Dolce Gusto Genio2 Coffee machine repair

Last year, I was given a Dolce Gusto Genio2 coffee machine for repair.
The owner reported bad water flow, and said that they had attempted to clear limescale, etc using citric acid with no luck, and suspected that the pump was dying.

A quick search showed that there’s an unclogging pin tucked away between the water tank and the machine body. Using that I simply unclogged the nozzle and it worked fine. There’s a good lesson there about trying the simple things before jumping to more complicated conclusions.

Once fixed the owner gave it to me, as they’d already got a new one.

"Before"

Given the wasteful nature of the pod-based machines, and the reputation of the company behind them I took great pleasure in my free coffee machine which I then got some reusable pods for - so despite using one of their machines, I have managed to avoid becoming part of their ecosystem.

 

 

 

 

The main PCB - the bottom connector leads to...

Recently though the machine broke again a couple of times when turning on the lights would blink several times and then go out - shortly after it would just not turn on at all.

I pulled the machine part. iFixit have a good guide to getting the machine apart, so I won’t rehash that here.

After some testing with the multimeter I narrowed the problem down to to the PCB with the power button and the light on.

... the LED fill level board,
which in turn links to the power button board.

It appears that of the three pins, pin 3 is the power, with pins 1 and two being the return line for the red and green LED respectively.

When picking around with the multimeter some more I accidentally shorted pins 1 and 3 and the machine started up, so it seems that the button shares wires with the lights.

With this information in hand further testing indicated that it was the button itself that was faulty.

Unfortunately, there is not an awful lot of space in case for a replacement button - only approximately 2mm. I did not have a button that would fit, but seeing as I cared more about getting coffee then the aesthetics of the machine, I did the next best thing and drilled the hole through the case running wires to the relevant pins.

Then I attached an external button. One that has an integrated LED back light. It is any a single colour though, so I wired it in place of the green LED, so that the button being lit is indicative of the machines ready state.

Then I put the machine back together, and tested to confirm it works.
It's not the most stylish of alterations, but I had no intention of getting another machine, so it was either this or start getting used to instant coffee again.

After

 

BBQ Grill and Coal Tray for the Firepit

BBQ Grill
 

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This project doesn't look like much, granted. However it's a bit of a milestone for me as it's the first real welding project I've done.

It's pretty basic - a frame made of angle iron with bar stock as support, with a steel mesh as the grill itself. The mesh is sandwiched in place to the frame by bar stock - because the mesh itself was too thin to weld (at least, not at my current skill level.)

The cross section looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

The welding was done with flux-core wire (FCAW - Flux Core Arc Welding, sometimes also known as 'gasless MIG')

Although the welds aren't the prettiest, particularly due to the spatter from the wire (lesson learned - use anti-spatter spray), the frame is plenty strong and sturdy enough for it's purpose, and has been used for several barbecues already.

Coal Tray

 
Because the firepit itself is quite deep, it's not practical to have the coals at the bottom of the pit - they're too far away from the grill. It's also a good idea to have more control over what is being burned when cooking food, so having a separate tray makes sense.

I made this quick tray from aluminium that was left over from the greenhouse that was removed earlier this year.

I had read a few articles warning of aluminium use in food because of health concerns, but this a) seems to relate more to food in direct contact with the aluminium and b) aluminium foil is extensively and commonly used, so one would expect there to be a bigger outcry about it if there was anything to worry about.

Some other aluminium parts from the greenhouse were used to create legs for the tray so that it stands a couple of inches blow the grill.

Fast forwarding boring parts of games

It's becoming more common in gaming, particularly with mobile and free-to-play games, for an action or activity to be limited by real-world time, usually in order to provide a 'nudge' to players to nag them into purchasing loot-boxes or other pay-to-win premium extras.

Moral arguments about the ethics of pay-to-win and loot boxes aside, I find this really annoying. These days, the amount of time that I have available for gaming is ever lower, and arguably, time is the most valuable and scarce resource for everyone - after all, we only have get a certain amount, and can't buy more.

So while I was waiting for some in-game nonsense to finish, I started thinking about how feasible it would be to create a fast-forward for these types of activities in-game.

Yeah, I know, there's a certain irony in getting annoyed at having my time wasted and then spending a good deal of time trying to work around it - but sometimes once I get an idea in my head, I have to see it through.

The game I'm using for this demo is Fallout Shelter. I'm well aware that there are already plenty of documented save file hacks for this game, similar to the Saints Row 3 one that I did a while ago.

However, that's not the approach that I want to take here. I still want to play the game, more-or-less as intended. I just don't want to be kept waiting.

A quick experiment by changing the time on the system the game is running on, shows it to be quite tolerant of the time changes, the screen briefly blacking out while the game mechanics catch up.

The first thing to do is to disable NTP (automatic system time synchronization).

In Windows, this can be done by right-clicking on the time in the task bar, selecting "Adjust date/time", and then setting "Set time automatically" to Off. This will stop the system resetting the clock back to the correct time. Just remember to turn it back on when you're done playing.

To do the time adjustment, I'm using AutoHotKey. AutoHotKey (AHK) is an incredibly versatile scripting language for Windows systems, allowing commands and key macros to be bound, system-wide, to keyboard shortcuts.

The idea is to create a global hot key on the system that I can trigger without leaving the game, whenever I want to speed things up by a certain amount.

As the game is mostly touch/mouse controlled, I've bound the macro to the modifier and arrow keys.

* Ctrl-Shift-Right advances time by 1 minute
* Ctrl-Shift-Left advances time by 15 minutes
* Ctrl-Shift-Down advances time by 30 minutes
* Ctrl-Shift-Up advances time by 1 hour

The script is available on GitHub.

Limitations

The script needs to be run as administrator, as elevated privileges are needed to change the system time. There are ways that this can be avoided, but they require more system changes, so for the purposes of this, it's easier to just right-click and select "Run as Administrator".

The script is pretty basic, and operates simply by adding the numbers - so it's not smart enough to cross hour-thresholds - ie. if you advance by a minute at 11.59, it will attempt (and fail) to set the time to 11.60 - but this is simply overcome by, well, waiting a minute.

Late 1940's / Early 1950's Zippo Restoration

Taking a break from all the DIY-heavy home improvement projects, I found this rusted out Zippo lighter at a flea market.

I've always been a fan of Zippos, their style (and that unique sound) is incredibly iconic, so I figured I'd have a crack at restoring it.

Plus I still have a bunch of spares left over from the trench lighter project I did a while back.

Before starting, I did some research to try and put a date on the lighter, just in case it was something super-rare.

 

 

 

 

The first thing to so is to check the stamp at the bottom of the case:

According to the table provided by Zippo themselves, based on the logo type and the patent number, this lighter was manufactured in the 1937-1950 date range.

Digging through some other online resources, I found that it could be dated further by the chimneys number of holes, and the pattern of the flint wheel.

Depending on the source, the chimney having 8 holes per side dates it as being from late 1946 or 1947 onward.

The diagonal-cut flint wheel puts it also at 1946 onward.

Finally, the hinge (again, depending on the source), puts it at either 1948 or 49 onward

So between all that, it looks most likely that this lighter was produced between 1948-1950.

It's pretty cool to know the lighter has some history to it, but it doesn't make it a massively rare artefact.

Removing the rust

The rust on one side in particular was quite thick. To remove it I started with a small rotary tool wire wheel, then moved to some high-grit sanding discs, before some wet and dry sanding by hand to even out some scratches, finally finishing up with a number of passes with the buffing wheel and polishing compound.

As much as I am trying to preserve the original chromed finish, it was clear even before starting that it had worn through in places - I was merely trying to not make it any worse.

However with that lot done, although it's not exactly 'showroom' quality, the lighter has it's shine back, but retains a lot of it's characterful aging which suits it's age.

Flints & Wicks

The obvious thing to note is that it's not functional. To start with, there was no flint to make a spark. Thankfully the flint spring was still there, so adding one of my spares was all it took to get it sparking again.

The wick had been worn down to nearly nothing as well. I thought that I would likely need to replace it, so had a spare to hand, but it appears as though there was still plenty of wick remaining to pull through. It's quite possibly that the previous owner just never knew to do this - or had lost the flint before it was an issue.

Then all that was left was to add fuel, and:

Woodstore / Planter from reclaimed wood (old shed)

After finishing the upcycled planter by the firepit, I realised that something similar would be useful as a wood store for the firepit, and would also help define a boundary to the patio and fire pit area.

Looking through the remaining timber from the shed, there was still the shed floor, and the second long wall to use, and the short (back) wall

These formed the back and front of the second planter, with the back wall being split into 2 lengths to provide the sides, in mostly matching dimensions to the first planter.

To help keep the wood dry, the shed door and it's hinges were repurposed. The thing is, the planter is around 8 foot long, and the door only 6.

To overcome this, it's split into 2 sections, with a divider made from part of the shed front. The 6 foot section with the lid is the woodstore, and the remaining 2 foot section was lined out with plastic to create another planter, in the same manner as the first planter.

The idea is that this will house climbing plants to grow along the trellis that has been installed on the fence at the back of the patio.

The door had to be trimmed down as the planter was narrower, and the hinges had to be switched to the opposite side. A bit of scrap chain (left over from the light fitting project), and an odd carabiner clip I had lying around, were looped around the tree to provide a latch to hold the lid open when needed.

Bonus Planter

That was meant for making planters. But, when I set out with all these garden builds, I did set a 'zero-ish' waste rule. And when the bricks were delivered, they came in a wooden crate, which would then need disposing of.

Plus there were a few miscellaneous bits of shed panel left, which were otherwise just going to be firewood.

So I quickly whipped up a third mini-planter to go out on the front lawn. It's pretty rough and ready, but will serve it's purpose, at least for now and until I have more definite plans of the work I want to do out front.

 

 

The bonus planter, just needs top soil and plants

Planter from old shed

When working on the patio and fire pit, I took on the challenge of 'zero-ish' waste - not having any more waste than could fit in the regular household bins. No skips, special collections etc.

On the opposite side to where the fire pit was built, there was an old shed, which wasn't in bad condition, but was unwanted.

It was taken down so that we could make use of the paving slabs which were being used as it's base.

Along the side of where the raised patio was being built, there was a gap which used to have long-dead roses in - the area marked in brown in the patio-plan model below

Just eye-balling it, I could see that the length of the shed (approx 8 feet), was about the same, and came up with the idea of using the sides to create a raised planter there. 

It also helped the zero-ish waste plan, as the planter would provide space for re-homing soil removed during the fire pit and patio builds, as it could be filled up from ground-level

The frame was simple, just the four sides simply screwed together - leaving the bottom open for drainage.

The front panel was cut down from the front of the shed (below the windows), and the back of the planter was one of the roof panels of the shed. The sides were the other roof panel, cut lengthways.

The back of the planter is higher than the front - I considered cutting it down, but it does provide some utility in that it gives a place to mount things like chicken wire/frost protection/cold frames over the top of the plants if need be, and as it is still lower than the fence itself, I decided to leave it alone.

And finally some miscellaneous bits of shed timber was used to add trim to the top of the panels, which also served to pin the plastic liner in place.

The wood was treated with normal fence stain/wood preservative.

The insides of the frame are lined with plastic sheet (which as it happens, is also up-cycled from some packaging.) and stood on some slab offcuts to protect the wood from moisture caused by contact with the wet soil.

 

 

Fire Pit/BBQ Patio Area - Part 2 - The Reality

The plan for the firepit was scuppered by unavailability of materials due to Covid, so we had to rewind and reformulate the plan.

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For the most part, the patio plan came together well, but we had use more slabs from the shed side for the base layer than we thought, because the greenhouse itself was cemented into the ground by metal supports, and not sat on a slab base as initially thought.

This in turn meant we were two slabs shy of what we needed, but we were able to source some that were close enough in appearance.

 

When it came to placing the concrete blocks, we realised we could use fewer than estimated by spacing them out differently, which gave us a spare at the end. It also allowed for us to dispose of hard rubble by using as filler between the blocks, and also allowed us to create airflow from the back of the patio to the firepit, which should help aid combustion.

 

When researching the best materials to use in a fire pit, a few things became obvious.

• Don't use river rocks. They will likely contain moisture, which when heated, will cause steam, resulting in the rocks exploding. 

• Regardless of whichever other material you consider, you will find some articles and advice saying it's a good material to use, and an equal number saying it's not.

• One constant in advice advocating against any material is how it will degrade over time with the heat from the fire.

Therefore it seemed to me that the best course of action would be to use a material that is hard-wearing, but also fairly cheap and readily available, so that if the internet pessimists turn out to be right, it can easily be replaced.

For that reason I chose regular house brick as the lining wall. This wall should take the brunt of the heat, meaning I could use a more decorative stone for the outside.

A mix of brick sizes was used for the outer wall, both for aesthetic effect and it also helped fit the available space better.

The wall was topped off with white coping slabs with a mitre. The inner wall sticks out slightly from the coping, giving it a 'lip'. This is by design and will feed into a later project.

The finished patio and firepit. Still a few finishing touches to do, but perfectly usable as it is.

It wouldn't be a post about a firepit unless there was picture of some flames, would it?