this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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Hmmm. Well, I do love taking apart old microwaves...
In all seriousness microwaves are the #1 leading cause of death for hobby electronics people, be careful around them and know what you're doing before you open it.
I didn't realize they were the #1 killer. Most of them via electrocution of the HV capacitor, I would imagine?
15ish years ago I got lucky and didn't kill myself on the first one I ever cracked open. I managed to become marginally more intelligent and after poking around in it decided it'd be smart to research the art of microwave dismantling, which led to a minor anxiety attack and cold sweats when I realized how stupid I had been.
Yep. That HV capacitor will turn you into orbital bacon with a quickness, and it keeps a charge for way longer than you'd ever think was realistic. In the same vein as "assume every gun is loaded", also assume every capacitor is charged.
I think I even read it can gradually spontaneously self-charge if left alone long enough with the terminals insulated from each other. I don't know if that's actually true (it would seem to be a sort of Maxwell's Daemon at that point), but yeah, best to not take chances.
They do charge over time when terminals are not shorted, but it's not like they go from discharged to spontaneously fully charged in seconds. It's a slow creep that happens over an extended time period.
Same with old televisions and that flyback transformer. 😬
Hahaha, funny you mention that. I was this close to trying to open an old CRT set many years ago when that little voice in my head said, hey, maybe look up what happens when you do that. I decided I didn't need to go through with it.
That being said, DLP sets are my absolute favorite to dig into. So many awesome optical components, mirrors, and cooling fans inside. I didn't find anything that seemed too dangerous, either.
It's quite dangerous, the magnetron can kill very easily. There's this youtuber called styropyro who's done some really cool stuff with them though
He's a treasure. The inside of a microwave is insane in its casual dangers. Like that HV capacitor, or, more insidiously, the beryllium insulator that can cause berrylliosis if broken and inhaled.
Sounds like you don't even have to do anything to make it dangerous. Heck, let's just chuck broken microwaves at the Teslas.