Tony Tool substitute?

One of my customers who rented the Tony Tool offered a suggestion for the PVC knock out plug. He smashed his fingers using the PVC knock out plug because it is too short for his liking. It turns out he made a new front bearing knockout tool using 1 1/2 pipe and fitting. He even sent the contraption back with the tony tool kit so I took a photo of it compared to the Tony Tool knock out plug. 

It looks like it has about 2 more inches to work with. Who says bigger isn't better? I was surprised because this is the first complaint I've received for this tool kit. Everyone else praised the tool kit and how much time it saved them. 

If your Maytag Neptune is starting to squeal while in high speed spin I would recommend replacing your bearings as soon as you can. You want to catch them before they separate which makes the bearings much more difficult to get out because the Tony Tool relies on the inner bearing race to pull it out. 

To purchase the Neptune bearings, seal kit and Tony Tool rental point your browser to http://www.neptunebearing.com/. 

If you have not replaced your door latch wax motor yet you need to check out http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ to see if your Neptune is affected by this defective part that will run $450.00 to repair if you bother the lonely ole' Neptune repair guy!

Until next time...

steve jobs heart attack?

I heard this was not true... Where do these reports come from? Anyway.... If you own (or know of anyone who owns) a Maytag Neptune front load washer please check out www.neptunewaxmotor.com for important reliability information that could cost you $450.00 to repair. It involves the defective 12002535 door latch wax motor that can be replaced and prevent the machine control board failure. 

See www.neptunebearing.com for information that could save you $900 when your Neptune bearing starts to fail. There is even a effort and time saving tool kit you can rent to reduce the bearing replacement time considerably. When your machine sounds like a jet taking off in spin cycle then it is time to replace the bearings and 12002022 seal kit.

Until next time...

team sarah - Does anyone in Team Sarah own a Maytag Neptune?

Does anyone know if anyone in team Sarah owns a Maytag Nepune front load washer? If so, please tell them to stop by http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ for important information regarding the reliability of their Neptune.

Until next time...

Loretta's MAH4000 is at it again...

Well, it looks like Loretta's Neptune is at it again because she says I need to change her bearings soon since it is sounding like a jet taking off in spin cycle! 

I plan to change her Neptune bearings next weekend and I would like to make a video of the whole process since Tony hacked his video down to 5 minutes and cut out the disassembly and seal kit installation. You can see the 5 minute Tony Tool video at http://www.neptunebearing.com/... 

While I'm in there I will replace her stinkin' moldy door boot as well... I'll be sure to video that process as well for all of you Neptuners! 

In case you don't know who Loretta is she originally had the famous Neptune no spin problem three years ago due to the door latch wax motor failing. Her R11 and Q6 on the machine control board were toast! I replaced them and the 12002535 wax motor and her Neptune came back to life. I then developed the R11 & Q6 repair kit and opened up http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ site and have sold over 2,500 repair kits since! 

How many Neptunes are still out there waiting to fail? Just think how much money I have saved Neptuners? Remember, this repair runs $450 if you have someone from an appliance repair center repair your machine... The kits run $35 (First class mail) $450 - $35= $415 * 2,500 = $1,037,500! That's over 1 million dollars I have saved you Neptuners! Wow! Thank You!!! Loretta for bringing your Neptune no spin problem to me! 

Who would have thought a decent side business could be started from a front loader failure? Bring me your Neptune problems, too!

Until next time...

Maytag Neptune MAH4000 door lock all the time

Hi Neptuners, Here is another blog entry I think you will find interesting. This issue is Neptune owner created after changing the defective door latch wax motor. 

"However, after installing the door latch wax motor, my washer's door locked light is on all the time and the door is locked even when I'm not washing anything. Could you tell me what I've done wrong when installing the wax motor? " 

Response: "It's possible that you did not engage the tip of the wax motor in the space provided on the plunger assembly. If you snapped the wax motor in ahead of the plunger, the lock light switch will remain energized. The tip of the wax motor fits about 1/8" into the end of the plunger or the door will remain locked at all times... even if you unplug Neptune." 

I've had a few customers do this when installing the new 12002535 wax motor. If you do this, you will need to unlock door by removing the dispenser bezel's (4) philips screws and removing bezel. There should be a colored pull cord that when you pull it it will unlock the door. 

This Maytag Neptune tip was brought to you by http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/. For all of your Neptune replacement part needs please visit our website.

Until next time...

Sarah Palin question

Hi Neptuners,

I wonder if Sarah Palin has a Maytag Neptune front loader? If so, please tell her to stop by www.neptunewaxmotor.com for important information regarding the reliability of her neptune.

Ride the "Rock 'n Roll Train"

Hi Neptuners! While you are repairing your Maytag Neptune maybe you would want to listen to some rock music? AC/DC has a new album coming out October called 'black Ice'. 

It's been 8 years or so since they recorded new stuff... You can hear the new "Rock 'n Roll Train" track at www.acdc.com. 

It plays when you go to the website. I like it ;>) and look forward to hearing the rest! 

Black Ice has 15 tracks! I will have to bring my wife out when they have the Black Ice tour... We enjoyed the Stiff Upper Lip tour in Cleveland and in Columbus, Ohio a while back. 

Go Brian, Angus and the boys! 

For all of your Maytag Neptune needs see www.neptunewaxmotor.com or www.neptunebearing.com.

Until next time...

Tony Tool knock out plug update

I wanted to update you DIY Neptuners on the Tony Tool kit used for removing and installing the Maytag Neptune bearings. The Tony Tool knock out plugs have been taking a royal beating. 

I think you folks are taking out your Maytag frustrations on the knock out plugs! In case you don't know... They are used for knocking out the front bearing on the Neptune. 

A few of the knock out plugs in my fleet have cracked on the lip. See picture above... Don't worry though... I followed up with Tony and he said the knock out plug will still work without the lip. 

 For more info on renting the Tony Tool see www.neptunebearing.com.

Until next time...

Is the Tony Tool rental available in Canada?

Since I started renting the revolutionary Maytag Neptune bearing replacement tool, the Tony Tool, I have received a number of requests to ship the Tony Tool kit to Canada. 

Presently, I only offer the tool kit rental to the United States since the tool kit would have to pass customs and a duty would have to be paid for the $425 value both ways? 

Does Canada have an duty exemption process for tools crossing the border that will be returned? The other issue is the transit time. It would take at least a week to get there which ties up the tool too long compared to the 2 - 3 days required with the Priority Mail here in the states. 

It might be more time / cost effective for someone in Canada to offer the Tony Tool for rent? If you would like more information on the Tony Tool, see www.neptunebearing.com.

Until next time...

Maytag MAH3000AWW MAH4000AWW Neptune Washer Does Not Spin

Here is another blog question regarding the Maytag Neptune no spin failure taken from the appliance junk site... 

"This Maytag MAH3000AWW Neptune washer would not spin. During the spin cycle the door lock light would come on and the main motor would run, but the washer just would not take off and spin. This is often a simple and easy repair, but not cheap. You can help save yourself some money by doing the repair yourself. The first thing you will want to do is disconnect the power to the washer. Simply unplug the power cord. Next remove the three screws on top of the control counsel. With the three screws removed you will be able to tip the control panel forward and look at the electronic control board behind the timer. Most often then not the resistor marked R-11 is burnt up. If this is the case you will need to replace the machine control board. The reason the R-11 resistor burnt up is because the wax motor in the door lock is also bad, so you will need to replace it too. This same “No Spin” problem also happens with the MAH4000 series Maytag Neptune washers." 

Here is my response: If you replace only the R11 and not the Q6 triac then R11 will smoke again and you can cause further damage to the control board. The Q6 triac must be replaced when R11 burns! The http://www.appliancejunk.com/ forum does not know this because they are not experts on the Maytag Neptunes. 

I also don't like how parts suppliers hide the real Maytag part numbers so you can't compare prices... This is typically deceptive marketing and usually indicates their prices are inflated. You can get the R11 and Q6 repair kit along with the wax motor at http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/. If after you replace the R11 and Q6 and the machine will not fill with water then the control board will have to be replaced.

Here are some control board numbers: MAH3000 serial number starting with (10 to 16) - 12001725 MAH3000 serial number starting with (17 and up) - 22002988 MAH4000 - 22002989 MAH5500AWW - 22002989 

If you have a 2000 stacker series please contact me and I can look up your control board part number.

Don't forget that the older MAH3000's have two more wax motors in the dispenser area that will eventually fail, too. If your serial number starts with (26) then you should be OK since Maytag incorporated the bleach and softener functions into the water valve assembly.

Until next time...

The International Space Station

Well, we've all heard about the International Space Station or ISS. 

Did you know that the ISS travels around 17,200 miles an hour? 

Wow, I could get to work really quick at that speed! You can now look up tracking info on the Internet to see where the ISS happens to be over the Earth or even look for the next time you can see the ISS in the sky over your city... 

Here is the NASA link: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ 

I wonder if the ISS has a Maytag Neptune front loader on board? If so, they better order a replacement 12002535 wax motor for the door latch from www.neptunewaxmotor.com.

Until next time...

Taken from another Blogspot blog

I did not see a comment button on your blog Jeanne so I thought I would respond to your blog via my Maytag Neptune Washer blog. 

"For the past 11 years, I've had a front loading clothes washer. I had a first generation Maytag Neptune until last week. Buying a new washer was not a planned household expense, but the old one had recently gotten REALLY LOUD, which meant it was starting to fail. 

I was warned by a repair person that it would start to leak soon because a bearing needed to be replaced. After finding out that it would be $900 to repair it, it was apparent that it was time for a new washer. I replaced it with a Frigidaire Affinity. The reason I'm writing about this, is to share with anyone with a top loading washer, how little water a front loader uses, how gentle it is on what you're washing, and how much cleaner everything gets.

 

A top loader can use up to 40 gallons per cycle, but a front loader uses 7-10 gallons per cycle. An added plus with my new washer is that it sucks the water out of everything you washed so well, that it is now taking half the time to dry each load. It used to take 40-60 minutes in the dryer, per load, but now, using the same setting on the dryer, it takes about 20 minutes. Nice! Not only does my front loading clothes washers help with a lower water bill, an unplanned benefit will also be a lower natural gas bill due to less dryer use. Posted by Jeanne Williamson on Friday, August 08, 2008 Labels: art supplies, something to think about " 

Hi Jeanne Williamson... You could have fixed your Maytag Neptune for about $85.00. In addition, you can get the new bearing and seal kit from www.neptunebearing.com. They even rent the revolutionary Neptune Bearing Tool Kit which makes the bearing replacement about a hour or so job! 

Don't forget to replace your door latch wax motor if you have a MAH3000, MAH4000, MAH5500A or a 2000 stacker series Neptune or your control board will be damaged. See www.neptunewaxmotor.com for details A.S.A.P.! Sorry you purchased a new machine at a great expense... 

Please tell all of your relatives, family and friends about the Neptune bearing kit and the door latch wax motor information.

Until next time

Neptune Bearing Tool Anouncement

I wanted to let all you Neptuners know that I just acquired another revolutionary Tony Tool to rent out.

This brings my fleet to six Tony Tools. By knowing this information when your Maytag Neptune bearings start squealing in spin cycle simply check out www.neptunebearing.com for the bearings, seal kit and the Neptune Bearing Tool Kit rental. 

In the end, you will save a lot of money by not replacing your Neptune's expensive outer tub and even labor because the tool helps you complete the bearing replacement in about an hour or so! 

A service tech will quote you between $900 and $1100 to replace your outer tub just because the seal and bearings are shot! Don't forget to change your door latch wax motor, part 12002535, if you have the MAH3000, MAH4000, MAH5500A or the 2000 stacker Neptune before your control board is damaged. 

Every Neptune that shipped with the original wax motor will fail... See www.neptunewaxmotor.com for details.

Until next time...

UPS Tracking Number 7059187205

Warning! If you get an email with the 'UPS Tracking Number 7059187205" in the subject line from 'UPS' don't open it. 

I received this email after our IT guy notified us of it. I sent this email to my home email address and my McAfee virus software did detect it. 

Here is what McAfee reported to me: ****************** McAfee VirusScan******************************* Alert generated at: Monday, July 21, 2008 5:03:34 PM ****************************************************************************** 

McAfee VirusScan has detected a potential threat in this e-mailsent by "Jeff Hartman" The following actions were attempted on each suspect part: The attachment "ups_invoice.zip" is infected with one or more Trojans: Generic Downloader.ab. This attachment has been quarantined. 

So, when receiving emails you don't expect... Don't open them especially if it is a .zip or .exe type file.

These are tricks folks play to download bad software on your computer such as trojans and viruses. 

Thank goodness the Maytag Neptune front loader is not attached to the Internet... Although, I've seen the web enabled frigerator that connects to the Internet so I imagine it is only a matter of time before everything is connected. 

So when your Maytag Neptune gets a virus and won't wash your clothes please see my http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ or http://www.neptunebearing.com/ sites for a cure.

Until next time...

Neptune Control Board resister R43 bad

Q. This is a Maytag washer/dryer stack. 

I press the washer start button. The door lock goes on, the machine makes filling noise, then a minute later it stops. The door lock light remains on. I've tried starting just the rinse/spin cycle, and the same results. 

The repair guy made a service call and reported the machine suffered a power surge that fried the control board. I think his diagnoses is suspect since he did not look at the control board. After he left, I pulled the main control board and found R43 fried. I also found NO evidence of arching or wire damage on the other parts of the washer. 

I've read other posts about Neptune control board resister failures and their causes. I did not see any information on R43. The wire diagram indicates that the "end of cycle signal" inputs to R43. I'm going to install a new control board, but worry it will again fail. Thanks for your help. 

A: Here was my response: Replace door latch wax motor 12002535 too.  When replacing the Maytag Neptune Machine control boards on the stackers, MAH3000, MAH4000 and MAH5500A Neptunes make sure that you have the latest door latch wax motor. It should have the black actuator pin. The defective ones have the brownish actuator pin (matching the wax motor body color). 

When the wax motor fails it will the overheat Q6 triac. This will cause Q6 to short out which applies 120 VAC to the center lead (gate) of triac which burns R11. R43 can also burn when the wax motor fails. It is an 18K, 1/4 watt, 5% carbon type resistor. 

See MAYTAG NEPTUNE WASHER R11 Q6 REPAIR KIT + 12002535 WAX MOTOR for disassembly pictures and a video on replacing the R11 and Q6. 

If you have R11 burnt, STOP! don't keep trying to start machine or you can further damage control board or even damage the motor control board located near the floor. You will want to cut out R11 and Q6, making sure that no Q6 pins can touch to prevent any further damage. 

After Q6 and R11 are clipped out you can try to start machine. Everything should work except the door will not lock and you won't have the spin cycle. If the water flows correctly, and the timer works normally then your board should be repairable with the Q6 and R11 repair kit offered on the mentioned site above. 

If the water does not flow then your control board suffered more damage and will need to be replaced and these may be available on same site as well.

Until next time...

A blast from the 80's Tech Revisited

Wow, I just took a trip back into the 80's... What a ride those years were with advancing technology? See http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/80s-tech4.htm to see for yourself. I was in high school when a lot of this technology was emerging and I found it to be fascinating... and expensive at first. 

They failed to mention my first computer, the Sinclair ZX81. It was a kit I purchased for $99 and built that I learned 'Basic' programming on. The Sinclair basic was 'token' based, which is a little different than the regular basic and it was designed to save memory. When you only have 4K bytes (before the 16K ram pack) you had to use memory sparingly. 

I wonder if the Maytag Neptune front loader will make it into the 90's Tech Revisited article? 

Speaking of Neptunes, if your Maytag Neptune needs TLC then see www.neptunewaxmotor.com and www.neptunebearing.com for repair information, parts, moral support, etc.

Until next time...

Learn how to repair your Maytag Neptune front loader too!

Here is an email I received today: 

"Hey, Jeffrey- Got the package Thursday, repaired and installed the board on Friday, works likes it never was broken. Thanks again for making this information, remedy, and yourself so accessible. People like you don't just make the world go 'round, they make its washers go 'round, too. Very best regards and a million thanks, Chris V. P.S. You might be hearing from me in the near future about the bearing kit..."

Chris just finished up repairing his Maytag Neptune front loader with my R11 & Q6 + 12002535 wax motor repair kit. His Neptune failed due to the defective door latch wax motor (Maytag part number 12002535). Every Neptune that shipped with a door latch wax motor will fail and blow the machine control board. 

See www.neptunewaxmotor.com to see if your Neptune will fail. You can also repair your Neptune bearings, too, thanks to my Neptune bearing and seal kit. Plus I offer the Neptune Bearing Tool Kit for rent to really save you time. See www.neptunebearing.com for details and you can watch the free video on how to change your bearings.

Until next time...

I'm ready to explode!

I wanted to post to my Neptune blog and finish up some last minute tasks and then I will turn off my computer. I promise… 

I usually don’t find myself taking a break because I have so much to do. It seems there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. When you wear the sales, purchasing, shipping, tech support hats for a small company (plus I also have a 40 hour full time manufacturing Engineering position during the day, spouse, 3 children, 3 ,6 and 19 years old) the time seems to fly by and everything does not get completed. 

Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy running my Maytag Neptune parts company. People often ask me how did you get involved with the Neptune washer? Here's my confession... Actually, I kinda accidentally fell into it when a co-worker had a problem. 

Her innocent Neptune failed to spin the clothes and she had a repairman come over to look at her Neptune. He quoted her $450 to replace the machine control board and door latch wax motor. She got frantic and told him to get lost and that she would take the control board to a guy at work to look at. 

That guy was me… I looked at the board… R11 was fried. After investigating and doing some research I found that there were a lot of R11 & Q6 burns happening. So after I repaired her control board I put together the R11 and Q6 repair kit. This was almost 3 years ago. Side note: I designed a home nite lighting system I am working on to get to market and it seems the Neptune repair kit business has kept me so busy that I don’t have time to work on the lighting system. I absolutely love this concept and would love to see it in every home because it offers safety, security and convenience. Maybe I will plug the system in a later post… so stay tuned. 

You could imagine that while helping Maytag Neptune owner’s with the door latch problem I started to get more questions like can you get other Neptune parts, what would cause such and such to happen, etc. It snowballed from there. 

Now, I offer replacement machine control boards, motor conversion kits, door boots, every Neptune part at very good prices since I have low overhead. For example, I sold over 1,000 wax motors (part #12002535) in 2007 alone! 

Recently, I partnered up with Tony Yeager, who created the “Tony Tool” which is designed to remove and install the Neptune bearings. This tool kit runs $425 and is designed for service techs. I had the idea of tool rental so I asked Tony if I could purchase a tool kit to rent out to Neptune owners. He reluctantly did so and now I have a fleet of Tony Tools helping Neptune owner’s save time and money replacing their bearings. Tony has put together a fabulous 13-minute video that shows exactly how to take machine apart, replace bearings… 

I was selling the Neptune bearing & seal kits just fine before offering the Tony Tool. Mechanically inclined folks were using pipes and hammers to get the bearings out. Now, with the tool kit almost anyone can change his or her Neptune bearings. Check out www.neptunebearing.com. 

I plan to keep adding new services to the Neptune business because I believe in continuous improvement and diversification. I also look for ways to improve efficiency as I am a one-person company and need to reduce the time spent on tasks. 

I hope you enjoyed this post as I revealed where I came from and maybe I will reveal how the Target Security company name came about in a future post. Have a safe and great 4th.!

Until next time...

I just added another Tony Tool for Neptune Bearing replacement

I just wanted to inform you Maytag Neptune owners that I just added another Tony Tool to the rental pool... So if your Neptune's bearings are drowning in friction... See www.neptunebearing.com for more information. 

Happy Father’s Day!

This one goes out to all of the fathers out there... including myself! 

I read where Father’s Day was created way back in 1909 which is before any commercial greeting card companies existed… I assumed the greeting card or flower industry created Father’s Day so they could increase their sales at this time of year. 

Sonora Smart Dodd is the brainchild behind Father’s Day when she was grown and married. Her mother had died while giving birth to her and her dad raised her and her four siblings on his own. You have to remember that back then most widowed fathers would have given their offspring to other relatives to raise. 

Spokane Washington held the first Father’s Day observance the following year. By 1924, the custom had spread throughout the country, and Calvin Coolidge made the first presidential proclamation in support of Father’s Day. President Richard Nixon made Father’s Day permanent in 1972, nearly 60 years later, when he requested that Congress pass a joint resolution making the third Sunday in June a National Day of observance in honor of fathers everywhere. 

Here are some tips for a great Father’s Day. 

1. Breakfast in bed 

2. No ties please… 

3. A handwritten gift certificate for a future event to share some time together 

4. Create a scrapbook commemorating “Life With Father” over the past year 

5. Put off the Maytag Neptune repair until next week 

6. Your special ideas…

See http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ for details on repairing your Neptune front loader washer. I just updated the http://www.neptunebearing.com/ website with a free Neptune bearing replacement video you can watch. 

In addition, I offer the special Neptune bearing puller / installer called the Tony Tool for rent to dramatically reduce the time it takes to replace your bearings. The bearing job takes about 1 to 1.5 hours using the Tony Tool. 

Check it out tomorrow since it is Father’s Day…

Until next time...