3 April 2021
Recently, we had a problem with our Maytag washer. I installed this washer, and built the cabinetry around it a month before we left Kingston in April 2009 – 12 years ago.
We last had a problem (coin in the sump pump caused a rattling noise) when in Australia 4 years ago. This time, the problem was with loud thumping noises made when spinning at high rates. So, we took the day to essentially “take apart” a large section of the galley, so that we could access the washing machine. The counter and dish racks had to be removed. I even took off the door of the front loading washer, in order to make it easier to move out – and lift up onto our salon table, where I could work on it.
Once on the table, with the rear panel removed, the problem was apparent. This front-loading washer drum is “hung” with two springs – and the motion dampened by two shock absorbers. These two shock absorbers were completely ineffective, and needed to be replaced.
Much to my surprise, Maytag washing machines are still made and marketed – although just not in Turkey. Here I easily found Bosch replacements, for a cheap price (under $20 CDN for both). I replaced the shock absorbers, but considered the springs to be still good (but I sprayed them with CorrosionX oil). After putting the washing machine back in place, the next challenge was to reinstall the door – and this is where I ran into trouble. It seems that the door with a front loader is a critical piece of equipment, and very sensitive to alignment. After trying for an hour, I gave up and called in the service technician, the same guy who sold me the two shock absorbers. He came and fixed the problem in about 20 minutes. It cost 80TL (under $14 CDN) for his on-site visit and repair, and then I had to pay the marina another 350TL (actually 35 euros) for their “tax”. In this marina, like all marinas in Turkey, all repair work on the boats must be conducted “through” the office. Normally, that means that they handle outsourcing the manpower and parts, and a $50 job quickly becomes a $500 job. In this case, I sourced the parts and labour myself, and had to pay them the day rate of 35 euros to have this technician work on my boat. The fact that he finished the job in 20 minutes and not 8 hours is a “red herring”. I still had to pay 35 euros. Isn’t that interesting?
When we left Canada 12 years ago, we first used a USB cabled external antenna/amplifier to pickup weak wifi signals. A few years later, I discovered IslandTime PC – and bought a fully configured Ubiquiti Bullet and 12V navigation computer. This Bullet worked very well for us, for years. When in NZ, I found that the 5GHz networks had less traffic on them than the 2.4GHz networks, so I bought and installed a Mikrotik Groove, alongside my Bullet. I used the Groove and 5GHz omni-directional antenna for some networks and the Bullet and 2.4GHz antenna for others, flip flopping back and forth from month to month – depending on the network. Finally, when in India two years ago, the Bullet “died in the sun”. So I ordered a replacement Ubiquiti Bullet M2 HP through Amazon – but took delivery in Canada. We had planned to return to Canada in 2020, but because of COVID-19, were unable to. This left dozens of spares and replacement parts stranded in Canada. We have a Canadian friend right here in Alanya who’s son flew from Canada to Turkey for a visit this past winter – and we were very grateful that he was able to hand carry this replacement Ubiquiti Bullet for us. I finally installed it a few weeks ago, and we are back to normal (using the configuration file provided by Bob on IslandTime PC). Thanks Bob.
After years of living in countries where the toilets are fitted with nozzles or have a hand sprayer nearby – we finally decided to install one in the aft cabin. I would love to install one of these “butt spraying” toilets in our boat, but boat toilets are very different to “land-based” home toilets.
Our toilets are Lavac Zenith vacuum toilets, and it would be way too difficult to drill through the Royal Dalton China bowl to fit a sprayer – so the next best thing is a “butt sprayer”, as shown in this photo.
A few months ago, in order to completely eliminate galvanic corrosion (which seemed to happen more with us being plugged into docks in 220-land and running A/C), I removed two Guest Galvanic Isolators. I reconfigured the existing Victron Isolation Transformer to completely isolate the live, neutral and ground wires. This is a photo of the installed 220V Isolation Transformer.
This past week, I completed the installation of a second identical Victron Isolation Transformer.
This one is especially for the 110V circuit, something that we won’t connect up for several years – not until we return to “110-land”, North America and much of the Caribbean. Now, I am convinced that I have done “all that can be done” to prevent galvanic corrosion from happening. The only thing remaining is to check my zincs every month, and replace them as necessary.