Reuse / recycle old microwave?

Larumbelle

Hi all, I have searched for this, apologies if it's already covered somewhere else.

My microwave has died, the light comes on, the turntable turns, but it doesn't heat. I would try to repair it, but my OH has forbidden it, and I doubt anyone else would want to repair it because it is ooooold and the paint is coming away.

So the glass turntable I can reuse. But what about the rest of it? Can it be reused or recycled in any way? Is it likely that anyone else will have a use for it? I don't really want to add it to landfill!

Amanda

The main cause for a microwave not heating is a simple fault on the diode stack.

This is a small black oblong block with wires coming out of each end and very cheap to replace.

It is located on the Capacitor which resembles a large silver battery with 2 tags. The diode is connected to one of these terminals.

However, the capacitor can potentially hold a lethal charge even when the m/wave is disconnected, and touching the terminals could kill you!:eek: The cap can be discharged by shorting out the two terminals, but I really wouldn't reccommend it unless you know what you are doing.

So, somebody could easily repair it (unless the magnetron has gone then it wouldn't be worth it), but given the price of microwaves these days, they are not worth repairing.

Welcome to the throwaway society!

Larumbelle

Thanks Amanda, I suspected that might be the case, I did call around a few repair people and they said they don't bother any more - one said it's not even worth repairing CRT TVs, let alone something 'disposable'.

I guess it's down the tip for little Mr Micro then... Oh well, he had a good innings, he lasted 15 years and I doubt many you buy today would. I shan't replace him.

greenbee

If your tip has a community furniture project that deals with the electrical equipment you may well find that it does get fixed and passed on... and if not, it will at least, under WEEE regulations, be dealt with properly and the materials recovered for reuse.

JoolzS

If you have a local group try offering it on freecycle. Just be completely honest in your description and you may find that someone who knows how to repair it is interested. I rarely throw anything away without giving it a week on freecycle first. There have been very few items that haven't been taken. Someone might even want it to plant veggies in or something

Julie

IamJen

I was going to suggest Freecycle as well. I know that the Oxford group has several pensioners who are keen on fixing all sorts of stuff (much to the delight of their wives, I'm sure )

Also, the local council here has some sort of small appliance recycling scheme. I don't really know how it works, but I have a brochure about all of the recycling services offered by our local c. and it mentioned it in there.

Larumbelle

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I've still got my old microwave... Nobody on freecycle wanted it, nor did any of the local community projects that take electricals. I even asked around all of the charity shops as I know a few of them have links to a few repair-people. But I've drawn a blank, and I keep falling over it as with nowhere better to put it it's in the hall!

Has anyone else got any ideas? If not, I'll but it in the electricals skip at the tip. Does anyone know what happens to stuff that gets put in those bins?

mech_2

silvercharming wrote: »

Has anyone else got any ideas? If not, I'll but it in the electricals skip at the tip. Does anyone know what happens to stuff that gets put in those bins?

I think it gets minced into pieces and the materials separated. Steel gets separated by electromagnet, other metals by eddy current separator and then plastics and glass might get recycled, but probably not. The larger pieces of non-ferrous metals are probably hand-sorted (copper wiring, aluminium, stainless steel etc). I think they remove parts like circuitboards prior to the rest of the item being shredded. Copper and precious metals on circuitboards can be reclaimed electrochemically.

I'm not an expert on waste, this is just going by what I've read.