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November 14, 2019

Ultrasonic Humidifier Repair – The Unoscillating Nebulizer

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 5:01 pm

One of the items that was brought in by a friend to a recent Repair Café event in Campbell River was a non-functioning portable humidifier, a Honeywell model HUD-200. I didn’t have time to get to it during the Café afternoon, but was able to fix it afterward. These devices are based on an ultrasonic “nebulizer”, basically a piezoelectric element in a high frequency oscillator circuit generating ultrasound waves in water, and thereby causing droplets to form and flow out in an airstream from a fan. The symptom was that water was flowing through the device, but no moisture was being created.

the nebulous humidifier

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November 7, 2018

Circa-1993 Bose Clock Radio Repair

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 7:44 pm

One of the most interesting and challenging repairs to come my way at the recent Repair Café in Campbell River, BC was a Bose clock radio. This radio had no audio output other than a loud buzz from the speakers when turned on.

Bose Clock Radio, post-repair

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Repair of a Hot Water Tub Pump Motor

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 7:08 pm

Recently my neighbour’s hot tub wasn’t functioning; the water pump motor would not start. This is a fairly common symptom, with a number of possible causes. In this case the pump was a “Century LASAR Pool/Spa Motor” part number 7-177783-02 by A.O. Smith and Company. The repair required both freeing up seized bearings, and cleaning contacts in the starter capacitor circuit.
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May 12, 2017

Repair of an "Instant Pot" Pressure Cooker

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 9:39 am

This post is about another case that reinforces my claim that “most repairs are easy” -especially when you know what to look for! One of my neighbours recently brought over a pressure cooker that had ceased to function. In quick initial tests, the unit powered up normally, and panel display and controls seemed functional, but the device heater did not come on. Other key observations were that the relay that supplies AC to the heater could be heard to “click” as expected. This relay is of a common type used in many appliances and electronic thermostats to supply relatively high currents to resistive heaters.

the patient, chest cavity opened

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September 20, 2016

The Disintegrated Spider – Fixing a Sears Kenmore – Samsung Front-Loading Washing Machine

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 4:19 pm

This brief post is about repair of what is apparently a common fault of front loading washers that have been made by Samsung and other manufacturers in recent years.  Recently, our Kenmore model 592-49057 had started making alarmingly loud thumping noises during operation, especially during high speed spin cycle segments. The cause turned out to be a broken support flange or “spider” inside the washer tub. Sears Canada was unable to supply the part I needed, but after finding the Samsung model number, actually 59249057 (surprise!), I was able to figure out the Samsung replacement part number DC97-14875B for the spider for our “Kenmore” machine. I found it on ebay via a parts source in Pennsylvania by searching on the part number. It was about Cdn $140 with shipping to BC. The actually repair is pretty easy but a lot of parts have to come out before you can get at the spider.

corroded and broken

I need a new spider

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July 13, 2016

Removing a Bathtub Drain That Has Broken Crossbars

Drain Extractor tool


A plumbing problem I had to deal with this week was removal of an old bathtub drain flange. What sometimes happens with these drains, and had happened in this case, is that corrosion weakens the metal crosshairs located at the bottom of the flange inside the drain that are normally used to trap a drain wrench such that the flange can be unscrewed. I tried a few standard tricks, including using a cutting wheel to notch the drain collar such that a screwdriver could be hammered against it to cause it to rotate. None of those tricks were successful. Fortunately there is a good custom tool on the market for just this job. (more…)

February 21, 2016

Repair of a Food Saver model V845

I had a great time doing some interesting repairs at the Repair Cafe event in Campbell River yesterday. One of the most interesting and challenging repairs was that of a Food Saver plastic bag vacuum sealer, for which the heat sealing wasn’t functioning, but the vacuum function was apparently OK. In this case, the problem was not apparently common heat strip failure, but rather a failed vacuum activated switch. Here’s what I did to diagnose and repair it.

the patient

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November 14, 2015

Repair of a Traynor YGL3 Mark 3 Guitar Amplifier and Accusonic Reverb Tank

This post is about a fun, relatively easy repair/restoration project on a classic piece of electric guitar/music gear: a Traynor YGL3 Mark 3 amplifier. The YGL3 is a vacuum tube -based piece of rock/music history. This project grew out of the Repair Cafe event in the Campbell River Sportsplex last month that I was a volunteer repair person for. A new friend, Joedy W, had brought this amp in to the Repair Cafe, but I didn’t have the time or the parts during that busy day to do the full repair. After I got back from some travels, we were able to re-connect yesterday and I could get to work on the amp. The whole repair/restore operation had four distinct elements to it. This was a pretty interesting project for me because I had never worked on a musical instrument amp before (that I can recall), but the repairs needed were fairly easy, requiring diagnosis mainly by observation with ears and eyes and ultimately just one test instrument, an ohmmeter.

Traynor YGL3 Mark 3 amplifier

The Patient: Traynor YGL3 Mark 3 amplifier

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September 14, 2015

How To Fix a Leaking Garden Sprayer, With Pieces Of An Old Bicycle Inner Tube

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 12:46 pm

For the past few years I’ve been using an inexpensive hand-pumped sprayer to kill moss on my roof in Campbell River. The sprayer is an HDX-branded 2 gallon tank sprayer from Home Depot, sells for about $20. The moss removal serves far more than cosmetic purposes for the house; the moss eventually grows underneath the roof shingles and can lift them up and cause leaks, as well as holding moisture that will seep into the roof. The ingredients I use for the spray are typically 20-30% vinegar (the cheapest I can find at nearby grocery store) and the rest, tap water. Low toxicity and low impact to things other than moss and other vegetation.

Anyone for a vinegar bath?

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September 13, 2015

Fixing a Hamilton-Beach Coffee Grinder

Our coffee grinder had stopped working. Now that for me is a near-emergency situation demanding repair. This is the grinder, brand “Hamilton Beach”

the dead grinder

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