Our microwave oven just died...what to do?

Years ago I lived in a resort area for a few years. Every year during late winter or early spring the realtors would refit the condos with new furniture, appliances and electronics. The stuff they were replacing may have been three or four years old. A lot of it had nothing at all wrong with it. As a side job I would help them move out the old and bring in the new. I always had the pick of what I wanted. Otherwise it all went to the landfill. So for a while there if something went bad it was easy to replace. You would not believe some of the items that they would just throw out. It was quite amazing to me.
 
I have a microwave but never use it. I have a hot plate for my Coffee Mug..."Mr. Coffee"
It often sits on there all day and is always the perfect temp without ever tasting stale.

Only costs $11 on amazon and lasts forever.
Has to be plugged in but I have multiple outlets on my surge protector.
It would make a great Christmas stocking stuffer! Measures 5" X 5"

81Ja08WuPUL._AC_UL320_.jpg
 

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oldpop said:
Years ago I lived in a resort area for a few years. Every year during late winter or early spring the realtors would refit the condos with new furniture, appliances and electronics. The stuff they were replacing may have been three or four years old. A lot of it had nothing at all wrong with it. As a side job I would help them move out the old and bring in the new. I always had the pick of what I wanted. Otherwise it all went to the landfill. So for a while there if something went bad it was easy to replace. You would not believe some of the items that they would just throw out. It was quite amazing to me.
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It was the same, in a college town that I lived in. Sometimes I would find brand new things like slow cookers, toasters, etc. still in the box, thrown out. I had some neighbors who went around on trash collection night, and they made out like bandits,lol.
 
1st lets address the myth about microwaves takin the nutrition out of food.

There's nothing about microwaves that damages food more than other cooking methods. In fact, microwaving can actually preserve nutrients. Boiling vegetables tends to leach out the soluble vitamins into the cooking water, and ovens expose food to much longer cooking times and higher temperatures.

https://www.google.com/search?q=doe...rome..69i57.3857j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Next would be is the microwave on the counter or attached to a wall bracket?

on the counter no problem

on a wall bracket could be a problem. Not all brackets are the same so measuring & using the template that comes with a new microwave is a must. Then if it's mounted under a cabinet it can be difficult to replace without the right tools.

And yes we do use our micro wave a lot that is why replacing our under the cabinet model taught me if it fails next time I'll have it installed by the seller.
 
I couldn't live without mine. It's an over the stove model for about 10 years old. It has both M.W. & Convection cooking. Before my wife passed she could cook a whole meal in it. I still do some of her recipes, as it's faster than on stove or oven as you can combine convection with M.W. to make it faster & still juicy.

Similar to this but much older.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kitchen...ensor-Cooking-Technology-KMHC319ESS/205896511
 
When our last microwave quit, I just couldn't throw it away.
The 'take-it-apart' in me grabbed my multimeter and after a few checks, found I had a blown Fuse.
Everything else checked out, so replaced the fuse ( lots of places sell them for MW's ).
Worked fine for many years till the wife wanted a bigger one.

Disclaimer: Don't try this if you're not familiar with such equipment, there's a thing ( capacitor ) that
holds an electrical charge even when the unit is unplugged! you don't want to mess around without discharging
it. )

Brought this up just because for me, it's fun to 'take-things-apart' and most times I get them back together
with only a few screws and such left over. :oops:
 
Feelslikefar said:
When our last microwave quit, I just couldn't throw it away.
The 'take-it-apart' in me grabbed my multimeter and after a few checks, found I had a blown Fuse.
Everything else checked out, so replaced the fuse ( lots of places sell them for MW's ).
Worked fine for many years till the wife wanted a bigger one.

Disclaimer: Don't try this if you're not familiar with such equipment, there's a thing ( capacitor ) that
holds an electrical charge even when the unit is unplugged! you don't want to mess around without discharging
it. )

Brought this up just because for me, it's fun to 'take-things-apart' and most times I get them back together
with only a few screws and such left over. :oops:
Click to expand...
That happens whenever I work on our cars. There's always a few bolts left over. Maybe they're just spares like the extra buttons they give you on button down shirts. :unsure:
 
Grampa Don said:
I put a little piece of wood about the right size behind mine and I just back the microwave up against it.
Click to expand...
That’s what we do too. Ours has a built in cabinet like @StarSong. The only thing that I would do differently is to add an easily accessible switch to turn off the power when we’re away on vacation.

Unless someone is medium/tall height, I’d never have one over the stove. Watched a friend hurt her hand while removing something that was too hot and steamed leaked on her. Too many chances to have an accident, especially for seniors or kids.

JMO, I wouldn’t have one placed below counter level either. Too much bending over. A design change for the sake of change, not for practicality.
 
Feelslikefar said:
When our last microwave quit, I just couldn't throw it away.
The 'take-it-apart' in me grabbed my multimeter and after a few checks, found I had a blown Fuse.
Everything else checked out, so replaced the fuse ( lots of places sell them for MW's ).
Worked fine for many years till the wife wanted a bigger one.

Disclaimer: Don't try this if you're not familiar with such equipment, there's a thing ( capacitor ) that
holds an electrical charge even when the unit is unplugged! you don't want to mess around without discharging
it. )

Brought this up just because for me, it's fun to 'take-things-apart' and most times I get them back together
with only a few screws and such left over. :oops:
Click to expand...
A lot of times a microwave will fail due to some inexpensive part. But, like you said, it's a dangerous device to work on if you don't know what you're doing. There is a reason there are often special screws holding the cover on.
 
I also heard the microwaving takes the nutrition out of the food, but does it do that only after 1 or 2 minutes? Or is that referring to actually cooking the food in there, rather than heating it up. My son doesn't use a microwave and my sister's nephew in law, who was a doctor refused to use one too. I use mine daily.
 
StarSong said:
To access your coffee do you move your toaster oven and the shelf holding it, or is the shelf affixed to the wall?
Click to expand...

The shelf is affixed to the wall. Before, the Microwave was on top. We recently got the toaster oven and it was annoying to keep bending over to keep the toast from burning ( learning curve for new tool ). Now we have a nice clean shelf and I can easily use the toaster now. :)
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I also heard the microwaving takes the nutrition out of the food, but does it do that only after 1 or 2 minutes? Or is that referring to actually cooking the food in there, rather than heating it up. My son doesn't use a microwave and my sister's nephew in law, who was a doctor refused to use one too. I use mine daily.
Click to expand...

At least the research we did says that microwaves don't have as much nutrient depletion as oven or stove cooking.
 
carouselsilver said:
It was the same, in a college town that I lived in. Sometimes I would find brand new things like slow cookers, toasters, etc. still in the box, thrown out. I had some neighbors who went around on trash collection night, and they made out like bandits,lol.
Click to expand...
That would have been a haven for my husband. I used to tease him saying "I sold my heart to the junkman".
@Sylkkiss I know what you mean! :)
 
Of all the microwave ovens I had the best one had an exterior exhaust vent.

MICROWAVE OVEN-7.jpg



MICROWAVE OVEN-8.jpg





MICROWAVE OVEN-2.jpg

MICROWAVE OVEN-1.jpg

MICROWAVE OVEN-9.jpg

www.labroots.com/trending/videos/12014/microwaving-food-affect-it-s-nutritional-value

www.health-science.com/microwave-hazards/

www.epa.gov/radtown/non-ionizing-radiation-used-microwave-ovens

www.livescience.com/microwave-ovens-safety-health.html

www.consumerreports.org/microwave-ovens/best-microwaves-of-the-year-a4592238775/

www.safespaceprotection.com/news-and-info/microwave-oven-dangers/

www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/green-health/microwave-dangers-urban-myth-frightening-reality/

www.interestingengineering.com/this-simple-test-lets-you-know-if-your-microwave-has-a-radiation-leak

www.quora.com/Is-exposure-to-microwave-oven-leakage-harmful-in-the-long-term

www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/5-tips-using-your-microwave-oven-safely

www.bbc.com/future/article/20200714-is-it-safe-to-microwave-food

www.historyofmicrowave.com/microwave-oven-inventor/percy-spencer/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Spencer





 
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horseless carriage said:
There is a low risk of microwaves causing plastic containers to release chemicals into your food but if you want to play it safe, only microwave food in glass or ceramic containers.
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Agree it's possibly not healthy to MW in plastic containers - the other problem with doing so is that it trashes the plastic. Like you, I use glass and ceramic containers.
 
Lara said:
I have a microwave but never use it. I have a hot plate for my Coffee Mug..."Mr. Coffee"
It often sits on there all day and is always the perfect temp without ever tasting stale.

Only costs $11 on amazon and lasts forever.
Has to be plugged in but I have multiple outlets on my surge protector.
It would make a great Christmas stocking stuffer! Measures 5" X 5"

View attachment 188512
Click to expand...
I have the same thing, Lara. It really comes in handy for a diehard coffee drinker like me. ☕
 
I make oatmeal in a microwave about 3 times a day. I make it in the dish so as to not create a pan each time. And I heat rice several times a day in the microwave and sometimes coffee. Pretty much lost without one!

I have heard that an inverter type microwave will hold up better.
 
Michael Z said:
I make oatmeal in a microwave about 3 times a day. I make it in the dish so as to not create a pan each time. And I heat rice several times a day in the microwave and sometimes coffee. Pretty much lost without one!

I have heard that an inverter type microwave will hold up better.
Click to expand...
I bought one of those inverter MWs from Costco. By Panasonic. 1200 watts.
I took it back...didn't like it.

It took forever to heat anything up. I'd have to put it on for 4-4.5 mins to heat up my tea. I was using a plastic
cup, but never had a problem in my Sharp. 1.5-2.5 in my Sharp carousel.
 

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