Microwave side door gap, safe?

[edar444]

Bought a "Samsung MS23K3513AW" microwave. The doors close fine, but there's a noticeable gap on the left side of the door. See photos, where I put a sticky note through:

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Is it safe to use? I've seen 3 different units of this popular model and all of them had a gap of some size.

 

[Greenman]

Stick a piece of foil over the crack and see what happens. Big leak will make big sparks, little leak will do nothing and take years to kill you.

 

[mindless1]

Put a piece of bacon over the crack and see if it cooks.

Look on the inside of the door where it is parallel to the front face of the housing, is there a raised gasket or other material? If not, if there is a straight shot all the way into the microwave chamber, that could be a problem but it is likely that some gap at the door edge is deliberate and needed for hinge clearance when opening it.

You might look at some microwaves at a B&M showroom, especially same/similar models to see if they have a similar sized gap.

 

[pcgeek11]

You might look at some microwaves at a B&M showroom, especially same/similar models to see if they have a similar sized gap.

Is it safe to use? I've seen 3 different units of this popular model and all of them had a gap of some size.

 

[mindless1]

^ lol yeah but you have to keep someone working at it until they accept that microwave oven doors often have gaps at the hinge, like anything else with same hinge design.

I could get all extra-motivated and measure my oven gap. Or not.

AFAIK, microwave oven radiation has only killed me a couple times, not some alarmingly high #.

 

[edar444]

Stick a piece of foil over the crack and see what happens. Big leak will make big sparks, little leak will do nothing and take years to kill you.

I put a piece of bread over the crack and after 10 minutes microwaving it was only slightly crispier. So it's normal I guess?

 

[Paperdoc]

That looks a bit suspicious to me. In your photos 1 and 2, it appears that the gap at the bottom is wider that at the top, indicateing that the door was not mounted exactly straight. That MIGHT mean that the sealing sytem intended to prevent microwave leakage is not doing its job fully near the bottom. I suggest you contact Samsung to find a nearby warranty service provider who could inspect the unit using a microwave leakage detector to verify whether or not it is working properly and safely.

By the way, FYI, low-level microwave leakage normally does NOT cause any impact the average person would notice. The impact of such leakage is VERY small heating in human tissue. The real hazard is the impact on a very few sensitive human tissues, notably your eyes. Any microwave leakage tends to be as a beam, as opposed to a broad spray. But IF the beam happens to be aimed right at your eyes, there is some possibility of damage over time.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Run it and wave a CFL bulb around the edges see if it lights up. If not, try the same but with bare LEDs if you have any lying around. If none of them light up, you are PROBABLY good. The gap you see may just be the decorative plastic and not the actual internal faraday cage. If you can't get a piece of paper through it going inside the microwave you're probably ok. Another test might be to see if your wifi degrades while it's on as it operates at the same frequency. If your wifi does degrade then you do have a leak.

When you do run it make sure there's at least a glass of water in it or something. Be careful with the water after, obviously. It will be hot.