On a DIY electrical roll this weekend - stove, toaster, computer, phone, and stove again

[bucolic_frolic]

I didn't plan it this way, but the parts for stove and phone arrived yesterday (early I might add), so I fixed the phone and activated it, then fixed the stove. Saturday was to be toaster timer and computer OS install/troubleshoot.

Surprise to me I wake up and one of the OTHER burners on the electric smoothtop has gone out. I think it's the control, but have to multimeter it. Do stoves do this around 22 years old? Light bulb, control switch, burner over the last 2 years, and now more.

Multimeter skills, btw, very very good to know. Car, house, stove, water heater. I'd be dead without them.

And there's the toaster oven. Sears, with mechanical timer with a *DING* bell. The timer stops turning when hot at predictable places. I shot some silicone lube in there, and it loosened up, then 2 cycles later stuck again. Is it worth disassambly? ANyone know if there's a place to lubricate, or does dust clog it. Not sure whether to spend 2 hours and 30 screws of time, or just tolerate it until it burns out.

[rampartc]

1. dirt.

some rheostat/potentiometer controls get dirty "burnt" spots as well. try turning the knob clockwise/counterclockwise quickly a few times.

[HUAJIAO]

2. I understand plumbing.

Water moves from our lake in a pipe and comes out the tap.

I do NOT understand electricity. I have no idea where it comes from, how it gets someplace and where it goes or why. Water goes from place to place. But it seems to me electricity just goes around in a circle.. I don;t get it at all..

Good luck..

[Worried2020]

3. Toaster ovens aren't that expensive,

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cheap as dirt if you buy them used.

I bought a used one for $10 over a year ago from one of our local FB Buy and Sell/Yard Sale Groups.

It's a Hamilton Beach with Bake, Broil, Toast and Convection settings.

Still works flawlessly.



ps: - 30 minute mechanical timer - also with the "ding" feature

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Yeah, good idea

I saw a used one about 2 years ago that should have motivated me. But now thrifts are empty of electronics for some reason. Clothing is piled high because they don't have enough personnel to shelve it, but appliance and PC area empty.

Over the years, it's not the thrift store things I buy that are great or that I remember, it's the ones I didn't buy that got away. Real value went that-a-way!

[Worried2020]

5. I noticed the lack of items like electronics lately too

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My ISO post looking for a laptop has zero responses - after 2 months!

Our trade battle with China is biting us in the ass.

(sigh)

I'm a DIY person by nature - I'm cheap, and not fussy. I was building computers from thrift stores and removing what I needed/wanted to build them back in the late 90s and early 2000s - once grabbing a 500M hard drive, still in it's original static-free wrap for 50 cents (back when most HDs were well under 100M). They had NO IDEA what is was, ergo the 50 cent tag.

When I formatted the HD I called it DAVES41150 - Total cost for salvaged memory, DVD players, the 500M HD etc. was $11.50

It was a Digital(later Compaq) 486DX2 66 Mhz desktop, the first computer I ever got on line with.


https://picclick.com/Vintage-Dec-Digital-Pc744-Decpc-450-D2Lp-Intel-124547913470.html
e-bay . . I can snag it for $400 - NO HARD DRIVE!

Upgraded the memory from 4M to 16M, the most it would recognize, a 44x DVD and so on, all within the $11.50.

Those days are gone, I use laptops now, and I know squat about building or repairing them . . .

oh well



W

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Yup, our spare parts are Made in China

I keep saying, here or there, stock up on consumables. Seals, filters, o-rings.

Yes computers are like cars in the ups and downs of vintage prices. After 10 years worthless, but 15 years they start upward.

I don't rebuild laptops, but I did rebuild this one. It is a wreck cosmetically. A laptop i could have bought for $75 November 2020 is now $180 to $225. Everyone is working at home. Kids need them for school, adults need backups for work.

So as the economy improves, used ones should come on the market and depress prices.

[Worried2020]

7. On multimeters - I got 4 of them - retired mechanic here . . .

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I also have 4 car batteries, 2 inverters(400W + 2000W) and related paraphernalia in my 500sq. ft. apartment - bathroom is my "charging" room cuz there's an exhaust fan in there

Lamps all have 13W (60W equivalent) bulbs, extension cords are all 12 or 14 gauge (think line drop) etc., so when the power goes out, I still got light and my 'puters.

What else could I want for during a power outage?



W