Appliance repair on an island?

[uschisk]

Hi, looking for suggestions from islanders re:appliance repair. We have an old propane dryer (12ish years old) which we brought to our camp. It worked perfectly for 4 years, then last fall it stopped heating. So, we need to either fix it or replace it, ideally whichever is most economical. In our regular house, it seems any appliance repair person comes first, then orders parts, and returns to fix it. With 2 island trips, that will add up.
How have others had their appliances repaired? Do you have recommendations for someone willing to come to island homes?
thanks in advance - island living is always an adventure!!

[HellRaZoR004]

Do a quick google search on the appliance and see if anyone else has had issues and what it took to fix it. It may be very easy to replace a broken/faulty part yourself.

For instance, I had a thermostat go bad on my oven a couple years ago. I ordered the part for $20 and replaced it in 10 minutes.

That's where I would start.

[Lakeboater]

With a gas dryer not heating the first thing I would check would be the thermocouple. Usually a cheap part.

[codeman671]

We had an appliance company out of the wolfeboro area come out to do a fridge once. 2 trips.

As previously mentioned do a search, they are really not that complicated. Check out appliancepartspros.com. There is troubleshooting tips and pros that can help. They carry parts for everything with schematics online. I buy any replacement parts that I need through them.

[uschisk]

Thank you all for the suggestions! That is exactly what I did a few years ago when the washer was leaking, and it has been fine since I fixed it, but I was a bit more intimidated by the gas dryer. I will give it a try! Now if only I would have been smart enough to keep the dryer model number at home....

[chocophile]

I've had Keith from Crown Appliance (http://www.crownappliance.net) repair two different dryers and a fridge. He is very good.

Get the exact model number and serial number, and call with a detailed description of the problem. Keith arrived with two parts for our dryer; after troubleshooting he discovered what the problem was and one of the parts was all we needed.

His rates are reasonable. I know he works on island appliances because he told me they are some of the oldest appliances he works on since it's hard to transport new ones.

Good luck!

[DickR]

With a gas dryer, you have the burner assembly, fed by the gas line, with a valve next to the assembly. This is located usually in front, behind a small removable panel; pull the top side edges to swing the panel down.

You will find an electrical connection to an igniter, and downstream of that will be some sort of flame detection device (thermocouple, or perhaps IR sensor). When you turn on the dryer, power to the igniter will be switched on, and it will glow red hot within seconds. Think of it as a glow plug in a model airplane engine. When the downstream sensor verifies that the igniter did indeed get hot, the gas valve is turned on, and the igniter touches off the gas. If the detector later determines that the flame has gone out, the valve is closed.

Most likely either the igniter or the sensor has failed. I'd bet on the igniter first, and it's easy to remove and inspect. They can be fragile and easily broken. Look along the metal coil that gets hot when power is applied, and you may see a thin break in it.