Arcing in Microwave

[gadgetgary]

Here is a pic of the inside of my sister's Panasonic microwave.

She placed a Corelle dish with some bacon on it and put it in the micro and 10 seconds later, saw a flash and below are the results. The built-in microwave is about 1 yr. old and is vented directly to the outside.

She placed a call to Panasonic and got the 'runaround'. One final decision was that they were shipping her a box so that she could pack the micro and send it back to the company. She stated that in no uncertain terms was she taking the micro off the wall and shipping it back to them, leaving a hole to the outside.

The representative then told her to take a pic of the affected area and he would make an evaluation whether the company would replace the microwave. After all, the unit is just over 1 yr old. The affected areas go thru the plastic interior. Is there any danger in still using the micro?

I took the pic yesterday and emailed it to the company. We are still awaiting the decision.

 

[toggleswitch]

ZAP!

Freaky. One would almost be tempted to venture to say the bacon or plate were metallic..............

At the current low cost of these products I personally would not chance it with m-wave energy.

 

[maytagbear]

Gary-

Unless the walls themselves have been breached, this is just cosmetic damage. Unsightly, but not unsafe.

Bet you a dollar that is what Panasonic will say.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[whirlcool]

Some early Corelle cookware was not recommended for Microwave cooking, but the later stuff is ok. Later than say 1986 or so.

 

[DADoES]

Not all ceramic items are micro-safe. I have a bowl or two that don't have any obvious metallic trim, but they do get hot, hotter than the food in them.

 

[exploder3211]

I wouldn;t use it but then again i would be afraid it might blow up... LoL

 

[neptunebob]

I wouldn't worry about the oven blowing up, if anything blows up it would be the food one is cooking. The sparking just damaged the paint, it looks worse than it is. They did a lot of microwave arcing with compact discs on Mythbusters and the ovens still worked afterwards. They also tested "super heating" a cup of water and the water did have a steam explosion when touched. Now do you watch Mythbusters?

 

[bobbins]

I use to service microwaves in the 80's and early 90's..the main cause of arching was that the finish was worn off and fats/oils would get in the damage finish (special microwave paint fixed the problem)..sometimes the factory finish would be defective.....

I have this exact microwave and it is awesome!! The only problem is the touchpad cover plate numbers have all worn off and it is not a year old yet!

 

[bobbins]

oh yeah..I noticed the location of the arch...looks like the shelf damage the paint and when in contact to the metal wall...it will arch...this is why there are plastic clips to support the shelf..acts like conductors.. NOTE: Metal touching the microwave cabinet will arch and damage the paint...

 

[gadgetgary]

So tell me then.....

How do micro/convection ovens with SS interiors not manage to arc????

 

[exploder3211]

I still wouldn;t use it.... Guess i am too picky

 

[irishwashguy]

I like my vintage microwave

It never dies no matter what is thrown at it.Although, I think that if I tried to run it over with the car, it would do considerable damage.................to the car. The Micowave however, would still work just the same!
I hope that the Panisonic gets you fixed up. i bought a Panisonic for my mother, and it seems to be going strong after five years.
PS: the plates at my Mom's house are all Corelle and from the 1970's and she has used all of them in every mico we had growing up. i know I have a hand-made noodle bowl that I never put in the mirowave;it gets hotter than the food.

 

[petek]

Odd, are you sure it was Corelle and not Corning. The new Corningware isn't the same pyroceram the real stuff was. I think it's more like stoneware

 

[gadgetgary]

No go.....

Panasonic told my sister that the damage was caused by user error. The arcing was from the rack.

Bobbins: I understand that you used to repair microwaves. Where can I get some microwave paint?

 

[irishwashguy]

i took a look

It is Corelle.My mom bought the set in sept of 1977. When we bought a Micowave in 1983, we used them in there. i even had a friend from school that kidnapped one of the dishes from our house becuase theirs had trim that would not let them use it. They look identical to what I saw at Fred Meyer the other day.

 

[toggleswitch]

I am tempted to stay stick some eletrical tape over the hole /worn-out area for now.