Forum Topic

Take Part:  UCL Home Appliance & Electronics  Maintenance & Repair Project

Do please take part in the Big Repair Project!  I know there are lots of people here who have mended or attempted to mend their home appliances and electronics.It would be really good if we moved to towards being able to make more repairs now that we have a Right to Repair.  Throwing away appliances when a small repair could be easily done if we could only find someone capable is such a terrible waste of resources.  More repair shops would also create employment and teach more practical skills.The UCL Plastic Innovation Hub is asking for participants:https://www.bigrepairproject.org.uk/

Philippa Bond ● 1684d30 Comments

Speaking of which I am looking for someone who can fix the volume control on my Panasonic radio/CD player. The knob on the unit and the button on the remote are caput.I bought it from Wheatlands in the High Road which might tell you how old it is!Any suggestions?

Adrian Irving ● 1684d

Replace the  knob on the unit and the knob on the remote Job Done

Julian Pavey ● 1684d

Fuselodge?There was also someone not that long ago who found someone on here who could make him a new knob with a 3D printer.It looks as though this might be something where we should be able to simply lengthen the life of something. Do put this in feedback to UCL.I've modified knobs on things with Sugru.  It looks like Blutack or Plasticine but hardens (and also can be chipped off if unsuccessful).  It comes in small amounts and is not cheap and does not have a long shelf life (but a bit longer if refrigerated) so don't buy much at a time.  I've mended quite a few things like this.  I expect my father would have created something out of wood and stuck it on with Araldite!

Philippa Bond ● 1684d

Hmm I think I should have worded that more carefully.  Duh.

Philippa Bond ● 1684d

A knob will cost around 30p -£1 to replaceRemote on ebay for about a fiver if not less. Most remotes are not fixable as most cant be taken apart

Julian Pavey ● 1684d

Thank's Julian but I have taken the knob off and turned the shaft by hand. No joy, so the problem is somewhere else.

Adrian Irving ● 1684d

Julian, this remote is screwed together so I opened it up and have it a good squirt with Switch Clean.  Still nothing.The replacement remotes are on eBay but all either in the USA or the EU so cost around forty quid by the time I have paid postage and import tax with no guarantee they will fix the issue.Phillipa, your dad sounds like my sort of guy and much like my old man was.

Adrian Irving ● 1683d

A universal remote control such as :-https://www.espares.co.uk/product/es1754530/roc2411-universal-2-in-1-remote-controlmight work with a Panasonic unit. I bought a similar device for a Toshiba TV and after some setting up it worked well. As for your volume control it sounds like the actual potentiometer that controls the volume has failed. It could be replaced if you can find someone to do it.

Michael David Rowe ● 1683d

Thank's Michael. I think you could be right. I have looked on line and the units a not expensive so I will contact Fuselodge and see if they can help.

Adrian Irving ● 1683d

Don't forget that this shop is still around although only online:https://www.maplin.co.uk/

Philippa Bond ● 1683d

Was a good shop but now online hugely limited and over priced or unknown brands. And that has been the case since they shut all the shops and went online. Shame,because i used hammersmith shop quite a lot Just had a look at sound bars. They have only 2  by Snowdon ? Whoever they are.  BT complete 5 wireless disc pack. Its £50 cheaper from BT themselves.

Julian Pavey ● 1683d

That's disappointing.  I loved and used both the Hammersmith and Ealing shops.  I wonder if they are useful for information?  Or if like many other shops nowadays they don't know much if anything about what they are selling.

Philippa Bond ● 1683d

Yes the closure of the Maplins chain of shops was a sad loss, they were very convenient for picking up electronic components locally. You can buy such things online from:- https://cpc.farnell.com/or. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/ and RS Ltd have an outlet in Southall.

Michael David Rowe ● 1683d

Thank you.  For spare parts for cookers and fridges etc I've used E-Spares. Co.uk but there are others.  They also have little videos showing how to replace bots and pieces.I spent far too many years with deteriorating rubber seals around the double ovens.  I thought it would be difficult and put it off but it was actually easier than falling off a log - it just clipped on.  It was harder to change the oven light bulb  which was frustrating because the glass cover had baked on.  Hower after several goes after several days I finally succeeded.  I am still quite cross with myself for ever thinking it must be difficult!

Philippa Bond ● 1682d

Maplin didn't help themselves.  They were selling components for 50p that could by for 5p online.  If you needed one of something, then they were useful, but they were never going to get big sales because of their ridiculous prices.  As soon as you needed a few items to cover the postage, you would buy online.

Al Webber ● 1682d

Sadly that is what happens when you choose to go for the cheapest - you lose your local shops as they can't afford the overheads.  It's a Use Them or Lose Them situation.  A shame that Govts have not got together and suitably taxed the online stores.  I wonder how much they are costing us in congestion and wear and tear of our roads?  All sorts of cheap and dangerous stuff that doesn't meet British or EU Standards is being sold online and due to cuts there aren't enough Trading Standards people to keep up with it.  The race to the bottom.

Philippa Bond ● 1682d

I dropped the radio/CD off to Fuselodge this morning. Looks hopeful. Thank's for the suggestion.

Adrian Irving ● 1682d

Fingers crossed for a good result!

Philippa Bond ● 1682d

https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/waste-age-what-can-design-do

Philippa Bond ● 1680d

Well, I've got a beautiful extractor above my hob.  Cost a lot.  The control buttons no longer work and Neff don't make anything for this model as it is around 20 years old. To have to replace something as big and expensive just for around 20 quids worth of switches is bloody ridiculous.Any ideas anyone?

Sarah Vickers ● 1680d

CD/radio fixed by Fuselodge for a fair price and in good time.What a nice bloke running it as well.

Adrian Irving ● 1680d

Hurray for Fuselodge!

Philippa Bond ● 1680d

Do you mean that the knobs are turning but not turning the control?Have you looked on the websites like E-spares - although it may be difficult to find anything to match but they may have some universal switches/knobs.  You could always email them.It does make it more difficult that it is something that you can't just take out and along to show someone - or maybe you can - or take photos and take those along - to say somewhere like Fuselodge or maybe try Diamond Electrical or maybe there are some other people on cw4.com who have a favourite Neff engineer?

Philippa Bond ● 1680d

Thanks Philippa. It's a little bank of push buttons. I've tried E-Spares.  It's too huge and heavy to take anywhere and, so far, it looks like I'll have to replace it.I bet that somewhere there's someone who's had to replace theirs for other reasons which would have these buttons that work. Just got to find it.............

Sarah Vickers ● 1679d

Have you just tried putting the reference number for it into Google?

Philippa Bond ● 1679d

Ebay used to have a wanted section; trashnothing.com does have one but a local builder or electrician or kitchen fitter or repairer might know where to source what you are looking for.

Philippa Bond ● 1678d

Sarah, there is a product called Switch Clean. It's a spray that cleans crud that builds up behind knobs and switches. Being above the cooker grease could be you problem.A squirt of Switch Clean could be worth a try.

Adrian Irving ● 1678d

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=switch%20cleaner&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-55004-18975-0&mkcid=2&keyword=switch%20cleaner&crlp=_&MT_ID=&geo_id=&rlsatarget=kwd-81295268029113:loc-188&adpos=&device=t&mktype=&loc=41471&poi=&abcId=&cmpgn=373192908&sitelnk=&adgroupid=1300722460035509&network=o&matchtype=e&msclkid=40af295e5a50196beba94b4eca95f462Various brands can be got  on EBay

Adrian Irving ● 1678d

I'd forgotten the French do still have more bookshops because their Govt did do something about the undercutting by online stores.  So often here we were told it was something to do with the Common Market why we couldn't do this, that or anything at all and it was just another manipulative anti EU lie.

Philippa Bond ● 1677d

There’s some advice about cooker hood faults here:-https://www.yourspares.co.uk/advice/cooker-hood-fault-checker.aspxIt could be a circuit board fault not the switches.This is possibly a source of spare parts and further advice:-https://www.ransomspares.co.uk/parts/brands/neff/cooker-hoods/?gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiPx6JsveuY_cVQw_aEGS4kOOkxAONF7Ztq490JPJs5wvXrIt0c17Q9hoCENIQAvD_BwEBut you need to know the model number.

Michael David Rowe ● 1677d