Microwave ovens

[Muse]

Years ago I heard several times that you should never run your MW oven empty. It will cause premature failure, the magnetron, I believe (I know nothing about magnetrons, I assume they throw out MW radiation).

How true is this? What if I have a cup with 2-3 ounces of coffee in it? Am I causing my MW to die sooner if I heat it up in there?

Of course, they say not to put metal things in your MW too, which I don't do.

How long will a MW last? Are MWs improved/different nowadays?

 

[lxskllr]

The microwave I'm using is from the 80s. It replaced another microwave from the 80s that was bigger than I'd like. Near as I can tell, microwaves last forever.

 

[OverVolt]

Not sure. Mine is making funky noises and heating unevenly lately and is ~5 yrs old.

I've heard people hypothesize those campbells soup cups with the metal rim aren't good for your microwave even though it says they can go in.

 

[Muse]

The microwave I'm using is from the 80s. It replaced another microwave from the 80s that was bigger than I'd like. Near as I can tell, microwaves last forever.

In my experience they do not last indefinitely. I've ripped the big old donut magnets out of several dead MWs. I find them very useful.

 

[Red Squirrel]

My parents 1980's Panasonic gave up the ghost a few years ago. It would "run" but not do anything. I bet it was just a fuse for the magnetron or something, but before I even had a chance to look at it they threw it out. I only found out because I was asked to help set up the new one.

I would have loved to open that sucker up even if it was just to take all the goodies out. Old appliances are built like tanks.

I think the idea of not running them empty is that there is nothing to absorb the energy, so it has to go somewhere, and it's probably the sides and what not and will just heat up the chassis. Probably the magnetron itself too.

Though one thing that is really weird is their new microwave came with a METAL rack that you can put inside, I forget what it was for, I think it's just if you want to cook more than say, a lazagna or something else flat you can put one at the bottom and one on top. But I really don't know how that even works considering you're not suppose to put metal in it. If the metal is not contacting the sides maybe it's ok? But a fork on the glass turn table is still going to spark.. so really not sure what's special about the rack.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It's all about surface area and shape. You can put a metal spoon in a microwave but, not a fork.

 

[Newbian]

In my experience they do not last indefinitely. I've ripped the big old donut magnets out of several dead MWs. I find them very useful.

 

[Rumpltzer]

In my experience, microwaves do last forever, but you might not want one from the 80s. My mother used hers for over 20 years, but (1) it was huge (you could fit a medium-sized turnkey in it), (2) it took like 6 minutes to boil a coffee cup of water, and (3) it had no turntable and thus required you to manually rotate food after a few minutes.

A contemporary microwave is much smaller and much more powerful. A cup of water will be scalding hot in less than 2 minutes, and there's really no such thing as a microwave without a built-in turntable.

I know of one microwave that has gone bad at a friends place. It was part of a wall unit with a built-in oven above or below it, and it was going to cost quite a bit to replace the wall unit. I think that it ran fine but wouldn't heat. I replaced the capacitor ($22 shipped on ebay), and all was well again. It's run for 6 year now with no issue.

My 11 year old microwave runs fine about 5 times a week. No issues. The one before that ran for at least 10 years before I sold it to a friend when leaving grad school.

*shrug*

 

[Ken g6]

They don't always last forever. Had one die with a burning smell after some 20 years. I think it would have helped to make sure the vents on the back weren't clogged with dust. (I didn't even know it had vents on the back until it had failed.)

 

[balloonshark]

Coffee cups with gold writing are fun to watch in the microwave ()

 

[BoomerD]

We had one die about 4 years ago because it was run empty. Blew the overheat switch (or some such thing) inside.

 

[Rubycon]

Everything you want to know about radarranges and repairing them can be found here:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/micfaq.htm

 

[Muse]

Everything you want to know about radarranges and repairing them can be found here:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/micfaq.htm

Neat. Thanks for the link. The treatment is not dry, they have a sense of humor (well, maybe it's all Mr. Goldwasser's).

I haven't read beyond a few sentences yet, but I will say one thing. I don't fear leakage of MW radiation. It is something to consider if the thing's door seal isn't alright, but I do in general try to stand at least 4 feet from the thing while it's working. The EMF's are considerable when you are close and fall off by the inverse square rule. 4 feet is at the border of significant, and of course it's exposure time dependent how significant exposure to that magnetic field is. Yes, all that is "controversial." Still, I stand back.

I haven't kept score but I probably use my MW more than a dozen times a day. I reheat a cooled cup of coffee, leftovers etc.

 

[DrPizza]

I have a microwave from the 1960's in my classroom - it still works great. It's not digital - you turn the knob to set a timer, and push a button to start. "Ding!" when it's done.

I have a top of the line microwave from about 6 years ago - GE, stainless steel, above range. It's dead. I think it's the relay; haven't had a chance to tear it apart and start replacing parts until it works again. Pretty sure it's the relay though, without even opening it up. No familiar "click" sound when it turns on (or rather, doesn't).

 

[CZroe]

I've salvaged a couple by replacing internal fuses but I never had one die on me directly. If I ever see another bigger better microwave than mine by the dumpster I'm going to try to fix it too.

My mother used the same Samsung/Goldstar one from 1984 until around 2008 when she found a better one with nothing wrong with it other than a cigarette burn. It came with a fancy hardcover microwave cookbook she still has.

 

[mikeford]

Just a note, microwave ovens have power supplies that will kill you. Not a maybe, they are both high voltage and current so if you touch the wrong stuff you get a jolt that isn't anything like a tingle.

That said many fail for easy to fix reasons, often heat related.

 

[CZroe]

Just a note, microwave ovens have power supplies that will kill you. Not a maybe, they are both high voltage and current so if you touch the wrong stuff you get a jolt that isn't anything like a tingle.

That said many fail for easy to fix reasons, often heat related.

Yes. I treat it like opening a PSU or CRT.

 

[Muse]

I've salvaged a couple by replacing internal fuses but I never had one die on me directly. If I I see another bigger better microwave than mine by the dumpster and I'm going to try to fix it too.

My mother used the same Samsung/Goldstar one from 1984 until around 2008 when she found a better one with nothing wrong with it other than a cigarette burn. It came with a fancy hardcover microwave cookbook she still has.

I found my current MW on the curb some years back. I've brought home several MW castoffs. If nothing else, I can rip the magnet out of it. My current one I'd stashed in the garage because I had a working MW, but when that one went belly up I brought this one into service and it's served me very well for a number of years. I quite like it. I even contacted Sharp and they sent me the manual!

A few years ago I saw a mini-MW on the curb with a note saying it worked. It was too small for my kitchen usage and I contemplated whether I should bring it home and keep it upstairs for occasional reheating usage. I sometimes regret not having done so!

 

[MongGrel]

Coffee cups with gold writing are fun to watch in the microwave ()

Yeah, have a plate set with gold on it have tossed in there in the past, before the sparks started flying

Had an old MW from the 80's I brought with me when I moved here 25 years ago, thing weighed a ton and it finally did die.

Didn't really die i guess, was just way outdated.

The newer lighter ones are much more efficient of course.

Have a SHARP Carousel that came with the oven my Grandparents bought us for Christmas a years back that works very well.

 

[Rubycon]

Neat. Thanks for the link. The treatment is not dry, they have a sense of humor (well, maybe it's all Mr. Goldwasser's).

Sam's great. The laser FAQ is of particular interest.

 

[Imp]

The microwave I'm using is from the 80s. It replaced another microwave from the 80s that was bigger than I'd like. Near as I can tell, microwaves last forever.

All over the road in my experience. We had two "brand name" microwaves die within 2-3 years. One lasted way longer. Current one is over a year now.

Usually, it's the inside turning to shit that makes us want to buy a new one -- not a problem if you clean it regularly and don't treat it like shit, I guess.

 

[John Connor]

I have an above the oven unit and lately the POS's display has been acting up. Sometimes the display freezes and I have to unplug and plug it back in. Made by Hotpoint. I didn't install it, the previous home owner did. I would have never picked that brand. I hate to think what a bitch it will be for me to remove if the time comes.

 

[Sonikku]

I don't think I could do without the spinny turn table. Even if you turn the food every few minutes in those old ones, it just doesn't seem to work as well.

 

[Imp]

I don't think I could do without the spinny turn table. Even if you turn the food every few minutes in those old ones, it just doesn't seem to work as well.

I had some of those no-spinny ones at various work kitchens and didn't really notice a difference with the spinny one at home. Probably because I put it dead center and it essentially stayed in the same position...

 

[MongGrel]

I have an above the oven unit and lately the POS's display has been acting up. Sometimes the display freezes and I have to unplug and plug it back in. Made by Hotpoint. I didn't install it, the previous home owner did. I would have never picked that brand. I hate to think what a bitch it will be for me to remove if the time comes.

It's Cuba John.

They are jamming your microwave remotely.