Vent: Three hours to fix a simple ice maker connection

Went to swap out a bad water valve on a Whirlpool fridge yesterday. Figured 45 minutes tops. The compression fitting was cross-threaded from the factory or something, took me forever to get it off without stripping the copper line. Then the new valve had a slightly different bracket alignment. Ended up drilling new holes and it still sat weird. Three hours for what should have been a quick job. Has anyone else run into newer fridges where nothing lines up like it used to?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee_bailey6526d ago

Read somewhere that manufacturers deliberately change up valve brackets every few years just to make you buy their branded parts. Three hours sounds brutal though, I hate when a quick swap turns into a whole project. At least you got it working even if it took way longer than it should have.

torres.jason26d ago

That's just how everything is now, not just car parts. I noticed it with my washing machine last year. The belt snapped, simple fix right? Nope, they changed the pulley size halfway through the model year so the old belt doesn't fit. Had to order the "updated" part from the manufacturer for twice the price. Same thing with my buddy's lawnmower. They tweak the carburetor mount every season so you're forced into their dealer network. It's planned obsolescence but in parts form instead of the whole product. Three hours is rough but at least you didn't have to wait a week for a bracket that costs $5 to make.