Repairing a Heat Selection Knob on a Fan Heater

Well this was frustrating! The range selection knob on my fan heater was turning without doing anything. I decided to try and open the case to see what was wrong, but of course the manufacturer had used security fixings, relatively uncommon triangular ones too!

I have lots of shapes and sizes of Torx bits and screwdrivers, but they would be useless in this situation. Luckily I managed to undo two of four screws from the upper side of the heater using a large jeweler's screwdriver. This allowed me to pull the case apart just enough to remove the knob.

Part of the shaft of the knob had snapped off in the switch. Gluing, even with superglue wouldn't be a permanent fix because the resistance of the switch was such that a large torque was needed to change range.
First I removed the broken-off piece of shaft from the switch using a woodscrew. The piece was hollow as was the other piece of shaft remaining on the knob. I decided to attach the two pieces together using a rivet pin.

I hoard lots of scrap, and rivet pins are part of my collection, along with self tapping screws, springs, nuts, washers and all sorts of other miscellaneous items! Some of these pins were exactly the right diameter.

I dripped some super glue into the hollow interior of both sections and also on the broken surface, then joined the two pieces together. Some heat from another fan heater accelerated curing of the glue.

After trimming the pin, I replaced the switch, cost of repair? Zero!

How to Reduce or Prevent Condensation in Your Home

Condensation occurs when air hits a cold surface. Air has a limit to the amount of water it can hold in suspension and the amount of water in the air is known as the relative humidity (measured as a percentage). Once air becomes saturated, the relativity humidity has reached 100%. Now as the temperature becomes lower, air can hold less and less water. Condensation occurs when water laden air hits a cold surface, reducing the temperature of the air. This could be glass in windows, cold tiles or metal surfaces. These surfaces are either colder than other surfaces in a room or are of high thermal conductivity so that heat is sucked out of the air. In any case, the air temperature drops to the extent that it can't hold moisture any more and it is deposited on the surface.
To avoid condensation you have several options. Firstly you can vent moisture laden air (e.g from cooking in the kitchen) so that it doesn't end up in rooms. You can do this by using extractor fans or simply opening windows. Portable gas heaters produce lots of water vapour and should be avoided. Another option is to raise the temperature in the room. This makes surfaces warmer so that moisture doesn't condense out. Double or triple glazing also helps because the external surface of inner panes of glass is not in contact with air outside the house. Removing sources of moisture also helps. This includes house plants and damp clothing. Clothes in the washer should be kept there with the door closed until they are transferred to a drier, or hung outside. Drying clothes in rooms or on radiators transfers water to the air where it inevitably condenses out if windows are closed and the room temperature drops. Yet another way of reducing condensation is to use a dehumidifier. This appliance works by circulating air over chilled coils. This causes moisture to drop out of the air (just like it does on your windows) and collect in a reservoir tank.