Death of a microwave

Jay H · 01-30-2007, 08:01 AM

...with apologies to Arthur Miller...

Do microwaves lose power as they age?

My old Sharp Carousel II that I inherited when I bought my house seems to be dieing. I tried to reheat a frozen pizza and ran it on medium for 4.5 minutes as suggested.

The pizza was somewhat cooked on the outside inch of the pizza but no matter how long I ran it in the microwave, the middle 5inches were barely warmed. I ran it for a good 2 minutes more than the recommended time. Plus, the motor that spins the carousel sounds like it's dying too...

Jay

Matt Birchall · 01-30-2007, 08:52 AM

Interesting.

My eleven-year-old microwave started acting up recently, too. I first noticed it when I made some popcorn a couple nights ago, and it took about a minute longer than normal. I didn't think much of it until the next day, when it took about ten minutes to heat up a bowl of soup.

So yeah, in my experience, they lose power as they age--and really rapidly, too.

MarkHastings · 01-30-2007, 11:01 AM

When I moved into my condo a couple years ago, I had to buy a new microwave. I forgot how cheap they are. I got a real big one and the one thing I noticed was how HOT things got in it. My old microwave was probably a good 15+ years old and it paled in comparison. It was probably dying as well.

No matter what, definitely get a new one. They're very cheap these days not to have an old one replaced.

I mean, who would ever imagine that you could buy a microwave for less than most DVD players!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=2669207

Marko Berg · 01-30-2007, 11:38 AM

After about ten years of use, I noticed my old microwave took longer to heat food than it did previously. The degradation took place relatively quickly. I had thought the oven's performance was the same as when it was new a few months earlier, but a few months later it seemed to have lost some of its power.

Now I have a combination microwave/grill/convection oven which is much better especially when you're reheating frozen pizza.

mylan · 01-30-2007, 11:53 AM

Yes, microwave ovens do lose power over time and the culprit is the magnatron tube. Originally developed for the military by Raytheon, it generates the extreme frequencies needed to heat food and becomes less efficient over time.

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Jay H · 01-30-2007, 12:29 PM

OK, sounds like its time for a new microwave... Damm, I was trying to get it to last to my birthday...

I just wiki'd a convection microwave... For the most part I am just reheating things and making popcorn. I don't know how much benefit I would see of a new convection microwave.

Basically, a convection microwave is going to microwave it to warm it up and then grill it to make it brown?

Jay

Malcolm R · 01-30-2007, 01:12 PM

You can practically buy a microwave these days with your pocket change. No need to suffer without one.

mylan · 01-30-2007, 01:15 PM

If you are just reheating and making popcorn, I wouldn't invest in a convection combo. We have a double oven and I convinced my wife to get the convection on top and we hardly use it, it looks nice though.

Jay H · 02-01-2007, 08:35 AM

OK, looking at a new microwave, here are the important aspects:

1)NOT a convection microwave

2)I think 1000watts is fine. The problem is that I don't have a dedicated circuit for the microwave and my current microwave shares the line with a 3 amp sump pump in my basement. Surely it's hardly ever running, and even less when I'm microwaving but would not want to trip the breaker if there is water in my basement... 1000watts/110V = 9amps which would be 12amps max if the chance that my sump pump runs with my microwave oven is on. Plus, I'm never in a rush, +-100 watts is not supposedly that big a difference in power. The sump and microwave share a GFCI breaker in my basement and is on a 15Amp circuit

3)Size has to fit a (DWH) 19"x25"x15" frame my current Sharp is 15"x21.5"x13" and inside is plenty big enough for 1 large dinner plate. Fine for me.

4)Got to have a carousel

5)Got to have one of those automatic warm up sensors which everybody seems to like

I don't care if it's white, black, stainless steel, tye-die, or hot pink.....errh. well maybe not Hot pink.

Any recommendations? I'm happy with the Sharp, it looks to have lasted quite a long time...

Jay

Malcolm R · 02-01-2007, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay H

2)I think 1000watts is fine. The problem is that I don't have a dedicated circuit for the microwave and my current microwave shares the line with a 3 amp sump pump in my basement. Surely it's hardly ever running, and even less when I'm microwaving but would not want to trip the breaker if there is water in my basement... 1000watts/110V = 9amps which would be 12amps max if the chance that my sump pump runs with my microwave oven is on. Plus, I'm never in a rush, +-100 watts is not supposedly that big a difference in power. The sump and microwave share a GFCI breaker in my basement and is on a 15Amp circuit

You must be one of the only people in the world that would think of such things. Most people just plug 'em in and press "start".

Sharp was a highly rated brand in Consumer Reports when I bought mine awhile back. Of course, the display on mine died after a couple years, but the oven still operates just fine.