Microwave ovens

I have a Samsung over the range microwave that was manufactured in 2013, that has stopped heating. It came with my house, so I'm not the original owner and have no receipt, so no warranty. Is this a normal lifespan for this kind of microwave? And for replacement, are there good ones and bad ones, or is it just a crapshoot? I assume they are all made in a couple of factories (my Samsung was made in Malaysia).

I just bought one. After a fair amount of studying, I bought the cheapest one I could find and now consider it a disposable appliance.

It is a Samsung and Lowes had them on sale for $189. The only thing I see that more money gets you is a different name and more buttons. All I want it to do is get things hot and make popcorn.

That should not be a normal life span for a microwave. We've had good luck with Panasonic but I don't know what to tell you beyond that.

Have you replaced the fuse?

My parents gave us one for a wedding present, >30 years ago. O'Keefe & Merritt. We still use it every day.

Thanks guys! Seems like they are not as reliable as they used to be. I'll probably just go with cheap.

I'm not sure it has a fuse, but it functions the same as always, it just doesn't heat anything up.

We've had great luck with Panasonic. Not had any failures, just got new ones to match as we have changed appliance colors. No idea if they make over the range units or if the new ones are good.

I honestly have never heard of a microwave going bad. We have only replaced them for size or styling reasons. Weird.

The one that Drees put in our house in 2000 was probably the cheapest thing they could find because that's just how they roll. It lasted about 10-12 years before it exhibited the same behaviour you're describing. We replaced it with a nice stainless unit from Whirlpool and it's been fine for the last few years.

The one in the motorhome was installed by Winnebago/Itasca back in late '92. It's bounced down the road for just over 100,000 miles and is still working just fine.

Now that I say that, though, I think I just heard them both break...

Yeah, I had a really cheap one in my previous condo that lasted at least a decade and was still going when I moved (I left it for the new owners). Apparently this is most likely the "magnetron" (radiation source), seems like these go bad on Samsungs relatively often (although it's hard to tell for sure just by what's posted on the internet).

I haven't had one in nearly a decade and don't miss it a bit. My advice is don't replace it and enjoy never having to consume dried out food.

I bought a $30 one at Menard's 1.5 years ago. It's received steady daily use(we use it WAY more than the oven) and is still going.

I don't disagree with not having one, I mostly use it for heating up soup or defrosting chicken before cooking. So there's a convenience factor.

I'm thinking that I'm going to replace it with a hood and buy a cheap little microwave for on the counter so it's not such a pain to replace. And that will probably last forever.

Dr. Hess wrote: My parents gave us one for a wedding present, >30 years ago. O'Keefe & Merritt. We still use it every day.

I had my parents' wedding gift microwave all through my college years, I think it was either a GE or Panasonic from the mid 80s. Worked great and I was very sad to leave it behind due to space constraints. We then inhereted a similar unit with our new place last year and have been using it instead of the more modern microwave we brought with us.

Mine died last week after probably 15 years, same symptoms. Grandma got it when she moved into her apartment and I got it when she went to a nursing home. It's replacement is the same model, same age that my parents had. Even if this one is on borrowed time, every week it lasts is another paycheck not going towards a new one.

Funny. I am installing a microwave today after 5 years without one. For one simple reason.

There really is no easier way to steam corn tortillas. Toss a few in a ziploc bag, microwave for 20 seconds and let them sit for a minute. perfect every time.

Panasonic Inverter if the ridiculous levels of RFI the inverter kicks out won't be an issue.

I have my microwave since i went to college back in 2000. Its a Daewoo.

Of course since we got a pizza oven with a timer and temp setting, we use it for way more than pizzas and at least as much as the mic. Toss the take and bake loaves of bread in there, tater tots on some foil, pie tin full of steak, mushrooms and unions covered with aluminum foil. The list goes on. One thing i double cook (mic then pizza oven) is frozen egg rolls. If i use just the za oven, it got a bit to burnt on the outside before hot in the middle, but i probably try it again at a lower temp.

I think they are like every other appliance. Old ones were expensive, heavy, reliable, long lived and burn a lot of power. New ones, cheap, light, short lived and easy on power.

New junk probably winds up cheaper in the long run.

My Panasonic works well.

The LG in my kitchen has been there about 10 years now. We went through 4 different brands over the course of a year before getting this one.

I use my convection toaster over WAY more than the microwave or oven though, so it's mostly giant kitchen timer.

When my microwave dies, I take the magnets out of the electron gun. Wrap them in electrical tape so they don't shatter when you inevitably drop one, and they can hold the freaking yellow pages on your fridge.

3 years is pretty short lived for some microwaves, but for a cheap samsung that's about all you get. Countertop ones are just throw aways anyway, it's the fancier above-range ones that are sometimes worth fixing. They're all foreign made anyway for the most part.

Thanks guys! I'll see what Menards has when I go look for a range hood. I don't have the budget for a fancy one.

I used to pull the magnets out of the magnetrons when I serviced ships' RADAR. You want to talk about a magnet. Those were great. I should have kept a couple. Oh well.

I bought a mid-sized stainless steel clad Magic Chef microwave from wally world 3 years ago when we moved into the new place. Works fine, EXCEPT it beeps five friggin times when it times out and opening the door doesn't interrupt the beeping. That probably shouldn't bother me, but it does. Every other microwave I've owned/used at work stopped beeping when you open the door.