On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 18:33:13 -0800, wrote:

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 02:22:27 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

Texas Joe wrote:
''economically STUPID''? I assume you think it is smarter to spend
$500US on a new one instead of a few bucks for some parts.

TJ

Calm down. :-) Most people are not going to be able to repair a 10 year
old microwave for a few dollars. Most people don't have the skills to do it
themselves. They NEED those skills because it is dangerous to work on one
of these without a good knowledge of what is in there and how to stay safe.
They also are likely to have a difficult time fining the parts. Last when
they are done they will have a 10 year old microwave. For some things it
just does not pay to repair.

I have a good idea of how to stay safe around one and could fix them,
but I have only bothered to take the time to fix one, and it only lasted two
additional years (a $5.00 fix in that case) After that I have replaced them
and each time I was happy I did replace them as the new one was better.

As for a ten year old frig, I would seriously consider replacing it as
well.

I have a Panasonic convection microwave that is much older than that. It has a
noisy fan that I would love to replace. I can still get the part but I hate to
touch the thing.
I don't think there is a new Microwave convection oven that is large as this
one. Other than the noisy fan it works perfectly. I use it a dozen times a day.
From warming coffee to cooking 14 pound turkeys.
The HUGE turning platter makes excellent meatballs and bacon on the convection
settings.
I'm going to be very bummed when this oven breaks.

Changing that fan should not be a major problem at all. Just be sure
to unplug the MW and either drain that capacitor, or stay away from
it. If you dont know what a capacitor looks like, look at some of the
appliance parts websites to see pictures. Your fan repair could be
nothing more than a blade that is loose, or could need a new blade or
motor due to worn bearings. Open the case, see what the fan is
hitting, and go from there. Call to find the price of whatever you
need and determine if it is affordable compared to a new MW. One of
my favorite tricks is going to appliance stores and seeing what they
are tossing out. I have come home with appliances identical to mine,
and then I got lots of spare parts. The local shop dont care if I
take this stuff, because he has to PAY to get rid of some appliances,
plus haul them and such... When I am done stripping an appliance, I
drive over the housing with my farm tractor and have a flat piece of
steel to sell for scrap metal. (except refrigerators, the dont crush
easily).