I finally booted the Kenmore 70 series top loader

Yes, I decided to boot my 20+ year old Kenmore 70 series top load washer and dryer for new front loaders. These were still operational, too. 

The dryer was taking longer to dry the clothes but other than that they worked. This pair made it through (4) moves, (2) marriages and (1) divorce. The only part I had to replace is the water temp selection switch about a year ago. Even the dryer belt was original!

I looked at the available front loaders, knowing I probably would not purchase a Maytag Neptune since all of the 12002535 wax motors (over 2,500) I have sold over the last 3 years via my www.neptunewaxmotor.com website. I did think about picking up a free curbside Maytag Neptune and refurbing it but my wife did not like that idea.

Once the machines were removed from the small room we cleaned up and painted the room before placing the new machines. I ended up stacking the new machines because the room was too small to place them side by side.

Come back for the next series of posts to find out which front loader I picked up and what I did with the worn Kenmore set...

Until next time...

Another unhappy Maytag Neptune owner?

This was copied from a Neptune stacker's blog, http://ificandoit-socanyou.blogspot.com/2008/11/ugh.html. 

I wanted to leave Kitty a comment but she must have them disabled? I can't understand why someone would have a blog but not allow comments? At least have the moderate comments feature on? "ugh...

...just back from the laundromat...ugh...not swimming tonight...ugh...had a small meatball & cheese sub for supper while doing laundry...ugh...well, actually that was yummy but ugh on the choice Our washer died last week and we are rethinking the washer/dryer situation and placement. We currently have a Maytag (PIECE OF CRAP) Neptune super stack in the bathroom (the only plumbing we have aside from the kitchen sink). When we moved in, the washer hookup was in the bathroom (as is now) and the dryer hookup was out in the garage. It sucked! We lived with it that way for a year or so until the dryer died and then had our electrician put a 220 outlet and vent in the bathroom and purchased the stacker.We started having problems the day after it was out of warranty...not kidding! The latest problem will cost almost $500 dollars to fix...ain't gonna happen! Nance came up with a brilliant idea tonight. We're gonna look at putting the dryer on the opposite side of the furnace room around the corner from the kitchen in (what is now) her office space. She wants to move her office stuff to the other room anyway so it's perfect. Now we just have to take measurements, figure out what to buy, cut a hole in the wall for the vent, and have a new 220 outlet installed. I imagine we'll have one or two more trips to the laundromat in the meantime. " End of blog entry. 

Kitty, it sounds like your latest problem could be the door latch wax motor because that repair usually runs $450. The other failure that comes to mind could be the bearings are going out but that repair usually runs $900 if you bother old lonely repairman. Here is some more info for you... The older Neptunes, such as the 2000 Stackers, MAH3000, MAH4000 and the MAH5500A series had some issues which I am sure Maytag has corrected these issues in the newer machines... 

There are thousands who have been burnt by the door latch wax motor failure. What happens is the machine will stop spinning because the door latch will fail to lock. Deep inside it is caused by the mechanism that locks the door. The wax motor will draw too much current and damage the control board by burning a resistor (R11) and a triac (Q6). 

However, if Neptune owners know to replace the 12002535 door latch wax motor they can prevent the control board failure from happening. Please tell everyone you know about this important fact. The older Neptune’s also have a couple additional issues such as the moldy door boot and the reliability of the motor / motor control board. All three of these issues were involved in the class action lawsuit a couple of years ago. 

See www.neptunewaxmotor.com for more Neptune information. In addition, I just now started offering a bearing and seal kit for the Neptunes because when the bearings fail Maytag wants you to replace the whole outer tub for a service quote of around $900 or so. 

Why replace the whole outer tub? Just replace the worn bearings and 12002022 seal… See www.neptunebearing.com for the Neptune bearing kit information. The older Neptune's run great once you take care of some small details...

Until next time...

Maytag Neptune R11 and Q6 Repair Kit Testimonial

Here is a testimonial I received from a delighted customer today... 

"Jeff, Just wanted to send a hearty THANK YOU for your wonderful website and the information you provided there. We appreciate the timely manner in which you sent everything out (including the extra Q22....whoops..."look twice and cut once," right?). Our washer is now up and running smoothly. Thank you very much for all of your help, as well as for saving us some serious money! Sincerely, Amber S." 

Thanks for the feedback Amber! I love when my customers repair their Neptune's and save a bunch of money. How can I help you?

Until next time...

Any SF Neptuners out there?

Wow, I just talked my father-in-law into starting a Science Fiction blog. It is named 'Science Friction -The wild and wonderful world of offbeat science' and he has a lot of stories to tell about SF!

Did you know he met and interviewed Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek?

Tune in here http://www.scifriction.blogspot.com/

daylight savings time change 2008

I almost forgot to put in the reminder to change your time pieces back one hour... 

Every year I get reminded how many time pieces we have in our homes now. Why do we need so many clocks? I see them on the wall, watches, VCR's / DVD players, security systems, microwaves, ranges, alarm clock radios, fax machines, telephones / answering machines, mp3 players, weather stations, vehicle clocks... 

Wow! Luckily, there are some clocks that update themselves such as cable/satellite boxes, GPS receivers, cell/smart phones, computers, etc. 

At least your Maytag Neptune front loader does not have a clock on it... 

For all of your Maytag Neptune needs check out www.neptunewaxmotor.com to see if your Neptune has the defective door latch wax motor that will fail and cost you $450 if you bother the lonely Maytag repair guy. I will show you how to take care of this costly issue and save!

Until next time...

Any Maytag Neptune questions?

Hi Neptuners, I would like to take this moment and ask you if there is anything you would like to know about your Maytag Neptune that was not answered for you on my http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com/ site? 

I also had to add 'Out of Stock' on the Neptune bearing & seal kits because the Maytag seal kits are on factory backorder from Whirlpool. I have not received any seal kits for over 30 days and I am just about out of them which I reserved for my tony tool rental program which is at http://www.neptunebearing.com/. 

Once I receive these seal kits I will update the websites again. I also heard that Whirlpool is laying off lots of people which might explain why they can't get the parts out to keep your machines running?

Until next time...

IS there a Ghost voltage in your Maytag Neptune front loader?

I get this all of the time… “I get 120 volts at the wax motor but the wax motor does not extend. Is the new wax motor you sent me defective?” 

Well, since it is Halloween you may be reading a ghost voltage. Actually, you can read a ghost voltage anytime you take a voltage reading when there is no load connected, i.e. the wax motor. The Neptune door latch wax motor has a much lower impedance than your voltmeter, around 1,000 ohms. Your voltmeter can have 100’s of thousands of ohms impedance so when you take a measurement you can read a much higher voltage than what is really there. 

You will find that if you connect the wax motor back up and connect the meter to the wax motor terminals you will have zero volts. That is why your door does not lock which keeps your spin cycle from happening. If you replaced your Q6 and R11 you need to make 4 ohmmeter checks to verify you did not damage any of your copper traces on the backside of your control board. 1. Connector P7.4 to pin 3 of Q6 - should be close to 0 ohms 2. Q6 pin 1 to Q22 pin 1 - should be close to 0 ohms 3. Q6 pin 1 to Q3 pin 1 - should be close to 0 ohms 4. Q6 pin 2 to C16 (lead closest to P7 connector) If you don't read close to 0 ohms on any of these checks turn board over and follow the copper tracks and find out why you don't have 0 ohms. 

You might have the use the repair wire to fix a break in a track. Tip: Some breaks can be right next to the component pads and can be very difficult to see. A meter is important to locate these breaks. Note: pin 1 on the Q's is looking at the flat side the very left pin. Pin 2 is center pin and pin three is the far right pin when looking at the flat side. If all of these checks show a short and the Neptune fills with water when started then my STAGE 2 kit should fix your control board. See www.neptunewaxmotor.com for all of your Maytag Neptune needs.

Until next time...