One man's battle with Fisher and Paykel
Unlimited entrepreneur blogger James Crow takes DIY to a whole new level
Tuesday, July 06 2010 || Comment || BY James Crow
Since the arrival of our son five months ago and the adjoining decision to use only cloth nappies, our washing machine has became so much more than just a piece of basement-dwelling whiteware. Through its tireless daily renewal of Roman's little flat naps, this machine has in fact become, and I can say this with all honesty, a valued member of the family. A machine so important to the day-to-day running of our little eco-bunker that without it our world would become very messy, very fast. With that sort of introduction you can probably imagine what happened next.
Since acquiring our hot-rinsing, fast-spinning, bionic family member, life, in the laundry sense at least, has been uneventful. Every morning I load up the washing machine with flat naps and spuke cloths (both technical parenting terms possibly unheard of outside our four walls) press a few buttons and return an hour later to fresh, clean flat naps and spuke-free spuke cloths. That was until the beeping. The beeping that signified something was most foul in the house of laundry. I returned to the machine that ill-fated Sunday to find not line ready washing but partially cleaned laundry floating around slowly in a half-full tub of cold water. After a calm but somewhat uncomfortable session of setting, resetting, then setting again, all to no avail, I finally had to admit that our beloved reliable washing machine was reliable no more.
That night I lay in bed, thinking about the unfinished cloths still drifting aloft in their murky limbo. Belonging neither in this world or the next, cursed to remain in a state not fit for wearing or spuking on. It drove me to distraction. But I was no good to those cloths, the washing machine or myself staying awake so the following morning was put aside to solve my problem and return balance to the laundry and our lives.
The next morning the sun rose in the sky, my son happily squealed in his cot, and I leaped forth from bed, still wearing my pajamas and fortified with the drive that only a night's sleep spent dreaming of appliance repair can instill in a man. A quick collection of the usual suspects - flat head, Phillips head, slightly smaller Phillips head, and my Ugg boots (it was cold that morning) and I was off to the basement. My plan for this sort of job is usually always the same. Have a good look, begin removing screws and don't stop until you reach what ever you're heading for. In this case my internet investigation the previous night had pointed me firmly in the direction of the pump. The same pump that under normal circumstances would have happily sucked that cold, grey water out of the tub allowing the spin cycle to do its job. On Sunday this had not happened, so it was my number one suspect. And so, true to my word, I began to dismantle our beloved washing machine screw by screw. I also began to feel a deep connection with the ailing appliances founding fathers Sir Fisher and Mr Paykel (no knighthood for poor Paykel, possibly due to his less philanthropic nature?). Would the same 'Kiwi know-how' that led to the design and construction of my washing machine also guide me, steadfast and true, to my final goal? I removed the outer casing to see the first layer of wires and switches and wondered, as I am sure most would-be handy men have thought, whether or not I really knew what I was doing. This thought was quickly replaced with a hapless sense to just 'crack on' and so more screws came out and more parts were removed until I was staring at my agitator (if you'll excuse the pun) the slimy, macerated, remains of what was no doubt once a baby's face cloth but had, in one fell swoop, become the Achilles heal of my Fisher and Paykel smart drive 850. I was a very happy man. As I stood there in my bed wear and wool lined slippers smelling a little more like stagnant water than sweet success, I was vindicated, and all before 9am.
As for the moral of this story? Be it a lesson in resourcefulness or a tale of going with your gut, all that really matters is I fixed my washing machine!
You then went on to create a washing machine with a cycle and internal design tweaks that catered specifically to smaller babies clothes, since mums are the decision makers when it comes to washing machine buys(still) it struck a cord with that influential segment differentiating your machine enough to beat F&P at their own game, becoming NZ new washing machine mogul...
Posted by Steve at 12:23 on August 11, 2010
Time to review this contributor's contract, clearly in two months he has run out of interesting topics...
Posted by Jonathan at 12:23 on July 7, 2010
Yeah, clearly time to revisit your contract, James, so you can buy a new washing machine.
Posted by Editor at 03:50 on July 9, 2010
Your probably right. Any suggestions?
Posted by James at 12:41 on July 7, 2010
Let's see.
a) Unlimited's tagline is: Inspiring business through strategy, investment, development, innovation & management ideas from New Zealand and around the globe.
b) You have recently had a child.
Threfore three top of mind topics would be 1) work life balance of entrepreneurs, 2) the explosion of entrepreneur products for the baby market, and 3) outsourcing
Posted by Jonathan at 10:59 on July 8, 2010
Hey for what its worth, all I can say is good on you for giving it ago even if you are unsure what your doing. Good ole kiwi ingenuity.
Posted by Anonymous at 09:47 on July 6, 2010
Thanks. I must admit that I never go into any DIY job without first scouring Google over a few cups tea for any sagely advice from those who have gone before. Still you never really know whats required until you roll up your pajamas sleeves and get stuck in.
Posted by James at 12:14 on July 7, 2010
OR YOU COULD HAVE TIPPED UNIT BACK WARDS
removed drain pump with no tools or screws and fixed the job under 10mins
Posted by Anonymous at 08:50 on July 6, 2010
Exactly where I started. However after pulling a small amount of cloth through from the bottom and with a tub still half full of water, I decided it was smarter to remove the whole bowel. This paid big DIY dividends in the form of two other mangled rags and a good half dozen rusty hairpins, which surely would have caused the same problem to return soon enough. This was my journey through the problem but perhaps the quick way would be more lucrative for a plumber if those other items were missed first time around.
Posted by James at 12:29 on July 7, 2010
