I came up with this question right after I wanted to take apart a microwave to see why it wasn’t heating anything before I remembered that that’s a very, VERY bad idea
Batteries
Old arcade machines. Giant capacitors + little knowledge on the subject = a very bad time.
As with anything it can be done safely if you know how. People still play those and they obviously need repairs/maintenance sometimes.
Holy shit, how has no one mentioned rechargable batteries?
Lithium Ion batteries, commonly used in phones and the like, rapidly catches fire and emits acidic smoke that will melt your lungs when the battery is punctured.
I too was going to say microwave before reading the post body. Honestly though anything with a large capacitor, I can’t give you examples unfortunately because I study physics not electrical engineering but some of those fat fucking capacitors will fry you and they hold their charge.
I was actually going to say microwaves, but specifically the thing where people use the parts to make those things where you can burn fractals into wood. They look super cool but apparently if you brush up against the wrong component your heart just stops.
DO NOT backfeed your house’s electricity with a generator when your electricity gets shut down. You might electrocute someone working on those lines.
=D--------ᗡ=
At least have it set up downstream of the main shut off and make sure that main is off before firing up the generator. There are devices available commercially that do that for you but they aren’t cheap and require professional installation.
Old CRT monitors. Particularly if they’ve been recently unplugged. There’s a cable in there my old teacher used to call “the superman cable”.
Microwave
Ok firstly.
Never, work on anything that is still connected to a power supply.
This includes any stored energy. Isolate it first. Gravitational, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic and chemical (if possible).
Don’t fuck with stored energy.
Secondly.
Learn how to test if things are live, or have any stored energy.
Thirdly.
Once you KNOW you are safe. Go hard, learn all you can.
You can harvest the transformers for a couple junk microwaves to make an arc welder.
If you aren’t experienced then pretty much all power supplies, battery backups, and motors should be left to someone else.
I saw someone lose a finger (later reattached) to a washing machine with a jammed tub. It was plugged in and on when they reached underneath it and yanked the belt, their sleeve ducked their hand into the drive wheel.
That said, if it fits your personality it can be both fun and satisfying to learn how to fix stuff. I try to teach anyone who’s interested and asks. Except LG washing machines, those things can fuck right off.
How did they reattach the finger to the washing machine?
super glue. Don’t get it on your eyelids, though.
Duct tape of course
Anything with large capacitors?
Not a large capacitor in my case, but I took apart my old camera after it stopped working, and accidentally touched the capacitor for the flash. A memorable moment.
And people don’t realize how long they can hold power after the device has been “off”.
Edit - I forgot to add my thing! A good example of something that doesn’t sound scary is a TV, but it has large capacitors that can end you (or make a bad day).
Word for word my answer
Desktop computer power supplies. Don’t open them.
BS. Just drain capacitors. I’ve repaired a few (worthwhile ones) by replacing caps. You just need to know how. As with anything, read up.
How else am I supposed to put the magic smoke back in?
- Laser / LED printers can blind you and may have larger capacitors.
- Old CRT style TVs / Monitors can get you if not discharged correctly.
Is it true they can hold on to a charge for decades? I was told that but it seemed unlikely.
The coating on the inside of the tube can behave like a Leyden jar caps can accumulate charge over time even without an obvious power source.
I’m treating them like guns. Assume they’re loaded until you prove otherwise.
That is my understanding. I remember hearing stories about dudes visiting a dump or whatever, kicking through the screen of a CRT and getting zapped like fuck
Unlikely. Even the best capacitors would discharge through leakage in 5 or 10 minutes.
why don’t you google that?
Do you ever find that sometimes when you intervene in to other people’s conversations to pull out some of your best absolute cracker lines like “why don’t you google that?” that people just don’t react properly at all? Like you’d expect an appropriate response like some light cheering and maybe lifting you up on their shoulders and handing you a medal and at least a couple of trophies. You know, something befitting of your incisive and insightful contributions, and instead they just kinda stop talking to you? That’s so weird huh?
Especially on a forum-style network dedicated to discussion 🙈
Don’t keep us hanging. Google it for us. (the punchline is in there)
No I expect everyone not to be lazy fucks and do some basic research on one liner facts
The original question I see as a useful conversation where a simple search would probably not give as valuable resultes.
Where simple facts like “how long does a crt tube old a charge” is a Google thing.
Why don’t you Google why people don’t Google things instead of asking why they don’t Google it? It’s pretty hypocritical of you to ask that without putting in the research.
That’s the joke.
I had a problem with the control panel in my Panasonic microwave and was able to fix it pretty easily. Everything I needed to get to was inside the right front of the microwave; the control pad membrane and the sticker that goes on the front of it.
CRT TVs.
Seconded, they are basically eldritch as far as I am concerned
