Home Hacks: Restore a Broken Micro-oven With Little or No Cost

The Micro-oven at our home is 5 years old and started malfunctioning. We could not close the door which activates the on-off switch to operate the oven. We called the service center and the service engineer who attended it said that it can not be rectified as the door assembly which needs replacement is not available as spare. He also advised us to buy a new Micro-oven

I have restored the Micro-oven with simple methods and brought it back to normal use. This is my first instructable and I have explained here how I restored the Micro-oven

Step 1: Examine and Find the Cause of Failure

• Disconnect the Micro-oven from power supply
• Examine the door closely. On closer examination, I found that the tension spring which holds the door in position and activates the on-off switch is missing

The Micro-oven can be brought back to life by providing a spring mechanism which holds the door in place.

Step 2: Items Required

• Fevikwik Instant adhesive
• Araldite Epoxy Resin Adhesive
• An old bulb holder. I will use one of the spring mechanism in Micro-oven door

Step 3: Recover the Spring Mechanism From Bulb Holder

• Dismantle the bulb holder and remove the spring mechanism which holds the bulb in place
• Remove the wire from the spring mechanism
• Press with your fingers to see that the spring mechanism is in good working condition

Step 4: Fix the Spring Mechanism in Micro-oven Door

• Examine the door from where the tension spring is missing
• Align the Spring mechanism recovered from the old bulb.
• We need to make some space nearer to the door levers to place the spring mechanism
• Make the required space using a Dremel rotary tool and check
• We can not place the spring mechanism simply as there are chances of it falling inside the door. So, I have attached it to a piece of coconut leaf stem using fevikwik instant adhesive.
• Now place the Spring mechanism at the spot where it is required and apply a drop of instant adhesive
• Check to see that it is correctly placed and locks the door properly
• Now Mix small amount of base and hardener of Eradite epoxy resin adhesive
• Apply it on the spring mechanism and allow 24 hours to cure

Step 5: The Micro-oven Is Working...

• After 24 hours, the epoxy resin adhesive is fully cured and holds the spring mechanism in place permanently
• Check with your fingers that the spring operation is working
• Connect the power supply to the Micro-oven
• Place a cup of water in a micro-oven safe vessel
• Turn on the Micro-oven for a few minutes
• Check to see the water in the vessel. it is heated

The Micro-oven is restored by a small hack without spending a fortune on buying a new one.