So the microwave has gone kaput. The light comes on and the thingy goes round, but nothing gets hot. So what's the verdict?
I'll take the back off and check the timer knob and power level knob work, but other than that is there anything else to check? Or is it time to send some more hard earned to China?
|
>>
>> I'll take the back off and check the timer knob and power level knob work,
>> but other than that is there anything else to check?
...your life insurance. There's probably 10,000 volts floating around in there so I wouldn't bother unless you're really sure what you're doing..
>>Or is it time to
>> send some more hard earned to China?
>>
yep.
|
>> >>Or is it time to
>> >> send some more hard earned to China?
>> >>
>> yep.
>>
Agreed, next time buy a Panasonic.
|
The Magnetron has a separate fuse. Turn off the power, take it apart and check that.
If the fuse is OK, file the whole thing in the bin.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 23 Dec 10 at 19:39
|
>> The Magnetron has a separate fuse. Turn off the power, take it apart and check that.
If you do take it to bits and replace the fuse, be sure the thing is back together properly before you fire it up.
You want microwaves to stay inside it.
|
Panasonic? Superb.
Ours is 15 + and still excellent.
|
|
Buy another. Sharp or panasonic :-)
|
Unless you know exactly what you are doing, I would counsel you not to take the back off. Microwave ovens contain a high voltage capacitor that can deliver a fatal shock if not discharged.
This isn't a mere scare story, I know of at least one repairman who was killed this way.
Last edited by: Manatee on Thu 23 Dec 10 at 20:57
|
I had a colleague who made a fortune in the early days of microwave ovens by setting up a repair company. He learnt the business from microwave telephony.
He retired when Argos started flogging new ones for forty quid.
|
>>This isn't a mere scare story, I know of at least one repairman who was killed this way.>>
You are absolutely correct - microwaves are something that a novice should not mess around with.
|
|
1987 Tricity Microwave - Made in the UK - still going strong - it cost £270 @ that time - maybe someone can relate the Prices Index to equate to today's £££s- £800+?
|
The first microwave. SWMBO had seen a Panasonic Genius, IIRC it was around £600. Clever machine. You'd select a program, bung the stuff in and it would cook it until it detected water vapour, then calculate the overall cooking time.
She chucked it recently because the clear laminate was peeling off the outer surface. Tried Freecycle, but no-one wanted it.
|
>> The first microwave. SWMBO had seen a Panasonic Genius, IIRC it was around £600. Clever
>> machine. You'd select a program, bung the stuff in and it would cook it until
>> it detected water vapour, then calculate the overall cooking time.
>>
that's ours. Not £600 though... more like err.. £180????
|
>>Not £600 though... more like err.. £180????
I may be wrong, this was back in the mid '80s. I do know it was a lot of money at the time.
|
>> The first microwave. SWMBO had seen a Panasonic Genius, IIRC it was around £600.
>> Clever machine.
Ours is still in use (daily).
It's coming up for its silver anniversay next year, and never missed a beat.
I expect It will expire tomorrow now I've written that :-)
|
>> 1987 Tricity Microwave - Made in the UK - still going strong - it cost
>> £270 @ that time - maybe someone can relate the Prices Index to equate to
>> today's £££s- £800+?
>>
£566.00
using the retail price index
£554.00
using the GDP deflator
£746.00
using the average earnings
£808.00
using the per capita GDP
£879.00
using the share of GDP
|
>> £566.00
>> using the retail price index
>> £746.00
>> using the average earnings
Thats interesting.
AE has shown a 36% rise over RPI
Its true, you never had it so good,. Stop moaning.
|
Thanks for all the warnings guys! It's been unplugged all night, so should be a bit safer now. The trouble is, I'm an engineer, so just can't resist having a poke around just to make sure there's nothing obvious. Plus, I'm skint.
I don't use it much, so can live without it if needs be. The cheapset replacement I've found here runs about 490 kronor, so about 46 of your english quids. Just got to find my torx security tools to get the cover off. If you don't hear from me again, please send someone over to feed the dogs. Lol.
|
Most microwaves have a bleed circuit to bleed he excess voltage away..
Blown up repairmen is an old story.
|
>>Blown up repairmen is an old story
Maybe. It's probably about 10 years since a colleague was killed this way. It wasn't plugged in either.
Also we don't know the vintage of the microwave in question. But I'm not trying to win an argument, I just say what I know ;-)
|
I once saw a car mechanic take a belt from an ignition coil.
He jumped back - involuntarily he said later - about three or four feet.
|
What make it was? How old?
Microwaves are so cheap that it is often better to buy a new one. Cheapest ones start from £30.
You can still sell the old one on Ebay.
|
>> What make it was? How old?
>>
>> Microwaves are so cheap that it is often better to buy a new one. Cheapest
>> ones start from £30.
>>
>> You can still sell the old one on Ebay.
>>
Bear in mind Dave is in sunny Sweden so you can add 30% to most UK prices in my experience.
|
It's a Wilfa (no, I've never heard of them either), and appears to be some brand for the Nordic market as all the warning stickers are in Swedish and Norwegian. It's about 4 years old, and hasn't had a hard life, maybe used a couple of times a week to heat baked beans or defrost some bread.
It's strange how some of the prices work here. Some stuff is very expensive in comparison to the UK, and other stuff very reasonaby priced, bearing in mind the VAT rate is 25%.
The good thing is, if you like to live a frugal life in the country (as I do), it can be a very cheap place to live. A reasonable house is £20K, council tax £180/year, free water from the well, septic tank emptied every couple of years, and cheap wood heating. It's nice not to be screwed by utilities for basics like water and warmth.
|
>>
>> It's strange how some of the prices work here. Some stuff is very expensive in
>> comparison to the UK, and other stuff very reasonaby priced, bearing in mind the VAT
>> rate is 25%.
>>
yes, I was pleasantly surprised when working in Stockholm over the summer, my 30% figure is based on prcies in what was my local supermarket (ICA Kaventum in Gamla Enskede) with Christchurch Sainsburys. Eating out was monumentally expensive hence I ate in McDonalds (55 SEK for McNugget meal) or Ikea Kungens Kurva (59 SEK for meatballs, potatos and 2 drinks).
>> The good thing is, if you like to live a frugal life in the country
>> (as I do), it can be a very cheap place to live. A reasonable house
>> is £20K, council tax £180/year,
>>
That's a bit different to Gamla Enskede then! The largeish 4 bed house I B&B'd in was worth about 10,000,000 SEK. OK trendy part of Stockholm is likely to be more expensive than out in the country.
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Fri 24 Dec 10 at 13:25
|
Ha, I'm not sure what the food prices are like, as I never checked them when shopping in england. Figured if I needed a loaf of bread and a pint of milk, I needed it, so didn't worry about the price. I'm in a moose hunting team, so we divide the meat. I had about 100kg this year, so that saves some money.
It helps that the pay for rubbish jobs is also quite high. I worked last week on the roof of Ikea distribution centre clearing snow, and they paid 135 kronor/hour, which is over £12. Not bad for menial work.
|
My best mate used to own an independent audio/visual/appliances outlet and I often watched him working on microwaves in the workshop (a lot of this work usually involves checking there are no leaks around the door and cabinet).
However, he always warned me that microwaves can prove extremely dangerous if anyone not qualified attempted to "repair" them or investigate the innards.
Re older microwaves. A family member who served in the Merchant Navy bought a Sanyo or Sharp model in the early 1970s somewhere abroad - it was massive compared to most of today's models.
It worked faultlessly for many, many years until eventually it was decided a smaller model would be more appropriate in a new kitchen and was discarded.
|
|
Do not use it for 24 hours minimum to allow the capacitors to discharge - as said elsewhere, these can hold a lethal charge. Then "get the back off". If you can see the capacitor, put a well-insulated screwdriver across it to check it's really discharged. Examine the high-voltage fuse, it's a good candidate for being the problem. If it's not that, then consider the door interlock (try pushing the control panel area in/sideways when it's on and *should* be cooking), there are switches that are also possible candidates for making trouble. If it's not that then get another microwave, unless yours was very expensive and is worth being "looked at". The only thing that matters is capacity and whether you like the design/controls, possibly whether it's gor a grill. Brand is irrelevant.
|
please send someone over to feed the dogs. LoL
Are they happy with cold food ?
|
...Are they happy with cold food?...
Ooo, PU, you've replied to the wrong post there, you'll be for the high jump.
Fotherington Tomas will be along in a minute to tell you you're stupid, same as he did to me.
|
>> ...Are they happy with cold food?...
>>
>> Ooo, PU, you've replied to the wrong post there, you'll be for the high jump.
>>
>> Fotherington Tomas will be along in a minute to tell you you're stupid, same as
>> he did to me.
>>
>>
>>
You ARE stupid.
(Poste on behalf on FT ).
:-)
|
>> (Poste on behalf on FT ).
I wouldn't necessarily say that, but his nappies seem to've have slipped.
|
...I wouldn't necessarily say that, but his nappies seem to've have slipped...
Now I wouldn't talk of a moderator like that, but you are obviously a man of such integrity.
Do tell me, if I'm stupid, why is PU not?
|
>> Do tell me, if I'm stupid, why is PU not?
You made the point for me, although not perhaps in the way I would've, since PU is OK.
I'm glad that you've so obviously taken this to heart. Keep up the good practice (although your quoting is incorrect - would you like to know how to do that as well?).
|
And now back to peace and goodwill to all men (and C4P members)
Remember that the naughty step has no carpet, and therefore can be quite cold this time of year.
|
Remember that the naughty step has no carpet,
Sorry I borrowed it to put under the front wheels
|
>> Sorry I borrowed it to put under the front wheels
>>
Another BMW driver?
|
'The only thing that matters is capacity and whether you like the design/controls, possibly whether it's got a grill.'
same as cars then
|
>> The only thing that matters is capacity
.. and the wattage.
>> it can be a very cheap place to live.
Out of interest, in which part of Sweden you live? Is it near Stockholm or beyond Arctic Circle?
|
I'm about 1.5 hours east of Gothenburg, so not too far north.
There are 2 swedens really - the main cities, that are like any large cities, namely busy, expensive, lots of traffic, everyone in a rush, and rude people. Then there is the rest of the country, especially the rural areas, where everything is relaxed, cheap, friendly, extremely low crime, and everyone is very trusting. A bit like the UK used to be like 30 years ago. You can order building supplies, go to the vets etc and they send you an invoice. Most leave their front doors unlocked and the car with the keys in it, in case the a neighbour wants to borrow it. There are no thieves, so you can leave everything out - chainsaws, trailers, quads, dogs etc, and they will still be there when you get home. It makes for a very stress free life.
Last edited by: Webmaster on Sat 1 Jan 11 at 02:09
|
|
Mmm. Grills, eh! Back seats.
|
I would not want to put a screw driver across a capacitor, if it is not discharged you will have a very nice bang and a loud explosion. I did that when I was 15 and I still suffer from the tinitus now!
I was trying to repair a camera flash.
|
Camera flash is a reasonably meaty thing - maybe 10 Joules.
10 amps through 1 ohm for a second.
If you disharged it near instantaneously with a screwdriver, you'll take a big chunk out of it, or turn the cpacitor inside out.
Silver foil confetti everywhere, and a nasty smell.
The capacitor debris will smell a bit too :-)
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
Last edited by: AnotherJohnH on Fri 24 Dec 10 at 14:59
|
Yeah leant that lesson! Don't remember it actually breaking it up but I do remember the loudest bang ever, it sounded like a bomb going off and a massive bright spark.
I did remember the smell though it took a long time to get rid of it, and my mother was not impressed! It is quite frightening how much energy is actually in those AA batteries!
|
|
I have a mental image of burnt eyebrows as well..
|
The only injury I remember was a small stabbing from the screw driver. I think the shock (not electric shock, shock shock) was the worst thing about it.
|
Well I had a look today. Nothing obvious amiss - checked the little fuse on the circuit board, the door interlock switches, and all the rest of the connections. The power control knob seemed to be working, so I guess it's one of the components, relays, the transformer, or the magnetron. Either way, it's on its way to the tip.
Money's a bit tight at the moment, so it looks like I'll have to continue defrosting the bread on the radiator!
|
|
chap i know does house clearances he says microwaves arent worth having a pats test to them to be resold and only fetch a £5 at boot sales if hes lucky so see if there is a house clearer near you and befriend his skip
|
|
Yep, another piece of chinese junk that's taken manufacturing jobs and money, and has had to be shipped half way around the world, only to end up in our skips a few years later.
|
Yeah well, we were not prepared to pay 300 quid for a piece of shoddily made english junk.
If we could get one made on the "non strike" days.
|
|
The UK Sharp made ones were very good in fairness.
|
|
suppose they couldnt stand the litigation they caused though eh?
|
There's a perfectly good one sitting in our shed getting in the way:)
We swapped it for one with a grill so we could have cheese on toast with Marmite.
Pat
|
>> checked the little fuse on the circuit board
The HV fuse is generally in-line - like a torpedo switch on a bedside lamp - not on a circuit board. If you haven't tipped it yet, look for an inline fuse in the wiggly wires.
|
|
i wouldnt worry FT theres a nice likle doormouse making a nice home out of it now
|
Microwave oven not microwaving - spamcan61
