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

A repairman’s day: spot welder fixes the handle of an auntie’s stainless-steel skimmer, broken at three points (‘too strong, turn it down’, ‘no charge if it won’t hold’, solid, she’s happy); Dyson hair-dryer cord with a bad connection, cable replaced; Dianguoguo 4000W inverter with a burnt plug, replaced (even the meter probes got blown); a customer’s Samsung TV that sat for 3.5 months finally repaired: power/main board fine, panel voltage shorted, logic-board chip burnt through the substrate, logic board swapped, picture crisp, perfect repair

Opens with welder sparks, ‘too strong, turn it down, down, down’ — the auntie’s stainless-steel skimmer handle is broken at three points; a new one isn’t worth much but it’s a shame to throw it away, and having come this far he’ll sort it, see if it welds, no charge if it won’t hold; hold this, it’s welded, quite solid, as long as she’s happy. Dyson hair dryer, bad connection in the cord, lights come on, everything else fine, take it off and replace it. Dianguoguo 4000W inverter: display fine but it just won’t work, it’s dead inside; the meter probes got blown, swapped for another meter; inverters burn their plugs all the time, fitted it, sits very nicely, perfect repair. The customer’s Samsung TV has sat far too long and he feels bad, just been busy; since the customer definitely wants it fixed, it gets sorted whatever it takes: no response at all, won’t turn on, power/main board fine, panel voltage shorted, short found — a chip badly burnt; chip removed, substrate burnt into a pit and blackened, hard to rework, no spare board so swap in a whole logic board, model looks close enough; fitted, powered up, picture appears, crisp and vivid with deep bass, perfect repair, 3.5 months, very sorry, will call the customer first thing tomorrow to collect, let him sleep well tonight. 171 comments: buy a stainless skimmer for ¥30 and use it as you like; what’s that welder that welds stainless spoons called; everything can be repaired; the boss is generous, gives everything a try; logic board ¥10; can you fix a Sharp 800 (of course); address.

Outcome

Steps5 steps · click a frame to jump

1. 
   1. Welder on a stainless-steel skimmer handle: broken at three points, ‘too strong, turn it down’, no charge if it won’t hold, quite solid

   Too strong, turn it down, down; the auntie’s skimmer is broken at three points, I’ll weld it; a new one isn’t worth much but it’s a shame to bin it, and having come this far it gets sorted; no pay if it won’t hold; hold this; hey, quite solid; as long as she’s happy.

   00:02 – 00:35
2. 
   2. Dyson hair-dryer cord with a bad connection, cable replaced

   Dyson hair dryer, bad connection in the cord, lights come on, everything fine, take it off and replace it.

   00:35 – 00:47
3. 
   3. Dianguoguo 4000W inverter: dead inside; meter probes blown; burnt plug replaced, fitted, perfect repair

   Display all fine but it just won’t work, it’s dead inside; meter probes blown, switched meters; inverters burn their plugs all the time; fitted, sits very nicely, perfect repair.

   01:13 – 02:40
4. 
   4. Customer’s Samsung TV won’t turn on: power/main board fine, panel voltage shorted, chip burnt through the substrate

   Sat too long, feels bad, customer definitely wants it fixed; no response at all; power/main board fine; panel voltage shorted; short found, chip badly burnt; chip removed, substrate burnt into a pit and blackened, hard to rework; no spare board, swap the whole board.

   02:32 – 03:20
5. 
   5. Logic board swapped, picture appears, crisp; 3.5 months, perfect repair

   Model looks close enough; logic board fitted, powered up, picture appears; crisp and vivid with deep bass; finally something to show the customer, three months, very sorry; reassemble; perfect repair after 3.5 months, call the customer tomorrow to collect.

   03:24 – 04:04

Bill of materials

Creator’s tips

• A spot welder can weld thin stainless-steel wire parts (skimmer handle); turn the gear down 00:02
• Inverters often burn their plugs — check the plug first 02:12
• TV won’t turn on: test the power/main board → panel voltage shorted → find the shorted chip; if the substrate is burnt into a pit, swap the board 02:45

Pitfalls

• Welder sparks too strong, had to turn it down 00:02
• Meter probes blown 01:35
• The TV repair dragged on for 3.5 months 02:32

Li-ion safety

• Meter probes blew while testing a 4000W inverter — mind the high current 01:35

Quotes

Cost & time