[homeclinic] Homeclinic'ers, Here's Your DRSNews!

From: Dave Harnish <drs@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: homeclinic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 20:39:56 -0600
The DRSNews
October 2004
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Published by Dave?s Repair Service, All Rights Reserved 

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Hi Homeclinic'ers!
 
In this issue:
 
1) Why There's a Pair of Nylons in My Toolbox 
2) Are Your Sockets Thrown in a Box? Chain 'em! 
3) Solving Your Refrigerator's Drain Problems 

(I'm still looking for testimonials to post on my 
website, and I'll BRIBE you for yours! <grin> Visit: 
www.DavesRepair.com/testimonial_invit.htm )

1)  OK, I'd better explain this one pretty fast! Whenever 
I hear the complaint 'My washer's tearing clothes', I make 
sure I take some nylon hosiery along on the job. 

Rubbing an old pair of nylons or pantyhose around the 
inside of the washer tub, including the agitator and its edges,  
is a great way to find the sharp spot that's causing damage. 
You'll feel the hosiery catch on whatever's causing the 
problem. It's often a burr or sharp spot on the agitator. It 
doesn't take much of a burr to catch knits. 

I've carried old hosiery in my toolbox for years, and 
although they can raise a few eyebrows now and then, they 
really are a handy tool (Honest, Dear!).

2) Here's a really neat tip for keeping all those sockets 
organized, especially now that we have to keep several 
sets of both standard and metric ones on hand without 
getting them too mixed up. 

This tip comes to us from the HandyMan Club, which has 
been a nice resource for me. I've been a club member for 
about 4 years now, and get a lot of benefits from my 
membership. I quote from a recent issue of the club's 
magazine, called 'Handy': 

'To keep sockets accessible and organized, Club member 
Charles D. of Waltham, Mass., stores them on chains. He 
strings each set, from smallest to largest, on a piece of 
beaded chain (typically used for light-fixture pulls). 

When he needs a specific type and size of socket, he rotates 
the chain connector to that socket, opens the chain, and 
removes the socket. Hardware stores sell beaded chain by 
the foot, so you can customize the loop size for any socket set.' 
- The Handy Monthly, Sept 04 ( www.handymanclub.com ) 

I have a box of 'backup' sockets, both English and metric, 
that I use only occasionally, and this little trick makes it a 
LOT easier to find the particular one I'm after - fast! 
Thanks, Charles!

Btw, if you haven't checked out Joe Robson's great 
'plain English' website for computer 'newbies' yet, 
you're in for a treat! (Even if you've been around 
computers for a long time like I have, you'll learn a lot 
from Joe. I pickup a new tip or two every time I visit!): 
The Newbieclub
  
3)  Here's a little trick I've used for about 20 years now, 
and it's saved countless return trips on refrigerator jobs. 

One of the most common problems I see with frost-free 
refrigerators is drain freeze up. This is usually caused by 
the defrost drain clogging, then freezing. On older units, it 
can also happen when the insulation around the drain gets 
'waterlogged' - as it usually does over the years - and no 
longer keeps the drain above freezing temperatures.

The first symptom, at least in top-mounts, is water under 
the crisper drawers, on the floor of the refrigerator section. 
(In side-bys it'll appear as a slab of ice on the freezer floor).

Before I found this little trick, this was a frustrating problem 
that was hard to keep from recurring. 

Now I keep a handful of 'drain heat exchangers' in the truck, 
and use a dozen or two most summers, when humidity is 
highest and refrig. drains have to handle the most water. 

These are easy to make. Just cut a piece of #12 copper wire 
(strip from regular 12-2WG household wiring 'Romex') about 
6 inches long and bend it around a 1/4 inch round rod. A 
screwdriver shaft works well for this, but any 1/4 inch dia. 
piece of metal will do. 

Now when your refrig drain clogs and you find the trough 
under the evaporator full of ice, here's what you do. Clear the 
ice, open the drain (use hot water in your one gallon pressure 
sprayer and the wet-vac - you DO read the DRSNews back 
issues, Don't You? Hmmm?), and hang this little piece of 
copper on the defrost heater, so it extends down the drain. On 
most units, this is a black rod under the evaporator coil. Some 
use a radiant heater inside a glass tube, with which you can 
use this method, but you must carefully bend the hook on your 
copper wire to the diameter of the glass, being sure it puts no 
pressure on the glass. 

This heater is responsible for melting all that frost that we 
don't have to deal with since the advent of Frost-free units, 
and it glows a dull red during the defrost cycle, so there's 
plenty of excess heat for our purpose.

Anyway, since copper's such a good conductor of heat, some 
of the defrost heater's energy will transfer down the copper wire, 
into the drain, and keep it open. What I like to call 'stupidly 
simple', this uses no extra electricity and works very well!

One precaution: hang this piece of copper *loosely* over the 
defrost heater. Don't squeeze or crimp it on, or you risk 
damaging the heater. 

***
Thanks again, Homeclinic'ers, for inviting me into your inbox. 

And feel free to invite others to subscribe. They can just 
email me with ?Subscribe DRSN? in the email subject line, 
or sign up on the website www.DavesRepair.com  

Also, if you have any topics you?d like to see discussed here 
or covered in an online article, let me know and I?ll do my 
best to oblige. And don't forget those testimonials! Thanks 
to those of you who've already sent yours in! I'm posting 
them just as fast as I can! You guys are great! 

May God richly bless you & yours!

Sincerely,
 
Dave Harnish
Dave?s Repair Service 
New Albany, PA
drs@xxxxxxxxxx
www.DavesRepair.com
(570) 363-2404

Isaiah 40:31

The Financial Freedom Society - Our Name Says it All!
http://www.FFSI.com/26556 ;

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http://www.stores.ebay.com/DavesRepairService

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[homeclinic] Homeclinic'ers, Here's Your DRSNews!

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