Seeking advice: repairing a rice cooker

[SteveR]

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on the best way to proceed on repairing a
Cuisinart rice cooker. The fault is that the thermal fuse has blown.

The fuse is an SEFUSE SF169E, rated at 172 degC. I'm given to
understand that these will eventually blow because the resin softens
before the critical temperature, and the widget inside eventually goes
open-circuit.

The original fuse was crimped onto the supply wires, and my thought is
to replace the crimping with ceramic terminal blocks to make the next
replacement easier.

The original fuse had an (electrically) insulated sleeve, and I had to
cut this away to find out what was inside. Clearly, as the fuse carries
live current and the case is earthed, I need to replace the sleeve with
something temperature-appropriate (i.e. won't melt / burn / etc. at
operating temperatures).

So, two questions:

1. Is the idea of terminal blocks sound? There are no significant
vibrations when the cooker is operating.

2. What should I buy to replace the insulating sleeve?

Thanks for all advice...
--
SteveR, transplanted to a better place

[The Natural Philosopher]

Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but

WTF is a rice cooker?

My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
doesn't blow..


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

[Owain]

On Jan 5, 12:16 pm, SteveR wrote:
> 1. Is the idea of terminal blocks sound?  There are no significant
> vibrations when the cooker is operating.

There is heat cycling though. Would insulated spade connectors be
better?

> 2. What should I buy to replace the insulating sleeve?

Glassfibre sleeving?

Owain

[Adrian C]

On 05/01/2013 13:01, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but
>
> WTF is a rice cooker?
>

+1,

> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
> cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
> boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
> doesn't blow..

Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.

--
Adrian C

[SteveR]

The Natural Philosopher <t...@invalid.invalid> writes:
>On 05/01/13 12:16, SteveR wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm looking for advice on the best way to proceed on repairing a
>> Cuisinart rice cooker. The fault is that the thermal fuse has blown.

...

>
>Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but
>
>WTF is a rice cooker?
>
>My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water,
>one cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till
>it boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
>doesn't blow..

It's a semi-common appliance, effectively a heater (often in the
400-800W range) with a teflon-coated pot. The pot is removable, and can
be filled with (a small amount of) water and rice or other "boilable"
items. They often have a steamer rack so you can use them to steam
veggies, fish, eggs, and so on. They are very good for Japanese-style
rice, which has to be cooked with a minimal amount of water.

Steam-cooking soft-boiled eggs on such a machine takes about seven
minutes from switching the machine on to it switching itself off because
it has run out of water. The amount of water actually used is just 40ml
for this job, which can (on my machine when it's working) handle up to
nine eggs. Boiling stuff takes more, but still a lot less than you'd
normally use on the stove.

[Tim Lamb]

In message <kc9885$3ug$2...@news.albasani.net>, The Natural Philosopher
<t...@invalid.invalid> writes
>

>Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but
>
>WTF is a rice cooker?
>
>My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water,
>one cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till
>it boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
>doesn't blow..

Where do you find a *simmer* setting on a microwave?
>
>

--
Tim Lamb

[Andy Dingley]

On Saturday, January 5, 2013 12:16:08 PM UTC, SteveR wrote:

> The original fuse was crimped onto the supply wires,

Thermal fuses should always be crimped, or resistance welded. They're installed on things that are assumed to be getting hot, and things that get hot aren't a good place to use screw terminals, as thermal cycling tends to make brass grubscrews back themselves out.

When you ignore this, at least use good quality screw terminals with closely fitting threads. Also crush the terminal slightly from the side beforehand (use a vice, you need a precision bludgeoning) to tighten up the threads.

[S Viemeister]

50% power.

[Terry Fields]

On Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:01:59 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

> WTF is a rice cooker?
>
> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
> cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
> boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
> doesn't blow..

Add a litre of water to a pan, bring to boil. Add 100g [1] dry rice, stir ONCE, turn the heat off and cover.

Eleven minutes later, drain rice, leave to stand for a couple of minutes, and serve.

Perfect...

[1] enough for two people.

--
Terry Fields

[SteveR]

Andy Dingley <din...@codesmiths.com> writes:
>On Saturday, January 5, 2013 12:16:08 PM UTC, SteveR wrote:
>
>> The original fuse was crimped onto the supply wires,
>
>Thermal fuses should always be crimped, or resistance welded. They're
>installed on things that are assumed to be getting hot, and things that
>get hot aren't a good place to use screw terminals, as thermal cycling
>tends to make brass grubscrews back themselves out.

Ah, OK, that makes sense. Thanks.

Does that mean that e.g. spade-type crimp-on connectors (assuming that
the insulation is rated for the temperature) are also questionable? That
is, will they creep? I found a source of insulator-free ( i.e. needs
sleeving...) crimp-on connectors rated for continuous use up to 482 degC
(900F), but on reflection, it's not clear whether these would be good
for frequent on/off cycling.

>When you ignore this, at least use good quality screw terminals with
>closely fitting threads. Also crush the terminal slightly from the side
>beforehand (use a vice, you need a precision bludgeoning) to tighten up
>the threads.

This sounds way too much like some jocular "advice" I heard from my
father once: "When in doubt, get a bigger hammer."

[The Natural Philosopher]

I used to do that. but the microwave does it better and nothing sticks
to the bowl or pan.

[The Natural Philosopher]

you can get little gizmos that you put a little water in and then an
egg, and pop into the microwave. The egg cooks in the steam.
Perfectly. Small. cheap. Takes no cupboard space.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On mine just below half way on the dial.

[S Viemeister]

On 1/5/2013 1:20 PM, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 05/01/13 13:12, Adrian C wrote:
>> On 05/01/2013 13:01, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
>>> cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
>>> boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
>>> doesn't blow..
>>
>> Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
>> method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.
>>
> I used to do that. but the microwave does it better and nothing sticks
> to the bowl or pan.
>

And it keeps nice and warm until the rest of dinner is ready.

[Peter Parry]

On Sat, 5 Jan 2013 13:16:08 +0100, SteveR
<dustbin.reall...@really.on.orange.fr> wrote:


>1. Is the idea of terminal blocks sound? There are no significant
>vibrations when the cooker is operating.

Terminal block is fine - but normal red insulated crimps will also
work reliably.

>2. What should I buy to replace the insulating sleeve?

Small length of heat shrink sleeving, silicone sleeving, PTFE sleeving
or fibreglass sleeving.

[Owain]

On Jan 5, 2:20 pm, Tim Lamb wrote:
> Where do you find a *simmer* setting on a microwave?

On my Tesco Value one, it's called "HIGH".

Not the most oomphiest of domestic appliances.

Owain

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:43:30 -0500, S Viemeister wrote:

>>>> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water,
>>>> one cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power
>>>> till it boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and
>>>> the fuse doesn't blow..
>>>
>>> Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
>>> method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.

Nah, pan of boiling water from kettle, bung in rice, gentle rolling boil
for 10 mins +/-, lob into colander. Nothing stuck to anything. Used to
use the absorption method but different rice needs different amounts of
water. KISS.

> And it keeps nice and warm until the rest of dinner is ready.

A good cook can time everything correctly, no need to have things hanging
about. B-) Also there is some nasty that likes cooked rice but humans
don't like...

--
Cheers
Dave.

[S Viemeister]

Bacillus cereus.
And even good cooks can be interrupted.

[Rod Speed]

"S Viemeister" <firs...@lastname.oc.ku> wrote in message
news:akraik...@mid.individual.net...

That last shouldn’t be necessary.

A good cook starts everything so that its all ready for the dinner at the
right time.

[Rod Speed]

"The Natural Philosopher" <t...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:kc9qu1$bsv$1...@news.albasani.net...

> On 05/01/13 13:12, Adrian C wrote:
>> On 05/01/2013 13:01, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>
>>> Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but
>>>
>>> WTF is a rice cooker?
>>>
>>
>> +1,
>>
>>> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
>>> cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
>>> boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
>>> doesn't blow..
>>
>> Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
>> method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.
>>
> I used to do that. but the microwave does it better and nothing sticks to
> the bowl or pan.

And if you microwave it in the thing you eat it from, you don’t have
what you cooked the rice in to clean or put in the dishwasher.

The bowl in those rice cookers takes up too much room in the dishwasher for
my taste,
I prefer to cook the rice in square plastic bowl things with lids and then
just put the curry
or whatever in that once the rice is cooked and eat it out of that with a
splayed etc.

[Gazz]

"Terry Fields" <no.spa...@thanks.invalid> wrote in message
news:akqtn6...@mid.individual.net...

'kinell, 18 minutes... 10 minutes.... pans/water etc, sod that.

Remove packet from cupboard, tear 2cm slit in top (it does make a nice bang
at about 1 minute 40 when you forget this step :), bung in nuker, full power
for 2 minutes, when it goes ping, or beep, remove from nuker, tear top off
fully, swear as the steam scalds your hands, tip contents onto plate, job
done.

And no washing up of the cooking container either, just lob it in the bin :)

[Tim Lamb]

In message <kc9qu1$bsv$1...@news.albasani.net>, The Natural Philosopher
<t...@invalid.invalid> writes

>On 05/01/13 13:12, Adrian C wrote:
>> On 05/01/2013 13:01, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>>
>>> Sorry to actually ask rather than answer..but
>>>
>>> WTF is a rice cooker?
>>>
>>
>> +1,
>>
>>> My rice cooker is glass bowl inside a microwave. Two cups of water, one
>>> cup of rice, one dob of butter and a pinch of salt, full power till it
>>> boils then simmer 18 minutes. Perfect rice every time and the fuse
>>> doesn't blow..
>>
>> Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
>> method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.
>>
>I used to do that. but the microwave does it better and nothing sticks
>to the bowl or pan.

I might give this a go for the rare occasions when mistress chef is
away. On investigation we do have *medium* and *low* settings available.

I already do my porridge in the microwave but that is 3 mins, stir, 3
mins, on full power.
>
>

--
Tim Lamb

[alan]

On 05/01/2013 13:12, Adrian C wrote:

> Nah, pan on a store - boil then lowest possible heat aka absorption
> method. Get the timing right and it's easy to wash the pan.
>

Pan on gas ring - full boil for one minute - put lid on pan, turn off
heat completely, leave for 15 minutes.
--
mailto:news{at}admac(dot}myzen{dot}co{dot}uk

[Terry Fields]

On Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:52:01 +0000, Huge wrote:

> On 2013-01-05, Terry Fields <no.spa...@thanks.invalid> wrote:

>> Add a litre of water to a pan, bring to boil. Add 100g [1] dry rice,
>> stir ONCE, turn the heat off and cover.
>>
>> Eleven minutes later, drain rice, leave to stand for a couple of
>> minutes, and serve.
>

> More like "11 minutes later, remove drain cover made of rice, throw it
> away and cook some more by the 'rolling boil' method."

No-one in this thread that suggested boiling rice has mentioned the starch problem: it causes rice to stick
together in lumps. My method eliminates the pre-rinsing, and the lack of constant agitation of the boiling method
means that the rice doesn't stick. Simples....

--
Terry Fields

[polygonum]

Afraid I always pre-rinse. Well, bung required rice in pan, add cold
water, shoosh around by hand, pour out water. Repeat if very starchy.
Started doing so in Sri Lanka where the rice often has stones, etc., in it.

Then, used to do the reverse of your approach, set on a modest heat, and
by the time it gets to boiling point, rice is ready. On old ceramic hob,
that would be about setting 4. Now on induction, get to boiling asap and
switch off, like you.

--
Rod

[Rod Speed]

"Terry Fields" <no.spa...@thanks.invalid> wrote in message

news:al4ndn...@mid.individual.net...

> On Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:52:01 +0000, Huge wrote:
>
>> On 2013-01-05, Terry Fields <no.spa...@thanks.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> Add a litre of water to a pan, bring to boil. Add 100g [1] dry rice,
>>> stir ONCE, turn the heat off and cover.
>>>
>>> Eleven minutes later, drain rice, leave to stand for a couple of
>>> minutes, and serve.
>>
>> More like "11 minutes later, remove drain cover made of rice, throw it
>> away and cook some more by the 'rolling boil' method."

> No-one in this thread that suggested boiling rice has mentioned
> the starch problem: it causes rice to stick together in lumps.

Mine never did when I still used that method before I changed
to using the microwave.

> My method eliminates the pre-rinsing,

I never bothered with that.

> and the lack of constant agitation of the boiling
> method means that the rice doesn't stick.

Mine never sticks without that.

> Simples....

Even simpler to not bother.

The only real downside with microwaving it is that the
timing and amount of water is critical to the amount of
rice used, but all you have to do is work that out and
write it down and keep doing it that way. No extra
hardware at all required and no extra washing up
to do if you do it in the thing you eat it from.

[SteveR]

Hello again,

SteveR <dustbin.reall...@really.on.orange.fr> writes:
>Hello,

[snip]

>So, two questions:

>
>1. Is the idea of terminal blocks sound? There are no significant
>vibrations when the cooker is operating.
>

>2. What should I buy to replace the insulating sleeve?

OK, so I looked at the advice, and found RS's French for-individuals
site (now that's a stupid idea - one site for companies and
partners/sole traders, one site for the general public. I know why, but
it's still a stupid idea) who had all the relevant bits.

Two two-way ceramic terminal blocks and a coil of 4mm over-172-rated
fabricky sleeve, plus a replacement thermal fuse => one machine
repaired!

Thanks for all the advice.

[Rick Hughes]

On 05/01/2013 12:16, SteveR wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm looking for advice on the best way to proceed
>

> Thanks for all advice...


Rice is a pan, water, simmer ....1,344,130,000 Chinese can't be wrong.

[polygonum]

One hell of a surge current when they all switch on their cookers at
once. :-)

But... Surely only some cook? The rest are cooked for. And why exclude
Taiwan? And India?

--
Rod

[charles]

In article <9Jqdnad7jOBIapvM...@bt.com>,

they've probably nothing better to do with their lives.

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 28/01/13 22:16, charles wrote:
> In article <9Jqdnad7jOBIapvM...@bt.com>,
> Rick Hughes <rick_...@remove-me.btconnect.com> wrote:
>> On 05/01/2013 12:16, SteveR wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I'm looking for advice on the best way to proceed
>>>
>>> Thanks for all advice...
>
>
>> Rice is a pan, water, simmer ....1,344,130,000 Chinese can't be wrong.
>
> they've probably nothing better to do with their lives.
>

it certainly beats watching X factor...

[Frank Erskine]

On Mon, 28 Jan 2013 23:10:12 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
<t...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

>On 28/01/13 22:16, charles wrote:
>> In article <9Jqdnad7jOBIapvM...@bt.com>,
>> Rick Hughes <rick_...@remove-me.btconnect.com> wrote:
>>> On 05/01/2013 12:16, SteveR wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I'm looking for advice on the best way to proceed
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for all advice...
>>
>>
>>> Rice is a pan, water, simmer ....1,344,130,000 Chinese can't be wrong.
>>
>> they've probably nothing better to do with their lives.
>>
>it certainly beats watching X factor...

What's: "X factor"?

(I don't have a telly, assuming that this is something televisual).

--
Frank Erskine

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el art�culo <ih3eg81vgpo62r3sa...@4ax.com>, Frank
Erskine <frank....@btinternet.com> escribi�:

>What's: "X factor"?

It's a "talent" programme on the Idiot's Lantern viewed only by the
brain-dead, m'lud.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

[Rick Hughes]

OK divide by 4

or 6 ... still a lot of people who don't use fancy ricecookers

[fred]

Better if steeped over night before cooking, assuming you are using pukka porridge oats,and then add a dash of Drambuie before consuming