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Why every microwave sucks these days

moth.monster

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Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#391

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

smaudet wrote: post #208
eduction wrote: post #68

This is like a textbook example of Louis CK’s adage “everything is amazing and nobody’s happy.” Microwaves are great. Amazon will have a Farberware or RCA for $70 to my home in two days - including shipping! What exactly is the problem? No one has ever used them to do anything other than heat things up. I was a child of the 80s. No one ever used these supposed features the post complains are disappearing. Instant Pot…

I don't think you read the article and are probably new at life, or just out of touch. Microwaves should last for decades, this is the same type of thing that you may have heard your parents complain about "I had a can opener that I got from my mother and it just broke, the five new ones I bought same price all broke within a year". There is really nothing complex about one. It's a timer connected to some voltage equ…

First soviet microwaves appeared toward the very end of the USSR, they cost 3 monthly salaries and weighted 40 kg.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#392

Post by starky »

da768 wrote: post #14

Got a Breville recently, seemed like the only units that weren't the same as every others out there... Not sure it's more durable, but at least it's super quiet, I can mute beep sounds, I can change time and power while food is cooking, and it's got a stainless interior so there's no cheap paint that'll start falling off after a few months.

I just about got one of those about a year ago until I ran into a ton of complaints about the door latches breaking and them refusing to provide replacement parts to fix them.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#393

Post by theshrike79 »

eekwatersrising wrote: post #349
dagw wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but 10-15 seconds vs 30 seconds is a huge difference in some cases. 15 seconds will take butter from fridge temp to room temp. 30 seconds will take butter from fridge temp to melted.

And 33 seconds is boiling molten lava . I love how microwaves work, there’s a real art to it. 25 seconds , everything is cold but 40 seconds is boiling. 25x2 seconds , with a very short break in between the two, is not equal to 50 seconds. Making these numbers “up” but anyone who has used a microwave with skill and attention will understand me. Also, free tips: 1- put a moist paper towel over pizza and bread to keep…

This is especially true when heating soups or similar things.

1x120 seconds means it's completely cold in the middle, but molten lava at the sides and even the dish is too hot to touch.

1x30-45 seconds, mix with spoon, 1x30-45 seconds and it's just right.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#394

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

diziet wrote: post #229

I've used around 15 different microwave ovens consistently though my live, from cheap to relatively expensive ones, between homes I've lived in, apartments I've rented and offices we've furnished. Each one lasted at least 3 years, with some lasting over 10 without any problems. I've had vastly different experiences than the author.

But did you have a top HN submission with record number of comments? Rage is the recipe of social media success.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#395

Post by aequitas »

starky wrote: post #389
appplication wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had a less technologically forward gripe with microwaves. The start button should not exist. Number pads should not exist. There should really only be one main button that you press: “quick cook/add 30” that auto starts it. No one has a valid use case for setting their microwave to run for 1:37. Multiples of 30 are all the granularity you need. Some companies get this right but others it’s astounding how many…

But there are plenty of applications where you only only need a few seconds (e.g. softening butter). I've seen a good application of this with a Panasonic microwave where it has a knob that starts by adding single seconds, and progressively increases the amount of time between notches on the dial as the time increases. That said, I hate the style, since punching in the numbers is quicker and requires less attention.

If you just need to cook a few seconds, stand next to it and open the door to stop it. It takes more time fiddling with the control to select just the right amount of seconds than it takes to actually cook for those amount of seconds, so your time is wasted anyways.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#396

Post by aequitas »

crazygringo wrote: post #310

There's a big innovation I'm looking for in microwaves and I simply do not understand why nobody sells it yet: An interior IR sensor/camera that will cycle/adjust power until my food is fully cooked to a certain temperature but not above it. I don't want to pick a duration and I don't want to pick power levels and I don't want hot spots and I don't want to have to check the food every 30 seconds or 3 minutes or whate…

Technology connections made a video about this a few years ago, apparently microwave technology already peaked in the 90's, but it never caught on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiS27feX8o0

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#397

Post by fuzzfactor »

sytelus wrote: post #116
udia wrote: post #45

Instant Pot died primarily due to private equity greed, not because of Instant Pot reliability. In 2017, Cornell Capital bought the company for a total $500M of which $300M was financed by debt. Then 4 years later in 2021, it refinanced and added on debt, bringing the total debt to $535M. $245M was immediately paid out to shareholders as a dividend. Cornell Capital got paid back all the cash it invested in the compan…

Wow... I have heard this story so many times. Question is how do you get $300M debt which probably everyone involved knew that it would be written off in short order?

When big money changes hands, at least one person on each end gets a bonus of some kind.

When it's $300 million the bonuses can be kind of sizable, so everyone else including the shareholders, be damned.

The shareholders don't find out until it's too late.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#398

Post by jjeaff »

emchammer wrote: post #29
ForkMeOnTinder wrote: post #11

As a chronic comparison shopper, this is a first-world problem that's near and dear to my heart. I think the reason microwaves (and appliances in general) suck is because comparison shopping is so hard. I wish I could get a list of all microwaves and filter by criteria such as: - Does the +30 seconds button start cooking immediately, or do you have to also press "start" afterwards? - Does it beep every 30 seconds aft…

I could do without the clock. How about if I do not set a time on the clock, then do not display 12:00 or anything when not in use.

I bought a Forte brand microwave on Amazon. (I've never heard of the brand). But it has been a good microwave so far. and I was happy to notice that when the clock is not set, the screen just stays blank rather than a blinking 12:00.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#399

Post by arkano »

JohnFen wrote: post #351
crazygringo wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In case it helps, I've run into the same types of problems frequently, and YouTube reviews are a godsend. Random people actually film themselves unboxing and using the product, and you can watch what buttons they have to press, etc. Also you can virtually always download the manual as a PDF. Of course that's not a list, and it takes a lot of work. It's deeply unfortunate -- somebody like Amazon could actually impleme…

> somebody like Amazon could actually implement the kind of comparison matrix you're talking about Would that be valuable, though? Could Amazon do this in a useful and non-manipulative way? I have doubts.

It would be valuable if the filtering conditions are up to the user.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#400

Post by jjeaff »

stvltvs wrote: post #276
toast0 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, my parents have an upside down ceramic pie dish permanently in the microwave which raises the food to be heated up into what seems to be a more favorable area for heating. Before we got that in there, you'd have to do a lot of short bursts and mix / rotate, which is tedious especially when there was about two seconds of off time when starting...

Before they were integrated into the microwave, you could buy third-party turntables.

they still make them, although this one seems to be out of stock on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Microwave-Micro-Go-Round-...

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