I agree, Rob. There should be a Made by Monkeys Hall of Fame and this one should be in the starting lineup. The responsibility comes right back to the designer.
Evidently, the designer of this component did not read the Design For Disassembly articles printed on this sight, or the manufacturer decided that a broken component after disassembly was not a big deal as it required the sale of a spare part set to fix the issue.
The word "smeg" is used as an expletive in the British sci-fi program "Red Dwarf". Apparently the writers on the program have had to replace the lights in their ovens as well...
I suppose it would be politically correct to simply agree that this is a horrible design, but honestly, it isn't so bad.
The editor should make sure that terms used in these articles are generally understood by readers. What, exactly, is a "slip wrench?" This could mean many different tools. If I can't Google "slip wrench" and receive an unambiguous description of the tool, then it requires further definition. The right tool probably would have been a pair of channel-lock pliers with rubber-covered jaws, or a strap wrench, such as the type we stupid Americans sometimes use to remove oil filters from car engines, but in this case, a version with rubber-covered strap should be used.
At first, I didn't know what a "Mole grip" is. I now know that it is what we foolish Americans call "Vise-Grip pliers," or "Locking pliers." Mole is the name of a manufacturer.
I can understand that bulbs and covers that have been in an oven for years are hard to free. A little light lubrication, used sparingly and with care to avoid a fire, is helpful.
Another complaint regarding these "Made by Monkeys" posts is that suggestions for product improvement should be required as part of the article, unless it is obvious how the product could have been improved (by proper assembly, for example, when a manufacturer didn't follow its own assembly instructions).
What are some ideas for better design of the oven light in this case? It doesn't look like such a bad design to me, but I am not very creative.
I AGREE wholeheartedly with CRITIC's criticism. As has been commented previously, the descriptions of faulty OR poor design are not always very well transferred from the blogger's mind to the written word. Add in the different colloquialisms from our extra-American readers and that spells a recipe for incomprehension.
I read this piece twice, and still wasn't sure of the mechanical problem. Standard kitchen stove/oven appliances here are mostly designed with ( an appliance) bulb in a socket @ the rear of the compartment area. A couple of self-tapping (sheetmetal) screws, and the glass cover comes off for access to the atandard A-19 style bulb.
Maybe the Europeans with their reams & reams of design criteria (IEC, VDE, NEMKO, DEMKO, FEMKO, etal!) are experiencing the fruits of all this regulation in the name of safety!
I cannot help but wonder whether there was a tab to be pressed before one spins off the vover glass. I also cannot help but wonder whether that's clearly explained in the manual.
Let's go back a step. I want to be able to see what I am cooking, so there needs to be a light somewhere. Since the interior of the oven is liable to sputtering fat, it would make sense for that to be totally sealed. Why should the light bulb not be inserted from outside the oven? OK it would be nice not to have to pull the whole unit forward to get access, so maybe the bulb should not be inserted from the rear, but the present design is a design to fail.
A light-pipe should be easy and cheap to guide the light from an accessible bulb to where the light is needed. That could be glass or plastic, or a metal lined hollow tube, which is the way hallways can be illuminated through the attic. Lots of options, up to the designer to choose one, anything is better than the arrangement described.
I've replaced light bulbs in general before when the base was tightly glued to its threaded socket. After breaking and removing the bulb, I would grab the top lip of the metal base with needle nose pliers and twist it out. Of course, I'd disconnect the electricity just in case, even though the socket is supposed to be the ground. Also, I didn't trust the glass bulb not to break even if wrapped by a heavy cloth.
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