Repair, reuse, regurgitate

[ColinJ]

Er, all it says on it is 'SupaWarm'!

It has 3 x 400W elements. 1,200 W was enough to keep me comfortable on the coldest day we had in the winter, whereas 800 W struggled a couple of times.

It isn't worth spending much on, but waste not, want not!

I just tried getting into the heater and that prompted a quick cost-benefit analysis ... It isn't that easy to take apart and there is a risk of me breaking something in doing so. It is usable as it is so I think I will leave it alone for now. If another element broke then the heater would no longer be very useful so it would then be worth the risk. Hopefully, there won't be much need to use it from now to November.

I have plenty of bike fettling jobs to be getting on with and I'd rather do them!

 

[classic33]

I just tried getting into the heater and that prompted a quick cost-benefit analysis ... It isn't that easy to take apart and there is a risk of me breaking something in doing so. It is usable as it is so I think I will leave it alone for now. If another element broke then the heater would no longer be very useful so it would then be worth the risk. Hopefully, there won't be much need to use it from now to November.

I have plenty of bike fettling jobs to be getting on with and I'd rather do them!

You trying to spilt the plastic casing or remove the guard?

 

[ColinJ]

You trying to spilt the plastic casing or remove the guard?

The guard is bent round the bit behind it so I'd have to remove most of the plastic casing to get at it properly. I can probably do it but I can make do with 2 elements for the time being.

TBH, the only reason that I have been using the halogen heater is because the central heating boiler was on the blink but my landlady (sister!) then took out a maintenance contract on the CH so I could just make a phone call and get British Gas to come out and fix it. The only reason I didn't is because I worked out it was probably a bit cheaper to run the electric heater on 800W than the CH with the radiators only on in one room and at minimum temperature.

 

[classic33]

Two tabs on the top, look for the lighter plastic. Three, possibly four down the sides. With the first being an equal distance from the corner as the ones on the top.

Main thing is you know your limit.

 

[ColinJ]

Two tabs on the top, look for the lighter plastic. Three, possibly four down the sides. With the first being an equal distance from the corner as the ones on the top.

Main thing is you know your limit.

I'm only using it on one element on chilly evenings now, and soon not at all (unless the weather goes silly on us!) ...

 

[classic33]

I'm only using it on one element on chilly evenings now, and soon not at all (unless the weather goes silly on us!) ...

Don't blame you for wanting to keep it going though. It's working, why bust it?

 

[gbb]

That's about four years longer than a new Dyson would last.

I used to repair appliances for a living and as a sideline get scrap machines (you can buy them by the container load), fix them up and sell them to people who's machine wasn't repairable. About half of the "scrap" machines had faults that could be fixed within ten minutes.

So much stuff we throw away nowadays could be easily repaired if it wasn't for the manufacturer's making it as difficult as possible because they make more money having a slew of brands - so when your Crapnonics TV breaks you just buy a Buggervision one instead which identical internals.

I have no unfortunate habit of rescuing dumped hoovers, many of them are fine, just a blocked hose, filter or similar.
My work Numatic (forerunner to the Henry and much more powerful) is one dumped up the road from me, retrieved it, clearned it up, still working maybe 3 years later.
Another Henry was rescued in a similar state, now still working.
My DIL dumped a nearly new Vax small hoover....it's too powerful she moaned. I retrieved it, still working 4 years later...well it was nearly new.

I suspect most hoovers are dumped because people just want a new one or don't fancy getting their hands dirty.

Ironically we've had maybe 4 or 5 Dyson from new, used daily, sometimes twice daily, we never really had problems, I found them very good myself. That said, usually once they start playing up, you might as well dump em.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The hose assembly on my Dyson upright vacuum split / fell apart in several places, and the genuine replacement assembly is nearly 50 pounds. That's virtually a quarter of a whole new Dyson! I briefly considered whether to just get a whole new vacuum cleaner seeing as it has worked fairly hard, but in the end I took a gamble on a hooky knockoff replacement hose from Amazon at about 13 pounds. I expected the worst but it actually fits perfectly, and I can't tell it from a genuine part.

 

[gbb]

Sometimes, you dont even need tools to fix something. Former employers were clearing the offices a bit, I was chucking stuff in the skip. What....a nearly new looking Brother lazer printer ??
I asked one of the guys, apparently it was the MD's sons, it had a flashing led indicating something amiss. Google it, took about half an hour to sort it, used it ever since. Even the toner cartridge was nearly full...at the time just that was about £40.
Bonus !

 

[KnackeredBike]

My work Numatic (forerunner to the Henry and much more powerful) is one dumped up the road from me, retrieved it, clearned it up, still working maybe 3 years later.
Another Henry was rescued in a similar state, now still working.

Same here, drives my wife mad. Almost nothing in our house is bought new but it is perhaps better quality than we would be able to afford if we were buying new.

Our washing machine is brand new from someone who used it twice and was convinced it was leaking despite me demonstrating that it wasn't - got a new one for "peace of mind".

With Numatics I'm pretty certain you could rescue one from almost anywhere and repair it as long as you have duct tape and five minutes.

 

[slowmotion]

Two tabs on the top, look for the lighter plastic. Three, possibly four down the sides. With the first being an equal distance from the corner as the ones on the top.

Main thing is you know your limit.

Do you need spudgers?

 

[gbb]

Same here, drives my wife mad. Almost nothing in our house is bought new but it is perhaps better quality than we would be able to afford if we were buying new.

Our washing machine is brand new from someone who used it twice and was convinced it was leaking despite me demonstrating that it wasn't - got a new one for "peace of mind".

With Numatics I'm pretty certain you could rescue one from almost anywhere and repair it as long as you have duct tape and five minutes.

Numatic, Henry's etc are possibly THE most repairable hoovers for anyone with a little knowledge and confidence.
New motor, quite easy to fit, cost IRO £50
Cord rewind, usually one of the contact legs in the rewind drum breaks and when you turn it on, nothing happens, new parts available at reasonable cost or if you're not fussy, do away with the rewind and turn it into a fixed lead that needs coiling by hand.
Switch, easy.
That's it...there's nothing else to repair

 

[KnackeredBike]

Numatic, Henry's etc are possibly THE most repairable hoovers for anyone with a little knowledge and confidence.
New motor, quite easy to fit, cost IRO £50
Cord rewind, usually one of the contact legs in the rewind drum breaks and when you turn it on, nothing happens, new parts available at reasonable cost or if you're not fussy, do away with the rewind and turn it into a fixed lead that needs coiling by hand.
Switch, easy.
That's it...there's nothing else to repair

Most of the time if the motor doesn't work you can replace the brushes for a couple of quid if you solder new ones into the housing, a bit more if you replace the whole lot.

Used to help the maintenance bloke in a Holiday Inn maintain a fleet of Henrys that were used and abused for ten hours a day. Never threw a single one away.

 

[ColinJ]

Sometimes, you dont even need tools to fix something. Former employers were clearing the offices a bit, I was chucking stuff in the skip. What....a nearly new looking Brother lazer printer ??
I asked one of the guys, apparently it was the MD's sons, it had a flashing led indicating something amiss. Google it, took about half an hour to sort it, used it ever since. Even the toner cartridge was nearly full...at the time just that was about £40.
Bonus !

I have refilled the 'unrefillable' toner cartridge in my Samsung printer 3 or 4 times at a cost of less than 1 new official cartridge!

 

[classic33]

Do you need spudgers?

More than likely, but the plastic is getting lighter and more fragile these days. You run the risk of it being a "one-off" repair/peplacement