I’ve been noticing lately that the times given on prepackaged microwave foods aren’t long enough. As in, even if I set it for the maximum of the range (like, if it says ‘heat on full for 5 to 7 minutes’ and I set it for 7, the food isn’t really what I’d consider ‘serving hot,’ just sort of lukewarm. This wasn’t true before, in fact, the minimum time was usually plenty. Now, not so.
It makes me wonder if whatever gizmo responsible for the heating effect can lose, uh, intensity? This oven is rated at the normal amount (1000 watts, I believe), and it seems to still run perfectly otherwise. I mean, it keeps time, the buttons and interior light react as expected, it DOES heat up stuff, the programming stuff works right, it dings when it’s supposed to, the revolving tray works though the motion is sometimes a bit jerky. It just doesn’t make food hot as fast as I (and various food manufacturing companies) expect.
This is only the second microwave oven we’ve owned. The first worked for a very long time (around 20 years, maybe?) and died all at once in a very clear way: a whole bunch of sparks, and thereafter it didn’t react to any button pressing or whatever. This replacement oven is only about five years old.
Bonus question: is it at all dangerous to keep using the oven for any reason? Like, I’ve started to automatically add about 25% to the maximum times suggested. This takes care of the ‘not hot enough’ problem fine, but am I risking something bad happening beyond dinner taking a few minutes longer?
The “business” part of a microwave oven consists of a grand total of 4 components:
1 - Magnetron
2 - HV rectifier
3 - Capacitor
4 - HV transformer.
The rectifier doesn’t have much in the way of a “slowly degrading” failure mode. The capacitor might slowly degrade, although that would not be common, (IMHO). The transformer will either work or it won’t.
Which leaves the Magnetron - it is a vacuum tube, so if it had a slow leak, it might get “weak.” Also, it uses a powerful magnet to steer the electrons, so it’s conceivable that the magnet might degrade over time. If you like your current microwave, a competent appliance repair shop should be able to replace the capacitor, rectifier and Magnetron for under $200. Or, you could do it yourself for half that (after following all the safety instructions.)
I bought a new microwave oven in 2010. At the time, it took exactly 2:30 to perfectly pop a bag of microwave popcorn. Today it takes exactly 2:45 to perfectly pop a bag of microwave popcorn. Same brand.
Speaking to the OP, not to @Crafter_Man just above who give a contrary explanation.
1000 watts is a rather weak microwave by modern standards. Your oven may not have changed output at all.
But instead what has changed is the instructions on a package of [whatever].
Both because they are now writing instructions for more powerful ovens, and because their product liability lawyers have told them that their instructions should only get the food up to baby-safe temperatures. That way if somebody scalds themselves on overly hot food, it can only be because they over-cooked it versus the instructions. So therefore the burns are not the product’s fault.
I know I’ve gotten new ovens of different powers a few times over the years. And had to update my cook times up or down by 20-40% when I do that.
And speaking to @Crafter_Man just above. …
You’re buying the same package of the same brand & cooking it in the same oven. Do you know they haven’t altered to contents or the formulation or the packaging so it cooks more slowly and ends up less done in the same time? No way for either of us to know.
Huh. So it’s possible the oven isn’t working as well, or it’s possible that it is but the food/recommendations have changed. Nails it down nicely, thank you.
No, seriously, thanks for taking the time to reply. If it’s possible to understand less than zero about a subject, that’s where I am with electricity. Fifty or so years ago I memorized a set of equations about manipulating problems about watts/volts/amps/whatever long enough to pass an intro physics course, without ever really understanding what the differences were and what they really meant. And I think all the neurons involved died ten steps outside of the exam room.
However, what nobody has said is that my solution (just upping the time) is likely to cause the microwave to blow up or burn down the house or even cause the inhabitants to develop interesting mutations. So I guess for now I’ll just continue to up the time a bit.
(A kitchen remodeling is on the cards for this fall, which will no doubt include replacing the microwave for sure, so I guess I’ll take my chances until then.)
I bought my microwave when I remodeled the kitchen in 1988, it is a 1500 watt Amana. It still works perfectly and is way faster then most suggested times. If the cooking instructions say 5 minutes I usually go 4. It was one of the first white microwaves available to match all the other white appliances I installed. Today it is a faded yellow.
Yes, that’s possible, and that would be A Very Bad Thing™.
Having a high-resistance connection somewhere could cause a fire, especially with a high-power device like a microwave. The good thing is - generally those sort of problems are pretty obvious. They will cause arcing and flickering which are usually easy to spot.
I second this. I remember when 1000W was the “standard” for microwaving instructions. Now it seems to be 1100W. So I’m constantly having to pad on around 20% more time to they instructions given on the package.
I can’t imagine that any five year old microwave is worth a freaking $200 for a repair. I bought my current microwave about five years ago for €50, and it’s still going strong.
If it’s an over-the-range microwave, it might be worth repairing it to avoid working around mounting issues of a new microwave. The worst part would be taking it down and putting it back up; they’re not easy to do without some help.
If it’s a countertop unit, I’d probably just replace it.
I’ve got a 2021, 1100W microwave that seems to cook better (pops popcorn a bit faster) than the 10-20 year old, 1200 W microwave that preceded it. Maybe these do weaken over time.
The biggest issue with microwave degradation is crap getting into the opening near the magnetron. Stuff gets carried into there via vapors from cooked food. This reduces the microwaves reaching the food. Ergo, longer time to cook.
The solution is from Day One always cover your food in the microwave to reduce such emissions. Once the stuff gets in there, there’s no simple way of cleaning it out.
I have a microwave even older than that. I bought it in the mid-80s (don’t remember the exact year) and until recently, it seemed to work fine. Recently, the motor that turns the platter started to make noise and then a roommate complained that her internet connection slowed down when it was running. Well, it might be a radiation leak, but more likely the motor was generating static.
So I finally broke down and bought a new one, much cheaper than the first one, especially after accounting for inflation. Somewhat lower power, but I can live with that.
The frozen food packages I buy have explicit timings for 1,000 W, higher and lower. You might compare against that.
Definitely check the grid from the magnetron. Also, assuming you have a rotating tray, try putting the food off center. You might be getting a dead spot in the center of your microwave and having the food off center makes all parts of the food get exposed to the radiation.
