diyrebel

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/56338342

Folks are dumping laser printers that still have toner in them. Or even if it’s “empty”, not everyone knows the shaking trick. I also find on the 2nd-hand market really dirt cheap toner cartridges, like $/€ 1—5, but they are never for my model of printer.

So is it sensible to try to salvage the toner from incompatible cartridges? A loooong time ago toner came in a bottle (like a big version of the plastic ketchup bottles in small diners). The printer had no cartridge, just a toner tank with a lid. You open the lid and squeeze the bottle.

I think toner is thought to be too hazardous or messy for these days of more persnickety/pampering designs. Everything seems to use a cartridge now. But in terms of recovering toner destined for landfill, what can we do?

Drilling a hole seems like a risk because plastic bits would fall in with the toner. But what if a soldering iron is used to melt a hole? I’m thinking the hole would have to be big enough for vinyl aqarium tubing to connect the salvage cartridge to the target cartridge. Then the salvage cartridge would have to be rattled to move the toner down the tube. I don’t suppose there is any practical way to use a vacuum.

Of course before melting anything, I would look for an existing exit nipple or port and try to plumb the two exits together. Or transfer to a squeeze bottle then try to mate the squeeze bottle to the target cartridge exit opening.

Folks are dumping laser printers that still have toner in them. Or even if it’s “empty”, not everyone knows the shaking trick. I also find on the 2nd-hand market really dirt cheap toner cartridges, like $/€ 1—5, but they are never for my model of printer.

So is it sensible to try to salvage the toner from incompatible cartridges? A loooong time ago toner came in a bottle (like a big version of the plastic ketchup bottles in small diners). The printer had no cartridge, just a toner tank with a lid. You open the lid and squeeze the bottle.

I think toner is thought to be too hazardous or messy for these days of more persnickety/pampering designs. Everything seems to use a cartridge now. But in terms of recovering toner destined for landfill, what can we do?

Drilling a hole seems like a risk because plastic bits would fall in with the toner. But what if a soldering iron is used to melt a hole? I’m thinking the hole would have to be big enough for vinyl aqarium tubing to connect the salvage cartridge to the target cartridge. Then the salvage cartridge would have to be rattled to move the toner down the tube. I don’t suppose there is any practical way to use a vacuum.

Of course before melting anything, I would look for an existing exit nipple or port and try to plumb the two exits together. Or transfer to a squeeze bottle then try to mate the squeeze bottle to the target cartridge exit opening.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/55008223

The EU’s ecodesign law (reg 2024/1781) has “Article 3 - Free movement” which has paragraphs like this:

2. Member States shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service of products that comply with the performance requirements set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 for reasons of non-compliance with national performance requirements relating to product parameters referred to in Annex I covered by performance requirements included in such delegated acts.

So suppose Beko complies with the ecodesign rules, and they also have kill switches the force early obsolescence (which sadly does not violate the ecodesign rules for washing machines). If Germany were to quite sensibly say: “we respect a right to repair, so no kill switches.. kill switches can fuck off.” IIUC, Germany would be violating EU law with such a ban.

The kill switches block our right to repair. And at the same time, every single member state must allow washing machines with kill switches in their marketplace. Or am I misreading something?

The EU’s ecodesign law (reg 2024/1781) has “Article 3 - Free movement” which has paragraphs like this:

2. Member States shall not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service of products that comply with the performance requirements set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 for reasons of non-compliance with national performance requirements relating to product parameters referred to in Annex I covered by performance requirements included in such delegated acts.

So suppose Beko complies with the ecodesign rules, and they also have kill switches the force early obsolescence (which sadly does not violate the ecodesign rules for washing machines). If Germany were to quite sensibly say: “we respect a right to repair, so no kill switches.. kill switches can fuck off.” IIUC, Germany would be violating EU law with such a ban.

The kill switches block our right to repair. And at the same time, every single member state must allow washing machines with kill switches in their marketplace. Or am I misreading something?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/54790585

From EU regulation 2019/2023 (emphasis mine):

(1) availability of spare parts: (a) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of household washing machines and household washer-dryers shall make available to professional repairers at least the following spare parts, for a minimum period of 10 years after placing the last unit of the model on the market: — motor and motor brushes; — transmission between motor and drum; — pumps; — shock absorbers and springs; — washing drum, drum spider and related ball bearings (separately or bundled); — heaters and heating elements, including heat pumps (separately or bundled); — piping and related equipment including all hoses, valves, filters and aquastops (separately or bundled); — printed circuit boards; — electronic displays; — pressure switches; — thermostats and sensors; — software and firmware including reset software;

I’m first of all disgusted that only “professional repairers” get this entitlement. But as well, there is little excuse to put a 10 yr time limit on software. It’s not like they have to maintain large parts-making machinery to maintain copies of software. Also shitty: no mention of source code. Broken closed-source software is not repairable.

The next paragraph shows how much confidence the EU has in end-users’ abilities:

(b) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of household washing machines and household washer-dryers shall make available to professional repairers and end-users at least the following spare parts: door, door hinge and seals, other seals, door locking assembly and plastic peripherals such as detergent dispensers, for a minimum period of 10 years after placing the last unit of the model on the market;

WTF, that’s it? That’s all we get? The EU’s nannying is so fucking disturbing. They block end-users from repairing their own appliance by denying them the right to access parts.

Maybe I want to buy the parts myself and then pay a pro to do the labor. Maybe I want to buy spares before they stop making the spares at the 10 yr mark. You also cannot rely on pros to find good prices. If you enter a pro builder supply shop in Europe, they often don’t even bother putting price tags on anything because pros don’t care. They just pass the price on to the client, whatever that comes out to.

The mention of “reset software” is interesting. It suggests EU lawmakers are aware of the kill switches. But instead of banning the practice, they let the swindle continue by only giving pro repairers access to the reset software.

(2) maximum delivery time of spare parts:

during the period mentioned under (1), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall ensure the delivery of the spare parts within 15 working days after having received the order;

in the case of spare parts concerned by point (1)(a), the availability of spare parts may be limited to professional repairers registered in accordance with point (3)(a) and (b);

It gets worse:

(3) access to Repair and Maintenance Information:

after a period of two years after the placing on the market of the first unit of a model and until the end of the period mentioned under (1), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall provide access to the household washing machine or household washer-dryer repair and maintenance information to professional repairers in the following conditions:

(a) the manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s website shall indicate the process for professional repairers to register for access to information; to accept such a request, the manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may require the professional repairer to demonstrate that:

(i) the professional repairer has the technical competence to repair household washing machines and household washer-dryers and complies with the applicable regulations for repairers of electrical equipment in the Member States where it operates. Reference to an official registration system as professional repairer, where such system exists in the Member States concerned, shall be accepted as proof of compliance with this point;

(ii) the professional repairer is covered by insurance covering liabilities resulting from its activity regardless of whether this is required by the Member State;

(b) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall accept or refuse the registration within 5 working days from the date of request;

(c) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may charge reasonable and proportionate fees for access to the repair and maintenance information or for receiving regular updates. A fee is reasonable if it does not discourage access by failing to take into account the extent to which the professional repairer uses the information;

(d) once registered, a professional repairer shall have access, within one working day after requesting it, to the requested repair and maintenance information. The information may be provided for an equivalent model or model of the same family, if relevant;

(e) the household washing machine or household washer-dryer repair and maintenance information referred to in (a) shall include: — the unequivocal household washing machine or household washer-dryer identification; — a disassembly map or exploded view; — technical manual of instructions for repair; — list of necessary repair and test equipment; — component and diagnosis information (such as minimum and maximum theoretical values for measurements); — wiring and connection diagrams; — diagnostic fault and error codes (including manufacturer-specific codes, where applicable); — instructions for installation of relevant software and firmware including reset software; and — information on how to access data records of reported failure incidents stored on the household washing machine or washer-dryer (where applicable);

The maintenance information apparently does not have to include how to reverse a kill switch, unless, IIUC, the reset function is carried out by running software on an external device of some kind. If reseting is a matter of pressing a secret sequence of buttons, that does not seem to be covered here.

It’s quite vague because the law does not even define what “reset software” means. Software, firmware, and reset software are listed as a required “spare part”, but no mention of how the software gets to where it needs to be.

The maker must: “ensure that the spare parts mentioned in points (a) and (b) can be replaced with the use of commonly available tools and without permanent damage to the household washing machine or household washer-dryer;”

Can I take that to mean my commonly available linux laptop can be used for the software replacement?

(3) the user instructions shall also include instructions for the user to perform maintenance operations. Such instructions shall as a minimum include instructions for:

…
(g) identification of errors, the meaning of the errors, and the action required, including identification of errors requiring professional assistance;

Useful that we at least get to see the errors in the future. But if the error is “unbalanced load” and the machine is trapped in the error state even with an empty drum (as my machine is), we’re still fucked without having a way to escape the error.

I’m glad makers are required to tell users how to disable networking, but then they write “(if applicable)”. That could either mean: 1) if there is no network feature; or 2) it’s not disablable. That’s important. I’d be damned if I buy some Internet of Shit garbage and I cannot force it offline. Not to mention there is no requirement to make all the functionality available w/out a network. A maker could put bare minimum functions on the control panel to push you to use an app.

Want to complain? A 5 yr review of this law is in ~2 months.

From Article 8:

Review
The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and shall present the results of this review, including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum by 25 December 2025.

Plz folks, write to your EU rep. And collaborate in this thread on ways to fix this mess so we can fix our shit. Redundant complaints to the EU might start to resonate collectively.

From EU regulation 2019/2023 (emphasis mine):

(1) availability of spare parts: (a) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of household washing machines and household washer-dryers shall make available to professional repairers at least the following spare parts, for a minimum period of 10 years after placing the last unit of the model on the market: — motor and motor brushes; — transmission between motor and drum; — pumps; — shock absorbers and springs; — washing drum, drum spider and related ball bearings (separately or bundled); — heaters and heating elements, including heat pumps (separately or bundled); — piping and related equipment including all hoses, valves, filters and aquastops (separately or bundled); — printed circuit boards; — electronic displays; — pressure switches; — thermostats and sensors; — software and firmware including reset software;

I’m first of all disgusted that only “professional repairers” get this entitlement. But as well, there is little excuse to put a 10 yr time limit on software. It’s not like they have to maintain large parts-making machinery to maintain copies of software. Also shitty: no mention of source code. Broken closed-source software is not repairable.

The next paragraph shows how much confidence the EU has in end-users’ abilities:

(b) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives of household washing machines and household washer-dryers shall make available to professional repairers and end-users at least the following spare parts: door, door hinge and seals, other seals, door locking assembly and plastic peripherals such as detergent dispensers, for a minimum period of 10 years after placing the last unit of the model on the market;

WTF, that’s it? That’s all we get? The EU’s nannying is so fucking disturbing. They block end-users from repairing their own appliance by denying them the right to access parts.

Maybe I want to buy the parts myself and then pay a pro to do the labor. Maybe I want to buy spares before they stop making the spares at the 10 yr mark. You also cannot rely on pros to find good prices. If you enter a pro builder supply shop in Europe, they often don’t even bother putting price tags on anything because pros don’t care. They just pass the price on to the client, whatever that comes out to.

The mention of “reset software” is interesting. It suggests EU lawmakers are aware of the kill switches. But instead of banning the practice, they let the swindle continue by only giving pro repairers access to the reset software.

(2) maximum delivery time of spare parts:

during the period mentioned under (1), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall ensure the delivery of the spare parts within 15 working days after having received the order;

in the case of spare parts concerned by point (1)(a), the availability of spare parts may be limited to professional repairers registered in accordance with point (3)(a) and (b);

It gets worse:

(3) access to Repair and Maintenance Information:

after a period of two years after the placing on the market of the first unit of a model and until the end of the period mentioned under (1), the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative shall provide access to the household washing machine or household washer-dryer repair and maintenance information to professional repairers in the following conditions:

(a) the manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s website shall indicate the process for professional repairers to register for access to information; to accept such a request, the manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may require the professional repairer to demonstrate that:

(i) the professional repairer has the technical competence to repair household washing machines and household washer-dryers and complies with the applicable regulations for repairers of electrical equipment in the Member States where it operates. Reference to an official registration system as professional repairer, where such system exists in the Member States concerned, shall be accepted as proof of compliance with this point;

(ii) the professional repairer is covered by insurance covering liabilities resulting from its activity regardless of whether this is required by the Member State;

(b) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall accept or refuse the registration within 5 working days from the date of request;

(c) manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may charge reasonable and proportionate fees for access to the repair and maintenance information or for receiving regular updates. A fee is reasonable if it does not discourage access by failing to take into account the extent to which the professional repairer uses the information;

(d) once registered, a professional repairer shall have access, within one working day after requesting it, to the requested repair and maintenance information. The information may be provided for an equivalent model or model of the same family, if relevant;

(e) the household washing machine or household washer-dryer repair and maintenance information referred to in (a) shall include: — the unequivocal household washing machine or household washer-dryer identification; — a disassembly map or exploded view; — technical manual of instructions for repair; — list of necessary repair and test equipment; — component and diagnosis information (such as minimum and maximum theoretical values for measurements); — wiring and connection diagrams; — diagnostic fault and error codes (including manufacturer-specific codes, where applicable); — instructions for installation of relevant software and firmware including reset software; and — information on how to access data records of reported failure incidents stored on the household washing machine or washer-dryer (where applicable);

The maintenance information apparently does not have to include how to reverse a kill switch, unless, IIUC, the reset function is carried out by running software on an external device of some kind. If reseting is a matter of pressing a secret sequence of buttons, that does not seem to be covered here.

It’s quite vague because the law does not even define what “reset software” means. Software, firmware, and reset software are listed as a required “spare part”, but no mention of how the software gets to where it needs to be.

The maker must: “ensure that the spare parts mentioned in points (a) and (b) can be replaced with the use of commonly available tools and without permanent damage to the household washing machine or household washer-dryer;”

Can I take that to mean my commonly available linux laptop can be used for the software replacement?

(3) the user instructions shall also include instructions for the user to perform maintenance operations. Such instructions shall as a minimum include instructions for:

…
(g) identification of errors, the meaning of the errors, and the action required, including identification of errors requiring professional assistance;

Useful that we at least get to see the errors in the future. But if the error is “unbalanced load” and the machine is trapped in the error state even with an empty drum (as my machine is), we’re still fucked without having a way to escape the error.

I’m glad makers are required to tell users how to disable networking, but then they write “(if applicable)”. That could either mean: 1) if there is no network feature; or 2) it’s not disablable. That’s important. I’d be damned if I buy some Internet of Shit garbage and I cannot force it offline. Not to mention there is no requirement to make all the functionality available w/out a network. A maker could put bare minimum functions on the control panel to push you to use an app.

Want to complain? A 5 yr review of this law is in ~2 months.

From Article 8:

Review
The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and shall present the results of this review, including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum by 25 December 2025.

Plz folks, write to your EU rep. And collaborate in this thread on ways to fix this mess so we can fix our shit. Redundant complaints to the EU might start to resonate collectively.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/54656011

I have two Beko washing machines, both “broken”. All components work fine - proven by hotwiring each component individually after some fixing. Yet the control panel wash LEDs just blink. The user manuals both conceal what the faults are, but leaked service manuals for similar models enabled me to expose the error codes, Beko tried to prevent me from seeing.

The errors are bullshit. One of them indicates “unbalanced load”. Beko actually designed the unbalanced load sensor to enter an error trap that cannot be escaped by the consumer. In effect, it is a kill switch. The service manual actually says to instruct the client on how to avoid unbalanced loads. But it does not tell the technician how to escape the error trap either. Reversing the kill switch is apparently so secret that they don’t even write it in the service manual. Putting it in writing would serve as hard evidence that the kill switch exists.

I have some amateur repair capability. I want to develop this skill so I can live independantly. I don’t want to be helplessly dependant on technicians that cost more than replacing the machine. I also respect the planet too much to throw away fixable machines. I believe my right to “self-determination” applies here, as well as autonomy and dignity. I choose not to be helpless. Throwing money at the problem is just another form helplessness. I intend to live a self-sufficient life.

When Beko creates these secret steps to unlock an otherwise working washing machine, they do so with intent to deprive people of their personal property, ultimately to boost more sales. Aspiring repairers are at a loss for self-determinism and autonomy. Self-sufficiency is both a matter of autonomy and dignity. Dependency strips us of dignity. As Beko assults consumer rights, environmental protection is also a human right they undermine. Forcing people to throw away working machines seems to violate all that.

Europe’s useless right to repair law is part of a higher green initiative (forgot what they called it). It apparently neglects non-environmental human rights, which I believe is why the law is so weak.

Is Beko violating human rights? This is what I find:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 17 (emphasis added)

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 22 (emphasis added)

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights -- PART I, Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 17

Right to property

1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law in so far as is necessary for the general interest.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 37

Environmental protection
A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 38

Consumer protection
Union policies shall ensure a high level of consumer protection.

European Convention on Human Rights -- Article 8

Right to respect for private and family life

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

(analysis of the above: “Guide on Article 8”)

1. Right to personal development and autonomy
   ¶253. Article 8 protects a right to personal development, … (Niemietz v. Germany, § 29; Pretty v. the United Kingdom, §§ 61 and 67; Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, §§ 165-167;…).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/54656011

I have two Beko washing machines, both “broken”. All components work fine - proven by hotwiring each component individually after some fixing. Yet the control panel wash LEDs just blink. The user manuals both conceal what the faults are, but leaked service manuals for similar models enabled me to expose the error codes, Beko tried to prevent me from seeing.

The errors are bullshit. One of them indicates “unbalanced load”. Beko actually designed the unbalanced load sensor to enter an error trap that cannot be escaped by the consumer. In effect, it is a kill switch. The service manual actually says to instruct the client on how to avoid unbalanced loads. But it does not tell the technician how to escape the error trap either. Reversing the kill switch is apparently so secret that they don’t even write it in the service manual. Putting it in writing would serve as hard evidence that the kill switch exists.

I have some amateur repair capability. I want to develop this skill so I can live independantly. I don’t want to be helplessly dependant on technicians that cost more than replacing the machine. I also respect the planet too much to throw away fixable machines. I believe my right to “self-determination” applies here, as well as autonomy and dignity. I choose not to be helpless. Throwing money at the problem is just another form helplessness. I intend to live a self-sufficient life.

When Beko creates these secret steps to unlock an otherwise working washing machine, they do so with intent to deprive people of their personal property, ultimately to boost more sales. Aspiring repairers are at a loss for self-determinism and autonomy. Self-sufficiency is both a matter of autonomy and dignity. Dependency strips us of dignity. As Beko assults consumer rights, environmental protection is also a human right they undermine. Forcing people to throw away working machines seems to violate all that.

Europe’s useless right to repair law is part of a higher green initiative (forgot what they called it). It apparently neglects non-environmental human rights, which I believe is why the law is so weak.

Is Beko violating human rights? This is what I find:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 17 (emphasis added)

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 22 (emphasis added)

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights -- PART I, Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 17

Right to property

1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law in so far as is necessary for the general interest.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 37

Environmental protection
A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 38

Consumer protection
Union policies shall ensure a high level of consumer protection.

European Convention on Human Rights -- Article 8

Right to respect for private and family life

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

(analysis of the above: “Guide on Article 8”)

1. Right to personal development and autonomy
   ¶253. Article 8 protects a right to personal development, … (Niemietz v. Germany, § 29; Pretty v. the United Kingdom, §§ 61 and 67; Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, §§ 165-167;…).

I have two Beko washing machines, both “broken”. All components work fine - proven by hotwiring each component individually after some fixing. Yet the control panel wash LEDs just blink. The user manuals both conceal what the faults are, but leaked service manuals for similar models enabled me to expose the error codes, Beko tried to prevent me from seeing.

The errors are bullshit. One of them indicates “unbalanced load”. Beko actually designed the unbalanced load sensor to enter an error trap that cannot be escaped by the consumer. In effect, it is a kill switch. The service manual actually says to instruct the client on how to avoid unbalanced loads. But it does not tell the technician how to escape the error trap either. Reversing the kill switch is apparently so secret that they don’t even write it in the service manual. Putting it in writing would serve as hard evidence that the kill switch exists.

I have some amateur repair capability. I want to develop this skill so I can live independantly. I don’t want to be helplessly dependant on technicians that cost more than replacing the machine. I also respect the planet too much to throw away fixable machines. I believe my right to “self-determination” applies here, as well as autonomy and dignity. I choose not to be helpless. Throwing money at the problem is just another form helplessness. I intend to live a self-sufficient life.

When Beko creates these secret steps to unlock an otherwise working washing machine, they do so with intent to deprive people of their personal property, ultimately to boost more sales. Aspiring repairers are at a loss for self-determinism and autonomy. Self-sufficiency is both a matter of autonomy and dignity. Dependency strips us of dignity. As Beko assults consumer rights, environmental protection is also a human right they undermine. Forcing people to throw away working machines seems to violate all that.

Europe’s useless right to repair law is part of a higher green initiative (forgot what they called it). It apparently neglects non-environmental human rights, which I believe is why the law is so weak.

Is Beko violating human rights? This is what I find:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 17 (emphasis added)

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 22 (emphasis added)

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights -- PART I, Article 1 (emphasis added)

1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 17

Right to property

1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law in so far as is necessary for the general interest.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 37

Environmental protection
A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development.

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU -- Article 38

Consumer protection
Union policies shall ensure a high level of consumer protection.

European Convention on Human Rights -- Article 8

Right to respect for private and family life

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

(analysis of the above: “Guide on Article 8”)

1. Right to personal development and autonomy
   ¶253. Article 8 protects a right to personal development, … (Niemietz v. Germany, § 29; Pretty v. the United Kingdom, §§ 61 and 67; Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine, §§ 165-167;…).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/53334380

My fridge (Zanussi Z19/4D) quit working. The compressor and relay are both fine. I hotwired the relay and bypassed the thermostat. So I can force the fridge to run on demand using a switch.

Either the thermostat is broken, or some mystery component attached to the thermostat is broken. These parts are no longer sold for my model. Amazon sells “universal” thermostats cheaply, but I boycott Amazon. In fact, I try to boycott banks too so I don’t shop online generally. In the off chance that a 230v universal thermostat were sold locally, I still don’t know if it solves my problem.

So what can I do with this fridge? I could put a timer on it and set it to run 1 hr/day, or something. Is it worth it? I suppose a timer would not be accurate enough to use for food. Temps would probably be unstable. But I wonder if it’d be good for keeping wine or beer slightly chilled. Someone persnickety enough to want a wine cooler might not like the temp fluctuations a timer would bring.

Might it make sense to pull it out for parties and have it continuously run to keep drinks cold? Or would they freeze?

These use-cases don’t really interest me directly. I prefer beer nearly room temp anyway. But I’m just looking for ideas maybe to pawn the thing off onto someone else to prevent waste.

Should I trash it? I would likely harvest the working compressor in that case, but then do what with that? I could look for a trashed fridge that just needs a compressor, but I have never plumbed a compressor and messed with coolant. Can a novice handle that?

My fridge (Zanussi Z19/4D) quit working. The compressor and relay are both fine. I hotwired the relay and bypassed the thermostat. So I can force the fridge to run on demand using a switch.

Either the thermostat is broken, or some mystery component attached to the thermostat is broken. These parts are no longer sold for my model. Amazon sells “universal” thermostats cheaply, but I boycott Amazon. In fact, I try to boycott banks too so I don’t shop online generally. In the off chance that a 230v universal thermostat were sold locally, I still don’t know if it solves my problem.

So what can I do with this fridge? I could put a timer on it and set it to run 1 hr/day, or something. Is it worth it? I suppose a timer would not be accurate enough to use for food. Temps would probably be unstable. But I wonder if it’d be good for keeping wine or beer slightly chilled. Someone persnickety enough to want a wine cooler might not like the temp fluctuations a timer would bring.

Might it make sense to pull it out for parties and have it continuously run to keep drinks cold? Or would they freeze?

These use-cases don’t really interest me directly. I prefer beer nearly room temp anyway. But I’m just looking for ideas maybe to pawn the thing off onto someone else to prevent waste.

Should I trash it? I would likely harvest the working compressor in that case, but then do what with that? I could look for a trashed fridge that just needs a compressor, but I have never plumbed a compressor and messed with coolant. Can a novice handle that?

I have two Beko washing machines, both of which are trapped in an error state despite all components functioning.

Protectionism puts service manuals out of reach. I happen to have two service manuals that were leaked to me (against Beko’s will). One of the most important pieces of information for repair is clearing the error state (thus the most important info to suppress if you want to prevent repair and force a new purchase).

• machine 1 (WMD 2625t) service manual: “After entering the failure code observing mode, pressing and holding “Run/ Pause/Cancel” button for a short time will erase the error code from the memory.”
• machine 2 (WMB 51420) service manual: “Even if a new program has been started, this error code in here will not be cleared; the last error code occurred will always be displayed here. … When a new program is started, the error on the machine is cleared and the error code is no more displayed when Speed and YF1 keys are pressed.”

The machine 2 guide is self contradictory. Can we escape the error state or not? I hold “start” while rotating from OFF to COTTON (the 1st program). It shows error code 18, which means “unbalanced load” (yet there is no load). The service manual implies that programs can run when it’s in an error state, which seems unlikely and bizarre. It refuses to run programs in my case. In any case, there are no functional instructions for clearing the error state in the service manual.

The machine 1 service guide lies. Pressing and holding “Run/Pause/Cancel” while the error code is indicated has no effect. It’s forever stuck on error code 101 (E5), which also seems unlikely because the drain pump is fine (tested by hot-wiring).

Is Beko diliberately concealing the real/effective way to escape error states perhaps on the basis that the service manuals get leaked? Is the secret verbally given to Beko repairers in training instead?

It’s also suspicious that many of the fault flow diagrams lead to “replace controller card”. I really doubt PCBs would go bad in so many situations. Seems like a combination of laziness on the repair procedure to maybe sell more PCBs, which seem to have a high markup and also have an artificially short supply to force whole machine replacement.

I’m mostly confident that I have the right manuals, but it’s a shitshow because for machine 1 (WMD 2625t) there is a RAR file for a hodgepodge of models in the same family. And the svc manual for machine 2 is actually for “B7S B7SLED xxxx d/d”, which is apparently the US version of the WMB 51420.