ctechbob
Well-known member
Or, why slow nights at work lead me down many rabbit holes.
I've had to order yet another set of replacement 'shock absorbers' for our Samsung front-loading washer. I refuse to pay the $70ea for genuine Samsung parts since those only lasted 2 years, and the replacements are $30 for the set of 4 and last a little over a year.
There's not much to the Samsung piece. It is a chromed rod inside of a plastic friction-fit retaining collar with some grease that just provides friction to the rod. There's no oil or the like in there. They look much more involved than they actually are.
I actually started the journey on McMaster Carr looking for a bushing that I could press into the stock housing that would provide 'better' friction on the shaft. Something like a tighter-fitting PTFE bushing. Then the mind wandered to RC cars and their dampers (too small) and on to mountain bikes.
So, notice what I have open in my Amazon tab. (Yes, I know they are cheap chinesium)
When the new set gets here, the old ones are going to be measured and I'm going to try this idea out. The 'shock absorbers' in the case of Samsung do no provide any support or spring to the drum. They are just there for damping. I figure to dismount the spring from these mountain bike pieces, modify the ends to fit, and roll with it.
Of course, I'll check to see that the damping is similar. It won't do to have the replacements being super stiff since that would stress the bearings in the machine, but I highly suspect that these Chinese shocks just rely on super stiff springs and minimal compression and rebound for their damping.
I've had to order yet another set of replacement 'shock absorbers' for our Samsung front-loading washer. I refuse to pay the $70ea for genuine Samsung parts since those only lasted 2 years, and the replacements are $30 for the set of 4 and last a little over a year.
There's not much to the Samsung piece. It is a chromed rod inside of a plastic friction-fit retaining collar with some grease that just provides friction to the rod. There's no oil or the like in there. They look much more involved than they actually are.
I actually started the journey on McMaster Carr looking for a bushing that I could press into the stock housing that would provide 'better' friction on the shaft. Something like a tighter-fitting PTFE bushing. Then the mind wandered to RC cars and their dampers (too small) and on to mountain bikes.
So, notice what I have open in my Amazon tab. (Yes, I know they are cheap chinesium)
When the new set gets here, the old ones are going to be measured and I'm going to try this idea out. The 'shock absorbers' in the case of Samsung do no provide any support or spring to the drum. They are just there for damping. I figure to dismount the spring from these mountain bike pieces, modify the ends to fit, and roll with it.
Of course, I'll check to see that the damping is similar. It won't do to have the replacements being super stiff since that would stress the bearings in the machine, but I highly suspect that these Chinese shocks just rely on super stiff springs and minimal compression and rebound for their damping.
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