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A quick note about Heat pumps

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xl15iLast week, I had my yearly service performed on my heat pump system. They come out and clean the coils, and check everything to make sure it’s working. This year, though, the tech said there was something questionable, in that the subcool was too high, and that there seemed to be too big a temperature change on each side of the liquid line filter drier (LLFD). So, they suggested a service tech come out, and take a look. Fine, though I wasn’t looking forward to the cost.

Knowing resources are out there, I posted on the hvac-talk forums here, and got some opinions before the tech came out. Alas, the useful bit I didn’t get until after the tech came out. The key bit being: you can’t accurately measure subcool and superheat when the heat pump is in heating mode. So if your maintenance people tell you the subheat or subcool are off, and it’s 40°F out, and your house is being heated, you can PROBABLY ignore them. Obviously if they’re WAY off, it could mean something, but by and large, they’re only relavant in cooling mode. That is all. =)

Add a valve to your fridge water!

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We bought our house 5 years ago now, and have replaced all the terrible floor surfaces except the kitchen. This was largely due to lack of options, and also the fact that we didn’t like the idea of cold, hard, tile. I personally think hardwood in the kitchen is a bad idea (dings, divits, water damage, etc), and carpet is obviously right out. When, about 3 months ago, my wife found modern “luxury” peel and stick, grout-able, tile (Lowes page) she suddenly got very interested in replacing the flooring. The current floor was an “orange” rock looking sheet vinyl from the late 70’s, and had since become impossible to clean.

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Motor coupling on Kenmore Series 80 washing machine

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Not going to go very far with this post, since there is a plethora of info out there about doing this job, but I will take the time to point out some issues, and point to resources.

This PDF is probably the best info I could point to, as everything else I found suggested turning the washing machine on it’s side/back, and doing the work from the bottom. But, removing the cowling from the machine was quick, easy, and make the whole job MUCH easier than tipping it over.

My main tips for all this are:

  1. Sears Parts centers should all have this part in stock. It’s $18. It’s well worth it to pick one up and do the repair yourself using the above PDF as a guide
  2. When the motor coupling breaks, you’ll often get a heck of a racket when it’s running. BUT! The pump to drain the water usually still runs (since it’s attached directly to the motor, and not the tub transmission). If I’d realized this, I could have saved myself a lot of work by using an aquarium pump to get the water out

All and all, it’s an easy fix. It took me less than 45 minutes to replace the part, and about 15 minutes to drive to and from Sears. So, 1 hour of work, and $18 in parts. Bet a repair man would have charged AT LEAST $100. And, you’ll probably teach yourself something about how the washing machine works in the process. =)