The DRS News
July – August 2002

In this issue:

1)  Another recall announcement from Whirlpool
2)  Icemaker connection tubing: Copper vs. Plastic
3)  Refrigerator feverish? How to “take its temperature”
4)  Beware! More email nastiness

1)  Whirlpool has just announced another recall; this one concerns
24 inch gas (only – electric not affected) “Thin Twin” stack washer/dryer
units manufactured between 1/00 and 5/02.  It involves a relatively
small number of units – around 17,000 - but because the potential for
overheating exists, we’re concerned that these are all found ASAP.  No injuries
or property damage have been reported to date, and that’s the way we’d like
to keep it.  Units in question carry the Whirlpool, Kenmore, and GE  brand
names, and in some cases are missing a wiring harness clip, or the clip has
fallen off.  The problem occurs when the wiring this clip is supposed to hold
in place contacts the heater box and melts.

Model numbers involved:

Whirlpool:  LTG5243DZQ, ..DT3, ..DQ2, ..DQ3, ..DT2
GE “Spacemaker”:  WSM2480TBAWW, ..TCAWW
Kenmore “Laundry Center”: 110.98752792

Note that only SOME of these are affected, depending on serial number.
If you own any of these, please visit Whirlpool at:  www.repair.whirlpool.com  
or call them toll-free: 866-251-1607

2) This time of year we see too much water leakage and resultant floor
damage due to refrigerator water supplies connected with plastic tubing. 
If mice don’t chew through it first, the plastic will crack with age. The
leak may start small, often damaging the floor before you notice it. It’s
easy tubing to run, but it WILL “get” you, and there’s just never a good
time for this tubing to leak.  I can’t stress it enough: only use refrigeration-
grade copper tubing for this - you’ll be glad you did!  Beware “water line”
copper and some icemaker hookup kits sold for this purpose. The tubing
walls are thinner and it just doesn’t last as long.  Any plumbing/heating
supply will have rolls of ¼” OD refrig. copper in stock, and though a bit
more expensive, this will usually last for several decades (2-3 refrigerators
these days)!

3)  “My Refrigerator isn’t keeping my food cold enough.”  Feels like
I’ve heard that at least 10 times/day the last few weeks!  So what’s “cold
enough”, you ask? Well, the inside temps we’re looking for are around
40F refrig, and 0-5F freezer.  And what’s the best way to check them? 

The best way these days is with an IR thermometer, one of the slickest
tools ever invented for the appliance servicer!  Open the door, point the
laser and “shoot”, and in about a second the temp pops up in the display. 

Used to be very expensive, but these days one can be had for well under 
$100, a great tool at a great price if you need fast, accurate temp tests on just
about anything. (And guys, it makes a great stocking-stuffer – drop a few 
hints!). 

PS – any of you “handies” that have experience with the IR units:
email me your various uses for them, and I’ll put them together in
a future article.

Barring an IR unit, the old pickle-jar method still works fine. Pull that PJ
out of the back of the refrig (not off the door shelf). I like the PJ because
I assume it’s been in there a while, and probably not sitting on the counter
recently.  Be sure to use an accurate thermometer – a mercury or digital
one will work. To check its accuracy, stir some ice-water with it. The 
closer it reads to 32F, the better.  Stir your Gherkins for ½ minute or so, 
and you’ll get an accurate product temperature, which is what you want rather 
than air temperature, which immediately starts to rise when the door’s 
opened and can vary widely. 

BTW, for you pickle-lovers, it’s OK to eat all the pickles and leave the
juice (you know who you are!)  Tell your spouse you needed to leave it in
there for temperature tests <grin>.

Oh, and don’t rely on those inexpensive dial thermometers that hang on a 
shelf; they just aren’t accurate enough for refrigerator use. They also are 
reading air temp, which we don’t want.

OK, a freezer temp test takes a little longer, but is about as simple.  Just 
be sure to stuff the thermometer between food packages so you’re reading 
product vs. air temp.  Or (if it’s your own) stab the ice cream – digital, 
probe type thermometers are great for this.  Leave it in there 10 minutes
or so for an accurate reading.  Again, you’re looking for 0-5F.

(If there’s any doubt or you can’t find your thermometer, just stab it 
with a spoon. The “spoon test” may have to be repeated quite a few times 
for accuracy, though).

Tip: Icemakers contain their own thermostat, and require proper freezer 
temps to operate.  If yours isn’t making any ice, and the ice cream’s getting 
soft, the temperature’s probably 12-15F or above, and that’s not good!

4) Again this month, here’s a subject a little off-topic, but I wanted to save
you the hassle several of our friends have experienced with this.  A very clever 
form of email 'virus' is going around, and unlike most viruses which automatically 
cause damage when an attachment is opened, this so-called 'virus' is self-inflicted. 
It simply fools you into deleting essential files from your hard drive, which 
can do serious damage.

McAfee, Norton, etc, will not find this 'virus' simply because it's not an actual 
virus, but a phishing attempt - just a trick to make you damage your own computer.

A word to the wise... if you EVER get an email that tells you to manually delete 
something from your hard drive, DON'T DO IT!

Well, that’s it for this month. Thanks once again for subscribing; I’m really
enjoying this and sincerely hope you are too! Remember to keep sending me 
your suggestions for topics you’d like to see addressed here. We’ve had 
some good ones, and look forward to sharing them with you.