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Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

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Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#71

Post by exitb »

cenamus wrote: post #46
r00fus wrote: post #10

I migrated our house to a "commercial" variant of the microwave oven [1] as I was tired of all the over-engineering and annoying patterns in modern microwaves. This microwave has exactly UI element other than the door - a digital dial that goes from 10s-6m. No start/cancel, no power level, no defrost, no program mode. I don't "cook" using the oven, only reheat or very rarely heat/boil small quantities of water. The m…

"Dumb" microwaves (knob for modes, big knob with mechanical winding spring for the time) in general easily last over 20 years, we had to dispose of ours only because the plastic became disgusting from standing in a sunny spot for all its life

I've bought a dumb microwave and it stopped working after a bit over two years (conveniently). I replaced it with a fancier model, with an inverter, and it's been working for about four years now. It probably won't work for 20 years, but maybe it will survive long enough to justify its higher price (3x).

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#72

Post by beAbU »

extraduder_ire wrote: post #18
goda90 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is, the superior way to reheat something would usually be a lower power level. But not the standard "turn on - turn off" cycle that most microwaves do. Actual lower intensity microwaves. You need an inverter for that. The food would heat more evenly, which is especially useful for things like butter that are prone to splattering.

I bought a microwave a couple of months ago, and found it impossible to determine which if any of the cheaper ones were inverter microwaves, or if they just used duty cycle power control. I assume that distinction is only made with higher-end microwaves. In the end I went with the model that looked to have the simplest design and least things to break.

Pick it up, non inverter models will be really heavy on the control panel side.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#73

Post by beAbU »

leokennis wrote: post #64
r00fus wrote: post #10

I migrated our house to a "commercial" variant of the microwave oven [1] as I was tired of all the over-engineering and annoying patterns in modern microwaves. This microwave has exactly UI element other than the door - a digital dial that goes from 10s-6m. No start/cancel, no power level, no defrost, no program mode. I don't "cook" using the oven, only reheat or very rarely heat/boil small quantities of water. The m…

Maybe a dumb question, but why do consumer microwaves have all these power settings (600W, 800W, 1000W) if apparently they are useless? I don't really know how microwaving works on a physical level - do I achieve the same effect by microwaving something for 30 seconds at 1000W or 1 minute at 500W?

Who said theyre useless?

Lower power levels are great when heating things that are prone to boil over. The pause between heating cycles gives time for the heat to "soak" into the interior of the food, avoiding excessive heating on the outside.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#74

Post by foobarian »

rdtsc wrote: post #48
Rinzler89 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The lack of give-a-shit in appliances is becoming apparent. Because most budget name brand kitchen appliances are just rebadged Haier/Midea OEM designs. I know HN has a hate boner for Samsung and LG appliances but for me they seem to be the most trustworthy budget appliances since at least they have their own designs instead of rebadging Chinese OEM ones like the rest. Sure, if you have money you can go with a reput…

I have a lower end Samsung that “started” after I opened the door. I hope it was just the fan and lights like the article mentioned. But it scared the heck out of me.

My Samsung microwave works fine but the LED display doesn't glow any more. It's infuriating.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#75

Post by jajko »

HPsquared wrote: post #55
r00fus wrote: post #10

I migrated our house to a "commercial" variant of the microwave oven [1] as I was tired of all the over-engineering and annoying patterns in modern microwaves. This microwave has exactly UI element other than the door - a digital dial that goes from 10s-6m. No start/cancel, no power level, no defrost, no program mode. I don't "cook" using the oven, only reheat or very rarely heat/boil small quantities of water. The m…

A good example of "pay more, get less" being actually nice. Porsche does this with special stripped-out models that cost more (less unnecessary stuff, less weight). Similar thing here, "simplify and add lightness".

Well, they use also tons of carbon instead of iron/aluminum to lower weight, so that price may be justifiable. Maybe.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#77

Post by cruano »

jajko wrote: post #75
HPsquared wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good example of "pay more, get less" being actually nice. Porsche does this with special stripped-out models that cost more (less unnecessary stuff, less weight). Similar thing here, "simplify and add lightness".

Well, they use also tons of carbon instead of iron/aluminum to lower weight, so that price may be justifiable. Maybe.

Well sometimes yeah, and then there is the nylon strap instead of a handle on the door for your $300K car.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#78

Post by ajb »

Nice investigation!

My 25 year old microwave is really solid, except for the lamp, which has blown. It's an old bulb so it should be replaceable - except that physically there's no way to do it without unscrewing the magnetron, which is well into scary territory - you need to basically re-qualify it after reassembly by scanning for leaks with a professional instrument. I don't want to throw it away because it still works, but fixing the lamp would cost more than buying a new one.

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#79

Post by HPsquared »

jajko wrote: post #75
HPsquared wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good example of "pay more, get less" being actually nice. Porsche does this with special stripped-out models that cost more (less unnecessary stuff, less weight). Similar thing here, "simplify and add lightness".

Well, they use also tons of carbon instead of iron/aluminum to lower weight, so that price may be justifiable. Maybe.

That's "add lightness".

Re: Microwave spontaneously turned on by its LED display

#80

Post by pantulis »

> "I’m quite impressed by how many independent mechanisms there are to prevent the magnetron from accidentally turning on. "

Ok, I've never been really fond of microwave ovens so I don't use mine that much. After reading this I am starting to fear my microwave, definitely.

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