An old Bosch battery charger gets a new lease of life.
These chargers often lead a hard life, working in dusty, hot and noisy conditions, so I guess many of these fail in time.
This Bosch unit is fairly common among Bosch DIY drill sets and this one had died catastrophically. With the power applied, this one refused to give the slightest charge to a drill battery, once plugged in.
After some basic testing, I decided to change four components which would have caused the other to fail in a ‘domino effect’. The cost of the replacement parts was just shy of £10, but definitely worth saving since second-hand units seemed to be changing hands for £40 on eBay, with their condition largely unknown. The parts (two resistors, MOSFET transistor and diode/ transistor) were readily available online.
I recorded a short video to help others who might have a similar problem with theirs…
A friend of mine had long been complaining about a leaking tap in his kitchen for some time, so it was a long overdue job for me to tackle.
A quick look online revealed lots of videos and help, but nothing covering the actual problem in this instance.
The tap spout was leaking from the swivel joint where the spout body is allowed to move approximately 180 degrees to move from sink to sink, in this case. This is a fairly common problem for taps (faucet if you’re in America) of this design and sooner or later they all seem to suffer.
I was interested to know if the parts were available, but Internet searches revealed nothing. An email to Reginox UK was answered very quickly and I was referred to Mayfair Brassware Ltd, the manufacturers of the tap in this instance. The parts were quickly identified and delivered next day. Both companies were very helpful and efficient, useful for a non-plumber, like myself.
The cost of replacing the tap was about £50, so the £5 spent on replacement seals was well worth it. The whole job was done in 10 minutes using basic tools.
This Dyson presented with a pretty terminal case of ‘no go’. The owner had run this relatively new machine in to the ground with little maintenance so it was little wonder what happened next.
Whilst in use, the machine spectacularly went bang and tripped the main fuse board of the house. The noise and following smell was quite something I was told.
The owner had nearly rushed out and bought a new machine and was budgeting between £300 and £400 for a replacement.
FixItWorkshop, Worthing, Feb’17. Dyson DC33 motor replaced
I was glad I could help since I was fairly certain I knew what the problem was without seeing it. After giving the cable, switches and casing a visual inspection, it was time to delve deeper. The filters were in poor condition and the general smell of it indicated that overheating had been an issue, probably leading to premature wear on the motor.
With the motor out, the true extent of the damage became apparent. Both motor bushes had worn away to nothing and part of the brush holder had broken up inside the motor, probably while it was running, causing the noise.
I suspect that the owner had ignored the warning signs of burning smells and occasional cutting out (as the thermal overload circuitry performed its fail-safe role).
Being only a few years old, the owner had a couple of options; either replacing the faulty part with a genuine Dyson replacement (a very reasonable £40) or pattern motor kit with filter pack for under £25. The owner chose the latter on the basis of the machine’s age and the fact that both filters in the machine were also ruined.
The job took an hour, including testing before the machine was back performing its cleaning duties once more.
A note to all vacuum cleaner owners (that don’t take bags): Keep your filters cleaned every couple of months or so. Your machine will last much longer if you do.
Fix It Workshop 