Microwave RIP?

Bendy_House

Section62 said:

Bendy_House said:

Again, a conundrum. Do I not offer guidance on how to swap an old room 'stat with a modern equivalent, because mains voltages are involved? And am I - gulp - culpable should someone 'cute themselves in the process when following my advice?

I'd suggest there is some level of risk assessment needed - if someone gives wrong advice and that leads to death or injury they ought to expect to have some degree of comeback from the authorities.  If they give incomplete advice then the familiar 'reasonableness' will be a factor.  Would you expect someone using a consumer-orientated website to know how to safely discharge power circuit capacitors (even if they say they do) when they also say they have been looking for the HV fuse near the mains cable entry?  The issue is none of us here really know the competence of people seeking advice. (not to be confused with thinking they are 'incompetent' and the negativity that goes with that)

The risk level of changing a room stat is somewhat lower than working on the innards of a microwave.  Correctly isolating the mains supply to the central heating, and verifying that with a meter, should be enough - although that doesn't entirely rule out the possibility (like one I discovered this week) that the CH system is energised via two FCU's on different rings.  On a different thread some time ago I said that control circuits need special care because safe/not-safe is difficult to determine, and there's very little limit to the dangerous things people sometimes do.  I'd stand by that comment.

Bendy_House said:

I just don't know. 

Pretty sure MSE has a disclaimer, but that won't save an 'incompetent' or careless person.

I don't think a disclaimer does much good... if you are legally liable then you are legally liable.

I'd suggest a useful parallel is the situation with medical advice ('banned' here).  In theory there may be some 'safe' medical advice, but it is such a difficult area it is usually best to stick with advising people to consult a doctor or 111.  That could be because we collectively regard the medical profession as one clearly needing qualifications.  But on a scale of risk, poking around inside a device with voltages of (say) 4.2kV is very likely to be more dangerous than applying some antiseptic and a plaster to a cut... yet 'advice' on one is (possibly?) allowed and the other (by the 'rules') isn't.

Fair point, well made.

Woolsery

MalMonroe said:

Woolsery said:

Bendy_House said:

Woolsery, I don't know anything specific about that model, or Panasonic's in general....

Actually, I think this sort of thing is best dealt with visually, ideally a video, photos etc and I've found something, so don't worry.

I'm from a generation where we had to do stuff ourselves or do without; hence changing multiple engines, gearboxes etc and re-wiring 2 houses before I was 30. Now I can afford to do otherwise but self-reliance dies hard!

. Rewiring a house now requires a certified and qualified worker, whose work is then signed off by yet another certified and qualified worker. 

Self-reliance is a great thing but it isn't always sensible, especially in these far more sophisticated times.

Rewiring a house and gaining  the necessary certificate depended on the circuitry being inspected and tested by a qualified person even back in the Dark Ages of the 1970/80s. I seem to remember the guy spending a long time on the job and worrying it might not make the grade. The point is, I was allowed to DIY and people often did in those days. After all, I wasn't wiring-up the local telephone exchange.

 Electrical equipment may be more 'sophisticated' now, but most repair is  swapping out, not actual repair and often guided by computer diagnosis At the garage the computer that tells the mechanic what's wrong, and sometimes it's even right!

I think self reliance is soon to make a come-back. Only last night I needed to make a 999 call and it took over 5 minutes to be answered and more than an hour for the police to get here, though the other services made it inside 45 minutes. A good amount of self-reliance was called for then, filling-in for them all. Luckily, we had plenty of resourceful people to hand.

I'm not saying society is about to collapse, but things will become much tougher for people who haven't a clue about practical matters when the austerity we're just seeing begins to bite harder.

Bad old days? Well, you could get a doctor's appointment quickly and your local bobby didn't come from 40 miles distant. Yes, there were obvious deficiencies, like no requirements for seat belts and crash helmets, but I'm sorry you see it so negatively.

Rosa_Damascena

I would really love to hear from the OP again - what will the old microwave be replaced with?

kuepper

Rosa_Damascena said:

I would really love to hear from the OP again - what will the old microwave be replaced with?

Using Amazon £10 off £30 spend offer I've bought this for £59.99 - good enough for my purposes which are mainly the odd microwaveable meal and reheating tea, free delivery with Prime tomorrow

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N6KQQPD/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item

My old one was a Sharp 20l 800w which lasted 6 years, before that I had a Samsung which lasted 20+ years.

Rosa_Damascena

kuepper said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

I would really love to hear from the OP again - what will the old microwave be replaced with?

Using Amazon £10 off £30 spend offer I've bought this for £59.99 - good enough for my purposes which are mainly the odd microwaveable meal and reheating tea, free delivery with Prime tomorrow

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N6KQQPD/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item

My old one was a Sharp 20l 800w which lasted 6 years, before that I had a Samsung which lasted 20+ years.

My usage is similar to yours, but my Sharp 800W has lasted 21 years now. I'm only thinking of replacing it because it looks a bit shabby in my otherwise pristine kitchen!

GDB2222

Amazon £10 off £30? Does anyone know more, please?

kuepper

GDB2222 said:

Amazon £10 off £30? Does anyone know more, please?

it was in Martin's last email https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-amazon-loopholes/#codes