I wish you a Merry Christmas Tree

Today I am going to tell you how to make your Christmas tree last longer by telling you what not to do.

When I picked up our tree this year, from the local volunteer fire department, when I got home I thought the tree looked a little dry. So when I filled it with water, I added some miracle grow. Well, as Mythbusters found out, adding fertilizer, or Miracle Grow to the water actually makes things worse, and after a week, needles were falling like snowflakes in a blizzard. My guess is that the tree could not suck up the thick fluid and it clogged up the pores of the tree. Either that, or the tree could not process the Miracle Grow without a root system.

Either way, the tree barely made it to Christmas. My wife drilled holes in the side to try and get more water in and sprayed the tree with hairspray to help keep it going that long.

So here is the trick - to make your tree last long - don't do anything. Do a fresh ocut of at least one to two inches and fill the tree stand with plain water!

Merry Christmas

Washing Machine Repair

Recently, our washing machine stopped spinning - well during the spin cycle that is. Not a good thing when you are trying to get most of the water out of the clothes. In order t0 tell you how to fix this, you need to know how the washer works.

Most washers are now direct drive - that means there are no belts to fall off. No belts does not mean less parts however. The main parts are:
1. The Drum/Tub
2. The Motor
3. The Gearbox
4. The Pump
5. The controls

So let's go through how the washer works:
1. You set the controls
2. The tub fills up with water
3. The motor spins and through the gearbox works the agitator
4. When finished washing, the motor turns in the opposite direction, turning on the pump and through a clutch spins the drum.

Now the pump is directly connected to the motor, and the gearbox is connected through a flexible coupling.

So, if the washer fills but doesn't agitate or spin, but the water drains out, then the pump and the motor are okay.

If the agitator works and the water drains out, but the drum does not spin, then the clutch is probably the problem.

Note: if the drum doesn't spin AND the water does not drain, it is probably the safety switch in the lid that is not working.

Now, I figured out my clutch was slipping so much that the drum would not spin. While I was waiting for parts to arrive, I sprayed the clutch and the brake with auto brake parts cleaner. It turns out both were gummed up with a combination of oil water and dust. After cleaning, the washer is spinning fine. Now I am going to replace the clutch anyway, but this trick might help you get out of trouble.

Note 2: the clutch works with the brake, the brake has to release in order for the clutch to drive the drum. When you get a new clutch they should supply a new brake release lever.

Now, armed with this information, you should be able to either repair your washer, or at least know how to talk to a repairman.

ChrisZ