Morphy Richards hairdryer- in need of re-capping!

[Colourstar]

You'd think you would be safe from those pesky Hunts caps when using a hairdryer, but no- the classic 1960s Morphy Richards dryer contains a ticking time-bomb...

The motor on this one suddenly started to slow down, gradually coming to a halt (which also caused the heating element to cut-out as there was no breeze to cool it). On investigation I was surprised to see a large wax cap looking very unhappy in the hairdryer handle. It's a very specific value, which is rather intriguing...

Steve

[its ur aerial]

RS Components list one, but not cheap at £6.80 + VAT +Post. I assume it`s for the Motor start/run
Ken G6HZG.

[Reelman]

We used one of those M-R hairdryers for years in the 60 and 70s and to be honest they were terrible compared to more modern ones. The gentle breeze they provided took ages to dry hair!

Peter

[Colourstar]

Indeed so Peter, it's really quite feeble compared to the modern ones- it must have taken ages to blow-dry the average beehive hair-do in the 60s. It is useful though for wafting a bit of warm air to drive out any residual moisture in radios and tvs etc that have been in less than ideal storage conditions.

Steve

[buggies]

The cap in this MR is marked +-35% tolerance and measures about 0.68uF.
It has no measurable leakage at 400V DC
You are welcome to this (for whatever it costs to post) or any other bits before I dispose of it.

The case is cracked and has been repaired with araldite many years ago and the fan spindle is crumbling. The element measures about 150 ohms but the cut-out contacts are poor.

[McMurdo]

pfft..nothing's meant to last is it!

I once knew a guy who used a dryer like yours because the modern high power ones frightened his dog.

[Vintage Engr]

I have one of these as a workshop 'hairdryer' They are a bit feeble, but have an advantage over some of the more modern ones, - for workshop use.

That's because they use an AC motor, rather than a cheap DC motor/diode rectifier, and don't cause interference when tracking down an intermittent thermal fault! Also they don't over-cook the DUT.

Mine also had the capacitor go s/c.

David.

[kalee20]

I remember my mum having one, and it failed to start in the 1970's (if given a flick it would run in either direction!). It had a capacitor just like this.

Changing the capacitor fixed it.

[Julesomega]

Originally Posted by Vintage Engr

I have one of these as a workshop 'hairdryer' They are a bit feeble, but have an advantage over some of the more modern ones, - for workshop use.

That's because they use an AC motor...

Same here - mine's Model HDA3 in an attractive shade of pink. The thermal cutout has failed permanently tripped so it only blows hot if I hold the reset button in, can't see any way to fix it. Can't remember if the start capacitor has ever been replaced.

[ortek_service]

I too recall these, and when taking them apart seeing their wax-cased capacitors
- So may well be a paper-dielectric type, and suffer like Hunts or (RIFA cracking-epoxy) ones.

We even had the MR accessory haircap with pipe that fitted over the rectangular end of the hairdryer, and metal stand to put the hairdryer in.
- Maybe why they had a resettable thermal-cutout, if airflow from outlet got blocked

Not sure what happened to ours, but I recall the brittle (doing screws up too-tightly may break it) Bakelite? case had broken and got glued in some places.
And remember it being rather feeble output compared to modern ones.

Although the special twin switches assembly lasted longer than a more-modern Remington foldable-handle 'Travel-Iron' DP4T slide-switch that has arced a lot, going black inside and rather-intermittent despite cleaning. And doesn't look-like a replacement will be easily obtainable.

[G6Tanuki]

My parents had one of those in the 60s and early 70s, along with the plastic hat and snorkel tubes that made the wearer look like an escapee from a low budget 50s sci-fi movie set.

The black grille in the air outlet crumbled away, and the pale blue bakelite housing round the sides of the heating element turned brown and developed heating related cracks. I managed to persuade them that it was time to replace it after I found my father putting aluminium foil and sellotape round the nozzle in a horribly dangerous make-do-and-mend attempt.

[Stuart R]

My parents also had one in the 1970s, until I switched it on once and a spark jumped out of the handle. Not sure if it was a damaged cable or the capacitor giving up but I dropped it, the case smashed and that was the end of that.

Fond memories of hair being dried quietly in a gentle warm breeze rather than the harsh screaming from more modern units.

We also had the chrome wire cradle which I was told could be used to stand the hairdryer on a dressing table, but I don't ever remember seeing the hat and tubes.

SR

[Beobloke]

We had a pink one of these when I was a child.

My sister vividly remembers the heating element failing whilst she was using it and sending a nice jet of flame towards her head!

Despite my father fitting a new element and it giving many more years of reliable service, she refused to use it ever again after that!

[Rhgbristol]

Wasn’t it one of these (or a model very similar) that was responsible for the demise of Val Barlow (Ken’s first wife) in an early 1970s edition of Coronation Street?

Long before the days of RCD protection being mandated in the UK………