then were switched over to kerosene once they were warm. Kerosene does not vaporize nearly as well as gasoline so the heat of the engine was required...

My parents built a house in the early 80's and installed a Sub-Zero fridge/freezer. It required repair 2 or 3 times if I recall within just a few years. I was pretty young at the time but I knew it was an expensive appliance and thought it was a pretty big P.O.S. I told my dad that they...

Embraco and Danfoss Both Danfoss and Embraco (Now called Nidec Global Appliance) make excellent small compressors. Many are made in Slovakia. Quality issues are nil. Tecumseh makes most of their small compressors in Brazil and they, too, are also excellent but they are not as prevalent in...

Ortho does make a Weed-B-Gone version for oxalis, wild violet, clover and other hard-to-kill weeds. I chase plenty of these weeds along with a whole host of others. I find the Weed-b-Gone products (as well as their crabgrass preventer) are superior to any "weed-n-feed" product and better than...

Hard water can be an issue I had a friend with a higher end dishwasher (sorry, I cannot remember the brand at the moment but it was a "domestic" unit) but it was not washing well at all. Turns out the water softener had either been out of salt or malfunctioning for a while so the pump screen...

Philips Mastercolor CMH Philips manufactures a 35/39 watt ceramic metal halide lamp that is available in 3000K color temperature with a CRI of 90 and outputs almost 3400 lumens or over 87 lumens per watt! Available in both tubular bi-pin base and PAR style lamps. I've run these lamps in old...

kb0nes - I've not been active for years now due to the absolute proliferation of RFI from just about everything in the home. LED and CFL lamps, every cheap chinesium switching power supply, touch lamps, etc. etc. It leaks out of the houses on the wires to the pole and turns the entire...

I don't even want to know how much that 36" Sony weighs. I had a friend with one but I do not believe it was quite that large, maybe 30" or 32"? Regardless, it was HEAVY! I was amazed the entertainment center didn't collapse...

Please find someone with a volt/ohm meter and have them troubleshoot the unit's wiring. Either a wire has rubbed through and is shorting out, or the compressor windings have faulted to ground. It shouldn't be making ANY crackling noises at any time and it's likely not the fault of the wiring to...