Magnetronics

Tore apart a microwave, almost. They don't want you in there, so
there's some nasty screw head shapes and sizes. Some, a few for that
purpose only, and the rest even a assembly line couldn't stomach. Had
to use a small prybar to lift a couple where they weren't so bad
unscrewing with pliers.

There's a HV capacitor for one honking transformer, 1000-watt unit,
comprising most of the microwave's weight. Then a magnetron, control
pad, light bulb, fan and base motor for the revolving plate. Two
year's use, the load caused some disconcerting vibration briefly, and
all she had to write was cold spaghetti.

Given the size of the transformer and HV capacitor, that's one sad
Chinese story about a lot of iron for just two years. Hamilton Beach,
which I nonetheless replaced with a somewhat chintzier model, styled
the same, (I'm used to the control panel), except for this year's
mainstream economics, at 900 watts and marginally smaller cavity;-
It's about $20 less, give or take, for a 700-watt entry unit, I'll buy
next time if this flakes out. That's half the operational cost
presuming 700 watt unit lasts two years, roughly at 10-cents a day to
heat water a couple times for coffee and a meal or two.

Not to be cheated, I pulled the magnets. Rated by rare earth magnets,
I'm not sure where these stand, but they are quite strong and worth
the potentially lethal capacitor, along with a scraped knuckle, which
I will assume complete responsibility in the latter instance. I'll
use the magnets for a general sense of application on each side of a
wrought iron safety cage for lifting olympic iron weights;- they'll
nicely stick to the channel iron to hold the 2.5lb plates that somehow
never properly adjusted themselves to ordered plates, although that's
not to say the magnets might hold 10lb. plates and definitely fives.

I'd heard of it and it isn't at all bad for finally doing so, after
tossing three or four microwaves prior without much thought for a pair
of rather nice magnets at that. Took about an hour to tear it down in
designed orderly fashion, probably a lot less with a 5" angle grinder,
once through the loop, for cold chisel and always deft 2lb. mallet.