Very long story short: A particular circuit card (I am guessing so) of my 2-1/2
year-old Maytag HE washing machine is susceptible to RFI from… my
propane-fueled furnace! The symptom is occasional: A loud 2-step snapping sound
that emanates from parts of the back of the machine’s control panel when the
furnace first gets the signal from the thermostat, and then begins its cycling
on. It happens just once in a while, and I can prevent it from happening at all
simply by unplugging the washer from the AC outlet. What could be easier?
When the snapping recently occurred when my 16KW Generac generator kicked on
for its weekly 5-minute exercising, I got even more suspicious. And when
yesterday I transmitted with 75 watts on 20 m SSB, using my MFJ Hi-Q Loop up in
the attic about 15-20 feet away from the washer, and I heard the snapping
multiple times, I then said, “This means war!” ;-) (That was the first time I
ever heard the washer do that from me transmitting on any band. I rarely use
more than 50 watts.)
The flat AC cord is a bit under 1/2” across and has a large plug. The plug size
requires about a 2” I.D. core, but I cannot find anything specifically of Type
31 or 77 or, really, anything — except this:
https://palomar-engineers.com/ferrite-products/AC-Cable-Noise-Filter-for-Large-Plugs-3-ID-p75172171
<https://palomar-engineers.com/ferrite-products/AC-Cable-Noise-Filter-for-Large-Plugs-3-ID-p75172171>
But it’s $40+, and I don’t want to spend that kind of money if it’s not the
right tool for the job. No, I will not cut the AC cord. The washer is past its
1 year full parts and labor warranty, so I’m out of luck there. (Until last
November, well past the 1 year, I thought all along it was the furnace making
the snapping sounds.)
Thanks for any ideas. No, I’m not going to replace the washer. As I said, I can
just unplug the thing except for the few times a week I use it.
Howard N7SO
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