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Sunday, October 29, 2023

Another microwave oven day

 "'I was once a fortunate man  but at some point fortune abandoned me.'  But true good fortune is what you make for yourself.  Good fortune:  Good intentions, good character, and good interactions." - Marcus Aurelius

The old microwave oven began acting up yet again.  I fixed it a while back.  Replaced the door switches, the relays, and eventually realized that the cavity magnetron had cracked magnets - which got it working again. 

It has a new issue now.  The control panel starts up, the timer counts down, the relays cut in, but nothing happens.   No rotation, no microwaves, and no cooling fan.  So something is wrong with the low voltage (120 volt) side.  I replaced the relays again, because I had spares on hand.  That didn't help, and the old relays tested fine on the bench afterwards anyway.  





 None of the other components in the low voltage loop tested bad either, and my time is extremely limited this weekend, so I gave up trying and bought a brand new one :(  This is doubly irritating.  Yes, I can probably repair it, and also I'm not happy with this sort of waste.  At least I was able to hold it off for about three years.  

Below:  The replacement


Both the current microwave oven and its replacement are countertop ovens.  They are made to look like built-in appliances with the use of a Trim Kit.  The trim kit makes a counter-top microwave look like a built-in by elevating it and using a trim ring that goes around the outside face of the oven.

We shall see how *that* project goes.  

Meanwhile, I'm heading into work already on a Sunday.  We've had to shutdown for repairs that will require three days to accomplish, and now it's on me to make sure that operationally we are prepared for what is coming next week.  Safety first! 


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