Microwaves

[zoomzoom]

I've given up on nice microwaves. They just don't last. If you get 5 years out of one, then you're doing good. I now buy $125 microwaves, and I've found that they last as long as the $300 ones. I've tried many different brands, and I believe Kenmore has been my fav.

Don't give up.
When I go to buy an appliance or TV or whatever, I get the "lifespan is about 4-6 year" talk.
Most of the time, those appliances last for many years after that. I hope I didn't jinx myself.

 

[JAC]

 

[Peanut]

Unless you are waiting on popcorn...

 

[Peanut]

Well, I managed to get 2 more years of use out of my GE, 19yrs total. I think I got my money’s worth.

For lunch I put red potatoes that had been cooked in butter on a plate. Added a helping of cabbage and some cornbread. The start button on the microwave had stopped functioning, crap! I finally lost the most important keypad button.

So everything went in the air fryer. At least I got the congealed grease melted…

I spent an hour researching current models and prices at various stores in the big town. I checked a dozen “Review” website. Toshiba brand was near the top of several lists.

This evening wm was a mad house. I didn’t even go in the store. Across the road was low/es.

I got a Toshiba, 1.1cu. ft. 1000 watts. My old one was about the same size but at 1100 watts. The price was reasonable at $119. I read the manual and ran some basic function tests, checked okay.

I wanted another 1100 watt but only the full size models at 1.6cu. ft.+ had more power. I don’t need one that large.

 

[Caribou]

If you can wait till after Christmas there should be some good sales.

 

[Peanut]

lol I thought that very thing... but... I use a microwave almost everyday. Jan. sales were too far away.

 

[LadyLocust]

The only thing I ever used the micro for was melting butter and heating my footwarmer before bed in winter. Where we are now, we don't have a micro or a dishwasher - doubt we ever will again. Also, when our dryer goes to appliance heaven, won't replace it either. Between those three things, that's a lot of real estate (space) in the house. As far as sales, they often go on sale at back to school time. Otherwise, I would say just stick with a common brand that you can get filters for if it has changeable ones.

 

[dademoss]

The only thing I ever used the micro for was melting butter and heating my footwarmer before bed in winter.

Off topic, but I wish my DW Lori read this, she uses me as her foot warmer

 

[Morgan101]

We have Kitchen Aid microwave. Seems to work fine, and we use it several times a day.

 

[viking]

Not that long ago we replaced our 26 year old Kitchen Aid microwave/convection oven with a new Z-Line microwave/ convection oven, I miss the ease of operation the Kitchen Aid had. We looked for a new model Kitchen Aid to replace the old one, however, at the time we needed to get one, we couldn't find one and that's when we came across the Z-Line, it's much bigger inside and also has a high velocity exhaust fan like the old Kitchen Aid had, it's just a bit trickier to use and when running the convection oven the fan automatically comes on so we have to open a window or it sucks smoke out of the wood stove. A real plus for the Z-Line is that it has an all metal door frame, The plastic door frame on the Kitchen Aid was one of the problems it had, it cracked near the hinge area. It's next to impossible to escape any appliance that isn't made in China anymore, let alone that I just read China bought Volvo which produces the EV Polestar, yeah, were way past being up the proverbial sh!t creek. At one time, over the past years, Kitchen Aid was a top of the line hem product, we also have two refrigerators that are Kitchen Aid and they are well made and use very little current, we've ran both of them off of our solar backup system with a total of a little over 13 amps draw down when both were running as well as a few other things in the home at the same time.

 

[Rebecca]

Or you could be like @LadyLocust and myself..and just not have a microwave lol.
My personal reasons are it is a waste of space, electricity and money.
And after over 4 years of not having a microwave I see absolutely no compelling reason to ever get one again.

 

[viking]

Our microwave doesn't get used all that much, we bought the unit mainly for the convection oven as our propane powered stove has computer issues and sets off an alarm any time we go to use the oven, eventually I'll try and fix the problem so we can use the oven, it may be bad contacts on the temp controller cannon plug, at least that's one of the answers I got when I asked the factory tech by e-mail.

 

[Haertig]

We use our microwave frequently. Not so much for cooking, but for other tasks. It's great for re-heating leftovers though. The kind of things we "cook" in there are stuff like Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (to go along with the grilled cheese sandwiches I'm making on the stovetop). Popcorn, for when I'm too lazy to pull out the kettle cooker. And frozen vege side dishes (corn, green peas, etc.)

 

[Peanut]

Well, I used my new microwave a couple times now. Not impressed with the power but all the buttons work.

I only use it to warm up left overs and it was cheap. It'll do!

 

[Spikedriver]

I have a big G.E. I have no idea how old it is or how much wattage it has because I got it second hand, sometime before the middle of 2010. I only know that because my ex and I were still together when the old one died. I don't even know where this one came from to be honest, a garage sale or second hand store, who knows. I do know that it has a lot of freaking power - a bag of popcorn is supposed to take around 3 minutes, but this thing will pop the whole bag in 1:35. It sounds like it's about to detonate when it's running too...

 

[backlash]

My daughter still has the first microwave oven I bought. I bought it in 1983. It weighs a ton. I bought a microwave and a VCR at the same time and they cost me $2100. I think I got them at Sears but I'm not sure.
We use a microwave to heat vegies, my wife reheats coffee, cook soup, TV dinners, I use it mostly to soften butter for toast.
Since we got our air fryer I use that more than anything. Any finger food like burritos, breaded shrimp, chimichangas, chicken wings, and left over pizza, etc. go in the air fryer.

 

[Peanut]

I'm still not happy with this new one. It's 997w, roughly 10% less than the old one. Which would be noticeable but according to reviews there were several complaints about low power for this model. This one might be putting out 9.2/9.3 at the most.

My old one was actually closer to 1200w. It ran on the hot side, at 1:20min that 2min bag of popcorn was about to burn. Had to have my finger on the door release (stop button stopped working)

In reality I lost around 25% in power. I searched for 11 and 1200w units. The only ones I found were larger, like jumbo or family size. I don't have very much counter space and don't plan on cooking a roast. Oh, well!

 

[Terri9630]

Or you could be like @LadyLocust and myself..and just not have a microwave lol.
My personal reasons are it is a waste of space, electricity and money.
And after over 4 years of not having a microwave I see absolutely no compelling reason to ever get one again.

 

[DrHenley]

We bought an Amana when we got married. My wife keeps wanting a new microwave, I don't know why. I ask her "Why do you want a microwave made in China? We have one made in the U.S.A. which you CAN'T GET ANYMORE, and it still works fine after almost 40 years of daily use."
Some people just want new stuff for some reason.

 

[viking]

We bought an Amana when we got married. My wife keeps wanting a new microwave, I don't know why. I ask her "Why do you want a microwave made in China? We have one made in the U.S.A. which you CAN'T GET ANYMORE, and it still works fine after almost 40 years of daily use."
Some people just want new stuff for some reason.

It's probably just like having an old car for many years, it's out of style, it doesn't look nice and shiny anymore. I know what Amana you are talking about, they were built like a tank and never broke down.

 

[Tootsie]

We too had an Amana, probably 25 years or more on the first one. When it finally died, we found another just like it on Craigslist and got several years use on it. We were lucky that someone didn’t want that heavy old thing, but a nice, new light disposable thing.
That was replaced by a commercial unit, also an Amana. Probably 5 years old now, and we’re happy with it in all ways.
Maybe options are better looking online than what’s available at a box store?
Can’t remember now the price, probably a bit more, but it’s stainless and seems durable. The box was damaged on delivery. Small dent on the side. Company knocked off like 15% when we sent a photo of the damage. The ding is to the back and doesn’t affect anything.

 

[Peanut]

Update... after using my new one for a month I have to say I like it. It meets my requirements. Longer cook time was an adjustment but I have to say I don't mind. Because my old one ran hot I always hovered nearby. This one I can turn on and forget. I don't have to worry about burning something. I got a Toshiba, stands 12in high, 18wide.