Wednesday Weekly Stock: Range Elements

Every week at W.L. May we have several items we feature as good parts to consider adding to your stock. These parts also have special pricing available. For pricing details, ask your account representative for more information. This week things heat up with a variety of range elements.

When fall arrives, we head into range season. During the time leading up to all the end of year holidays, people begin cooking more indoors. Thoughts of roasted turkey, prime rib, pies and cookies come to mind. Delayed repairs to the oven have now come due. We have some help for you on getting that oven repaired, which we will get to in a moment. We also have help for you if you have a problem with the surface burners on your range.

660533

Most Whirlpool ranges that do not have a glass cooktop use the same plug in elements for surface cooking. The 8 inch 5 turn element has a "Y" support (as opposed to a "delta" support). Whirlpools elements are also know for having closed loop connectors. It's part number is 660533.

660532

The smaller brother to the 8 inch surface unit is the 6 inch 4 turn unit, with a "Y" support. We are featuring that element this week as well. Ask your account rep for part 660532.

WB30M1 & WB30M2

GE has many different surface elements they have used over the years. Lately they usually use a similar surface elements to the Whirlpool version. GE also has a "Y" base with standard 6 inch 4 turn and 8 inch 5 turn sizing. The big difference is in the connectors. Instead of a closed loop, GE uses a push in tap style of connection. For the 6 inch ask for part WB30M1 and the 8 inch is part WB30M2.

5303935058

We have featured items from GE and Whirlpool to revitalize an ailing electric range. Electrolux also has a lot of ranges out in the world. From Electrolux, we are featuring a "universal" surface burner receptacle, part number 5303935058. This is the piece that you plug your element into. This part works for many of Electrolux's products. This kit comes with hardware that allows the part to work on ranges made by many other manufacturers as well.

WB44x200

Something we notice that comes with the holiday season are calls about older ranges. Often these ranges have been the workhorse for decades of holiday dinners. It is important to the consumer that the appliance is repaired. Luckily, many parts for these older ranges are still available.

For example,consider this GE bake element, part number WB44X200. No longer used in new products, for a long time GE was using this bake element in many of their models. The element measures a width of 13-1/2 inches, length of 16-5/8" inches, and a depth of 2-1/2 inches. The terminal ends are spaced 1-1/4" apart. It is hinge mounted, It was used on GE, Hot Point, RCA, Kenmore and a few other brands. We still get calls for it everyday. We recommend this element for truck stock as we approach the holidays.

308180

Another common older element that we get lots of calls for is Whirlpool's 308180. It is a closed hinged style bake element is 15-3/4 inches long and 16-5/8 inches wide. The terminal depth is three inches and they are 1-3/4 inches apart. This element appears on several hundred models produced by Whirlpool, Roper, Kitchenaid, Kenmore and more. If you have this part in stock as the holidays approach, it will get used. We recommend having one (or more) on hand.

326791

Another common bake element for Whirlpool produced brands is part number 326791. This element is a replacement for a variety of elements that Whirlpool has used in the past. Part numbers 310216, 257987, 660542, 255103, 257376 & 14210176 all are replaced by this element. This part measures: Width 15"x Length 15-5/8". This is an open terminal element. The space between terminals is 11-7/8".

5303051519

The last element that we feature this week is from Electrolux. Another bake element, part 5303051519 was used on many models. Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator, Kenmore, Tappan & White-Westinghouse have ranges that use this element. This part measures: Width 19-1/4"x Length 15". The terminals do not come together at a mounting plate, on this element either. The space between terminals is 13-3/4".

If you are part of an active service  company, any of these parts would make a fine addition to your inventory. Remember, the holidays will be here soon. Not having parts on hand can cause return trips to finish service calls. Be ready with inventory on hand and keep your rate of first call completions high.

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Kelly's Korner - Home on the Range

Hey, All!

Chicken and Biscuit Casserole

Now that the weather is (FINALLY!) starting to cool down, dinner thoughts are turning to those warm and savory meals.  I know we have actually started using the oven again (the Traeger is still tops for cooking meat!) and now is the time to start looking at your stove again.

Take a look at your surface burners and drip pans (if you have them) - are they in good working condition?  Do your drip pans need to be replaced?  Most are inexpensive, but we will need you model number to look up the correct ones.  Beware of the ones offered in variety stores.  These will fit some, but not all, stoves.  If something is not working right, contact your favorite appliance repair technician to come and fix them.  The closer to the holidays, the busier they get, so get a jump on this.

Creative Commons license on image.

Check out your oven - does it need cleaning?  If you have a self-clean oven, run it now.  Self-clean ovens have an unfortunate habit of blowing computer boards and you do not want this happening right before cooking the holiday meals and treats.  The boards could be a factory order, or no longer available and it is way better to find that out now, rather than the week before Thanksgiving and having to go buy a new stove, right?

German Chocolate Cookies

Also, Facebook and the internet are crawling with some great recipes - now is a good time to check these out and use your family as guinea pigs to see if it is a recipe you want to serve during the holidays.  My #1 son made a wonderful wild rice stuffing that we paired with some pork loin and it was FABULOUS!  I will post the recipe as soon as he sends me a link to it.  Definately a keeper!  I also just found a recipe for German Chocolate Cookies that I can't wait to try - yum!

Have a great week!

Monday Motivation

Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.– H. Jackson Browne

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Throwback Thursday: News Recap September 24, 2015

If you have been reading the W.L. May Blog but haven't checked us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, you may not be getting the whole story. We use all of those social media outlets to share news stories that relate to our industry as well as appliance tips we have found from other sources. Here is a recap of some of the top stories we have seen lately. So without further ado:

We start with some consumer friendly articles we feel would be great for sharing:

• Valley News gave us some tips on common refrigerator problems. LINK
• Capital Gazette explored some trends in appliance development. LINK
• Mother Nature News shared a wide variety of cleaning tips in this article. Some about appliances, some not. LINK
• Press herald published tips to get the most out of your freezer-and a green bean recipe! LINK
• Its Nation Food Safety Education Month. Rye's Hamlet Hub had tips for you. LINK
• Columbia Daily Tribune posted some ideas to help your laundry process "go green". LINK

Next, we look at the manufacturers and how they have been in the news recently:

• Haier is introducimg a new refrigerator in Europe that has doors that become see through as you approach the appliance. LINK
• Whirlpool is making a push for larger worldwide market share. LINK
• Later this month, Electrolux will be in court defending the proposed GE merge. Here are some of the  key points they hope to make. LINK

We found some articles that might be of interest to those of you who love all thing appliances:

• An inventor came up with a solution to the old "missing sock in the dryer" problem.LINK
• Recently we told you about a cosmetic overlay to make a refrigerator look like a Game Boy. This kid has made an operating version. LINK
• Usergizmo told us about a hand powered dishwasher. LINK
• The Dunn County News considered environmental regulations and the effext they have on appliance design. LINK

Sometimes, the links we post are related to technology, business or happenings on the Internet:

• We looked at one of the platform that will allow smart appliances to communicate with each other. LINK
• Alphr reported on a plan for laundry in space-and fitness for the astronauts too! LINK
• We shared a link to a wealth of useful links on business. Bookmark the ones you like, it looks like the pages host will be shutting down at the end of the November.LINK
• BT talked about how technology will be transforming your home in the near future. LINK

We close with few just for fun stories:

• A reporter learned you should always be nice to your appliances. LINK
• We shared a look back to the wash days of yore. LINK
• People in our business move refrigerators everyday. It easy to forget how intimidating that can be for folks outside of our industry. LINK
• We read some reflections on how an empty nest is reflected in a refrigerators contents. LINK

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Happy Autumn

Creative Commons on Flickr

W.L. May Company wishes you and you family Happy Autumn!

Kelly's Korner - Dishwasher Dilema Part Deux

Hey, All,

Last week I wrote about the issues I was having with my dishwasher.  Water was not coming into the tub and my dishes were not getting clean.

So I talked to one of my favorite techs, Patrick, and watched a couple of troubleshooting videos on it and pulled up my big girl panties to go home and see what I could find.

When I got home I opened the dishwasher - yup, still dirty dishes! - and took the bottom rack out and set it on the floor.  Then I gently grasped the float (that's the white round dome thing in the corner of your dishwasher floor) and carefully raised and lowered it listening for a click.  The float works kinda like the float in your toilet tank - once there is enough water to float the float, a switch below clicks off to shut off the water flow into the tub.  I heard it click!  Yahoo!  If it didn't click then I had Patrick on speed dial.


So then I closed the door and turned it on for about half a minute - it was running....  So I opened the door and looked to the side and bottom of the tub to see if there was water coming into the tub - THERE WAS!!!!

OK, so now I'm totally confused, right?  There hadn't been any water coming into it before and now there is?  What's up with this?  So I put the bottom rack back in, put in detergent, closed the door and let it run.  Guess what?  I had clean dishes!

On one hand, I'm glad that Patrick didn't have to come over and do a more thorough diagnosis and that I wasn't going to have to pay for a repair.  On the other, I was totally frustrated that after all the worry and whatever, the darned thing was working again!  I told Patrick I think I scared it into working again by threatening it that he was going to come over and tear is apart if it didn't behave.  He thinks I may have had a stuck float switch and me fiddling with it got it working again.  Have you ever had something go wonky and when you get it to the repair person, it runs fine?  ARGH!

So now I have clean dishes and no repair bills, but I think I need to make Patrick some cookies for being there for me.

Hope all your dilemas are as easily solved!

K

Wednesday Weekly Stock: Dishwasher Parts

Every week at W.L. may we have several items we feature as good parts to consider adding to your stock. These parts also have special pricing available. For pricing details, ask your account representative for more information. This week we help you clean up with dishwasher parts for a variety of machines.

675576 (Blue) and 676453 (White)

Often we get call from do-it-yourselfers who want to replace their dishwasher rack. These folks are often surprised at the cost of dishwasher racks. Sometimes they even think that the cost of a new rack is enough to drive them to replacement the dishwasher.

Wear and tear on the rack that can lead to spots where the racks coating wears away. that is not usually enough to condemn the rack to the scrap heap. Dishwasher racks can be spot painted with touch up paints designed specifically for the conditions inside of an operating dishwasher. This week we feature both the blue, #675576, & white, #676453, touch up paints.

Not a featured item this week, but another useful repair piece that often goes with rack touch up paint are tips that slip over tines on the rack. Naturally these are called tine tips and are sold in packages of 125. These are available in white #675679, blue #12022, or grey #676458.

675813

Modern Whirlpool dishwashers generally have a control board in stead of a timer. That board frequently is designed to have a thermal fuse to protect it from overheating. The nice thing about this arrangement is that if the fuse blows, it can be replaced without servicing the whole board. For that thermal fuse your part number is 675813.

We have several other dishwasher parts featured this week as well that we have told you about in the past, such as install pieces, cords and Dwip Pans. For dishwasher parts, or for any other home appliance part, give us a call. We will be happy putting our experience to work serving you.

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