First-person, immersive — a day in the life of an appliance repairman

A repairman’s day: KAMJOVE auto-fill kettle with a sluggish swivel gets a new swivel motor, ¥50; chat about the price bracket of an 1800W kettle; a noodle press won’t charge, red light blinking — the 12V battery reads only 3.5V, the usual failing of small cells, the iron burned through and they leaked, IR 20/17, all scrap; after re-celling, 12V full charge, charging at 11W 0.09A, ¥50

First job: a KAMJOVE auto-fill kettle whose swivel is sluggish — swap the swivel motor, heating is fine, fifty yuan. Second job: an electric kettle not making contact, 1800W 8A, bought for two hundred-odd; today the five-to-six-hundred all-stainless ones are built like the two-to-three-hundred ones, imitating the American Westinghouse (Westinghouse six hundred to a thousand). Third job: a noodle press (a viewer found him on Douyin): won’t charge properly, red light keeps blinking, never got wet; the new multimeter (Fnirsi) has a nice clear display; on the DC volts range the battery is flat — should be 12V, only 3.5V, and it won’t charge (the 4.9V won’t rise); the battery leaked — the usual failing of these small cells, the cell gets burned through while soldering and the electrolyte leaks, the cells are scrap; internal resistance reads 20/17 (mΩ); re-cell (new cells spot-welded, no narration); OK, full charge; charging at 11W (caption says 1 W) 0.09A, 12V, no problem; ¥50 for the repair, the noodle press cost two hundred-odd. Comments: pure hobbyist; the coupler is ¥10; this guy is skilled and stocks every part; why bother fixing it for 50; same noodle press, same problem.

Outcome

Steps6 steps · click a frame to jump

1. 
   1. KAMJOVE auto-fill kettle, new swivel motor, ¥50

   Swivel sluggish, swap the swivel motor; heating fine; fifty yuan.

   00:00 – 00:53
2. 
   2. Kettle with poor contact; 1800W 8A; price chat

   Is it warped and not making contact; 1800 watts, 8 amps; two hundred-odd when bought, five or six hundred now; the all-stainless ones are all built like two-to-three-hundred ones, imitating Westinghouse (six hundred to a thousand); it tripped.

   00:55 – 01:48
3. 
   3. Noodle press won’t charge: 12V battery down to 3.5V

   A viewer from Douyin brought the noodle press, opened up; red light keeps blinking on charge, never got wet; new multimeter on DC volts on the battery: should be 12V, only 3.5V, the 4.9V won’t rise.

   01:43 – 02:21
4. 
   4. Cells burned through and leaked (usual small-cell failing), IR 20/17, all scrap

   Leaked; the usual failing of these small cells, burned through while soldering and the electrolyte leaked; the cells are scrap; internal resistance 20, 17; the Fnirsi meter has a wide viewing angle; anywhere that was soldered on this side leaked.

   02:33 – 03:01
5. 
   5. Re-cell (spot-welded, no narration), full charge

   Re-cell; OK; full charge.

   03:01 – 03:56
6. 
   6. Charging 11W 0.09A 12V; ¥50; the noodle press cost 200-odd

   Charging 11 watts, 0.09 amps, 12 volts, no problem; fixed, how much — fifty yuan; the thing cost two hundred-odd.

   04:02 – 04:28

Bill of materials

Measured on camera

Creator’s tips

• Red light blinking and won’t fill up on charge — check the battery voltage / IR first 01:52
• Small cells burn through and leak easily under a soldering iron, it’s a common failing — spot-weld them instead 02:33

Pitfalls

• Original cells burned through by the iron, leaked, all scrap 02:33

Li-ion safety

• A leaked cell must not be reused 02:33

Quotes

Cost & time