Repair, reuse, regurgitate

[lutonloony]

It's a cheap one from Argos, all I could afford. Realise that's no reason for them to die, but probably considered "disposable"

 

[Levo-Lon]

My mate...cooker repair man..changes loads of elements..usually about an £80 job..so you have done yourself proud Sir...women don't need new kitchen stuff.. It Should last for decades..
Now you can finally get that new crankset as last year's one just looks dated...

 

[classic33]

It's a cheap one from Argos, all I could afford. Realise that's no reason for them to die, but probably considered "disposable"

No reason whatsoever. Just two that have common faults across their range.

 

[lutonloony]

No reason whatsoever. Just two that have common faults across their range.

I shall update tomorrow

 

[swee'pea99]

There are some very helpful white goods service engineers posting on Youtube . The problem is finding the spares at non-outrageous prices. It's worth looking on Ebay for second-hand bits. It's incredibly satisfying when you get something back to life.

The plastic thing that goes in the fridge door and holds the milk got a bit broken at one end - heavy-handed munchkins. I was going to buy a replacement till I found they wanted £42 for it. (My last fridge but one cost me less than half that, and was still working fine 8 years later when we had to get rid when we got our kitchen redone and it wouldn't fit.) Araldite time!

 

[slowmotion]

The plastic thing that goes in the fridge door and holds the milk got a bit broken at one end - heavy-handed munchkins. I was going to buy a replacement till I found they wanted £42 for it. (My last fridge but one cost me less than half that, and was still working fine 8 years later when we had to get rid when we got our kitchen redone and it wouldn't fit.) Araldite time!

Splendid! Our 19 year old oven has had two new generic heating elements, and a new fan and thermostat. The electronic timer packed up about five years ago and a replacement would have cost us about £80. I just bypassed the entire timer assembly by re-routing a few crimp connectors.

BTW, WTF are oven timers actually for????

 

[ColinJ]

In my current place it looks like the back light has failed on the screen of a £50,000 CNC corner cleaner.
Of course the only quote from the engineers is £5,000 to replace the whole PC, they think they have companies over a barrel.
As soon as possible I'm having a go at that. You can get back light bulbs for £1.25 on ebay and inverters for £2.50.

Indeed you can!

 

[classic33]

Splendid! Our 19 year old oven has had two new generic heating elements, and a new fan and thermostat. The electronic timer packed up about five years ago and a replacement would have cost us about £80. I just bypassed the entire timer assembly by re-routing a few crimp connectors.

BTW, WTF are oven timers actually for????

Isn't it just another clock/time keeper to have to adjust twice a year?

 

[slowmotion]

Isn't it just another clock/time keeper to have to adjust twice a year?

The display on ours is refreshingly black, but I'm still confused about what they are for. I suppose if you go in for endurance casseroles they might have some utility, but we don't.

 

[ColinJ]

The display on ours is refreshingly black, but I'm still confused about what they are for. I suppose if you go in for endurance casseroles they might have some utility, but we don't.

I am normally pretty good at getting things to work without RTFM, but when I moved in to my current rental property 2 years ago the display for the timer on the oven was flashing and I still haven't figured out how to stop it! I don't need a timer either, but the flashing irritates me. Not enough to bother searching online for a PDF of the manual though ...

 

[slowmotion]

I am normally pretty good at getting things to work without RTFM, but when I moved in to my current rental property 2 years ago the display for the timer on the oven was flashing and I still haven't figured out how to stop it! I don't need a timer either, but the flashing irritates me. Not enough to bother searching online for a PDF of the manual though ...

The flashing display was driving me bonkers too. I delved inside and made a lucky guess at which crimp connectors went to the elements, switches etc. It would have been just as easy to go down to Screwfix and buy a roll of black insulation tape and plaster it all over the blinking monster.

 

[classic33]

I am normally pretty good at getting things to work without RTFM, but when I moved in to my current rental property 2 years ago the display for the timer on the oven was flashing and I still haven't figured out how to stop it! I don't need a timer either, but the flashing irritates me. Not enough to bother searching online for a PDF of the manual though ...

Insulation tape over the top of the display. Failing that, bailing(silage) tape.

 

[ColinJ]

The flashing display was driving me bonkers too. I delved inside and made a lucky guess at which crimp connectors went to the elements, switches etc. It would have been just as easy to go down to Screwfix and buy a roll of black insulation tape and plaster it all over the blinking monster.

Insulation tape over the top of the display. Failing that, bailing(silage) tape.

D'oh ...

Sorted!

 

[classic33]

Or Which Freezer Door Seal ? to buy. The whole door(feezer) because the seal on it has gone.

 

[Reynard]

Did a similar element swap repair on my Zanussi fan oven a couple of years ago. Actually, this oven is on its third or fourth element now. Timer on it's been shot for years, but I got one of those wind up ones with a bell that works for me.

On the flip side, my car failed its MOT rather spectacularly last week. Not worth throwing nearly four figures at something that will fail its MOT again next year. And that's before they investigate the reason why it keeps overheating. Time to cut my losses and move on.