- Joined
- Nov 6, 2007
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- 12,824
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- North Oxfordshire
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- His - Denim Blue A220 AMG Line Premium / Hers - Obsidian Black R172 SLK55
No, not the TV program.
At the weekend I used my ancient Kenwood Gourmet food processor (it has to be at least 37 years old as it was an engagement present for my first marriage!) and after mixing the ingredients for a microwave syrup sponge pudding - recipe available on request - wandered back to the cooker to tend something else. At that point I hear my wife yell out from behind me that there are clouds, and I mean CLOUDS, of smoke coming out of the food processor. I quickly ran across the kitchen, unplugged it and put it outside where it couldn't do any damage if it caught fire and continued with my cookery.
At the time it happened my nose told me that it wasn't burning wiring or the motor overheating but more likely a capacitor having given up the ghost. On Monday I pulled the thing apart and the culprit was obvious: one of the PME271M motor filter capacitors had burst and spewed its contents over the PCB. So a quick search of t'interweb and I found a suitable replacement, opting to order a replacement for a second similar capacitor on the board at the same time. It looked OK but I figured it would probably cash in its chips sooner or later, so for the extra couple of pounds it was a no-brainer.
I've just spent 10 minutes with a soldering iron replacing the capacitors and am pleased to report that the food processor is back to working condition. All for less than £9 - and nearly £5 of that was a small order handling/delivery charge.
While putting it back together I was musing that I was fortunate that the device was of an age that used discrete components and could be easily repaired. Chances are that a younger product would have been glued together and destroyed in an attempt to open it up and/or have combined miniature surface-mount devices that are nigh-on impossible to replace at home.
So what's your most recent repair that's stopped something otherwise serviceable ending up in the landfill?
At the weekend I used my ancient Kenwood Gourmet food processor (it has to be at least 37 years old as it was an engagement present for my first marriage!) and after mixing the ingredients for a microwave syrup sponge pudding - recipe available on request - wandered back to the cooker to tend something else. At that point I hear my wife yell out from behind me that there are clouds, and I mean CLOUDS, of smoke coming out of the food processor. I quickly ran across the kitchen, unplugged it and put it outside where it couldn't do any damage if it caught fire and continued with my cookery.
At the time it happened my nose told me that it wasn't burning wiring or the motor overheating but more likely a capacitor having given up the ghost. On Monday I pulled the thing apart and the culprit was obvious: one of the PME271M motor filter capacitors had burst and spewed its contents over the PCB. So a quick search of t'interweb and I found a suitable replacement, opting to order a replacement for a second similar capacitor on the board at the same time. It looked OK but I figured it would probably cash in its chips sooner or later, so for the extra couple of pounds it was a no-brainer.
I've just spent 10 minutes with a soldering iron replacing the capacitors and am pleased to report that the food processor is back to working condition. All for less than £9 - and nearly £5 of that was a small order handling/delivery charge.
While putting it back together I was musing that I was fortunate that the device was of an age that used discrete components and could be easily repaired. Chances are that a younger product would have been glued together and destroyed in an attempt to open it up and/or have combined miniature surface-mount devices that are nigh-on impossible to replace at home.
So what's your most recent repair that's stopped something otherwise serviceable ending up in the landfill?