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[Dave's Repair Service <drs@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The DRS News

   June - July 2002

Dear Friends,

Welcome to your current issue of the DRSNews!
This eNewsletter is published monthly, and sent ONLY by request. 
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To unsubscribe please see the instructions at the end of this message.

I sincerely hope these notes will be of value to you by supplying useful 
appliance information, DIY tips, an occasional encouraging word, and 
maybe even a smile from time to time.  I've wanted to do something like 
this for our friends for many years, and am thrilled to finally have the 
opportunity!  Thanks for subscribing!  
    - Dave Harnish, Dave's Repair Service, New Albany, PA

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In this issue:

1)  Vaseline - Your Refrigerator Door Seal's Best Friend
2)  Room Air Conditioner Sizing - a Quick Primer
3)  Old Freezers and Child Entrapment - Still an Issue
4)  A Nifty Calling Card Shortcut 
     (BTW, anyone else still use the word "nifty"?)

1)  Here's a trick that will prevent your ever having to replace either of 
your refrigerator's door seals.  It becomes even more valuable if you own 
one of the newest models whose seals are no longer attached with 
screws, but "glued" on. Once per year - make it a part of Spring 
housecleaning? - wipe down the working surfaces of the seals with a 
damp cloth, and dry.  Then apply a thin film of Petroleum Jelly to the HINGE 
side surface of both seals. (ONLY to the hinge side working surface that 
contacts the cabinet, NOT the whole seal!).  This allows the sliding face 
of the seal to, well, slide, across the cabinet face, and prevent its twisting 
and tearing, the #1 cause of failure.

There was a time when new refrigerators, at least Frigidaires, arrived 
from the factory with this already done, but that was back in the late 70's 
so I'm dating myself and we'll drop that subject...

2)  Here in the mountains we've never had too much need for air 
conditioning, but more and more folks around here are buying them for the 
2 or 3 weeks we do, and I regularly see the same mistake: under-sizing! 
This not only causes the little units to run themselves to death, but can 
cause other problems, like excessive dehumidification and excessive utility
 bills.  Here's a "rule of thumb" chart for calculating how many BTU's of  
"cooling capacity" you need for your room's area (length x width, for 
those of you on Hatch Hill  <grin>):

Sq Ft                     Approx BTUh capacity required

100                                   3500-4500
200                                   5000-5500
300                                   6500-7000
400                                   7500-8000
500                                   8500-9500
600                                   9500-10.5k
700                                   11k-12k
800                                   12k-13k
900                                   13k-14k
1000                                  14k-15k
1500                                  19k-21k
1800                                  22k-24k
2000                                  23k-25.5k

(These figures assume an occupied space above the ceiling; add about 
1/2 size if the ceiling is insulated under an attic, and add a full size if the 
ceiling is non-insulated. Also, add at least one size if the cooled area 
includes a kitchen)

3)  Our thanks to AHAM for the following: 
Up to 9 million chest freezers were manufactured between 1945 and 1970
 before voluntary safety standards went into effect allowing freezers to 
be opened from the inside. Although some manufacturers had freezers 
that were in compliance prior to the 1970 standards, most old chest 
freezers have latches that can trap a child. Children playing "hide-and-
seek" have found the non-working freezers a deadly place to hide. When 
the lid closes, children can become trapped inside and suffocate - usually 
in less than ten minutes. 

Consumers should properly dispose of these non-working freezers 
immediately or disable the latch if disposal is impossible. AHAM has set up 
a special toll-free number (800) 267-3138 from which consumers will be 
sent detailed information on identifying the affected units and how to 
dispose of them or disable the latch. Even if a consumer has a pre-1970 
chest freezer that is working, they should still call the toll-free number to 
get information on what to do when the freezer is no longer working. 
Consumers also can receive information at: 
http://www.aham.org/freezer_safety.htm

Tragically, 27 children died from suffocation between 1980 and 1999 after 
becoming trapped in the freezers. The deaths occurred in non-working 
freezers stored outside, in basements or garages. Victims ranged in age 
from two to fourteen. In many cases, more than one child suffocated 
inside the freezer. 

The freezers that are part of this program were made before 1970 by 
more than 40 manufacturers, a number of whom do not exist today. 
Consumers can determine if their chest freezer poses a hazard by trying 
to open the freezer without using the handle. If the freezer can be opened
by pulling up on sides of the lid, it is not a hazard. If the lid only opens by 
using the handle, it needs to be properly disposed of or disabled. 

"Many of these old freezers are still sitting in people's basements or 
abandoned in backyards," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "This is an 
innovative cooperative effort that helps get safety information to 
consumers and saves lives."

"We are hopeful this partnership between manufacturers and the 
government will help save children's lives. We urge all consumers with an 
affected freezer to dispose of the unit as soon as possible," said Joseph 
M. McGuire, president of AHAM. 

4) Ok, this is a little off-subject, but it's one of those little things that 
we like 
so much I just have to tell you about it. If you use a calling card a lot, as 
we do (ours is 3.7 cents/minute anytime, one of the great benefits from 
Retire Quickly Corp.), here's a tip that can save your fingers as well as 
your patience.  If your phone has memory-dial, program the card's toll free 
access# into one of the memory buttons.  Then program the pin# into 
another button, and using the card will be a lot easier, because you'll only 
have to punch 2 buttons instead of all those you would normally use.  It 
may not seem like much, but we use our card all the time, and dialing some 
30 digits only to hear a busy signal really used to get OLD!

Also, I'll bet there are other geeky guys out there who've thought of using 
a small DTMF tone generator that could be programmed and carried when 
on the road to use this method from any tt phone... (How about it - any 
techies out there know of a source for one - cheap?)

Well, that's about it for this month.  Thanks once again for enduring this 
rambling!  Don't forget to send me your suggestions for topics you'd like to 
see addressed here.

God bless you,

Dave Harnish 
Dave's Repair Service
drs@xxxxxxxxxx
(570)-363-2404

"History is crowded with men who would be God, 
but only one God who would be Man."  Jn 1:14

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