Exactly as the title says. Had loaded up a potato the other night cause we didn't have time to bake it. About halfway through we hear a :BZZT: and it went dark.
Now we gotta get a new one and I gotta do something with the old one. I know there are all sorts of fun tricks you can do with the guts of an old microwave, anyone have any?
Anyone have suggestions on who makes a good microwave these days?
If the big metal capacitor didn't pop, they're excellent for adding to a mini tesla coil for longer arcs.
If the transformer is still in good shape, don't ask me I don't remember wiring anymore, but you can make a decent little spot welder out of them.
Most of my microwave fun has been with functional microwaves otherwise.
I had an LG that was 10 years old and still going strong at my old house that we left there. My current one, if unknown age, is a Frigidaire and it works fine.
If you want to be fancy and maybe eliminate some other things from your counter, pony up a couple Benjamin's and you can buy a convection microwave. Microwave, convection oven, toaster if I remember. There big, tall and heavy, but long lasting and powerful.
Can't help with the first question, but as to "who makes good ones" - the appliance repair guy who fixed our fridge recently seemed to be under the impression that there wasn't much difference anymore, so buying a cheap one and replacing it when it commits ritual self-immolation would be the way to go.
I have a Panasonic 1100W from walmart, and I hate it.
Makes a high pitched buzzing when the door is open, doesn't heat evenly (I end up using the 30 second quick cook button repeatedly, or lots of stirring), and the turntable is starting to make funny noises.
I miss our old $60 unit, it was faster to use and since it had less power it heated more evenly. I'm sure there's a way to cook at reduced power with my current one, but there's at least 6 button presses to access that and there should be 3 maximum to quick cook with a microwave imo.
Last place I worked they had a dozen microwaves in the lunchroom and the only ones that lasted any length of time were Panasonic. So when I needed one that's what I bought. It was double what I could have paid for a cheap one but we've had it a dozen years now and I have no complaints
Run_Away said:I have a Panasonic 1100W from walmart, and I hate it.
I've heard from a couple people that Panasonic is a good one. The walmart part might be the wrong part in yours.
I have a Panasonic at home and love it. Seven years old and going strong. It's an invert unit which means instead of pulsing the 1100W magnetron it runs it continuously at a lower power level which makes the food heat more evenly and get less dried out.
we got a Panasonic at work based on my experience and haven't been quite as happy with it. Don't get me wrong, it's fine. But the fan in it is super loud - smooth but loud - and it does this weird thing where sometimes you have to hit the clear button even after the timer runs out. Not a big deal and we could have returned it but we decided to live with it. So far other than the minor quibbles it's a good microwave.
There is usually some pretty good magnets inside. Be careful with capacitors if you take it apart.
We have 2 crappy microwaves at work and one breaks so they put the broken one on top of the refrigerator and buy another cheap microwave.
WTF - are you not supposed to toss these into the dumpster? WHY are we saving a broken microwave?
In reply to Datsun310Guy :
Amongst other things you can build a spot welder out of the transformer in a microwave. Might be useful to a guy doing car stuff.
I replaced a GE Profile with a GE from Costco. That was about ten years ago. First one lasted about ten years. So I'm following this thread because I know I'll be shopping for a microwave fairly soon. This display on this one is about shot, and it seems like it doesn't heat as well as it used to. Nevertheless, I will drive it until it breaks or shoots sparks.
My only advice is try to test out the end of cooking chime. Ours is super annoying - 4 or 5 beeps, that are really loud at an unpleasant register, and you can't stop them. We always attempt to open the door at 1 second.
I currently have an old roper range hood microwave. Anything I heat in it that says cook on eight million watts is regular setting on it. I think things have changed. I seriously think about getting one from the days when you should be able to cook a whole turkey in it. This is completely irrelevant to your problem so I apologize. Now get off my lawn!!
Do they make them with "turbo" air flow like the toaster ovens ?
also I have the regular $100 one , it's too small for a large pizza.....
if that matters to you , measure the size of the plate of your old one....
Is it the door switches? Ours was flipping the breaker (apparently that is the designed failure mode ...) And it seemed to be totally fried but it just didnt know the door was shut. (Now, that microwave took a bigger dump about a year later and we replaced it).
A new switch is only a few bucks, and often come in packs of 2. I'm using the other one as the brake light switch on f-dat.
We bought one of the Panasonic inverter models last May when a power surge killed our GE. It died yesterday. As described above, it is apparently the door switch, as the power goes off when the door is closed.
I don't want to fix it myself, it's less than a year old and still under warranty. We bought it on Amazon, thinking of taking it up with them first. If I have to go through Panasonic, I'll probably have to mail it, according to the warranty book. Not happy. We've owned a string of GE microwaves, all of them lasted for years.
We bought an Amana microwave about 5 years ago. It was about $200. They had these at work and they seemed pretty stout. Still going strong!
Looked it up today about was stunned. $531? Ouch! It will last for years in a home environment. No fancy features, just turn the dial to set the time.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:We bought one of the Panasonic inverter models last May when a power surge killed our GE. It died yesterday. As described above, it is apparently the door switch, as the power goes off when the door is closed.
I don't want to fix it myself, it's less than a year old and still under warranty. We bought it on Amazon, thinking of taking it up with them first. If I have to go through Panasonic, I'll probably have to mail it, according to the warranty book. Not happy. We've owned a string of GE microwaves, all of them lasted for years.
After submitting a case through warranty, Panasonic is offering us a check for the purchase price. Now the decision is whether to replace it with another Panasonic or go for another brand. I liked the way that the Panasonic modulated the power rather than cycling on and off when running at lower power settings. Food cooked much more evenly. I used it to soften some butter that had been in the freezer, and the sticks of butter came out of the microwave intact, with no melting, and uniformly soft, as if they had been sitting out at room temperature for hours.
On the other hand, we've had a string of GE microwaves, with no reliability issues. We didn't like the controls on the Panasonic nearly as much. Not sure what to do.
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