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Why every microwave sucks these days

moth.monster

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Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#401

Post by jackson1way »

I was a bit shocked reading all these comments, because many reflect exactly the issues I had with microwaves and I always thought I'm alone with that. When we moved in 2019 I had to buy a new one, living in Germany, you would usually go with BOSCH or SIEMENS, but at that time, all their models below 100 EUR looked almost identical! And of course had a loud beeping that you couldn't disable and generally looked low-quality. It took me quite a bit to find a decent microwave for around 100 EUR. It's a Samsung! A brand that in Germany is not used for kitchen appliances at all. Just TVs/phones etc. The exact model: Samsung MS23K3515AW/EG (not available on amazon.de anymore) There is a bit of a hit: The beeping returns on power loss. And you have to press 2 buttons for 3sec to disable it again, took me a while to remember them, since we have power loss only like once a year. I guess you could do a small sticker with the instructions. I count the "beeping off" not as a "great feature" - it's just common sense to me. But there is a great feature: the "endless wheel dial" to precisely set the timer in 10sec intervals! That thing is awesome. It's very smooth to turn, but has small clicks for each 10sec interval AND you can use it WHILE the microwave is already running, for example when your wife tells you "but the food has been out of the fridge since 30min" - so you go 10-20sec less. Pressing the START button immidiatly starts the microwave with a 30sec runtime. Press it again and you add 30sec or just use the "wheel dial".

Wanna heat up a cup of milk from the fridge? 70sec. Only half a cup? 40sec. Wife wants the milk extra hot? 80sec. Milk wasn't in the fridge? Minus 10-20sec - and so on. For families it's really useful.

It's 4 years old now and used 10 times a days, and runs still fine. It's a bit loud and the glass is very dark so you can't peek inside (probably the biggest disadvantage).

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#402

Post by MaxikCZ »

Baeocystin wrote: post #179
Waterluvian wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want a microwave with an analog dial for time and a switch for low, med, high. They can keep the computer.

Decades ago, my college microwave was an ~800 watt unit that had a large, analog dial, and an actual bell that dinged once (and only once) when it was done. That's it, no other settings. Zero displays, other than the pointer on the dial as it clicked down. I still miss it.

I have one just like it, and the best part is that I just leave the timer wheel set to max, and turn the microwave off by opening doors. I keep the doors just barely open all the time, woth benefit of it starting the moment I close the doors after putting a plate in.

The only button I ever pressed on it is to open doors (mechanical), and once in a while I turn the timer to max (when I notice).

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#403

Post by MaxikCZ »

bambax wrote: post #212
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…

> comparison shopping is so hard Yes, but it's much worse than it needs to be. When searching for hard disks on Amazon, if you search for "hard disk 8 tb" for example, Amazon will suggest the following criteria on the left side of the page: Hard Disk Size 4 TB & Above 3 TB 2 TB 1 TB 501 to 999 GB 321 to 500 GB 121 to 320 GB Up to 80 GB Really? What is the point of this? How can it not do better?

Thats the reason I just ignore amazon. When, once in a while, I search for something on amazon, it just returns pages of related things. Its worse than Youtube search. They can keep it.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#404

Post by drcongo »

da768 wrote: post #339
drcongo wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you in Australia? Breville in Aus is a different brand to Breville here in the UK (and possibly other places). UK Breville is mostly known for sandwich toasters and fairly cheap commodity kitchen appliances, Aussie Breville seems like a fairly high quality brand, especially with their espresso machines (which are sold over here under the brand name Sage - I have one and love it).

Huh I see that... We get the Australian Breville brand in North America, and while we don't get their full product offering, it's a lot better than what I see on the Sage website. Domestic brands over here aren't even trying. Build quality is subpar on everything manufactured on the continent, but thankfully designs are pretty simple and parts are readily available. Our only choice on larger appliances is basically M…

Ah interesting. Be thankful you don't get the UK Breville range!

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#405

Post by Tostino »

stevage wrote: post #367
graywh wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but power levels are amazing for reheating (around 50%) and defrosting (around 25%) and I would argue these are two of the major reasons to use a microwave

Does cooking for 4 minutes at 50% really yield a significant difference to compared to 2 minutes at 100% then waiting 2 minutes? I'm curious.

Yes, it's a massive difference.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#406

Post by namlem »

appplication wrote: post #319
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…

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…

I've used a microwave like this an I hated it. I like to put precise times into my microwave.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#407

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

Zarel wrote: post #345
SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I'm not sure you can really make a knob that works accurately for both 30 seconds and 30 minutes. Not terribly difficult. An encoder and software to handle "acceleration". Move the knob slowly, and it steps by a small amount (say, 30s). Move the knob quickly, and it jumps by more per degree of change. My main camera lens's focus works like this, and it's great. This does require care in implementation, getting…

Yes, most microwaves with dials do in fact work like this. Compare the the distance between 0 and 1 with the distance between 5 and 6 on this microwave: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NE-1025F-Silver-Commercial-...

That's a bit different, it's got graduations on the knob. I'm thinking of a pure encoder-based system, where the absolute position doesn't matter but the change in position (and rate of change of position) do. Think like a mouse scroll wheel, but with acceleration.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#408

Post by WirelessGigabit »

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…

Can I press 1-9 just do get 1-9 minutes.

My current one is:

Press cook time, 1, 0, 0, start. Too long.

So for 1 minute it is faster to do +30, +30, as that immediately starts.

Re: Why every microwave sucks these days

#410

Post by quacker »

huytersd wrote: post #170

What is this article? It doesn’t even mention why microwaves suck besides handwavyly saying they break in a year (not my experience).

Yeah, of all the appliances in my own home, the microwave is the one I never complain about. I press the +30s button a few times, and the food is hot after a minute or two.

Yes, there are ten other buttons I never use. Yes, they could conceivably be “better” in small ways. Yes, modern ones can break like every other appliance does, but the ones from the 80s and 90s broke, too.

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