Tore Apart a Microwave

[MbumboTatum]

Found a big older microwave in alley. Took it apart (mainly with cordless drill
screwdriver and Phillips bit). I understood that the magnet tube had magnet in
it. I got 2 fairly strong magnets out of it. They were about the size of a very
large, very thick washer. That is: ring shaped, flat. I'm guessing that more
modern microwaves will have smaller, more powerful (maybe some new-age alloy?)
magnets in them.

I also kept the fuse and the impressive, sardine can looking capacitor. Set the
rest of the pile back in the alley by the dumpster.

 

[Robert Baer]

Found a big older microwave in alley. Took it apart (mainly with cordless drill
screwdriver and Phillips bit). I understood that the magnet tube had magnet in
it. I got 2 fairly strong magnets out of it. They were about the size of a very
large, very thick washer. That is: ring shaped, flat. I'm guessing that more
modern microwaves will have smaller, more powerful (maybe some new-age alloy?)
magnets in them.

I also kept the fuse and the impressive, sardine can looking capacitor. Set the
rest of the pile back in the alley by the dumpster.

Got a good chuckle on that last sentence..

Yes, you are correct about the magnets.
Back in the 1960s to 1980s the magnets for microwave tubes were
Alnico, and were fairly large.
Now the magnets are made from rare earth powders and are stronger and
much smaller (as you saw).
The capacitor can be useful for high energy flash tube use or other
pulse circuits.

 

[Rich Grise]

Found a big older microwave in alley. Took it apart (mainly with cordless drill
screwdriver and Phillips bit). I understood that the magnet tube had magnet in
it. I got 2 fairly strong magnets out of it. They were about the size of a very
large, very thick washer. That is: ring shaped, flat. I'm guessing that more
modern microwaves will have smaller, more powerful (maybe some new-age alloy?)
magnets in them.

I also kept the fuse and the impressive, sardine can looking capacitor. Set the
rest of the pile back in the alley by the dumpster.

You threw away the TRANSFORMER??!?!?!?!!!?

That can be worth some bucks, if only for the scrap iron and copper.
And you can rewind it to your heart's content, unless it's a ferroresonant,
in which case it'd probably take a little study.

Have Fun!
Rich

 

[AlWahrabi]

You threw away the TRANSFORMER??!?!?!?!!!?

That can be worth some bucks, if only for the scrap iron and copper.
And you can rewind it to your heart's content Rich>>

The transformer did look extremely well made and neat. But, as you can tell I'm
no rocket surgeon. I wouldn't know what to do with it.

 

[Robert Baer]

You threw away the TRANSFORMER??!?!?!?!!!?

That can be worth some bucks, if only for the scrap iron and copper.
And you can rewind it to your heart's content, unless it's a ferroresonant,
in which case it'd probably take a little study.

Have Fun!
Rich

All of the transformers that i have seen in microwave ovens were
ferroresonant types - hence the capacitor.
The scheme is to provide (roughly) a constant current, so that the
variable load (nil in box VS big turkey, etc) will not kill or otherwise
damage the supply.

 

[~^Johnny^~]

The capacitor can be useful for high energy flash tube use or other
pulse circuits.

Now that's a canned answer. ;->


--
-john
wide-open at throttle dot info

~~~~~~~~
"Stealing our copyright provisions in the dead of night when no-one
is looking is piracy. It's not piracy when kids swap music over the
Internet using Napster..." - Courtney Love
~~~~~~~~