martyn668 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Read on - it is (sort of) workshop related. So anyway, after a minor incident in the kitchen when I tried to reheat an onion bhaji in the microwave for 45 seconds, which, it turns out is about 44 seconds too long, the kitchen filled with acrid smoke which took DAYS to clear, despite copious use of kitchen cleaner, scented clandles, you name it. One new microwave later (it STINKS if you try to use it), I am now the proud owner of a stinky microwave in my shed. So before I take it to the tip, can anyone think of a Land Rover/workshop related use for it? Reheating pasties is out, as they will just stink, so it needs to be more mechanical. I don't intend to take it apart to build a flux capacitor and travel through time, but what about more general stuff? You can't put metal parts in it, so is there anything you CAN do? Perhaps someone has done something interesting and workshop related with an old microwave? If no one can suggest anything, it's off to the great microwave graveyard in the sky (landfill), but not before I've done grape-racing - Smear the bottom of the microwave in vegetable oil and put two grapes in; switch on, and as the juice in the grapes turns to steam, it vents through the hole where the stalk was, creating a jet-propelled fruit (until it explodes, leaving a clear winner). Plenty of other experiments, like dead Christmas tree lights, tungsten filament bulbs, etc, but I'm sort of looking for a genuine use for it. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early90 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 You can put metal in a microwave oven, in fact it is recommended that you place a spoon in the container when heating liquids. If you only place metal in there though without anything else to absorb the microwaves they will bounce back down the wave guide and the magnetron will eat itself eventually. I can`t think of any think you could do with it that could not be done more simply another way. You could over ride the door switches and run it on full power as a nice little shed heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 You could over ride the door switches and run it on full power as a nice little shed heater. ^ That was a joke, to all you kids out there that need the 'dont try this at home' warning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn668 Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Didn't they discover microwaves when a technician stood in front of some satellite dish that was transmitting military radio messages on microwave frequencies and he found his chocoalte bars were melting? The other urban myth (?) I heard was that some Russian soldiers used to catch 40 winks in front of these same dishes to keep warm. On one particularly cold night, they overdid it and were found toasted to a crisp the next morning. Either way, the shed heater idea is not appealing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early90 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I did try and put a "wink" smiley in at the end but alas it did not work, nor when I went to edit it. I am sure anyone believing that shed heater suggestion would be too challenged to find the door switches or know what to do with them. Having said that I do know of someone who did it because he wanted to see what the leakage would be and from how far it could be detected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Magnetron Cat Deterrent? Good for blowing stuff up! Have a bit of You-Tube excitement with a small coke bottle with about 200ml of water in it. Best do it outside shed as microwave likely to expand a little as the bottle explodes! The bad smell will fade in time. Try things like cooking water with lemon juice. There are several things like that which are very effective. I can testify to this as our oven no longer smells of EP90 Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcock Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Don't take it for land fill it should be recycled properly. If you can't cook the planet at least try to help save it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Seasoning green wood ..... you can dry out unseasoned wood in a microwave by heating it a bit then letting it cool and repeating. To know when to stop you weigh the bit of wood and when it stops losing weight it's done. Oh and you know if you've left it in too long as it goes black and starts to burn Not that you can put a very big bit of wood in a microwave, but it's ok for woodturning bits. Seasoning/drying in the microwave stops the wood from splitting and is quicker than just staring at it till it dries and most likely splits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Seasoning green wood ..... you can dry out unseasoned wood in a microwave by heating it a bit then letting it cool and repeating. To know when to stop you weigh the bit of wood and when it stops losing weight it's done. Oh and you know if you've left it in too long as it goes black and starts to burn Not that you can put a very big bit of wood in a microwave, but it's ok for woodturning bits. Seasoning/drying in the microwave stops the wood from splitting and is quicker than just staring at it till it dries and most likely splits. And if you use a bit of pine, it stops you having to hang a 'Magic Tree' air freshener in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Don't they have some pretty good magnets in them? Every good shed needs magnets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Dead hard drives are a very good source of strong magnets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Speakers have strong magnets in them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve 110 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Use the transformer out of it to make a tesla coil ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Use the transformer out of it to make a tesla coil ! Or you could make yourself a spot welder. Just as an example - Peter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Now that's a cool use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 This is cooler! or Then build a spot welder! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Warm water for hand washing ? Basically I think it will be good for standing on, lighting one corner of the work shop and telling the time and that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Sorry double post. Didn't there used to be a delete ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn668 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Some excellent ideas here chaps. I really like the spot welder. Possibly a bit challenging for my limited electrical skills, but I have a friend who is always tinkering with electrics (qualified electrician), so he understands safety. I think I'll offer him a free microwave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn668 Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Some excellent ideas here chaps. I really like the spot welder. Possibly a bit challenging for my limited electrical skills, but I have a friend who is always tinkering with electrics (qualified electrician), so he understands safety. I think I'll offer him a free microwave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early90 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 If it is an inverter M/W then it will not have the transformer. I would clean it. Take the case off and clean the inside of the case, clean the oven cavity and all should be well. Perfect then for reheating the tea/coffee you let go cold when working on your truck. If it does have the transformer then be careful because the capacitor may hold a charge, short it out with some insulated long nose pliers. No need to flinch, the most you will experience is a little `tick` noise and a tiny spark but the charge can be lethal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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