Making Changes!

Out with the old - 

In with the new -

Let's Get Cooking!

My new gas stove was installed today and I'm SO excited to finally be able to use the oven.  The old oven stopped working last winter, only the stove top burners worked thank goodness.  

I bought the new stove over the Massachusetts tax free weekend, so saved a couple bucks on the sales tax.  It was delivered a couple weeks ago but unfortunately, the plumber I had lined up to install was a no show, so I had to search to find someone new.

Originally Jenn-Air, installed in May 2008 -

New Frigidaire, installed August 31, 2022 -

The old stove went out by the street, with other metal items I'd been saving for recycling, and was taken within 30-minutes of being put out!  A local scrapper loaded it up on his pickup and off he went.  One of the positive aspects of living on a busy street. 

Now, what to plan to cook in my new oven?!?!

Before (No Workie) and After (Workie)!

Which of the two looks do you prefer?

The top was the original, the bottom is the replacement.

The keypad on the original quit functioning.  Actually, the top two rows stopped working.  The bottom two rows were fine.  This was causing a challenge as the only cook options we had were 350 or 375, defaults.  New replacements were on back order with unknown delivery times.  It was implied indefinitely on the likelihood of ever receiving, not to mention the fact that the cost was over $275, YIKES!  I ended up finding a slightly different used one, see bottom pic, on eBay for $99 and took a chance. (8) screws later and I had the used replacement installed and it's working like a charm!

Hoping to get many more years out of this bad Larry!

Out With The Broken...

Before - old microwave

During - installation new microwave

After - new microwave installed

Our old Kenmore microwave crapped out on us a couple of four weeks or so ago.  I didn't realize just how dependent we've become of said microwave.  Supposed this is typical of most anything, in that you don't realize what you had till it's gone.

So, JoAnne picked up a brandy-new Whirlpool (thanks Steve @ Sears Wareham!) last weekend.

Today was install day and a perfect day for it too.  It awful yucky out there today. Started out with rain but now it's snowing super BIG, heavy, wet flakes and cold.  So, an inside project was just what the doctor ordered.

In less than a couple hours the old microwave was removed, the new one installed and the kitchen put back together, tidied and cleaned.

Think I'll go give her a whirl and toss in a bag of old Orville Redenbacher!

"It's All Ball Bearings Now a Days" Fletch - Follow Up

So, the sage with our Sears Kenmore refrigerator/freezer continues...

The second replacement freezer door finally arrived the other day, as did another ice bucket (pictured above) and Sears promptly called to schedule it's installation.  Monday afternoon 4/13 was the day.  A new technician arrived, one that had not been to our house before and one that was not familiar with the ongoing issues we've been having.

The first thing the technician did was to un-boxed the door and ice bucket and checked to verify they fit properly.  Well, guess what?!?!  No-workie!  It did NOT fit, ugh!!

The replacement door, supposedly the correct model for our refrigerator/freezer, has been modified slightly and now has a lip or protrusion that prevents the ice bucket from seating properly.  You can see the issue circled in red in the above picture.  Another ice bucket was promptly order with assurances that it was the correct one BUT hold the phone!  Guess what?!  This other ice bucket arrived and it too No-Workie and did NOT fit properly and has the same issues.  What a comedy of errors.  It really highlights the incompetence at Sears.

Now here's the kicker to this sage.  Let's assume this latest ice bucket fit properly and the new parts are all in, secure and working properly.  Well, the underlying problem; the problem that initiated this debacle and has taken us down the Sears-of-Incompetence road STILL EXISTS!  That's right, after all this time, this effort, these replacement parts, we were told that "there is a known issue with this model due to the shaved ice capabilities it provides".  The "fix".  The Sears technician's recommendation is for us to periodically stick our hands up and into where the ice comes out of and manually open the sealed flap.  This will release the ice or water that accumulates there, thus preventing it from freezing into an ice ball.

REALLY?!  You have got to be kidding me!

So, I have another calling into Corporate who appear equally as incompetent.

"It's All Ball Bearings Now a Days" Fletch

 

So, we've been having an issue with our refrigerator/freezer for the past 6 - 8 months.  The ice dispenser, which is on the outside of the freezer door, does not work.  We've had issues where the bottom of the dispenser freezes into a block of ice, the dispenser door/flap doesn't open and even at one point the ice maker itself crapped out.

 

We've had Sears repair on site (8) times to date, UGH!  They're replaced part after part after part and nothing they've done has resolved the problem.  One technician even said we'd have to live with it.

 

The Sears appointment process is just that, a process.  They give you a "window" of when they'll arrive, typically mornings or afternoons, so a lot of waiting around.

 

I've also been in touch with some Sears Corporate dude but he's proving to be as useful as tits-on-a-bull if you catch my drift!  He just doesn't return my calls.

 

The last attempt at fixing the problem, which was last Friday, was to replace the entire freeze door!  Ordering a freezer door takes approximately 3 to 4 weeks for the part to arrive, so the delay continued, not to mention that this part alone cost more than what we paid for the entire unit!!

 

So, Sears arrived promptly first thing and had the new door installs in short order, yippee!  However, my excitement was short lived when the ice holder/dispenser wouldn't fit!  It was the correct replacement door based on the model number, however, Sears modified the door ever so slightly and subsequently our original ice holder/dispenser simply doesn't fit.

 

Sooooo, a second replacement door has been ordered along with a replacement ice holder/dispenser and we're looking at another 3 - 4 weeks for these parts to arrive.  I can see why Sears is struggling.  Now keep in mind that although our confidence levels are high that this will fix the issue, we're concerned that the problem we're having is an inherent defect and will only occur again down the road.  Keeping fingers crossed that if it does, we're still covered under warranty.

 

Since the unit is still under warranty the Corporate dude I've been dealing with did offer to replace the entire refrigerator/freezer, however, here's the catch - the replacement unit can only be for what we paid and not what it's valued at.  For example, in our scenario we bought this unit, a brand new but older model, at a discounted price. The unit itself is  ~$1200 but only we paid ~$850, so that's all they're allowing towards a replacement.  What a scam!  Be forewarned for if and when you consider purchasing a maintenance/warranty agreement.