Our golden rule is "if you can fit it through the doors and it's not a microwave, we'll try and fix it!"
We can't make guarantees but between our volunteers we have a wide variety of skills and expertise.
What will you be bringing to our next event on Saturday 5th July between 10am and 1pm?
@RepairCafe_Barry we added "but we reserve the right as individual repairers to say heck no" after someone brought in an old arc welder. The dial on the front went up to 90amps and none of us got further than sliding the case off it and finding several caps bigger than a can of energy drink.
@emily_s oh yes absolutely, we allow our fixers to decide what they want to work on and some things we do have to turn away.
@RepairCafe_Barry I fixed a microwave once, somewhat to my surprise. It made unwarranted fizzing noises, which turned out to be sparking from some high voltage wiring to the case. I bent the wire so that it was no longer quite so close to the case and it's given no trouble in the following years.
@TimWardCam well done you. Very risky though!
@RepairCafe_Barry Incidentally, what is the issue with repairing microwaves?
@androcat as far as I'm aware, it's due to the microwave radiation from taking it apart.
"I" in this case being the social media volunteer who knows nothing about fixing things. I will try to find out more.
@RepairCafe_Barry Might also be considered a high-stakes repair.
If the magnetron ends up misaligned it could combust when tested/used.
@androcat that would also make a lot of sense.
@androcat it seems to be radiation and high voltage.