So my oven repair didn’t go as well yesterday as my A/C repair the day before.
The relay switch on the board that controls everything had failed. They don’t make the board anymore and it’s not for sale anywhere. But you can send it “out for repair” to someone on the internet, so they took the part out and mailed it off.
I thought, the oven hasn’t worked for 3 weeks and I’ve been fine with the countertop oven / convection oven/ air fryer, so I didn’t give it another thought. Until it occurred to me that NOTHING works without the board. I had some leftover pizza that got me through yesterday and today. So here I sit, waiting for the cheap electric skillet to arrive so I can make some dinner.
Oh good, Amazon says it’s out for delivery. Then I clicked to see all the details, and it’s been out for delivery for the past 7-1/2 hours!
I am hungry and I’m going to be very cranky if it doesn’t arrive today.
But at least my head isn’t *so big that someone thinks I need 2 bandannas, so I have that going for me! (Just teasing, John.)
*I do recall, though, from cap & gown measurements in high school that I do have a bigger than average head.
Open thread.
Baud
I’m sad that your hungry.
zhena gogolia
I’m sorry, that is truly enraging.
Omnes Omnibus
I stand by my comment on BlueSky that the girl was flirting with Cole.
WaterGirl
I picked up some rice from the Asian place at the corner, and I figured I would stir fry some veggies from the garden to go with the rice.
Hope I don’t end up eating plain white rice for dinner. At least I have beer and wine.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I suspect you are right.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: I usually am. Just ask me.
eclare
A hot meal soothes so many nerves. That is a big reason that I support WCK and feel for people in Gaza. I hope your electric skillet gets to you soon!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
I’m amazed there’s a place that claims to repair such boards. We’ve dealt with old appliances and “board failure” before, often still being able to scrounge and find a replacement board from some 3rd or 4th party reseller, sometimes a used board.
When that couldn’t happen, it was new appliance time, something my spouse hates because she’ll attempt to fix anything, washer, dryer, stove, younameit.
Good luck!
gene108
If you want company “ugh” expenses, I had new tires installed today. I brought my car in for a tire rotation. I was pretty sure I needed new tires, but hoped they could last a bit longer until I get some other expenses paid.
Edit: I paid $850 including tax, with a 5% discount. I remember getting new tires 20 years ago for around $300. The cost of everything feels more burdensome this year than in 2023 and 2024.
Edit 2: Honestly, what I see is if I splurge this year, unlike 2023 and 2024, I can’t save like I did in those years after splurging.
eclare
@gene108:
That is a huge ugh.
Nukular Biskits
Good evenin’, y’all!
Been a busy week so I missed what the failure was.
stinger
Another bighead here. When the catalog description of a hat says “one size fits all”, they don’t.
gene108
I had an epiphany yesterday. I’m not sure why it took me this long to figure it out. I work in accounting, but originally got my bachelor’s degree in geology.
I realized that unlike science and math, there are very few abstract concepts involved in learning accounting. There are rules unique to accounting, but trying to figure out something abstract like how rock formations run underground to guess where the next outcropping will be isn’t needed.
Nukular Biskits
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
I generally will attempt to repair my own appliances as well, but given the use of electronics in a lot of appliances, a main board failure is often where I draw the line.
Depending on the age of the appliance and the cost of the board, I’ll usually purchase a new appliance rather than attempt to replace the offending assembly.
WaterGirl
So after I wrote this I got tired of waiting. So I had steak with plain white rice, walked my plate to the kitchen and saw the Amazon van drive up. Oh well.
My veggies will be there tomorrow and I am going to console myself with Jeni’s Darkest Chocolate ice cream, which I am going to eat right from the container.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I’m no longer sad.
WaterGirl
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: This is a Jenn Air oven and was the last thing my father ever gave me – in 1995 – and he died later this year.
So I want to fix it if at all possible. They said they would see me next week, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
WaterGirl
@gene108: That’s a lot of money for tires!
MagdaInBlack
@WaterGirl: Is there any other way to eat ice cream?
Sorry for all the aggravation, as if we don’t all have enough. But thank god for ice cream, right?
(eta: I seem to have a pint of Ben’n ‘Jerrys caramel core ice cream. feels like dinner to me)
WaterGirl
@stinger: Ha! I had that problem with a lacy red “one size fits all” bra my friend loaned me for a special occasion. It fit me, but it never fit her again. Oops.
That was when I learned to doubt “one size fits all”.
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits: @comrade scotts agenda of rage: The last time I had a problem with the oven was probably 15 or 20 years ago, and I had an old-time repair person who told me at the time that a new board would cost $1,000 but that he could solder it to repair the problem, which he did.
He is long gone, so I couldn’t call him.
WaterGirl
@Baud: And I’m no longer hungry.
Scout211
That sucks, WaterGirl! I hope your frying pan arrives today.
Since we finally got an actual Amazon delivery route out here in the boonies, deliveries are really good compared to UPS or Postal Service Amazon deliveries in the past. But sometimes the truck doesn’t arrive until after dark. Maybe it’s still on the way to your house. I hope.
ETA: I see your update and you did get your frying pan. Yay!
Steve LaBonne
@WaterGirl: You have extremely good taste in ice cream.
WaterGirl
@Steve LaBonne: I think so!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: The ice cream sounds wonderful.
Scout211
My last set of tires cost $1,000. They are expensive these days.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Speaking of living out in the boonies, I mailed Betty Cracker an acrylic flamingo pitcher – it weighed almost nothing and it was $35 to ship, the cheapest way possible. I was shocked.
Then I mailed the raffle earrings to the winner, who also lives out in the boonies, and it cost $35 to mail the little earring box, which also weighted almost nothing! Shocked again!
The second time the clerk told me there is a $20 surcharge when you ship something to someone out in the country. Both times were UPS, and that seemed like bullshit to me, so I won’t be sending anything by UPS to anyone who lives out in the boonies!
I bet they don’t add that surcharge to businesses that are shipping, just to consumers. Pissed me off.
Ealbert
As Erma Bombeck (a humor columnist years back) wrote, “One size fits all is a sentence fragment.” (She wrote the book ” The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank”.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Wow.
My car guy told me last year that I would want to get tires in a year or so, not because they were worn but because i don’t drive the car a lot so I have to worry about dry rot.
This is not the year for me to spend $1k on tires!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@WaterGirl:
You should see the rate difference with FedEx when it comes to personal vs commercial or government.
I could ship a laptop computer across the country to a personal address for $10-12 when I was with Club Fed. It would cost me 4-5 times that if it were just me.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
Jenn-Air was (and I guess still is) kinda high-end.
How old is it? If it’s of a certain vintage, the board is gonna have a lot of discrete components that are easy (for someone who has the tools and background) to remove/replace.
The problem with the newer stuff is it’s all surface-mount (which is impossible for me to solder now) and very highly-integrated where a range of functions are consolidated into just a few chips. You gotta definitely have the right stuff to repair those boards and those days are long behind me … I can’t see well enough anymore, even with readers, to do that fine detailed work.
Jackie
Newly fired Billy Long’s consolation prize is the Ambassador to Iceland. I’m sure that’s a desirable ambassadorship!
Oops! Forgot this: apnews.com/article/billy-long-out-as-irs-commissioner-3dbf8315a69a320b91ae629dab41b159?utm_source=co…
Baud
@Jackie:
Iceland is beautiful.
Scout211
@Jackie: I saw that.
. . .
Trump is running out of loyal minions. Pretty soon his loyal minions will each be running at least three agencies. Seems very efficient.
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits: Jenn Air WAS definitely high end, but the reading i’ve done in the past week tells me that they are kind of crap these days.
It’s not crazy that the original oven has had 30 good years, but apparently the newer ones are not well built and what I saw on the internet said to stay away from them now.
Really hoping they can fix the relay switch on the board so I won’t have to think about replacing it. I don’t want to spend the money and that was the last thing my Dad ever gave me, so this daddy’s girl doesn’t want to let it go.
Jackie
@Baud: I’m sure it is. I was thinking about the winters.
mrmoshpotato
Aldi beef birria in the oven.
Jackie
@Scout211:
And many countries will have multiple US ambassadors ALL AT THE SAME TIME LOL
Jackie
@mrmoshpotato: YUM!
Scout211
Trump’s war against California has escalated.
. . .
The state of California plans to sue, Newsom said.
Miss Bianca
@gene108: I’m in the same spot as you – my tires are worn down to the “dangerously bald” phase. Just got my new ones – screaming deal from Tire Rack! – less than $500! – but I had to wait to get them till I got paid.
Now I just need to get the garage to install them before I have to go to Denver on Thursday…
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: Sounds like your’e burning daylight, timing-wise.
HinTN
@WaterGirl: I bet it didn’t cost $35 to ship the quilt.
ETA: The earrings arrived as advertised and Mrs H was delighted with the anniversary present. Once again thanks to the recipient of the quilt for agreeing to the swap, and to you for doing the logistics.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
In my previous life, we had a Kenmore dryer (her father used to work at Sears in the service department, so most everything we had was Kenmore, Craftsman, etc, … back when that actually meant something) for over 20 years.
I replaced just about every single moving and electrical part on it over the years because A) it was ridiculously easy to work on and B) the cost of the parts (even the motor) was still cheaper than a whole new dryer.
Of course, a lot of the wear & tear was largely due to my ex repeatedly putting clothes that hadn’t spun out in the washer (and, thus, were VERY HEAVY) into the dryer.
Sister Golden Bear
@WaterGirl:
This is the way.
gene108
@Miss Bianca:
That’s a great deal. I checked TireRack and didn’t find any deals for my car. Nothing less expensive than what I bought.
I opted for the road hazard warranty, which added to the price.
I should be getting a $60 gift card for signing up for the tire store credit card.
WaterGirl
@HinTN: Oh, good. I thought those earrings were stunning.
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits:
Why would someone do that? Did she think that spinning was bad for clothes?
dnfree
@WaterGirl: Unfortunately, no, it’s not a lot of money for good all-weather tires.
dnfree
@WaterGirl: That’s what’s good about the post office! It’s gotten much more expensive, but the extra charge isn’t for the boonies. Weight and size and distance are the factors.
Gravenstone
Since no one else appears to have mentioned it, you can get decent induction stand alone burners that will heat any iron/steel cookware you place on them. I don’t have personal experience yet, but lots of people rave about how responsive induction cooking it. Probably redundant if you have an electric skillet (they still sell those) on order, but something to keep in mind.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
Long story but she absolutely refused to accept the reality that an incomplete washer cycle (for whatever reason) was possible and that the operator had to be smarter than both appliances combined.
Sorry if that sounded mean … LOL.
Seriously, I remember more than once she complained the dryer wasn’t drying the clothes and, when I checked, they were still dripping. Literally.
dnfree
@WaterGirl: That’s what’s good about the post office! It’s gotten much more expensive, but the extra charge isn’t for the boonies. Weight and size and distance are the factors.
As for business shipping—you’d be surprised to find that the “last mile problem” is often solved by catalog companies, for instance, by using a combination of a shipping service like UPS or FedEx for the majority of the distance, and then your local post office to get it to your home. It’s a clever solution.
WaterGirl
Wow, there’s a ton of assembly for this electric skillet. I would have been kind of cranky trying to do this while I was really hungry.
Scout211
I used to ship packages to my grandkids in Washington from California via priority mail. It used to be very efficient, usually arriving in two days. Now if the package doesn’t get lost, the two day shipping has turned into maybe it will get there in 5 days. And it’s so much more expensive than it used to be.
It’s still less expensive than UPS or FedEx but it isn’t as reliable as it used to be. Now I just send them gifts directly from Amazon. I gave up on the postal service package delivery and I’m sad about that.
WaterGirl
@Gravenstone: Just finished assembling, and then washing, the new skillet. So too late for me!
Geminid
@WaterGirl: When the propane tanks ar my little cottage gave out in June,* I bought an electric hotplate at Walmart for $30. Now I get by with that and a toaster. But I was never much of a cook to begin with.
* My landlord and I agreed it was better to go all electric. I have a camp stove I can use if there is a power outage.
Lan
WaterGirl
@dnfree: The UPS store is .5 miles from my house in one direction, and Fed Ex is .5 miles in another direction.
The Post Office is farther (further?) and there is always an annoyingly long line, and I hate waiting in lines. But yeah, if it turns out the Fed Ex also charges an extra $20 for shipping to the boonies, I would definitely suck it up and go to the post office. I don’t think Fed Ex does that, and luckily I don’t ship to the boonies very often!
frosty
@WaterGirl: I just bought tires for s Mazda 3. Nothing special. Just shy of $1000.
frosty
@WaterGirl: I just bought tires for a Mazda 3. Nothing special. Just shy of $1000.
stinger
@WaterGirl: Kwitcher braggin.
WaterGirl
@stinger: Nah. I was watching Ballard last night thinking that small breasts are a lot sexier than big ones, thinking that guys have it all wrong.
So that wasn’t bragging.
WaterGirl
@frosty: Wow, okay, now I’m prepared, mentally at least.
Last time my car guy had me order them online (cheaper) and have them delivered to him for installation. That as several years ago.
eclare
@Scout211:
Yeah, $850 including tax isn’t bad. But I always get the most highly rated tires because it’s the only part of the car that touches the road.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
I used to work at FedEx, it’s expensive. The post office is probably your best bet. FedEx used to have a deal with the USPS that the package would fly with FedEx, but then for that “last mile” the USPS would take over. The USPS was going to that address anyway, made sense.
Scout211
Yeah, we usually go with Michelin all-weather tires but we do check the ratings and always buy highly rated all-weather tires.
Jackie
@Scout211: I use Priority Mail still, to ship things from WA to Florida. There’s no weight limit so I load that box with heavy stuff – including jarred preserves! It’s less than $25 for the large box. I always have the postal representative weigh it and tell me what it would cost if shipped “regularly.” I always save around $45/50 bucks :-)
mrmoshpotato
@Nukular Biskits: Did the washer have a drain cycle to get rid of the basketful of water?
sab
My GE washing machine broke three days after the one year warranty expired.
Door lock shorted out. That fried the mother board. Replacimg the mother board costs almost as much as a new washer. Why does a washing machine even need to have a mother board? My old washing machines each worked fine for twenty five years without mother boards. I don’t need my washer to be going on the internet.
Last GE product I will ever buy.
Nukular Biskits
@mrmoshpotato:
Part of the problem was that my ex would let the washer run off-balance (which caused several instances of damage to both the appliance AND sheetrock … remember, this was years ago before the advent of washers that would stop and alarm for off-balance loads), which meant the clothes sometimes weren’t exactly drip-free.
Nukular Biskits
@sab:
One of the problems I have with dishwashers, washing machines and (to a lesser extent) dryers is that the control boards are NOT isolated from the warm, humid air the appliance’s operations generate.
This is particularly true for a lot of dishwashers which have the control board in the top of the door … right where the hot, humid air is exhausted.
kindness
Oven stories. We redid our kitchen in 2011. We put in a Dacor double oven. Their top of the line. I paid more for it because it was an American brand out of Pasadina and made here. About 5 years ago, the top oven’s board went out and I could only use the bottom oven. It was the same size so no big. Eventually I got around to contacting the local shop that did their repairs. As it turns out, Dacor was bought by Samsung in 2015. Samsung in their wisdom made replacement boards for the one that went out, except there was a catch. The original Dacor board for the lower oven couldn’t interact with the new Samsung board. So instead of one $600 board replacement, I had to buy 2 of them. Assholes. I love the oven. It’s fabulous. Were I to do it over again, I probably wouldn’t buy the Dacor. It is no longer American made and there are just as good of ones out there for a lot less. Such is life I guess.
WTFGhost
@WaterGirl: Well, then you never have to have plain *white* rice.
@Omnes Omnibus: A rightie, eh?
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: Truth to tell, it might not be *that* hard to reverse engineer a simple range controller. That’s a large part of “right to repair” laws.
@WaterGirl: it didn’t promise one size fits all, all the time, even after being stretched (unless you’re so small you caused a contraction in bra material, a result I’d never heard of, nor would I ever speculate about, except I’m not stoned enough to realize I shouldn’t. I’ll be back later. When it’s safe.)
@Gravenstone: a *good* induction cooktop is as good as a professional kitchen burner. I set it to 175 F, and you can see the circle the induction heater makes, with tiny bubbles throughout the sauce over the entire area. You can use it for sous vide; you can use it to temper chocolate if you don’t need more than precision than the cooktop provides; and you’d be amazed at how fast pots and pans heat up, when nothing *but* the steel is being heated. In fact, be careful reheating tomato based sauces – you can easily scorch the saucepan, if you don’t increase the temperature slowly.
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: Shipping is a racket.
I needed to send a small box from NoVA to Boston overnight. I didn’t make the cutoff at work, so I looked into dropping it off and paying myself. $200+??!
Nope.
I sent it at work overnight the next day. Less than $6.
It’s a racket… :-/
Fingers crossed for your stove. We’re getting a new LG induction stove around the end of the month (ordered before the new ROK tariffs). Around $3k, but it was finally time to replace the 1963 GE thing that I’ve hated as long as we’ve been here…
Best wishes,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@kindness: Absolutely maddening!
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: It is a racket!