Lemon, see through in the sunlight
A man builds a city with banks and cathedrals
A man melts the sands so he can see the world outside
I’m starting to think it is a lemon.
A couple years ago, we did some remodeling and updating of our kitchen. The capstone of the renovation project was the purchase and installation of an in-wall oven and microwave combo unit made by Frigidaire.
We found the item online from a Michigan company that deals in closeout models. It seemed to be a really good deal. We received the unit shipped as freight.
We don’t often receive freight at 409 Moser.
All the while we had been working with a fellow doing the renovations in our kitchen. He installed the oven/microwave unit for us and we were thrilled with the final product. We were even more thrilled with the renovations in general. But, again, the key piece was the oven/microwave unit.
For a while, it worked to perfection.
Then, about a year ago, the microwave stopped working. It had ‘blown a fuse.’ We paid to have the fuse replaced. Then, it blew again.
Grudgingly, we dug our old counter top microwave out of the garage and pressed it back into service. Lisa and I talked, back and forth, about what a long-term fix might be. We hadn’t come to any conclusions and, then, we experienced the next wrinkle in the big picture.
Lisa was baking cornbread last week. She was about to pull the finished product – baked-to-perfection – out of the oven when one oven handle came loose from the oven façade. So, she shifted gears and began to pull on the other handle to open the door and, just then, she heard a cracking sound.
I heard it from the other room. It almost sounded like it whispered and moaned.
And just after the cracking sound faded, I heard a large crash, followed by a gasp. When silence, again, reigned, I uttered a quick “Everything all right in there?” Lisa’s reply was a terse “No.”
I hurried into the kitchen to find glass everywhere. The glass façade of the oven had given way. It cracked into several large pieces which then fell to the floor and shattered. The glass scattered throughout the entire kitchen and even into the dining room, with some pieces sliding all the way past the dining room table to the other side of the room.
“Clean-up on Aisle 11…”
We didn’t exactly don Tyvek® suits, but we might as well have. This was a major cleanup effort. With the two of us working together – her with a broom and dustpan and me with the Shop Vac®, it took about 15 minutes to get all the glass up out of the floor.
Our first fear was that the glass would be hot and might threaten to singe the floor. Fortunately, the glass didn’t have any heat at all. I guess the unit was insulated even if it was poorly designed.
As we were finishing the cleanup, a thought occurred to me. This unit is a lemon.
On the plus side, the cornbread survived. In fact, it was quite delicious.
The next morning, Lisa called around and found a local company that repairs Frigidaire units. They’ve ordered the replacement piece to repair the glass façade. Unfortunately, it will cost more than just a nominal fee.
The gentleman who came out to make the repairs also offered to repair the microwave. But, when he started listing all the “And thens…” (in other words “And then, you’ll need a ____. And then, we’ll have to replace the ____. And then…“), it soon became obvious we could replace the entire microwave for much less.
Lisa has the dimensions and is currently looking around to find a replacement unit.
And we’ve come to terms with the fact this unit may well be a dud. It came from a ‘close-out’ dealership. There is probably a reason why.
So, we’ve just proven the old adage, once again, that if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
JG
(Source: youtube.com)
Originally posted 2/27/2012
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