Repairs
The general thought about laundromats is that you just have to show up and collect the money.
Well, it’s not quite that easy.
As with any piece of machinery the more it gets used the more things will wear. You also have to factor in customers.
It seems that things will be rolling along and then you get a small leak or some water near a machine that does seem to dry up. Or a washer doesn’t spin out. Left alone this will start to add up to a lot of taped off machines and frustrated customers.
Personally, I hate to see a machine offline for more than a day or two. If left alone what started as a quick fix on a machine becomes a day of repairs.
Today I was working on a washer I have had offline for a week or so due to it not spinning out. I had looked at it previously and knew it was going to take some time. The first step was to pull out a board and check the fuse. I bet it was easy to install at the factory not so much at the store. Fuse – check
Next was a step through some production cycles. Everything looked good except there was no movement during the spin cycle. Nothing, not even a shutter. I call to the factory and they said to check the vibration switch, level sensor and motor winding resistance.
Now we are stepping into some serious troubleshooting. The tech explained what wires to look for and what to check for. Everything seemed OK so the next step is swapping parts with the next washer.
This is tough to do at home as most people don’t have two matching washers. Vibration switch- check Level sensor- check.
Now to get serious. Motor circuit board- no good. Pictures to the distributor, bolt things back together, slap on some tape and on to the water leak.
This one was easier. Once the cover came off the mist from the valve was easy to see. Pictures, bolts, tape.
On to the other store. Working on your own equipment has to be a decision that fits your business plan. I have a background in maintenance and small stores so getting the machines running is important and I can handle most of it. I try to get to the problems in the first couple of days of the week so I can get parts and be back online for the weekend.
If you have any comments please post them below.
Ken
