solenoid and thanks for all the fish

Ever since i was a kid I had a talent for taking things apart. Getting it all back together was what eluded me. Toys that would have been collectors' items today became a pile of random screws, wheels, etc.

This talent and lack of talent continued to adulthood. Just ask my parents, who inexplicably allowed me to disassemble a 1973 BMW 2002 in a carport designed for two, my project being the third car. It remained in pieces probably for a good five years, never completed. I think the back half of my parents' cars are sunfaded from hanging partways out the carport for so long.

Like anything in life with a fair amount of uncertainty, the secret to taking things apart is to have absolutely no fear of screwing up. Which brings me to the Maytag.

An odd clanking sound interrupted my regular laundry session. The rinse cycle wasnt working. Crap. Just what I needed. Another problem right after my car issue. Fiddling with the settings didnt help so it was time to get serious. 

Armed with screwdrivers, wrenches and a socket set, the Maytag soon succumbed to my haphazard attack, to finally yield this:

Hey look! Solenoids!

More screws visible mean more to take apart, so I pressed on until every piece of the valve assembly lay on the floor. Nothing looked broken so back together it went. Yes you heard right, I actually got it back together! I started the wash cycle again and...rinse cycle still broken. Dang. Hmmm...the hot water works and the rinse cycle that doesnt work uses cold water... I switched the hot water and cold water hoses then switched the wires to the solenoids. 

Bam. Papa. It works.

Proving (once again) I am smarter than a washing machine. 

My girlfriend quickly orders a replacement valve assembly. Good idea. I agree. But it does work. Part of me wants to wait until the washer fails again, but I imagine walking into work, my clothes soiled and stinking, my boss stops me...

"Ralphie, what is going on? Why are you so filthy and smelly?"

Embarrassed, I answer in a voice barely above a whisper:

"It was...it was...the solenoid."

The final frontier

I just checked my notes. Since September of last year, Ive been annoyed by the jammed up bezel of my Seiko Black Monster. It no longer spun easily, making it a trying process to time anything. I tried turning it in soapy water to try to clean it. Didn't work. I gave up. I figured I'd one day have a jeweler fix it when I finally have the watch mechanism serviced. 

For some reason, perhaps my frustration with a lot of things failing or breaking lately, I decided to fix the bezel. I did a quick search on the Internet on how to remove a bezel yourself and went for it. I slid the thin blade of a Swiss Army knife between the bezel and case. I used my leatherman pliers to grip the blade and gently pry the bezel. A small gap appeared. I then used the can opener blade to pry the bezel off. 

Success! Eeeeewww! Almost 10 years of what probably was dead skin cells and soap scum was built up on the inside. I used a buck penknife (if you're keeping count this is the third knife involved) to scrape away (gag) the build up. A q-tip and paper towel later, all parts were nice and clean. I set the bezel and watch face down on my mini chopping board and pressed down. After a few failed attempts (where the bezel actually jammed worse) I finally got the bezel back on! Success! Zero cost. A lot of satisfaction doing it myself. And knowledge for the future when it jams up again. You know the old saying, teach a man to clean his bezel...

All this brings me to the point of my post. Select your possessions carefully and be willing to perform your own maintenance and repairs. 

Your stuff should:

1. Last "forever". 

Or at least as long as you do.

No disposable items.

2. Be a simple design with fewest failure points possible.

3. Zero or low maintenance.

4. Field maintainable.

You should be able to perform repairs or parts replacements on your own with simple tools. Shouldn't have to be a genius.

5. Durable.

6. Be environmentally considerate.

7. Does not become obsolete.

8. Move to space (Suggested by my girlfriend).