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Website owner: 
Dave Harnish
CEO: Sadie
Dave's Repair Service
1911 Heath Hill Rd
New Albany, PA 18833
Email:
drs@sosbbs.com


Psalm 118:8


 

 

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are just a few of the most common questions I get asked about what I do. I'll be adding to this page as time permits, but if you have a question you don't see here, please feel free to drop me an email. I do this full time, and can usually get back to you pretty quickly on any day except Sunday, my day off. 

Note: If there's a question you think should be included here, please let me know.

Q: I bought small parts from you a few years ago and you just dropped them into a regular envelope and mailed them for the price of a stamp. Now it looks like even your smallest parts ship in a USPS "small flat rate" box. Why?

A: Up until a few years ago you could get away with mailing small parts that way, but now, with high speed automated sorting machinery running at "warp speed", only the very smallest and thinnest parts (1/8" or thinner) will safely make the trip in an envelope. I've had to learn that the hard way, seeing envelopes ripped open and the parts forever lost. So I've been forced to ship almost everything in an SFRB. It costs more, for sure, but it's been very fast and reliable.

***

Q: A friend told me I need to replace the grease in my vintage model 12 Mixmaster with "food grade" grease. Is that true? I've never had a problem with grease leakage.

A: Vintage Mixmasters do NOT require food grade grease if Sunbeam's instructions are followed. To correctly re-grease the gearbox in a model 5 through 12, clean out as much of the old grease as possible, then add just ONE TABLESPOON of good-grade automotive wheel bearing grease, working it into the gears (a wooden popsicle stick works well for that). Do NOT pack the gearbox full of grease or it will cause problems with seepage.  I used to see over-greased Mixmasters often in the shop, and that's apparently where the idea of a need for food-grade grease came from. Even food-grade grease will eventually work its way down the spindles if the gearbox is overfilled.

***

Q: I've bought appliance parts from you in the past, but I can't find them on your site any longer. Do you still sell "fast moving" parts, like washer pumps, dryer elements, etc?

A: First of all, a huge THANKS to all of you who have purchased "fast moving" common appliance parts from me in the 26+ years I sold them in my own business, and also over years I've sold them here on my own website. I can't put into words how encouraging you've been to me, and I've been blessed to have made so many new friends this way. So THANK YOU!

With so many parts distributors now selling common appliance parts at below wholesale prices on Ebay, I've decided to stop selling common parts, close out my inventory, and think about retirement (OK, at least "semi-retirement" - whatever that is!)

I've sold the majority of them to another dealer, but this page lists the few common closeouts I have left, and when they're gone, they're gone! I've priced these as low as possible to move them fast. I'm also listing the remaining quantity of each part, as accurately as I can manually keep up with the changing numbers. I'm getting really low on all of these, so don't wait!

I have a few others that I'll be listing as I get time, but the ones on that page are the most popular, so I'm starting with them.

I have a friend in the parts business with a huge Ebay store and below wholesale prices, located HERE

I still sell a few hard-to-find and vintage parts and those I fabricate myself, as well as vintage, hard to find service manuals, etc. I've just started working on the closeout list, with the quantity remaining in stock listed below each part's photo. Quantities on most of them are getting very low at this point, but there's still a small garage warehouse of them to get through, so it'll be a while.

You'll find my vintage appliance parts specials here , with more to come as I get time to list them.

***

Q: You've often joked about getting older, enduring your 60's, etc, but in your website photo you look so young and dazzlingly handsome. What's up with that?

A: It's an old picture.
'Been thinking about updating it, but I'd hate to scare any little kids that might wander by the site. ;-) 

***

Q: Do your products carry any type of guarantee?

A: Yes, I've always warranted everything I sell for 6 months. I also promise to personally help you install them correctly. It may sound "corny" in this age of greed and deception, but I see myself as a solution provider first, parts seller second.

***

Q: You list Sunbeam Mixmaster and 'T' auto toaster manuals and parts. Do you ever repair these machines, or do you know of someone who does?

A: I did for some 45 years, and still love the work, but I'm taking a break from the Mixmaster and toaster work as of the end of 2018. I was never prepared for the high demand, and fell so far behind there wasn't time for much else. So a break is needed. 

***

Q: Do you provide local in-home appliance repair service?

A: I did for just under 40 years, but shut down that part of my business in late 2010 due to a rough battle with Lyme disease and its lingering, recurring nastiness. If you’re located here in Bradford or Sullivan Counties of NE PA and need a pro, contact me and I can refer someone for you. Having said that, be aware that most appliance service, even in these more high-tech days, is NOT that difficult. In most cases, you can do it yourself if you're just a little handy with a screwdriver. Helping handy homeowners with this stuff is my passion, and I do it full time, so just ask - or click here to go to the index of DIY articles I've posted so far.

***

Q: Why don't you like the new Whirlpool direct-drive washer coupler #285753A, with the steel inserts? It's Whirlpool's latest version.
A: The first generation of this part had major problems, and I refused to endorse it until they were fixed (please see this article.) As I state in the updated article, Whirlpool has finally fixed the issues with the insert coupler, and they're doing very well now. It took a few years, but it's finally a decent product again. Just be sure and stay with original "FSP" versions. The aftermarket ones are still having reliability problems (some of them are just awful!)

***

Q: Why does your website look so, well, dated? It just doesn't have the polish and interactivity other sites do.

A: I first published this site in 2000, and back then, most folks were on dialup, which was agonizingly slow by current standards, depending on where you live. One of the goals for web pages in that era was to design them to load as fast as possible on slow connections, so I went mostly with text.

Sometimes I stress over the outdated home-made look of the site, but then someone pops up and thanks me for making the information available. That's when I'm reminded that folks don't care as much about how fancy a site like this one is, but are desperate for the information they need right now.

Couple that with the fact that my time has been at a premium around here for the last decade, and website whistles and bells just haven't been a top priority. It's one of the things I'm hoping to address once I get most of the long-postponed jobs around our old homestead caught back up. Which is starting to look like, um, never! ;-)

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"Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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