Layout:
Home > I killed our microwave today

I killed our microwave today

December 1st, 2007 at 03:19 pm

I was making breakfast this morning and nuking some veggie bacon strips when there was a quick zzzt sound and the microwave went dark. Never a good sign. I immediately stopped what I was doing and headed downstairs because the last time our microwave blew out, it was because there was a short circuit in our circuit box and when I went downstairs to check, smoke was pouring out of the box.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case this time. The box was fine. The circuit was still on. Just the microwave was dead. I came back up and checked the oven, which is an all-in-one unit with the microwave, and it was still working. So we have one dead built-in microwave. I'm quite sure it isn't worth repairing as it is about 15 years old.

So I think we will be cleaning and rearranging our kitchen counters today to make a space for a countertop microwave. At least those aren't terribly expensive, but we've been hit with several unexpected bills lately that are starting to add up to a few thousand dollars. So be sure you keep that emergency fund fully funded.

11 Responses to “I killed our microwave today”

  1. Amber Says:
    1196530066

    microwaves are pretty reasonable now, good luck

  2. Aleta Says:
    1196530120

    Another point to consider is that after so many years, your microwave could have been leaking. The newer ones are more efficient. I'm personally just not that crazy about microwaves because of some articles that I've read about them. I do use it for small jobs but not for cooking for extended periods.

  3. Ima saver Says:
    1196533586

    We just use the cheap ones and get a new one every few years. My husband keeps one at his job too.

  4. disneysteve Says:
    1196539967

    Aleta - I don't think they are dangerous, but I agree that a new one will certainly be more energy efficient. We never really use ours for extended cooking. Mainly it gets used for thawing frozen stuff, warming sauces, defrosting bread or cooking heat and serve kinds of things (like the veggie bacon that takes 2 minutes).

  5. mackybethsmommy Says:
    1196543562

    Sounds like your micro blew a fuse. If your able to remove it from the casing there is a tiny fuse (usually on the top) that will blow sometimes. It's like a car's fuse, if you buy a pack of small fuses and use the same size to replace it. It's a cheap way to maybe get it working again.

  6. disneysteve Says:
    1196553416

    mackybethsmommy - I'll have to give that a try. Nothing to lose at this point. I'm certainly not paying a service guy $60 or more to come out and look at it.

  7. baselle Says:
    1196553702

    Yeah, that's the flip side about all-in-one appliances. So streamlined, so space saving. But when the individual components break down at different times...a nightmare.

  8. disneysteve Says:
    1196562558

    We didn't like it from day one, but that's what the previous owners did. It has worked just fine for 13-1/2 years now, so I really can't complain. I will definitely open the thing up this week and check for a fuse, though. It would be great if that's all that is wrong.

  9. jennlem Says:
    1196613240

    Funny, but the one time I killed a microwave was when I was cooking bacon also. Maybe there is a conspiracy between microwave makers and bacon companiesSmile

  10. disneysteve Says:
    1196636064

    mackybethsmommy - I hope you check back. I took your excellent advice and opened up the panel. Sure enough, the fuse was burned out. Off I went to Home Depot to buy a replacement. Naturally, you have to buy a 2-pack. Anyway, I installed it and put the power back on and the unit came back to life. However, I tried to run the microwave and the fuse blew out again, so the problem wasn't the fuse but rather whatever caused the fuse to blow. DW just remembered that a friend from our temple fixes appliances, so we're going to give him a call. He won't charge us a ridiculous fee to take care of the problem. At least I've got some more useful info to give him about what is wrong.

    Thanks again for the advice. For a moment, there, I thought the problem was solved but no such luck.

  11. mackybethsmommy Says:
    1196644402

    I hope it's just something else simple then. It's probably a surge happening with it and will be easy to fix. Glad to help...I just wish it would have been that simple. LOL

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]