This is actually a pretty good warning, I had no idea those insulators were made of a toxic material and probably most people don't. I've never tried to take a magnetron apart. I've taken apart a bunch of microwave ovens to get the transformer and magnetron, but never tried to take apart a magnetron itself. It's good that you made this video to warn people.
Thank you very much for this video. I have a difficult time explaining to my boys the real dangers of carelessly smashing up parts that contain materials that are seemingly innocuous. Ignore the negative comments. You prevent one case of someone ending up in the hospital with 8-9 doctors running around trying to guess why their random patient is suffering from some form of lung cancer, well, as I speak from experience, friend, you’ve done your good dead for life. Carry on.
Sorry fellows but ceramic is one of the hardest things your ever going to break that's why he said don't use a grinder try not to smash it- like with a hammer.
In the U.S. they stopped using BeO on the magnetron insulators some years back. Naturally, it's older microwaves that we find them in. The U.S. was such a huge part of China's market that they stopped making the BeO insulators anyway. I have not seen one in years. I used to think the purple or pink was an indicator but then I found out Al2O3 is also made in those same colors when required.
@petevenuti7355 I did some research and read several articles saying pre-2006 US. BUT I am not taking any chances. I tape up the ceramic part with tape for safety reasons just incase I scratch it by accident the tape takes the damage.
That's alumina not BeO. BeO became subject to extreme regulatory controls since it is so extremely carcinogenic, and is virtually never used nowadays. Where it is used, there are supposed to be warning identifier symbols. Besides, BeO was used where high heat conductivity was needed, which is not a requirement for the vacuum seals and insulating posts of a magnetron. Alumina is harmless. Though like breathing any fine hard powder, it it won't be good for the lungs. Don't grind it.
TerraHertz you are absolutely right, since making this vid I have learned a lot about the ceramics used in insulating rings and thankfully BeO is almost gone (I imagine its only some of the oldest microwaves that would still have BeO in them) but like you said, grinding anything like this into dust is bad news, so I still advise people do not smash them up!.
I have been freaking out for like a hour thinking I was gonna die thank you this comment literally calmed the hell out of me you are amazing thanks so much ( idealize this is a run on sentence)
+TerraHertz In fairness, if its from scrap or salvage, it's likely an old or older model. No small odds of running into the earlier BeO types (think asbestos in pre-70's buildings). Safety first.
Yup, Australians are causal with danger. OOo lung cancer, just another danger we face in daily life. Sharks, Snakes Spiders are just some of the dangers we face
It's not as dangerous as you think, ceramic isn't as brittle as you think especially with wires and metals around it and even in the case where it breaks, it isn't dangerous until you inhale it.
the radiation stops immediately after power is cut, however, they do get very hot, and the HV capacitor will probably still have some charge in it, so discharge it to ground (bridge the terminals to each other or chassis) or it could kill you if you try unplugging the mag.
Thank you for the tip because I was thinking about doing this for some magnets with an old microwave that was in the scrap pile. Now I'll be able to know what I'm getting into.
john smith Well you don't have to worry with the other dangers like microwaves. Since the magnetron will not give out microwaves when there's no power.
thanks for the detailed warning, some of those out there looking to dismantle such a device may benefit from this. sometimes high voltage danger just turns into red to a bull, like smoking causes lung cancer dont do it, is just not detailed enough...but going as far as this gentleman in the video and sharing terms such as berylliosis and exactly how your gonna get it should you ignore this warning...well played sir
When dismantling the oven, the main danger will be the capacitor. They are supposed to self-discharge over a bleeding resistor (built in or external) but if that goes open cicuit there could be a lethal charge in that capacitor.
Great video - accurate info. Many thanks or posting! I just hope that ALL viewers will bear in mind that no-one should contemplate dismantling a microwave oven without full understanding of the risks. I know of highly qualified TV Engineers who were killed by microwave ovens!
@@edg6779 don't know if you're still alive but you're absolutely right, with the right power applied to the right spots on your body your heart may just explode.
I also smashed old microwaves mainly to recover the ferrite magnets. I also opened a few tubes to examine the interior, but by cutting the copper shell, never by breaking the BeO insulators.
Actually the insulators in microwave ovens, apart from some high-end very powerful commercial ones, all use Aluminium Oxide and not Berylium Oxide in the ceramic insulators. Berylium Oxide can be used in X-Ray machines and Radar stations, but almost never in microwave ovens.
I agree BUT when you consider the countless human f*ck ups of the past, I wouldn’t doubt the existence of some (containing Beryllium)in non industrial, home units. Also consider the logic of your average person on the manufacturing line; not even a basic understanding of chemistry and so quick to cut corners. What I’m saying is, TREAT ALL CERAMIC INSULATORS AS IF THEY ARE CARCINOGENIC. It’s better to be safe than to receive a cancer diagnosis.
There is also a slight danger from breaking or grinding the magnets, as the dust from them is also known to cause health problems, fortunately most new microwaves dont have beryllium oxide in the insulators so i read, but better to be safe than sorry.
a lot of the time its also them not wanting to be liable if somthing goes wrong. I never advocate that anyone can work on a microwave, but if your confident around dangerous voltages it doesn't hurt to try
Quote from wikipedia: Some magnetrons have beryllium oxide (beryllia) ceramic insulators, which are dangerous if crushed and inhaled, or otherwise ingested. Single or chronic exposure can lead to berylliosis, an incurable lung condition. In addition, beryllia is listed as a confirmed human carcinogen by the IARC; therefore, broken ceramic insulators or magnetrons should not be directly handled.
Having worked with large, large magnetrons and klystrons over a period of forty five years (airborne, shipboard, and land based swept and PAR radars), one develops a very healthy respect and wariness for these emitters. Worse, far worse than the berrilium sump dust, is the constant threat of high voltage/high gauss magnetic fields. A well functioning pack mag or klystron will operate silently, rather cool, and apparently benign. I've seen ignorant ranks badly injured, and quickly, snuggling up to hot packs as though they were common coils or motors. Don't play with these wild animals unless you have your Lion Tamer's Badge.
old heaters and ovens seem to be the worst for asbestos, you get a oven thats been around since the 50's and its almost garenteed to be asbestos lines, or at least the door seal may be
Thank you from Kentucky. I have buckets of these and didn't know how to kill them. I will now scrap them at dawn. I can relate to the tough hands. My hands look like yours. Thank you again.
the aluminum heatsink plates?. from what i have seen from HHO projects you need to sandwich them together with a layer of electrolyte pads?. seems a bit difficult when flat alloy sheeting is so easy to come by (aluminum cookie sheets)
IIRC, the "Pink" ceramic insulating material uses aluminum oxide, I see this in high power vacuum tubes frequently. Safe if the particles are inhaled. Beryllium oxide insulators are grey to white and the dust is potentially unsafe. So the above insulator is OK! I still wouldn't grind it up and sniff it tho! ;)
You just gave me a relief I took many out burnt to the pink insulator recently GE profile unit's and think There was dust inside I breathe in. Had a reaction chest pain discomfort. Very concerning they even use this stuff in microwaves there is not much protection between the magnetron and inside the unit.
heat buildup, they glow red hot under full load, plastics and glass would fail too quickly, only extreme temp ceramics are rated for such high temps and voltage breakdown tolerances
Thanks for the 411 on the beryllium, that cheddar core is quite a bit of copper I just wondered what that Center shaft is nobody seemed to have been able to find out yet once again thanks for the information and God bless
yeh the whole thing gets hot,especially the antenna (the front most part that the waveform comes off) you would not want to touch it immediately after operating it
BeO based ceramics is only used in high end microwave equipment like military radar stuff where its pretty much always used due to its extremely good heat conducting and high voltage isolation properties. Its actually better then aluminium which says a lot for a ceramic but it is s also very expensive. All these things are the reason it is never used in ordinary consumer grade microwave ovens since many many ears back and its also not needed today. The magnetron only get a bit hotter which is solved by more cooling fins on it and a little stronger fan but it get dam hot anyway but no problems for the magnet around it since its a a high temp one. The ceramic is colored pink just to show that it does NOT contain BeO and even if you can see some that is white in little older ovens, say -90 or so, so are these still BeO free its only that the color coding had not really got into effect back then. If you encounter ceramics that DO contain BeO so would you be blinded by all the yellow warning signs around it.
@@fsto9039 Many places on Internet and the very cost of BeO that would have made ordinary microwave oven 10 times as expensive when BeO is not even needed.
@@theRPGmaster If built into something there is a law that there should always be a warning/sticker or anything saying it contains BeO. There is non at all in a ordinary microwave oven but there is on military radar equipment. BeO ceramics has better heat transfer capability then fex aluminium oxide but the latter is much more cheaper and it just make the magnetron hotter but that is fixed by the fan anyway but they do get hot alright.
I love taking off the magnets and using them as refrigerator magnets. They can stick a wall calendar to the fridge and still have enough surface area that you can grab them and pull them off by hand.
You'd have to have years of expousure before the beryllium dust would become a significant risk. People's whose careers are built around Beyllium have to take care, the rest of us, the risk is so close to zero as you're more likely to hurt yoursefl trying to avoid harm from beryllium than the beryllium itself. However, anyone working with anything that produces dust, from wood, to metal , to ceramics etc should make a practice of wearing a filter mask. Do that kind of work for 20-30 years and anything will build up. Even plain sand can get you if you inhale enough of it.
Pulled Pat apart! Yesterday I JAMMED UP real loud "On Golden Pond" and when that was over I was in the mood to JAM UP REAL LOUD "About Schmidt." No magnetrons for me! If I had wanted some popcorn, I'd have popped it on the stove-top the old-fashioned way! I do like microwave ovens for re-heating foods, beverages, especially my nightly tryptophan ritual, which involved nearly boiling milk and half an episode of "All in the Family." Anyway, thank you for sharing your video on the dangers of magnetron dismantling!
An upper hiatal hernia can cause a cough as well, and the two ways of getting rid of that is to put your bed on an incline and lose weight. If people have a lot of acid reflux and heartburn they need to get themselves check out for that.
I am assuming you mean the induction coils, like in a PC power supply primary. they are iron ferrite and as far as I know the dust is not toxic, but I would avoid breathing it anyway, very few man made dusts are completely safe to breathe.
In the work I do-high power broadcast transmitters-the power tubes used in them have BeO ceramic tube envelopes Broadcast transmitters that used these tubes run at high DCand RF voltages. The color of the ceramic IS NOT an indicator of the material the part is made of. Some vacuum capacitors are made from BeO ceramics.The packaging for these devices has the warnings about and also on an enclosed hazard warning sheet.If in doubt-treat ANY ceramic material on tubes or vac caps as BeO. Same with the bodies of high power semiconducters.Also in new broadcast transmitters that have solid state devices to replace tubes-the semiconductors can have BeO bodies or insulators. Best to be safe than sorry! BeO poisoning is irreversible. Also if you get cut from a Broken BeO component the cut can be slow to heal and can get infected-and the Be toxins can get into your bloodstream-Handle such parts with care and wear gloves for protection.
beryllium is not contained in those any more due to the fact that it is expensive to manufacture and produce and it’s also expensive to have in a consumer product that’s mass produced by all companies….
The myth of the beryllium oxide in the domestic microwave. There is no beryllium oxide ceramic in a domestic microwave. It's aluminum oxide. Why would you put an expensive and poisonous substance in a use at home model when a cheap and safe one works just as well? The answer is you don't. Beryllium oxide is found in some commercial very high power microwaves and radar systems, but not in any domestic models. The cost of beryllium as of this comment is $937 US for 100 grams. Your microwave would be like $2000 if they used beryllium oxide ceramic and not the readily available and perfect suitable aluminum oxide at $700 per ton.
Thnx for vital information some of my friends work at e waste they disect magnatros to bare minimum. ..its barelium oxide dangerous which I thought as ceramic
Good data below. Newer oven don't have harmful ceramic. I found new oven with bent frame, Seems like box was dropped. New parts like Magnetron going on ebay.
I was told that the berylium is in that brass wool looking washer not the porcelain parts, either way it doesn't matter, wash your hands after handling it just like you would lead solder or printed circuit boards.
***** 'Critical' ceramic fatigue is why the BeO may shatter "without cause", even though it doesn't break when you throw it around like that the material is strained and will in all likelihood break easier. :(
As crazy as that sounds most people reading this would think we are provoking each other but ,,,,,,,,,but it is true that there is literature on this subject in that manner.
Good to know, I use those magnets to put on the side of a/c panels to hold the multitude of screws so they won't fall off and get lost. Now I have a magnetic mini dish for that.
Well some people don't think of it, even after handling pesticides, in this case people don't know about berylium so just treat it like you would handling lead. One other thing, I believe that berylium is mildly radioactive too so you could probably pick it up with a geiger counter.
The common white thermal paste is zinc oxide in a silicone oil - fairly harmless as far as I know. By the way - the dangerous ceramic you are talking about here is Beryllium Oxide (sometimes called Beryllia), not simply Beryllium metal. It is used because it is one of the few materials which is both thermally very conductive and electrically very insulating. I'm a bit surprised, though, if modern microwave magnetrons still use it as there are safe substitutes which are almost as good.
ahh - foundry work - the days when bogies were black!!! Worked in a shop next to a foundry, and everything was always covered in a really fine dust. Plus of course, asbestos wasn't a big worry then, car clutches and brakes were made from it, so it's too late for me to worry about now!
yea I have taken them apart quit a bit. yea i just cut the copper out were the steal meets the copper there is a heater in them also and I'm not sure but I thought that was were the brillium was at and that the hard part was just cermica insulators. so when I took them a part I was carfule to not at least break the end were the heater was.
sorry to hear that brother, , i as well at my 30's diagnosed with long cancer ... i remember my parents wore advising and warn me about do not solder things near by your face, Do not Bread the fumes ,, and use mask when u work 5 hours a day and every day ... and after 22 years . i had Breath issue... chughting .. And Bingo.. i hit the jackpot .
Just how dangerous is it to operate a magnetron that is isolated by itself? If it is pointed away from you and you turn it on can it still harm you? Do the microwaves travel in a straight beam? How far can it reach? Sorry I'm not too familiar with magnetrons, I'm trying to learn more about them.
the all used to be beryllium based but as you say, new ones could be aluminum trioxide, but I'm not going to test the theory with my health. best to treat them all as dangerous and not smash them IMO
thanx a ton for your advice, really helpful:) BTW, is it safe to be close and touch the magnetron right after it is turned off? or do I need to wait some time? your answer is appreciated. Regards/karl
As in would it be okay if it was only a tiny amount? I did check the MSDS on thermal compounds, they didn't specify a amount that can be lethal/harmful to the human body.
the aluminum cooling fins are not welded to the electron gun. you can't weld aluminum to stainless steel. they are friction fitted to the gun. you can pry them off and re cycle them. for the rest of the microwave can be recycled steel.
