The number of people who confuse thermistors with thermostats is honestly wild

Went to a call last Tuesday in Lansing where the customer already had two guys look at their dryer. Both said the heating element was bad. Turns out the thermistor was reading open at room temp. Simple 10 dollar part vs a 60 dollar element and a lot of wasted time. How many of you actually test these things cold before ordering parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_mitchell1mo ago

@spencer_owens58 same here. Saved a guy's dryer with a $10 thermistor once.

spencer_owens581mo ago

Man these other techs are something else. I swear some of them just show up and start reading the part numbers without checking anything. I had one guy tell me a dryer was "obviously a bad motor" because it wouldn't tumble. Turns out the belt was just snapped. Two minute fix. Testing a thermistor cold takes like ten seconds with a multimeter. But nah let's just shotgun parts at it and call it a day.

taylor.reese1mo ago

How much time are you really saving by skipping the basic checks though? If you're already there with the multimeter in your hand, testing a thermistor or checking a belt takes what, five extra minutes max. I've seen too many guys replace motors and boards only to find out the customer's still got the same problem and now they're pissed. It's not about being fancy, it's about not having to explain to a customer why you charged them for a part they didn't need.