Electronic and mechanical recycling of pots

We start a new subsection for the recycling of all the seemingly useless appliances that we have in our homes and we are going to throw away, or appliances that friends or family give us.

I mean floppy drives, baby toys or Chinese ones. Dryers, thermos, televisions, routers, mobiles and smartphones, etc, etc. We are not aware of the amount of garbage we generate, of everything we waste ...

We want to answer the typical question.

What can I do with ...?
What can I take advantage of ...?

We will try to disassemble them, locate the different components and see which we can take advantage of or reuse and for what.

We will try to make the divisions in part mechanical and electronic.

We are happy to receive help or advice.

This is one of my favorite sections, I've spent my life taking things apart and trying to give it a second, third and many more use. I really believe that it is necessary not only to repair but to reuse and recycle. Something that we should be aware of and that should be instilled in young people at school, in the family, from a very young age. For a better world.

Recycle old monitor and unload flyback

recycle old computer monitor

I have saved for a long time two faulty Samtron computer monitors, since I don't know how many years ago. The initial idea was to try to repair one with the parts of the other. But nowadays it no longer makes sense to have a monitor of this type, so I am going to disassemble them and keep the parts that are interesting.

The first thing just to open it, and before touching anything, is discharge the flyback so that it does not give us any discharge of several tens of thousands of volts. The operation is similar to the one we do to discharge the microwave condenser. We short-circuit it.

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Disassembling the Ikea Lottorp or Klockis watch

Ikea Lottorp or Kolckis alarm clock exploded view

It's called Löttorp or Klockis, I think they have changed the name and is a simple clock, alarm, timer and thermometer which he sells at Ikea for € 4 or € 5. A 4 in one. It is ideal to have it in kitchens, rooms, etc. The good thing about this watch is its usability, it is tremendously easy to switch between its operating modes, you just have to rotate the watch. Thus, as you turn, the different measurements will appear on the display. My daughters go crazy when they catch it. With each turn, it beeps and a light of a different color comes on :)

I don't usually buy things to disassemble them, I always take advantage of something that goes to the trash or recycling, but this time I could not resist. Holding it in hand, I became very curious. Will I be able to use the display with Arduino? What sensor will they use to measure the temperature and to detect the change in position? Is there an interesting hack that can be done to the watch? But above all what has intrigued me the most is what the heck is that loose piece noise you hear when you shake it? Why is something loose inside? And not in a watch, but in all.

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DIY projects to recycle a CD / DVD player

Today it is common to have at home old CD players or DVDs that we no longer use and are a great hardware source for our DIY projects.

Exploded view and useful parts of a CD DVD player

I am going to disassemble a CD player to see the pieces that we can take advantage of and I leave a list of very interesting projects (instructables) that can be done with each of the pieces. The links are projects in English, but little by little I will try to reproduce them and leave all the documentation in Spanish.

This model is quite old. I think it still works, but since I have 3 or 4 more it has been sacrificed for the article :)

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Recycle used batteries in solar panels

Researchers MIT have devised a method to recycle used car batteries and use them to create solar panels.

Until now 90% of lead-based car batteries in the United States are recycled to make more batteries, but there will come a time when this technology will be replaced by other types of batteries and if it is no longer possible / interested to recycle them they can become a serious environmental problem.

Recycle car batteries in solar panels

So MIT has found a very good solution. With a simple process that allows recycling them to turn them into solar panels. And the good thing is that these plates when they break can be recycled back into new boards.

Furthermore, the benefits do not end here. the process is less polluting than that currently used to extract lead from ore. So it seems everything is perfect. Even the efficiency of these new plates which is around 19% almost the same as the maximum achieved with other technologies. Now the only thing missing is a company that is dedicated to marketing it.

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Disassembling a bicycle dynamo

I have recovered a old dynamo that doesn't work. A dynamo is a Electric generator to convert mechanical energy into direct electrical current.

dynamo exploded

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Reuse glass yogurt cups

If you are one of those who eat yogurt in a glass tub, surely you have saved the glasses to do something indeterminate and in the end they end up stored in a closet or much worse, in the trash.

reuse or recycle yogurt glass cup

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How to reuse and recycle silica gel

El Silica gel It is used as a drying agent to control the humidity of an enclosure. Its high porosity makes it a good moisture absorber. As you will see although there is talk of Silica gel, this is not a gel, but a solid.

reuse silica gel

These bags are found when we buy shoes, clothes, and many other objects. And many times we don't know what to do with them and they end up in the trash.

Important:

Silica gel contains cobalt chloride, which, when reacting with moisture, turns from blue to pink. The dust produced when handling this product can cause silicosis, so do not crush it or anything like that.

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Recycle Styrofoam or Styrofoam

El  extruded polystyrene (XPS), which is marketed under the name of Stryrofoam, it is composed of 95% polystyrene and 5% gas that is trapped in the extrusion process.

The chemical composition of extruded polystyrene is identical to that of expanded polystyrene. But the process of shaping the Styrofoam, gives it greater thermal resistance and makes it better tolerate water.

If you do not know what polystyrene is, it is cork, the white of all life, and the styrofoam, is the one that you find sometimes more rigid. It is the foam that we see that they use for insulation in house constructions

styrofoam or extruded polystyrene

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Reuse washing machine water

Manuel from http://comiendo.wordpress.com/category/eco-chismes/ has sent us this article to reuse the water in the washing machine.

 

 

Since we used the ecoball to wash, we think how to reuse the water in the washing machine to water the garden Taking advantage of the fact that it comes out without chemicals. Since the washing machine is in the garage, there was room for tests and to install a reliable and autonomous system. All you have to do is turn a key depending on whether you use soap or not in the wash. Well it goes to the invention, well to the drain. In winter we will have plenty of that water but in summer all that is generated will not be enough.

reuse the water from the washing machine

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Build chess with recycled pieces

Do you like the chess? With these models you can be inspired to create your own chess with recycled materials,

Chess with bolts and nuts

 in particular with nuts, springs, washers and screws.

chess made with nuts and bolts

In this case, the pieces of chess have been made with car parts.

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