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How to repair plastic rangehood buttons?

filthy

I have a Smeg SHC700X rangehood with a very poorly designed button assembly.
Each button is held in place by 2 little legs which fatigue and break.
And of course you can't buy just the plastic button covers, it only comes as a complete unit with PCB costing around $400

Any experts on here who can offer advice on DIY repairing the plastic legs?

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EricL

Hello @filthy

I'm sorry to hear that your rangehood buttons are giving you grief. I'm sorry but I am not familiar with this type of rangehood. I propose calling Smeg direct to see if they can provide the button assembly only. If you have contacted Smeg already and they can't provide you with the spare part, I propose looking at replacing the whole unit. Just as an example the https://www.bunnings.com.au/esatto-52cm-stainless-steel-undermount-rangehood_p0394847 uses direct to push buttons that activate the rangehood and is far more affordable than the spare part you mentioned. The stores premium brand the https://www.bunnings.com.au/kleenmaid-52cm-undermount-rangehood-for-a-60cm-cooktop_p0190876 is also under the $400 dollar mark.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1, @Noyade, @TedBear, @CSParnell and @GreenHouse for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Dave-1

Good Morning @filthy

You could always see if there is a 3D printable version for the plastic buttons. Tho that requires knwledge of the parts name and also having a printer. I would also be cautions replacing parts that have mechanical sections underneath.

I would contact SMEG directly and chase them politely :)

Dave

Noyade

Would a strip of heavy duty clear contact - applied over the area assist? If the plastic branches break - the 'button's still/should remain in the correct position to work.

Just a thought @filthy

R4addZ

Hi @filthy

Try shopping around, $169 here

https://www.appliancespares.nz/products/smeg-kit-units-group-el-k22-smeg-ir-133-0086-340?srsltid=AfmBOooP5ogwGtdio4CCkBCxE0U9euc0zdM7r3YHmkh-TQ8aC81xgzNG

The design was a poor choice but was made by many companies. Depending on the materials, a repair may be possible but I doubt it would ever work properly again as the plastic is meant to bend and over time it fatigues and breaks. if for example it was a thermo plastic, it could be melted back together but you would have to be very careful and the repair could stiffen it making it hard to press the button. @Dave-1 s idea of 3d printing is a good idea and some companies can also scan the part to make the pattern for printing it but at what cost?

TedBear

Hi @filthy, I repaired the plastic tab that holds the cover on the battery holder of our TV remote, after it was dropped many times. I used a good quality super glue. It has been dropped, opened and reinserted a number of times, which flexes the tab, but is still holding just fine.

I do repairs at my local Repair Cafe & find that plastic joins can be made stronger with a very fine dusting (not a blob) of bicarb on one surface, just before adding super glue. The chemical reaction creates heat which makes the join grab better.

The hard part is adding just a fine dusting of bicarb. I add some, then tap the join sideways so most of it falls off. May be worth a try.

GreenHouse

What can we learn from this? 🤔

NEVER buy Smeg rangehoods - Spare parts are a rip off and designed to fail ! ! ! 🤬

Noyade

Hi @TedBear.

Thanks for the sodium bicarbonate tip. Would a drop on a plastic fracture with a 'super saturated' solution of sodium bicarbonate also work? And are all super glues the same (quality)? I just use the 10 tubes for $2 variety.