Microwave oven specs

aem said:

Top Spin wrote:
[snip]

Quoted message said:

We mostly use it for heating up water,
soups, etc. -- not major cooking.

When I shopped for a toaster oven recently I checked out the microwaves
as well. It seems to me that for your uses they have become such a
standardized commodity that price would drive your decision. I didn't
see any 'must have' features.

Except, our last one allowed you to turn off the end-of-cycle beeping,
which we did. Its replacement doesn't have that, and I wish it did.
But I wouldn't pay more money for it.

For under $100, you can get a nice Sharp turntable microwave; I've had
2 and been very happy with them (the first one I sold to a friend when
I moved, and it's still going strong).

sf <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I have a Sharp Half Pint microwave and I love it. It has
the controls on top, so it doesn't take up a lot of counter
space. I have always thought controls on the side were a
complete waste of space! Unfortunately, I guess not too
many other people agreed with me because I can't find it on
their web site.

I like this design (especially if the controls were on top)
and would take a closer look at it if I found it in a store.
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/TypeLanding/0,1056,184,00.html

If you want a built in... this looks very interesting!
http://www.sharpusa.com/products/ModelLanding/0,1058,1489,00.html

sf

I got a panasonic full sized combo microwave and convection
jobbie..."Dimension 4 The Genius" ...don't need a toaster oven as the
microwave can handle most toaster oven jobs easier. In fact because when
I got a new stove (convection oven), the combo mirowave does it share of
the holiday cooking. Since my stove convection oven is smaller and only
can handle either a large turkey or a large ham without being full. Last
Xmas the combo-microwave did the wild rice casserole and the green bean
casserole while the stove oven did the 28 lb turkey.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic 1AC 5.6mmol or 101mg/dl
Continuing to be Manitoban

In article <[email hidden]>,

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"Top Spin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our 25 year old microwave oven just died. I would appreciate
suggestions regarding brands or features to look for or avoid.

Cost is not a major factor.

I did like the turntable in the old one. It also had a temperature
probe, but we never used it. We mostly use it for heating up water,
soups, etc. -- not major cooking.

You are in for a surprise. For $80, you can get a ton of features and lots
of power. I bought a $79 model for our breakroom at work and it has far
more features that you could have bought for $400 about 15 y ears ago. As
for brands, most are made in the same few factories overseas. Pick one that
looks good and it will probably perform as well as any other on the market,
and far better than your old one.

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

Isaac

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared to the
1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

Inverter technology can sense cooking and adjust the time accordingly.
Better defrost cycles by weight or by time. Newer models tend to have more
even heat (wave) distribution than the older models. New ones even do
popcorn better. Most have a button just for that as it is a very popular
thing.

Your 30 year old car will still get you to and from work every day, but the
newer ones do it in much more comfort.

Isaac Wingfield said:

According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine;

That's absolutely unbelievable.

Quoted message said:

what else is there?

Fewer hot spots for starters.

sf

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared to the
1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

We just bought a new one and it is 1,300 watt/$80 as compared to the 700
watt/$600 unit it replaced

Quoted message said:

Inverter technology can sense cooking and adjust the time accordingly.
Better defrost cycles by weight or by time. Newer models tend to have more
even heat (wave) distribution than the older models. New ones even do
popcorn better. Most have a button just for that as it is a very popular
thing.

It has an inverter power supply which does a much better job defrosting
(very uniform and no partially cooked spots) and has fewer hot spots
when cooking compared to a new "non-inverter" version.

Quoted message said:

Your 30 year old car will still get you to and from work every day, but the
newer ones do it in much more comfort.

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 10:25:28 -0800, Top Spin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Our 25 year old microwave oven just died. I would appreciate
suggestions regarding brands or features to look for or avoid.

Cost is not a major factor.

I did like the turntable in the old one. It also had a temperature
probe, but we never used it. We mostly use it for heating up water,
soups, etc. -- not major cooking.

Thanks

--
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(11/09/04)

according to a major consumer products evaluating company in their
latest ratings of microwave ovens, the Sears Kenmore 6325(2) is the
maximum leader of all worldly microwave ovens...and the suggested
retail price is only $100. Double click on this link to Sears webpage
to check it out:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=APPL&pid=02063252000&subcat=Countertop+Microwaves

Regards,
Bill

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 08:17:56 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared to the
1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

We just bought a new one and it is 1,300 watt/$80 as compared to the 700
watt/$600 unit it replaced

this is very interesting George...would you care to mention the name
of the manufacturer for us?

Regards,
Bill

On Sun 20 Feb 2005 06:42:09a, Bill wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 08:17:56 -0500, George <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

>I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
>statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave
>perform "far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my
>nearly 30 year old model still delivers just as much power as it did
>when new, and the timer still works just fine; what else is there?
>
>Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared to
the 1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

We just bought a new one and it is 1,300 watt/$80 as compared to the 700
watt/$600 unit it replaced

this is very interesting George...would you care to mention the name
of the manufacturer for us?

Regards,
Bill

I'll interject here... A year and a half ago we bought a Panasonic that
has 1350 watt power. IIRC, we paid $89 for it. It has many of the new
automated features, but the best feature is "Turbo Inverter Power" which
controls the output level of the magnetron tube at variable power
settings. Conventional units cycle the magnetron tube off and on to
achieve the power setting selected, thus averaging the output for a given
setting. You'll notice this in a conventional oven when a dish boils for
a few seconds, then stops boiling for a few seconds. The panasonic is
truly operating at, say, 70% constant power when it's set at 70%. This
produces more even consistent cooking.

Wayne

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 05:32:09 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared to the
1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

Inverter technology can sense cooking and adjust the time accordingly.
Better defrost cycles by weight or by time. Newer models tend to have more
even heat (wave) distribution than the older models. New ones even do
popcorn better. Most have a button just for that as it is a very popular
thing.

Well, we went out and bought a new Panasonic. It's one of those "The
Genius" models. Model number NN T994SF. Cost $180.

The first thing I did was make popcorn. I use loose corn (Orville
Redenbacher air pop corn) in one of those microwave popcorn gadgets. I
tried the popcorn button. The corn started popping a little sooner
than with the old oven, but not much. I think the old was was 1,000
watts (maybe 1200) and this one is 1250.

It ran about 2 minutes which was not nearly long enough. (I used to
set the old one for 3 minutes.) I immediately pushed the popcorn
button again and it finished popping. Took about 3 minutes overall.

When I took it out, one area was badly burned. It was so bad, that the
edge of the popper wall was scortched. This never happened on the old
one.

I'll do some more testing, but this one is not as good as the old one
for popcorn based on one test.

--
Hitachi HB-A101 bread machine, 1 pound
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(01/10/05)

Bill said:

this is very interesting George...would you care to mention the name
of the manufacturer for us?

Regards,
Bill

The Panasonic "Turbo Inverter" as described in the next post to your
question.

Top Spin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 05:32:09 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by
your statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new
microwave perform "far better" than my old one? According to my
measurements, my nearly 30 year old model still delivers just as
much power as it did when new, and the timer still works just
fine; what else is there?

Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared
to the 1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

Inverter technology can sense cooking and adjust the time
accordingly. Better defrost cycles by weight or by time. Newer
models tend to have more even heat (wave) distribution than the
older models. New ones even do popcorn better. Most have a button
just for that as it is a very popular thing.

Well, we went out and bought a new Panasonic. It's one of those "The
Genius" models. Model number NN T994SF. Cost $180.

The first thing I did was make popcorn. I use loose corn (Orville
Redenbacher air pop corn) in one of those microwave popcorn gadgets.
I tried the popcorn button. The corn started popping a little sooner
than with the old oven, but not much. I think the old was was 1,000
watts (maybe 1200) and this one is 1250.

It ran about 2 minutes which was not nearly long enough. (I used to
set the old one for 3 minutes.) I immediately pushed the popcorn
button again and it finished popping. Took about 3 minutes overall.

When I took it out, one area was badly burned. It was so bad, that
the edge of the popper wall was scortched. This never happened on
the old one.

I'll do some more testing, but this one is not as good as the old
one for popcorn based on one test.

--
Hitachi HB-A101 bread machine, 1 pound
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(01/10/05)

First off usually there is a large number of 'old maids' when nuking pop
corn.

Secondly, of course it burnt you ran it for almost a double cycle.

Read the manual...it should tell you what weight/amount of popcorn the
push button is set for and at what power setting the microwave is at
while popping corn.

You needed to get used to the old one, so I suppose you'll need to get
used to the new one.

--
No Bread Crumbs were hurt in the making of this Meal.
Type 2 Diabetic 1AC 5.6mmol or 101mg/dl
Continuing to be Manitoban

i have had the best luck with PANASONIC!

--
rosie

"Top Spin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
: Our 25 year old microwave oven just died. I would appreciate
: suggestions regarding brands or features to look for or avoid.
:
: Cost is not a major factor.
:
: I did like the turntable in the old one. It also had a temperature
: probe, but we never used it. We mostly use it for heating up
water,
: soups, etc. -- not major cooking.
:
: Thanks
:
: --
: Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
: (11/09/04)

"Top Spin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

The first thing I did was make popcorn. I use loose corn (Orville
Redenbacher air pop corn) in one of those microwave popcorn gadgets. I
tried the popcorn button. The corn started popping a little sooner
than with the old oven, but not much. I think the old was was 1,000
watts (maybe 1200) and this one is 1250.

The popcorn button is designed to work with the pre-packaged stuff. I don'
tknow if your system has a correlation to it or not. IMO, you way is
better, but the masses buy the packages.

Quoted message said:

I'll do some more testing, but this one is not as good as the old one
for popcorn based on one test.

Is that the only thing you use the MW for? One test is not much for any
equipment or tool.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 14:38:02 GMT, Hahabogus <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Top Spin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 05:32:09 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
> I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by
> your statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new
> microwave perform "far better" than my old one? According to my
> measurements, my nearly 30 year old model still delivers just as
> much power as it did when new, and the timer still works just
> fine; what else is there?
>
> Isaac

Just how much power when new? Most were 500 or 750 watt compared
to the 1200 or 1500 of today making them much faster.

Inverter technology can sense cooking and adjust the time
accordingly. Better defrost cycles by weight or by time. Newer
models tend to have more even heat (wave) distribution than the
older models. New ones even do popcorn better. Most have a button
just for that as it is a very popular thing.

Well, we went out and bought a new Panasonic. It's one of those "The
Genius" models. Model number NN T994SF. Cost $180.

The first thing I did was make popcorn. I use loose corn (Orville
Redenbacher air pop corn) in one of those microwave popcorn gadgets.
I tried the popcorn button. The corn started popping a little sooner
than with the old oven, but not much. I think the old was was 1,000
watts (maybe 1200) and this one is 1250.

It ran about 2 minutes which was not nearly long enough. (I used to
set the old one for 3 minutes.) I immediately pushed the popcorn
button again and it finished popping. Took about 3 minutes overall.

When I took it out, one area was badly burned. It was so bad, that
the edge of the popper wall was scortched. This never happened on
the old one.

I'll do some more testing, but this one is not as good as the old
one for popcorn based on one test.

--
Hitachi HB-A101 bread machine, 1 pound
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(01/10/05)

First off usually there is a large number of 'old maids' when nuking pop
corn.

"Old maids"?

Quoted message said:

Secondly, of course it burnt you ran it for almost a double cycle.

A double cycle for what? I ran it until the popping stopped. Those are
the instructions on the popper and the microwave.

Quoted message said:

Read the manual...it should tell you what weight/amount of popcorn the
push button is set for and at what power setting the microwave is at
while popping corn.

You needed to get used to the old one, so I suppose you'll need to get
used to the new one.

--
Hitachi HB-A101 bread machine, 1 pound
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(01/10/05)

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 14:55:39 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

"Top Spin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

The first thing I did was make popcorn. I use loose corn (Orville
Redenbacher air pop corn) in one of those microwave popcorn gadgets. I
tried the popcorn button. The corn started popping a little sooner
than with the old oven, but not much. I think the old was was 1,000
watts (maybe 1200) and this one is 1250.

The popcorn button is designed to work with the pre-packaged stuff. I don'
tknow if your system has a correlation to it or not. IMO, you way is
better, but the masses buy the packages.

Yeah, that's what I figured. I'll just try it with the timer. That's
what I did on the old one. I just thought I'd give the popcorn button
a try.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'll do some more testing, but this one is not as good as the old one
for popcorn based on one test.

Is that the only thing you use the MW for? One test is not much for any
equipment or tool.

Of course.

--
Hitachi HB-A101 bread machine, 1 pound
Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com
(01/10/05)

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Edwin Pawlowski said:

"Top Spin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Our 25 year old microwave oven just died. I would appreciate
suggestions regarding brands or features to look for or avoid.

Cost is not a major factor.

I did like the turntable in the old one. It also had a temperature
probe, but we never used it. We mostly use it for heating up water,
soups, etc. -- not major cooking.

You are in for a surprise. For $80, you can get a ton of features and lots
of power. I bought a $79 model for our breakroom at work and it has far
more features that you could have bought for $400 about 15 y ears ago. As
for brands, most are made in the same few factories overseas. Pick one that
looks good and it will probably perform as well as any other on the market,
and far better than your old one.

I have an old nuker that needs replacement, but I'm confused by your
statement. In exactly which way (or ways) would a new microwave perform
"far better" than my old one? According to my measurements, my nearly 30
year old model still delivers just as much power as it did when new, and
the timer still works just fine; what else is there?

The one thing I've noted about the cheaper microwave ovens is that the
electronics tend to go south in a very short period of time.

That being said, the primary differences are the timed modes, convection
availability, and power levels. For the longest time most microwave
ovens were 600W units. The new ones are 1200W. That's quite enough
power.

Tony P. said:

The one thing I've noted about the cheaper microwave ovens is that the
electronics tend to go south in a very short period of time.

That being said, the primary differences are the timed modes, convection
availability, and power levels. For the longest time most microwave
ovens were 600W units. The new ones are 1200W. That's quite enough
power.

Heh, when I "modernized", I went in the other direction:
from expensive to cheap and 1200 watts to 600. They last
long enough and I don't want a 15/20 year old microwave.

sf

Wayne,

I bought a microwave about six months ago and also went with a
Panasonic. The only reason I bought it was that it has a true
variation in power. As you said, most microwaves have 50% power as
cycling half full power and half the time off. The Panasonic is
actually at 50% power all the time. Using the power setting at three
or four keeps things hot, but stops the boil over problem.

I'd have to check, but the power is over 1,000 watts and it was under
$100, probably the same $89 you paid. So far, only six months or so,
it has been trouble free.

To answer the o.p.'s question: I don't really care about the brand,
but I'd definitely want the true variable power feature.

Ken