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Showing posts from March, 2016

Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable main bearing service

  One of my first posts in this blog was regarding the servicing of the Pioneer PL12D turntable, and that has proven to be the most popular by a significant margin. The Pioneer PL12D had its competitors, and probably the most popular alternative was the Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable. I use both names (Trio and Kenwood) as the company operated under different names in different markets. In the UK they were Trio, possibly because the brand Kenwood was most famous here for food blenders. 95% of a KD-1033 is similar to  Pioneer PL12D, and servicing them is very much the same process. Both are belt drive , have an AC synchronous motor,  mechanical speed change , a main bearing, sprung top deck and rubber motor mounts. the KD-1033 uses a different type of anti skate mechanism, employing a thread and weight. The plinth is shallower with an internal cross brace. One aspect that is different is the design of the main bearing, and servicing it is a little harder than a PL12D. The Pioneer main b

Replacing the timer in a Dualit toaster

I have had a 4 slot Dualit toaster for the last 15 or so years, and it has worked well. I replaced one of the heating elements some time ago, covered in another post. The timer switch had recently become unreliable, sometimes when you turn it, the red "on" light didn't engage and the elements didn't come on. I ordered a new timer from Dualit, which was not cheap , £27 from Dualit via their website, but I like the toaster and don't like throwing items away when a small part fails. The spare duly arrived and this is the fairly easy replacement procedure. NOTE : TOASTERS USE MAINS ELECTRICITY. ONLY ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU ARE COMPETENT WITH ELECTRICAL REPAIRS.  ALWAYS ENSURE THE ITEM IS FULLY DISCONNECTED AT THE WALL FROM THE MAINS SUPPLY BEFORE UNDERTAKING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING To gain access to the timer you need to remove the crumb tray and flip the toaster on its top. I use a plastic tray to sit the toaster in, collecting any screws and bread crumbs tha

LED light bulbs are now good enough

A number of my posts here regard my battle to replace GU10 and MR16 Halolgen bulbs with LED equivalents, via a short period of CFL bulbs. This has been successful, with all the 40 halogens having been replaced with LED some 5 years ago. My energy consumption has gone down and so has the amount of heat generated into the loft and ceiling space from the bulbs. Since then I have kept an eye on LED full size light bulbs for ES (Edison Screw) SES (Small Edison Screw and Bayonet fitting bulbs, all of which are represented in my house. Until recently I had found the LED lightbulbs to have dimmer light and a cold blue tint, much as the first Halogen replacements had. A few weeks back while in my local B&Q DIY store I saw a display of Philips LED Bulbs, some of which featured clear glass and a kind of internal perspex crown-shaped diffractor. I'm pleased to say I have tied both in SES , ES and Bayonet form-factors and they are superior to the Compact Fluorescent Bulbs I was using