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Magnetronics
Tore apart a microwave, almost. They don't want you in there, so there's some nasty screw head shapes and sizes. Some, a few for that purpose only, and the rest even a assembly line couldn't stomach. Had to use a small prybar to lift a couple where they weren't so bad unscrewing with pliers. There's a HV capacitor for one honking transformer, 1000-watt unit, comprising most of the microwave's weight. Then a magnetron, control pad, light bulb, fan and base motor for the revolving plate. Two year's use, the load caused some disconcerting vibration briefly, and all she had to write was cold spaghetti. Given the size of the transformer and HV capacitor, that's one sad Chinese story about a lot of iron for just two years. Hamilton Beach, which I nonetheless replaced with a somewhat chintzier model, styled the same, (I'm used to the control panel), except for this year's mainstream economics, at 900 watts and marginally smaller cavity;- It's about $20 less, give or take, for a 700-watt entry unit, I'll buy next time if this flakes out. That's half the operational cost presuming 700 watt unit lasts two years, roughly at 10-cents a day to heat water a couple times for coffee and a meal or two. Not to be cheated, I pulled the magnets. Rated by rare earth magnets, I'm not sure where these stand, but they are quite strong and worth the potentially lethal capacitor, along with a scraped knuckle, which I will assume complete responsibility in the latter instance. I'll use the magnets for a general sense of application on each side of a wrought iron safety cage for lifting olympic iron weights;- they'll nicely stick to the channel iron to hold the 2.5lb plates that somehow never properly adjusted themselves to ordered plates, although that's not to say the magnets might hold 10lb. plates and definitely fives. I'd heard of it and it isn't at all bad for finally doing so, after tossing three or four microwaves prior without much thought for a pair of rather nice magnets at that. Took about an hour to tear it down in designed orderly fashion, probably a lot less with a 5" angle grinder, once through the loop, for cold chisel and always deft 2lb. mallet. |
#2
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Magnetronics
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 01:25:03 -0400, Flasherly wrote:
| I'd heard of it and it isn't at all bad for finally doing so, after | tossing three or four microwaves prior without much thought for a pair | of rather nice magnets at that. Took about an hour to tear it down in | designed orderly fashion, probably a lot less with a 5" angle grinder, | once through the loop, for cold chisel and always deft 2lb. mallet. You've been through that many microwaves? I bought my first one in about 1974 and am still on my 35-year-old second one that works as well as it did new (900W Panasonic). Larc |
#3
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Magnetronics
Larc wrote:
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 01:25:03 -0400, Flasherly wrote: | I'd heard of it and it isn't at all bad for finally doing so, after | tossing three or four microwaves prior without much thought for a pair | of rather nice magnets at that. Took about an hour to tear it down in | designed orderly fashion, probably a lot less with a 5" angle grinder, | once through the loop, for cold chisel and always deft 2lb. mallet. You've been through that many microwaves? I bought my first one in about 1974 and am still on my 35-year-old second one that works as well as it did new (900W Panasonic). Larc My first was a Panasonic, lasted 20+ years. Like Flasherly, heard the "humming sound" that says capacitor shorted, and the internal fuse blew two seconds later. Second one is an inverter based one, so doesn't have the huge transformer and cap that the other style uses. One advantage of the inverter-based ones, is between 70% power and 100% power, the power is modulated just by the inverter, so the tube has power full-time. For lower power settings, it still has to do the "on for ten seconds, off for twenty seconds" routine. The second (still-working) microwave is no wonder-pony. The input entry pad is crap. The wheel for setting the time, you have to distort it a bit with your fingers to get it to work. The display on occasion, develops a funny flickering (hasn't happened for months now). It's the electromechanical interface from hell. The previous one, the controls were sweetness and light, and did not cause any grief the whole time. For this microwave, I expect the controls will eventually die on it. And they still can't make a decent lighting solution for inside the microwave. Still using some ****ty incandescent bulb. The rotating tray, has the "ring with three wheels". The "bearings" failed on one of the wheels (wheel fell off). I used a bread tie (a source of a tiny piece of plastic, and made a Circlip out of the bread tie, and this keeps the third wheel on the support ring for the tray. But inverter ? Workin good :-) It's like a car engine, where the quality of the work in there is astounding, whereas every other bit of the car is pure crap :-) Paul |
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Magnetronics
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:07:58 -0400, Paul
wrote: But inverter ? Workin good :-) I Inverter. Sounds like a good word to remember. |
#5
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Magnetronics
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 09:07:48 -0400, Larc
wrote: You've been through that many microwaves? I bought my first one in about 1974 and am still on my 35-year-old second one that works as well as it did new (900W Panasonic). My first I recall, being new technology, outlandish prices and big accompanying ad campaigns, price was $200 or more at the time;- couple since, though the second decently lasted awhile, then this Hamilton Beach to replace effectively a same HB model that failed after a measly two years. Panasonic, just saying, may not be the same Panasonic of twenty years ago, you bought, although I didn't fail to notice, briefly, an available Panasonic possibly three times more than this Hamilton Beach. The one microwave I know (of, not a brand) lasting as long as yours has deteriorated in wattage and took a couple minutes to get a 15-second cup of water hot. There's also the $200 Panasonic toaster-oven story. I bought one (for $100) with a top, both Lighting/Heat-radiating element, which, unlike any other toaster/oven, works in conjunction with the usual two wound resistive-wire-elements, each of the latter having different wattage ratings (top wound being lower). The top lighting/heating element, however, popped and blew itself. Darkness and some loss of temperature. A $200 Panasonic dud-firecracker for a boutique appliance otherwise sold in common lots for $30. A still fashionably hot Panasonic, though, still after many years production, which still has a market to be found, and will still out-cook any $30 oven, even missing an element, as an oven;- Broiling, toasting -- not so, as its rack design isn't horizontally adjustable to compensate for a broken light/element differential to both residual elements' wattage discrepancy. I seldom now pull it out for an infrequent oven-baked pizza, not being I guess much of a bakery sort, although just watching the sensitivity the Panasonic maintains for temperatures does begin to speak about why it's fully a feather-weight, all aluminum $200 oven. Broke, nonetheless, for much sooner than reasonably later semi-cripple. I tend to be shy about giving my money again to people with big brandnames who give me in return their broken exchanges. Less shy, actually, than again, just saying, were Panasonic to offer me a 700-watt microwave, new, for $25. - They don't get that way for nothing. (A nasty little Greek proverb about people with money.) |
#6
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Magnetronics
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:07:58 -0400, Paul wrote:
And they still can't make a decent lighting solution for inside the microwave. Still using some ****ty incandescent bulb. Made worse by the 'modern' black lining - a box needs to be pale inside. My Samsung is very poor on light due to this. When the lamp failed I assumed that a 15W SES lamp for ~80p would fit - oh no, £4.50 for a module with a 20W lamp. I was tempted to mod. the thing but a 15W lamp would have been useless. -- Peter. The gods will stay away whilst religions hold sway |
#7
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Magnetronics
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:07:58 -0400, Paul wrote:
| But inverter ? Workin good :-) It's like a car engine, | where the quality of the work in there is astounding, | whereas every other bit of the car is pure crap :-) I'm keeping inverter in mind for the likely inevitable day when my old microwave quits. But even if that happens today, I couldn't complain that I didn't get my money's worth out of it. The next one probably won't last as long, not that I would need it to at my age. Larc |
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