Broken Oven Light

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:19:45 -0000, Bob Henson wrot= e:

WD40? But don't use the oven shortly afterwards, it's flammable.

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No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced

The flammability (and the smell) is one thing what stopped me trying it. Not being able to get down there easily, I thought that any advantage gained might be offset by having WD40 all over the bit we were trying to grip on to - the bulb is "point upwards", so the WD 40 would tend to run out of the threads rather than into them - although capillary action might persuade it to run uphill. I'll bear the idea in mind though - if all else fails I'll have to try it.

I had a problem replacing the bulb in the microwave oven and found that shining a torch through the window was the easiest answer. :-)

In message , Bob Henson writes

Would it be possible to jam a large flat bladed screw driver into the remains of it and undo it that way?

It might well be - if only I could get down there myself I could tell. I think we'll have a go at that this weekend, if SWMBO thinks she has the necessary grip. I can't think of anything else that we could fit into it.

I had a similar problem to Bob, and ended up graunching the bulb base into bits with needle nose pliers & wrenching out the bits. Bob's OH just needs to attack it a bit more vigorously.

When that happened on my cooker I phoned zanussi and they sent me a new lamp unit, it was easy to swap.

The other way that may work is a cheap pair of side cutters and effectively nibble a cut into the edge then twist it away from the thread. Basically you have to be pretty brutal if the metalwork is stuck in the socket. Tricky if it is a ceramic socket rather than metal... Bayonet fitting are easier to extract under these circumstances but that isn't a lot of help.

make the bit that is left in smaller by pulling in the sides. At some point this will free up the thread and enable you to turn it with ease.

I might be able to use sidecutters to cut a slot in each opposite side, and then fit something across the two slots on which I could get more purchase - thanks for the idea.

I hadn't thought of that - I'll have a look how easy it is to change the whole unit - it has to be something that SWMBO can manage though.

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:40:46 -0000, Bob Henson wrot= e:

rote:

Any grandchildren/younger neighbours with small hands that can get in th= ere?

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A van carrying a dozen movie stunt men on the way to a film location in = the mountains spun out of control on the icy road, crashed through a guardrail, rolled down a 90-foot embankment, turned ov= er, and burst into flames. There were no injuries.

If you *can* get the whole thing out, it will be easier to see what you're doing - and you may then be able to get the bulb out without having to replace the unit.

I'd use mole grips.

No, I'm afraid not. SWMBO is going to have another go over the weekend using a couple of the ideas we've got from the group - failing success there we'll od as was suggested and peer in through the door with a torch :-)

Yes, I was wondering about that. From what I've seen so far I don't think that can be done - but I'll dig out the original installation manual and see if it sheds any light on the matter (pun intended :-( ) - I've got it buried away somewhere.

I can't get a mole wrench anywhere near - but if I can jam something into the base I might get a mole grip or a spanner on it to provide the necessary torque.

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 18:30:21 -0000, Bob Henson wrot= e:

rote:

ALL your neighbours are old?

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"Boy, will I give YOU a haircut!" said Tom barbarously.

Mostly, yes - nearly all retired round here. There are a few youngsters, but none I know well enough to ask to roll about on my kitchen floor and poke metal things into electrical apparatus.