SpudFiles

hey guys- I have a microwave that is in good condition but, we're getting rid of. Anything I should take out of it for spudgun parts before it gets inna fight with the dubya?

Shoot, strip it of high voltage wire, get some switches, just all the little electronic parts out that you can use for projects later. I've found some pretty neat switches and plugs inside of printers, microwaves and monitors that people are throwing out.

Be creative, if you're crazy enough, I'm sure you could rig up some scary ignition system for a combustion...

thats what I was thinkin but i wasn't sure what exactly to get... I don't feel like hurting myself.... again

The magnetron can do some interesting things, but most of them involve disabling your reproductive functions

And if the Dubya is anything like the SCTBDC, it won't be much of a fight - I completely disintegrated one with a small Pykrete slug at half power.

i don't quite feel like losing all of my reproductive systems..... talk to me again maybe when i'm say... eighty

I'm not much of an electrician, but I'm sure theres some info on here about some of the more dangerous parts, but as long as its unplugged and you can discharge the capacitors (I guess microwaves have them...) you should be alright to dismantle it and put stuff into storage...

I don't feel like hurting myself.... again

had some shocking experiences with electronics?

yeah.... when i was little, some car keys just found their way into an electrical circuit.... lets just say that it was a hair-raising experience

Haha it'll make a quick learner out of anyone

Strip the Mot (microwave oven transformer) out, its the really big heavy thing. Plug it in and depending on your power, you get about 2kv 500ma (plenty to kill, so be careful). Not enough voltage for ignition by itself, but you could make a quick and small SGTC.

Of course you can do some amazingly low power arc welding...

EDIT: You can also rewind it for a power source for oxy-hydrogen fuel

Did i mention it could kill?

If your not very carefull and dont wanna die, you could probably sell it if it is a decent power. The case of the transformer is usally ground, there will be 3 wire, try each to the case, if you get an arc, then thats high voltage, other 2 are low voltage for magnetron filiment.

What about old computer monitors?... I see heaps of them outside houses free to take... Would I find anything useful in them?

My advice would be let fate decide, blow it to bits and pick up anything you can find.

Microwaves are a goldmine for parts. They have the commonly mentioned MOT, but they've also got a turntable motor, magnet wire, switches...etc.

Old CRTs are great too, the control board has a ton of capacitors everywhere. Also, there's the flyback transformer to play with, can't really go wrong.

Be careful when taking old CRTs apart, they can hold a charge for an extremely long time.

Don't forget the rectifier!
If you're making anything that requires DC (e.g. tesla coil) you're gonna need it.
Or if you don't you could send it to me

There should also be some fans+motors that you may find useful.

put something in it that will explode
that's good fun
for parts you don't need a working one
I hope our fridge goes away soon because of the pump in it

Unfortunately, the pump is the most likely part in a fridge to "go away", as it has, as far as I can tell, the only constantly moving parts in the whole contraption.