First-person immersive look at a day in the life of an appliance repairman

An appliance repairman's day: an electronic keyboard a kid peed into, 'smells wonderful', cleaned, powered at 6V and fixed; two electric cooking pots with lights on but no heat, heating element dead, cast-aluminium pour conducts poorly and has already broken, don't fix it, sell for scrap; a Shanghai Hongxin kettle corroded by standing water, leaking and shorting, a miracle the breaker didn't trip, two parts swapped to make do; Haier vacuum with short standby re-celled with domestic grade-A cells (6S 21.6V), strong suction, charging 25.6V 500mA at 13–14W, normal

The keyboard customer says a kid peed into it, smells wonderful; strip the board and clean it, it sticks to the soldering iron, hook up a power supply set to 6V, OK, perfect fix. Two electric cooking pots that light up but don't heat (one setting doesn't work): first check whether the pot is worth fixing; when the heating element in this kind of pot dies it's generally scrap, two coils gone and can't be replaced, wouldn't last even if replaced, the aluminium poured on and hammered by hand is too loose to conduct heat, already broken; don't fix it, see if it can go for scrap. The other lights up but no steam: it sat unused for a while, the pot's dead and not worth fixing; pour the water out after every use, water left standing causes leakage; Shanghai Hongxin was big back in the day; look how corroded the pot is, from standing water, clip on the earth wire and it's a dead short, how did the breaker not trip, leakage should trip it, a miracle it unscrews at all, can be patched up to work, replace both parts, the inside needs cleaning, rinse it out with water often after use. Haier vacuum with short standby, replace the battery: take the battery out, fit domestic grade-A cells, measure 21.6V; cells perfectly fixed, strong suction, brilliant with the new cells; check charging voltage 25.6V 500mA, charging wattage 13W, 14W (half, normal), charging current normal, perfect fix. 52 comments: the most refined man on Douyin (4); dropped off a stew pot a month ago and can't find it; mirror not done in over half a month; air fryer sent in last month, no call yet (contact the repairman, he's busy and doesn't check Douyin); can a sealer be mailed in; what time do you close.

Outcome

Steps5 steps · click a frame to jump

1. 
   1. Keyboard peed into: clean, power at 6V, perfect fix

   Customer says a kid peed into the keyboard, smells wonderful; test the voltage; strip the board and clean it, it sticks to the soldering iron; power supply set to 6V; OK, perfect fix.

   00:01 – 00:37
2. 
   2. Cooking pot lights up but no heat: element dead, cast-aluminium pour conducts poorly and has broken; don't fix, sell for scrap

   One setting doesn't work; check the pot first, when this kind of pot's element dies it's generally scrap; two coils gone, can't be replaced and wouldn't last; the hand-hammered aluminium pour is too loose to conduct heat, already broken; don't fix it, sell for scrap, ¥5 for the pair.

   00:34 – 01:07
3. 
   3. Hongxin kettle lights but no steam: corroded by standing water, leaking and shorting yet no trip, 'a miracle'; two parts swapped to make do; empty it after use

   Sat unused a while; is the pot worth fixing; pour the water out after each use, standing water causes leakage; Shanghai Hongxin was big back in the day; look how corroded it is, clip on the earth and it's a dead short, how did the breaker not trip; a miracle it unscrews, can be made to work; replace both parts, clean the inside; rinse it out with water often after use.

   01:04 – 02:13
4. 
   4. Haier vacuum short standby: domestic grade-A cells, 21.6V

   Haier vacuum with short standby time, replace the battery; take the battery out; fit domestic grade-A cells; spot-welded (not filmed); measure 21.6V.

   02:12 – 03:17
5. 
   5. Strong suction; charging 25.6V 500mA, 13–14W normal

   Cells perfectly fixed, strong suction, brilliant with the new cells; charging voltage 25.6V 500mA; wattage 13W, 14W (0.5, half, normal), charging current normal, perfect fix.

   03:22 – 03:41

Bill of materials

Measured on camera

Creator’s tips

• A cooking pot with a dead heating element is generally scrap; cast-aluminium pours conduct poorly and aren't worth fixing 00:34
• Empty the kettle after use; standing water corrodes it and causes leakage 01:04
• After a battery swap check charging voltage / current / wattage to confirm it's normal 03:22

Pitfalls

• The Hongxin kettle leaked and shorted yet the breaker didn't trip 01:33
• Comment: items sent in wait a month, get lost, no call back

Li-ion safety

• A leak that should trip the breaker but doesn't is a risk; empty it after use 01:33

Quotes

Cost & time