u/HeadOfMax

I've been a Chicagoan all my life and lived in Rogers part since 2015. I've been repairing appliances for over a decade and have been running my own business since 2022. I've been a parent since 2013 and a full time single parent since 2023. My business is the smallest of small businesses just me driving my little hybrid around the city fixing things for people, no employees no corporate interests. I believe AI is bad, I believe everyone in this world has a place in it and I don't vote for horrible people. It bothers me that there are companies using Chicago in their name while living in Naperville and sending beginners out to fix things for people here in the city.

Fixing things for people makes me happy, about as happy as cooking for people. I do things other appliance repair people don't to save appliances that have parts that aren't made anymore and make sure people don't get gouged.

I saved an 18" dishwasher by using my soldering iron to adjust a worn plastic piece on a latch so it would catch and open the door again. The latch was NLA so this is a hail Mary.

Another couple with a very fresh baby had a whirlpool front load washer from the year 2000. The motor control board was NLA so I sourced a used one from an eBay appliance junkyard vendor and got it going again.

One other person had an LG AIO under counter washer dryer combo. They had gotten an estimate from another service for $275 labor and $350 for a board because it wasn't drying clothes. I came by for a second estimate and all it really needed was a thorough cleaning of the lint in the condensation duct. I charged $199 for a thorough cleaning and also instructed them on how to keep up with it so it didn't get this bad again.

I scale my labor rates based on the replacement cost of the appliance. I do discounts for those who are food insecure and or just need a win. I always make friends with the animals I meet on the job.

I absolutely missed a few messages last week and I apologize. I've updated my reddit settings to email me when someone sends a chat so even if I press the wrong button and ignore your message I won't lose you.

Send me a message if you need help I'm happy to consult, review another company's estimate or just let you know if something is worth repairing.

The first cat I met on a job, the two cats are my roommates and the breakfast burrito is what I make my son every morning. Honestly sometimes I just want to close my business to make breakfast burritos and sell them out of a cooler like the tamale guy.

[Selling] Gas Oven Repair $199

I run a small appliance repair business based in Rogers Park. I'm the smallest of small businesses, a full time single parent fixing things for people to support my family. I also spend way too much time on Reddit answering questions in /r/appliancerepair. I am fully insured and have been repairing residential appliances for over a decade.

Fall is here and that means we are going into the cooking season. I've noticed a lot of people start to notice issues with their ovens in the fall when we all start spending more time in our homes.

I'm running a special for October on gas oven bake igniter replacements. $199 flat rate and the part is included.

A weak bake igniter can cause a myriad of issues

No bake

Takes forever to preheat

Smells like gas when using oven

Excessive carbon monoxide

Heats to temp then then drops out

Excessive noise during ignition

$50 off this service if you show me your link card, layoff letter, are a senior on a fixed income or any number of other situations. Just let me know you need help and we can work something out.

Random pic of me with a customers dog for tax purposes.

Aldi has new more premium chicken patties in a red bag. This is my first time trying them.

I bought a wukkos td02 for my daily and really liked it. I needed to put a screw in the holes of the tail end to keep it in my belt sheath though.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8Y9KS1Q?ref=ppx\_pop\_mob\_ap\_share

It lasted about 8 months and after a few weeks of messaging back and forth with them they agreed to send me a new one and asked for my info but never did.

I grabbed a nebo from my local hardware store and that only lasted 2 months. I didn't really like the side switch or the single rechargable AA battery in it though.

I'd like something about the size of the wukkos with a tail switch. I don't need modes, maybe low/high or adjustable. Focus would be nice. I don't want onboard charging as that's a fail point and I always have spare 18650 batteries in my car or toolbag. Waterproof would help as that's now the nebo died. I'm happier if it doesn't have strobe or sos flash.

I've tried a few Amazon 4 packs of super cheap ones as why not if I'm killing them that quickly but those sucked.

My flashlight goes with me everywhere and I use it for work a LOT so I'm not opposed to spending more $$$. At the same time with how quickly I break them a bulk buy of cheaper ones doesn't sound bad but I've been disappointed by all the ones I've tried.

Thanks in advance.