Monday, March 6, 2017

It's Always Something Major. Appliances, That Is

Oh! Yeah! Back at the beginning of the we had a bit of a kerfuffle with the kitchen-related major appliances. First, we lost function in one of the burners on the electric range that came with the house. The large, front one of course. We didn't replace it with the kitchen remodel I did last year, because Eric really wants to switch to a gas range, but there is no gas or propane here, so that means getting a tank, trenching, putting a hole in the foundation, etc. So you know, reallllly expensive. It seems counter productive to replace it with an electric one with the plan to hopefully go gas (well, dual-fuel, actually) in a few years.

That burner with the espresso maker on it, right there? Yeah, that one. 

Within a few days we noticed that the GIANT chest freezer in the mudroom that came with the place failed. CUSS! We got to it before much has really thawed, but when we were going to put stuff in the small freezer in the new "extra" fridge - also in the mudroom - we realized it stopped working, because it just got too cold for too long in the mudroom. Even though that fridge is "garage ready," apparently that is just for garages located in places that don't get below freezing for very long. Or for heated garages, because people who can put money into heating their garages throughout the winter usually wants a utility-grade, small, plain-white fridge? Sigh.

Meat and frequently used things went into the kitchen freezer which is also getting used for "daily" stuff like making ice and freezing "cubes" of canned dog food for Delia's dinner. What?

After The Big Thaw, the mudroom fridge's freezerr got some produce and more rarely used things. And yes, we buy butter at Cost and freeze it. So what? Like we're ever going to NOT use butter? Nonsense.

Well, the new fridge was still under warranty so I was hoping to get someone out to get it going and while they were here - with the manufacturer paying for the service all - they could look at the others. HOWEVER, the authorized dealers, whose numbers I got from the manufacturer, either don't come down here from Missoula for that particular manufacturer's warranty work (doesn't pay enough) OR don't come up our road when there's been 3' of snow recently.

Not very classy, but throwing away perfectly good food isn't classy at all.

I think the road is ready for us to get a service call, but I am not. I got really sick with a flu while on the DPMS World Tour (of the Pacific Northwest) and the house is a bit of a wreck post trip, etc. Maybe next week if the road stays clear? I have a feeling that the chest freezer is done and I have hope that a cockamamie plan* I have hatched will keep the new fridge going during the sub-freezing temps going forward. I'll run it by the repair guy when he's here. Meanwhile, the melting means that the ice-chests-buried-in-snow-on-the-deck-solution ended and we lost some garden and store-bought veg. Grrrr.


*If this plan works, you know I will boast about share it here!



4 comments:

  1. I have been lucky with food-related appliances so far. (knock wood) But I go through washers and dryers as if they were disposable.

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    1. Ugh! I've had good luck so far with washers and dryers, but the washer and dryer are the only major appliances that we had to provide when we moved it. I imagine the old "extra" fridge and the chest freezer are from the 1980s and the stove is, too!

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  2. Wow, so this happens to other folks, too! Thank you for sharing this- we had a chest freezer conk out about 2 years ago- or so we thought- but then when things really warmed up, POW! It completely failed, after teasing us during the sub-freezing winter months with its imminent death. THIS year, the upright freezer we bought to replace the chest freezer decided that it didn't want a fan unit that worked, during the cold times. Thankfully, this time, we'd purchased the extended warranty! We're up and running now, but jeez! Sorry that they wouldn't just come out and work on it- that bites.
    Just wanted to let ya know- you are not the only un-glamorous snow-cache-er of frozen foods out there! ;)

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    1. THANK YOU, Heather! I thought to myself, "Self. What did the pioneers do when their chest freezers conked out in the dead of winter?" I do want to replace it with an upright to gain the square footage for storage. When I discussed it with the repair person on the phone, he said it sounded like it might be the compressor and that replacing that would cost more than a new freezer, but he can't know for sure without having a look. So, if it's not a cheap fix, it's new freezer time!

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