Possed microwave?

[retro-man]

I have an Oster microwave. It is going on 3 years old. Strange thing is the clock which is digital never has kept correct time. It always gains time, usually about 6 minutes over a 3 month period. This weekend while using it, it has developed a quite audible noise, more like a dull roar. Much louder than it ever was before. The more it is used the louder it gets. I am getting very leery about using it. Anyone have any ideas what is going on. It may be time to replace it. Mother in law has same unit and no problems with hers and she uses hers much more on a daily basis than I do. I do understand that no 2 appliance are going to have the same life expectancy.

Jon

 

[dustin92]

I don't know what might be wrong with yours, but if you end up replacing it, we've had good luck with GE's. The first one was bought in 1992 when I was born and is still going strong (but has been moved downstairs) the display is getting pretty dim but oh well. The second one is from 2006 and is still going pretty well, the turntable makes some noise but doesn't seem to affect how it works.

 

[appnut]

I have an early 1990s Panasonic.  Mine begins making a rumbling or chattering noise after about 6-8 minutes.  It appears it's all dependent upon how much heat is generated inside the cavity from the food being cooked.  It sounds like it might be the fan that circulates air outside the machine.  Because of this, I don't use it as much for extended slow cooking of soups, sauces, and such as I have my previous microwaves.  But I hate to just get rid of it or toss it out.   I concur with Dustin about good experience with GE microwaves in the past.

 

[supersurgilator]

Osters are the WORST microwaves IMO. I work at a retail store and I cannot tell you how many of those things get returned. All for the same reason, they either don't heat up, spark inside, or trip breakers. We had one in our breakroom for a few months. One night we smelled a burning/hot wire smell and didn't know where it was coming from. Opened the door on the microwave and sure enough it reeked. They threw it out that night, and replaced with a different brand. Ironically that was the only microwave I have EVER used that cooked from the inside out, instead of the outside in. It would burn the outside of the food while the inside was still frozen.

That said we have had great luck with Sharp. Our old one was 20 years old when it finally quit. Both my grandparents have had Sharps as well for about that time and they are still working fine. We bought a new Sharp and it has been wonderful, except the one we have doesn't turn on the light when you open the door.

 

[retro-man]

Thanks for the replies. I believe it is time for this one to become history. This is in a weekend place and I don't want to have it shorting out while I am not there, nor while I am there using it or sleeping. Will look for a sharp. I have one in this house and it works great with no issues and it is going on 5-7 years now.

Jon

 

[arbilab]

"Oster" "microwave"? Think about that for a second. That's long enough.

 

[askolover]

I second the Sharp

My Grandmother, my Mother, and I have all used Sharp microwaves and we've all had great luck with them.  My current one is the convection microwave.

 

[revvinkevin]

I second - Panasonic (Sharp is really good too)

 

 

I have an 1100 watt Panasonic with "Inverter" technology.   It was in the house (brand new) when I bought the house 16 years ago and has been going strong (daily use) even since.  The only "issue" is the interior light finally burned out about 2 months ago, but other than that, it's worked flawlessly.

Kevin

 

[kb0nes]

I Third Panasonic

For an inexpensive countertop unit the Panasonic Inverter models are pretty amazing performers for the price.

I repaired the inverter in one about 3 years ago that died after about 10 years of use. Its still going strong today and it gets a ton of run time! Link is to the repair thread for a look under the hood:

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?43694

The older models had occasional inverter blowups. Newer models have an improved inverter and better cooling so the failures should be less frequent now. Panasonic sells a kit with the new inverter and a up-rated fan to repair the older ones that have failed.

 

[gefilterflo]

Sharp

We had a Sharp for about 12 years until we got an over the range model about ten years ago. The replacement Goldstar still works though I don't know what LG's quality is of late.

 

[appnut]

Panasonic with Inverter

Phil, it's good to know the quality has improved.  I bought a 2.2 cu. ft. Inverter Panasonic about 8-10 years ago.  It got heavy, extensive use--having only one 8" burner on my stove, the Panasonic was used for simmering various pasta sauces and soups and similar such things.  About 2 or 3 years ago, it began making buzzing noises as if something electrical was shorting out--plus the light would dim and would have an odor to it also.  So I took it to a place that accepted old recyclable electronics to be disposed of.  I'm using an about 20+ year old Panasonic that had been sitting in friends' garage.  I can use it for about 6 minutes and when heat from stuff cooking heats up the interior, it begins to make this rumbling noise as if the ventilation fan or a stirrer is rubbing against something.  I'm afraid to use it much after it gets to that point, so it's not used as much as I need it.  I've been toying with the idea of getting another 2.2 cu. ft. microwave again--GE considered but I'll add Panasonic back on the consideration list. 

 

[kb0nes]

Bob - Not sure that the "quality" has increased with the modern Panasonics, more like they have improved the design. The later models don't seem as heavy or well build as the 10-15 year old ones. Then again just because its heavier doesn't mean it will last longer or work any better.

I wonder if the Inverter in your old oven was arcing, that could explain the noise and perhaps a smell of ozone. Shame you recycled it but water under the bridge at this point.

So is the new oven an Inverter model also or is it heavy like it has a big transformer in it? The one thing I would be cautious of with the inverter models is to be sure that the cooling fan is running freely. Without sufficient airflow across the (too small?) heatsink the inverter won't last long. I'm sure this is why Panasonic uprated the blower as part of their repair kit.

If your oven isn't an inverter model then the fan isn't as critical, but it still cools the magnetron so its not unimportant either.

 

[appnut]

Phil, no I've not purchased a new one yet.  Just kind of "thinking out loud" with what you posted previously.  There's no one around here to service appliances like this so that's why I sent it to be disposed of.  I imagined it was something electrical (possibly arcing) as the light would initially8 dim once start was pushed for abut 4 seconds then be normal illumination level.  I was too concerned about a fire safety issue to keep using it.  When I do purchase a new one, I have been on the fence as to whether I'd get a new one with inverter technology or not.  In my research, I discovered GE sources one model from Panasonic (obviously) because it proudly displays it uses inverter technology.  I figured Panasonic would keep that technology excvlusively to themselves.

 

[retro-man]

Purchased a new Sharp microwave yesterday. Stainless front and just about the right size to fit into the shelf. Looked at GE's and Panasonic Inverters. Liked the Panasonic but the door was hard to close, and the thing was huge. Much larger than I wanted or needed. The new Sharp has some interesting features like auto soften buttons for butter and ice cream. Its still in the box. Needs to be transported down unboxed and put into place after the Oster gets brought down to the dumpster. Hopefully it did not short out and cause problems while I was gone. Have not heard from building super, so I guess all is well. Thanks for the info and recommendations.

Jon

 

[retro-man]

The Oster is in the dumpster and the new Sharp is in it place. It was a little taller than the previous unit. Had to move a shelf up a bit to fit it in. New features and buttons. Since when have they moved the zero on the panel from the bottom to the middle right of the buttons? A little hard to see all the buttons and the writing on it, white on grey background and very small print. Other than that it works very well. One thing that I noticed immediately is how quite this is compared to any other microwave I have used. You barely can hear that this is running. Hopefully this is a long lasting one.

Jon

 

[supersurgilator]

Jon, I also noticed how much quiet our new Sharp is compared to the old one. Appnut, any way you can post a pic of the 20+ Panasonic that you are using now?

 

[appnut]

I don't have a way to get photos on here any longer. 

 

[retro-man]

Well so much for Sharp

This one didn't last long. Sharp was worse than the Oster that got replaced. This one lasted 7 months. Now this is at the weekend home and does not get used much. Was using it last night and notice that it was not heating the food that much. Went back into kitchen to reheat and no lights bells or whistles. Dead. Checked circuit breakers and plugs. Nothing. Sat back down to eat and heard it start up by itself. What the heck. Unplugged it packed it back in box. So now the search is on again. Checked a number of web sites and they are getting terrible feedback on their units. A lot of problems with them turning on by themselves and shorting out. I am getting tired of not getting any amount of time out of supposedly quality built appliances.

Jon

 

[kb0nes]

I still recommend the Panasonic. The unit I wrote about in reply #8 is still hauling the mail day in and day out. I bet that oven gets a minimum of 1-2 hours use weekly.

The other day I watched Annette's mom break up 3 pounds of bacon and cook batch after batch, one after the other without a break. I told her she was clearly trying to kill the appliance.

One day I will ditch the KitchenAid OTR microwave we have now. I'll likely put a Panasonic on a cart in the corner.