UPDATE: This has now being resolved by Norwalk to my fullest satisfaction. Can’t wait to see the juices flowing again.

Background story: I’m an electrician by trade, repair and modify cars as a hobby, tinker with engines and transmissions and repair everything that’s broken in my household, so in short, I’m a handy man.

My house was flooded in Sept 2008 during a three day down pour and my juicer was submerged in 7ft water. About two weeks ago my wife decided she wanted to start juicing again and the juicer was brought out of it’s long term storage so I can finally have a look at it and see if I can get that machine going again. Sounded like a nice challenge and a cheap way to get my $2500 Model 240 going again.

I took it completely apart on the July 4th weekend, removed the hydraulic oil since it had gunk in it, removed the oil residue from the press, removed the pump, motor, switch and everything else that I could take a screw out.

So now at least I had an idea on how this machine works (very simple actually) and started to think about the parts I needed to get my 240 going again.

First email to Norwalk service was July 2nd to find out how much a replacement motor would cost because I wanted to get an idea how much it would set me back. So John Noah (helpful fella in the beginning) emailed me back and let me know a new motor was $250. Ok, not bad I thought in case the motor is shot.

Now as I mentioned before I started to take the juicer apart over the 4th July weekend. So further investigation after disassembling showed a slightly crushed O-ring, the rusted motor bearings and a cracked front plate. Also the power switch might be bad, since it had been submerged for so long, but I didn’t check it out yet with my multimeter as I was thinking about simply replacing it for flawless operation further on.

So yesterday I called Norwalk’s 800 number, gave them my Model and serial# and proceeded to explain what parts I would like to order so I could get my juicer in working condition again. To my surprise I was told by Carol (she introduced herself as the companies president) that parts are not available for sale and that I should send in my juicer for repair. The prospect of sending in such a heavy machine with adequate packing and the associated costs did not sit very well with me. Not only that, on top of that I would also have to pay the repair bill plus the parts when I was absolutely able to repair the machine myself. After all replacing an automatic transmission on a car is a bit more difficult and I have done that before without a problem.

In my disgust I started to google for companies who might sell parts for the machine, but to no avail. In the meantime I found this forum here and noticed by reading a few very informative threads that Paul seems to be ‘the man’ when it comes to repairs of the juicer. I found his email, dropped him an email asking for help and got a nice message back from a friend of his, who tremendously helped me out in explaining the current state of Norwalk and it’s business practices.

Well.. today I tried again to call Norwalk support, this time on their listed phone number for non-warranty service which looks like this: ‘For All eBay questions and Non-Warranty Service (479) 770-0248’

A woman answered, sounded OK with my request for a few parts like the hydraulic return spring, the switch and o-rings, but once she asked for the serial# for my juicer, she told me to hold on and maybe 30 seconds later Carol was back on the phone telling me that she told me yesterday that parts are not available. The funny part is, the woman who picked up the phone was mentioning to me that the spring was $4, so obviously they do have a price list for parts. Very interesting. Carol INSISTED that I send in the juicer for repair since I had no idea what was wrong with it and only they could determine the damage to the juicer. So I explained to her that this is a rather simple machine and easy to understand, so I was sure I could fix it myself and I asked her if I could maybe get a warranty with the repair or something else that I’m missing if I don’t send it in for repair. While I was trying to convince her that I was very capable of making my juicer work again with the help of the parts I mentioned she simply HUNG UP on me while I was still talking. How rude!

So, in retrospect, the juicer is a nice machine and works very well, but the company president is not and Norwalk is dead to me. I will never recommend this product to anyone ever again with such horrible customer service that you can’t even repair your own machine when it’s out of warranty.

I will still try to repair my machine as best as I can by sourcing parts from different venues, after all I shelled out a LARGE sum of money for it, but never ever again will I deal with Norwalk.

Sorry for my ramblings, I’m severely pissed off and some of my writing maybe won’t make sense.

Thomas Reich – Model 240 owner and blacklisted customer at Norwalk

Just for giggles, I challenge readers on this board trying to get parts from Norwalk which have juicers that are out of warranty and see what kind of ‘nice’ responses they get from Carol.

Perhaps you should try using a Champion Juicer instead. =)

Haha… good advice my dear. Especially when I look at their website and their parts list. They sell oil seals, o-rings, switches, sensors.. all the minor parts to get your juicer going again. Amazing.

I’m not linking to that website, because I don’t want it to look like I’m a puppet of those guys.

tahoe, meneri is my wife and I’m the handy husband that got blown off by Norwalk.

I rather not spent $400 on a used 240 when I maybe can get the parts for $100 all together.

Scummer, under the circumstances, I’d be upset too, but Tahoe’s thought had occurred to me as well: when I started pricing Norwalks back in 1988, I seem to recall they were somewhat <$2000, then they were in the $2000 range. At present, a new all-stainless 275 lists for $2500—how did you end up paying that much for a 240?! BTW, you’re the second husband-wife team that has posted here.

Karen,

I actually didn’t pay $2500 since I bought the juicer used about a decade ago and it worked flawlessly until 2008 as mentioned in my first post. Only once had I had to top of the hydraulic fluid a bit.

But I’ve seen the pricing on the Norwalk website that current model juicers go for $2500, so in my ramble I just simply attached the current models pricing to my 240… my fault.

Whatever price the juicer was back in 1983 when the model 240’s were made, I’m sure it wasn’t cheap and I still paid a nice coin for the 240 when I purchased it used from the previous owner a decade back.

So currently I’m sitting on a hunk of metal, which needs a few parts to refresh the juicer like power switch, o-rings, motor bearings (now that I’m smarter and I know I can just swap the bearings out), an oil seal (which I didn’t think of before), some hydraulic oil, a return spring and a new front plate, since my old one has developed a crack. Those parts will get my juicer into a state which most likely feels like a brand new juicer again.

But since Norwalk doesn’t want to sell the parts I’m going to have to source them somewhere else (bearings are easy to get, o-rings somewhat easy to find the right size, power switch a bit more difficult or I might just rig my own switch) or even go as far as milling my own front plate from a piece of aluminum. I always wanted a mill anyway, and it might be cheaper than a new juicer to begin with, haha. (just kidding on that one)

The return spring is one of my concerns, as I don’t have any idea on how to get a handle on one of those. Now the sales person at Norwalk quoted $4 before Carol was put on the phone, and to pay for shipping and repair costs to install this one missing $4 part which I most likely cannot source or McGuyver together out of other parts is somewhat concerning, but eventually I will find a solution for that too.

To everyone else who has a functioning juicer, happy juicing.

Thomas

It amazes me that you know five people with Norwalks, all of them needing parts for out-of-warranty units, all of them denied by Norwalk (what are the odds?). I live in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, a foodie utopia, and while I know of others who have them, the only one with whom I’m actually acquainted runs a raw food café in Brooklyn and uses it commercially (I met her on this forum). FWIW, I doubt Norwalk would be getting so pissy (pardon my French) about parts of late if the powers-that-be weren’t aware of obsessive individuals who try to make a business of selling refurbished (“NEW” “Used only ONCE”) machines on eBay and Craig’s list with “their own” extended warranties; why on earth should they be expected to provide support for such an endeavor? Unfortunately, one bad apple (pun VERY much intended) in this case seems to have ruined it for everyone. Most unfortunate and a very hostile environment, not at all conducive to developing trust.

For myself, when I tell people about my Norwalk, I like to include stories about what these poor people have to put up with from psychos who refuse to naff off. In a city that’s not at all unfamiliar with them (psychos, that is), tales of the hydraulic press juicer equivalent of erotomania are invariably met with bemusement. Note: lest newcomers be confused, this was a response to a post, now gone, by none other than our own resident “management specialist,” “Trusty-Juicy.” Thanks for stepping in, Elizabeth! :)

UPDATE!!! “Norwalk Sales is obviously not aware of the scuttlebutt outside this forum and it is not good—in fact it is extremely bad. Every unhappy customer tells many friends who in turn tell many more friends. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and it is best to have that free advertising in your corner and not as an adversary. Norwalk management needs to wake up and re-evaluate how they do business. In the past week 5 people not on this forum have told me about Norwalk refusing to sell parts. Three of them told me they will NEVER do business with Norwalk if the current policy is not changed.” This quote was deleted on here by it’s poster, and was originally posted above Karen’s prior comment, and her comment will no longer make sense if people do not get the whole story behind her post. For more about this situation, read on. (I’m leaving out all the other things he said, but just wanted to make sure there was clarification!!!!)

With all due respect M’lady Karen, what can be expected when there are people on here who confess that they are more fearful of the occasional porn spammers (gosh, have they actually filled these pages with anything? ) than the integrity of someone who is selling $2500 machines with a dubious (at best) “extended warranty” policy. OK, on to the good stuff. I have not dealt with the Norwalk service department for over a year, but the last time I did, (feb 2009) I felt that (Saint) John did the equivalent of advanced yoga poses to help me diagnose my machine and encourage me to get a friend to fix it. He went over EVERYTHING step by step with me, had me turn on and off the machine for several minutes while he was listening to it, and gave me explicit directions on how I could get my friend to repair it. I went over everything with him twice, so I can honestly say he walked me through all of it. It is very sad reading this commentary today. Based on my personal experience with Norwalk over the years, I dont believe this current policy (if it is even accurate) reflects their philosophy as much as I think it does with people trying to abuse the generosity of an ace serviceman like John. People need to keep in mind that this is not a multi-million dollar corporation, and we should be respectful and grateful that we are on the company’s dime when we are getting John’s time and expertise over the phone. The fact that he is now on the forum is not so much for Norwalk’ benefit, but ours. When people are on here needing advice and he catches their post, he gives his all to giving them the information they need, and I think that he deserves our appreciation for doing this. I dont want to unglue certain people on here (you and I know who you are) and run the risk of this community forum getting shut down again (and threatened with a lawsuit, believe it or not!!), but I can not tolerate the slander of the very company that has brought us together here in the first place. Especially by people with questionable sales practices that confuse or possibly worse, deceive, first time Norwalk Juicer buyers on Ebay ( that pay almost full market value on a used machine from someone who was not the original owner) on how much their machine was actually used. I dont trust the intention and motives of someone who clearly has a conflict of interest with the service dept at Norwalk if they are putting down their company on a forum that many Norwalk owners will find and read. I’m sorry, but that just ain’t cool. My apologies to Norwalk for what they have had to deal with, and I get why they are trying to adapt so they don’t get taken advantage of. HERE’S TO YOU, JWNOAH!!!!!!!

HEY SCAMMER

ACTUALLY WHAT PARTS DO YOU NEED, So, perhaps I may help you more than you think. In the internet market you may find everything you need.

Brand new bearings search (model 6202) on www.ebay.com

Brand new belt model # 5M515 from www.gates.com

Brand new AIRPAX switch model IUGZX4-22467-2 from www.sager.com

Brand new O rings all of them from www.metrogasket.com

Even a brand new pump from www.northerntool.com

So please let me know what you actually need. In your case, my advice is : Replace all bearings (2), O rings (5), belt (1) as well as front seal (1). By the way this machine is a simple one or just a TOY for a good mechanic or handyman like you !

Warm regards from a sincere friend called TK

nutcasemtnmama, there is a reason that I posted that link on facebook. Maximum exposure to the internet because I want everyone to know what kind of customer service and treatment I encountered from Norwalk. Also if you read my post, I did mention that the juicer is a great machine (that’s why I have one) but the customer service left a very sour taste in my mouth. If you want, I can definitely post the whole chain of emails that went back and forth between me and Norwalk, before out of nowhere the email responses from Norwalk stopped and forced me to call the Norwalk 800 line, where then I had my unpleasant encounter with Carol. The first reply from Norwalk was John Noah and I had high hopes for my juicer after he quoted me $250 for a new motor, which after disassembling I found out I don’t even need, since I can just replace the bearings. But my point is, there obviously exists a pricelist for parts and the initial willingness by John Noah to quote me the part I inquired about, implies that Norwalk actually sells parts to customers. And the 2nd phone call where I was quoted $4 for the hydraulic return spring implies the same. And my blood really started to boil once Carol hung up on me while I was still trying get my point across in a very civilized conversation that I am very able to fix the machine myself if I could just buy the parts. In my 12 years of living in the US I’ve NEVER experienced such behavior before.

Anyhow…

TK, thanks for all the links, if you have the parts information on which O-rings to get, I would really appreciate your help if you could supply that information.

But the hydraulic return spring is still my biggest concern. I can only assume that my spring is probably still the original one and could be slightly worn out after 25 years of use. But I can’t buy that spring on the open market, since I’m sure it’s constructed to Norwalk specifications.

Thomas

Hey, TK would know. After all, in his own words he is “very familiar with all Norwalk juicers, also I am absolutely able to repair them. I have made by myself all parts inventory and drawings because I am working and trying to change the principle of trituration and hydraulic pressing in a different ,much different way. Norwalk juicer is a good machine but remains an old simple toy. It doesn`t matter 230,240, 265 or 275……......inside they all are 99.9 % the same from a constructive point of view. This is all I can say in this forum……..........” I mean, this is one trustworthy fella whose previous posts make for delightful and instructional reading!

And you wonder why Norwalk is getting weird about parts… :O

Karen, just out of curiosity, what is your experience with repairing appliances in your house hold? Let’s say wash machine, dryer, dish washer, food processor, hot water heater, sump pump, water piping, sewer system, toilet flushing systems etc etc?

Just to reiterate my point from above, I’ve repaired, replaced, installed and removed all those mentioned appliances and our cars have never seen a repair garage in 11 years, because I repair and maintain those myself as well.

So I have lots and lots of experience of dealing with buying parts from the service department, but the bad experience with Norwalk was definitely my first. Heck, I’ve even got the money back from a dealership after they stole my car stereo while the car was in service (the reason why I never ever turn over my cars to a repair shop anymore)

BTW, I’m a part owner of a successful IT service startup company (what?!? I thought you were an electrician.. loong story how I got into IT) and know first hand that scumbags exist everywhere who are trying to make a quick buck of the blood, sweat and tear of other people’s work. But changing my top notch customer service facing my customers to a policy where I completely shut out everyone will bring my company to its knees because of bad reputation. In the modern internet days, reputation is everything because word travels fast, very fast. So yes, I might take some losses dealing with the bad apples, but that’s just business, get over it.

I’m sure you like your new 275 juicer as much as I’ve enjoyed my 240 model, but if you haven’t dealt with parts supply and the repair of your own appliances I don’t think your opinion carries a lot of weight.

Thomas

Thomas, my father is an ace (auto) mechanic and I don’t recall having ever seen a repairman of any kind in any of our houses, and that would include painters, wallpaper hangers, plumbers, contractors to add wings, etc. He recently had an electrician in but that’s, as you know, a whole other ballgame. In fact, I just sent him an electric barbeque that requires some assembly and suggested that he get my cousin’s husband (their backyards are adjacent) over to give him a hand (there are some very small pieces and my dad is 83 and just cataract surgery on both eyes). He very sarcastically replied that he doubted he’d have any problem and I felt just a little foolish because, of course, he’s right: he has a reading disability but can look at a machine and know how it works, how to take it break it down and reassemble it, and how to repair it. In fact, if you check my previous posts, you’ll note that it was he who (having never laid eyes on even a video of this machine) told me to use it on a regular basis in order to keep the seals in good shape (not rocket science, I’ll allow, but it doesn’t occur to most owners). And while I’m not exactly a chip off the old block, I’m pretty good at figuring out how mechanical devices work so yeah, I fully understand where you’re coming from. However, be advised that while I really do sympathize with your problem as you’ve told it, a) you’re new here and are unaware of recent (and mostly deleted) history, b) you don’t know what’s been going on behind the scenes at Norwalk (and I don’t claim to in its entirety either), and c) would my background growing up and a rather better-than-average sense of concept in general (my area of doctoral study is computational logic with a concentration in epistemic game theory) qualify me to have an opinion of significance?

Touche!

Still, the fact remains that the behavior of Carol, the president of the Norwalk company, is not acceptable if you want to retain a loyal customer base.

Before my experience with Carol, I definitely would have bought another Norwalk machine and recommended the machine to family members and friends, since I like high quality appliances and so do some of my wealthy acquaintances.

If I see something that is build and engineered well and I have a need for it, I have no problem paying some serious money for it. I absolutely despise today’s mentality of our throw-away society, makes me sick to just think about it. BUT, at the same time, when I’m treated like Carol treated me, I’m done with that business, it doesn’t matter how good their product is.

Thomas

Believe me, I understand and it’s a shame you got caught in the crossfire. If you want, drop me a line.

Rats… looking at older threads, it seems that in late May of this year Norwalk was still sending out parts as I can read from John Noah’s post and the satisfied replies of the customers. I guess I decided to fix my juicer at the wrong time. Damn it!

Elizabeth is right and she hasn’t even posted the whole story; the situation bordered (and continues to border) on the surreal (this from someone who prides herself on having a connoisseur’s appreciation of the ridiculous). Believe me, as someone who likes to know how things work and watch repairs in progress not only because it’s interesting, but so I can perhaps have the satisfaction of eventually doing it myself, I feel your pain.

Mike Witte from Norwalk wrote me an email about an hour ago explaining the situation from Norwalks point of view. It definitely provides some interesting insight. But at least now I know that Norwalk reads this forum and does care about my concerns.

I feel better now.

mtnmama, what I wanted is 1. provoke a reaction from Norwalk and 2. explaining to as many people I can reach how I was treated. Since I have gotten finally a satisfactory reply from Norwalk I will remove the facebook link, or at least comment on it.

I was just so upset yesterday that my initial anger got the better of me since I simply didn’t get anywhere with my journey of repairing my juicer.

Thomas, I’m very happy that Norwalk filled you in on why they reacted the way they did. I’ve only had my juicer for a year+ but my dealings with Norwalk have always been professional, courteous, and friendly (this aside from how happy I’ve been with the juicer itself—I waited for it for 21 years). I really hope things will be resolved to your satisfaction.

FWIW, I agree with you about how poorly things are made these days. I’ll be 56 later this year and remember when we made things to last (which is why a ‘50s – early ‘70s Acme juicer bought today on eBay will still run beautifully). Well-designed/manufactured things always earn my highest respect, which is why I love my Norwalk (and my Vita-Mix and my Champion juicer which I’ve since retired). Building things to last represents a kind of integrity rarely found among manufacturers these days. It’s nice to read that someone else appreciates them.

Thomas, I am stoked that there was resolve on this situation. I understand why someone who is entirely capable of repairing the machine would feel anger at not having needs met from the company in terms of purchasing the proper parts. I also understand that when you are a DIY kind of person, (not to mention if you are on a budget) there is a certain frustration and a feeling of disempowerment when you cant take control of a situation that you are equipped to handle. Now that you had a better outcome with Norwalk, I am sure I am not the only one who would love to hear how you got your 240 working again and is now making delicious juice! BTW, Karen, my Acme Juicer I got from a hippie chick in Santa Cruz 26 years ago is still running strong. She got it from her mom who bought it new in the early 70’s. It has since been handed down to a starving musician in Topanga Canyon and is used on a regular basis. Cheers!!!

elizabeth

Elizabeth, please drop me a line at the e-mail address mentioned a few posts ago on this thread. And P.S.—of COURSE that Acme is still running! I’ve never been a fan of centrifugal juicing but Acme built machines that did it best. :)

For those wanting more information from the source, post comments, buy parts etc etc: http://www.norwalkjuicers.com/products/

Yes, developing trust is crucial. I look forward to hearing from you.

Is everybody happy!