Microwave oven losing power?

datostar

DiddyDavies said:

I have a fairly old microwave oven (purchased about 4 years ago) that has been in storage for a fair while due to a house move and hasn't been used for about 1 year.
I've recently started using it and some of the items I'm using it to reheat seem to be taking longer then when I was using the appliance last year.
Is it possible for a microwave to lose power due to a fault? or is it normally the case that they either work or they don't?
It has a digital display and everything appears normal on this display and it seems to switch between power settings okay.

They do gradually lose power as they age, but just fade away rather than going out with a bang. As has been suggested, you can adapt for some time by increasing the cooking time (trial and error). Eventually it may pack up completely. One thing to check is the wave guide (usually a rectangulat mica plate] on the inside which is where the microwaves are emitted. If that's dirty it can reduce the energy being emitted. Easily cleaned but don't be too rough or it may break. Cheap and easy to replace too. Real loss of power is generally a failing magnetron and under no circumstances attempt any DIY repairs or replacement in that area. Very dangerous.

DiddyDavies

Thanks everyone.
I've not used the oven for a while (about a year) and as it's not particularly old and is in very good condition, it might just be my memory playing up a bit regarding how long certain things take to heat up.
Whilst it was stored, it was boxed up and in a dry location so I doubt if anything happened to it during this time so unless anything definite  shows up, I've no problem with continuing to use it.

Biggus_Dickus

unforeseen said:

It's because of the increase in the use of wifi. WiFi is in the same frequency band as microwaves
Due to this there are less microwaves for your oven to use so things take longer.

You can improve the cooking times by using the 5GHz band for your WiFi as that will free up more of the 2.4GHz microwaves for your oven to use. 

Lol.....you almost had me convinced and I used to repair marine Radars for a living!

 

Edit: The high power ‘microwaves’ inside the cooker are produced and transmitted by a Magnetron. The Magnetron gets very hot and naturally starts to degrade and lose some of its power the more it is used. All will eventually fail completely, however, some Magnetron’s have greater longevity than others.

Much like any electrical/electronic equipment Microwave ovens have other critical components that are prone to failure as well but it’s a slowly failing Magnetron that is responsible for the extra time needed to cook food.

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

ballyblack

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

Does that mean the microwaves were leaking out of the oven? or was it generating interference somehow?

Biggus_Dickus

ballyblack said:

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

Does that mean the microwaves were leaking out of the oven? or was it generating interference somehow?

It’s a good question and I don’t have a ready answer;...I suspect that it’s possibly??? high frequency electromagnetic radiation from the  internals of the microwave oven itself that are propagating through the mains wiring of the house and clobbering the Wi-Fi radio circuitry in the broadband router and other Wi-Fi enabled devices.  

There is a school of thought that some microwave ovens have  doors and seals that may ‘leak’ electromagnetic radiation into the immediate vicinity which in-turn interferes with the routers Wi-Fi radio signal.

Is a very slightly leaky microwave  oven at all dangerous to health?...Who knows?....I’ve been using microwave ovens for over 40 years and I haven’t  grown another head,...not yet anyway.

https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/do-microwaves-interfere-with-wifi-signals.html#:~:text=Yes, they do.,and interfere with WiFi signals.

 

 

unforeseen

Biggus_Dickus said:

unforeseen said:

It's because of the increase in the use of wifi. WiFi is in the same frequency band as microwaves
Due to this there are less microwaves for your oven to use so things take longer.

You can improve the cooking times by using the 5GHz band for your WiFi as that will free up more of the 2.4GHz microwaves for your oven to use. 

Lol.....you almost had me convinced and I used to repair marine Radars for a living!

 

Edit: The high power ‘microwaves’ inside the cooker are produced and transmitted by a Magnetron. The Magnetron gets very hot and naturally starts to degrade and lose some of its power the more it is used. All will eventually fail completely, however, some Magnetron’s have greater longevity than others.

Much like any electrical/electronic equipment Microwave ovens have other critical components that are prone to failure as well but it’s a slowly failing Magnetron that is responsible for the extra time needed to cook food.

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

I used to work on high power air defence radars. They didn't like 8MW up 'em. We used to use klystrons cos it gave the radar frequency agility capabilities

Biggus_Dickus

unforeseen said:

Biggus_Dickus said:

unforeseen said:

It's because of the increase in the use of wifi. WiFi is in the same frequency band as microwaves
Due to this there are less microwaves for your oven to use so things take longer.

You can improve the cooking times by using the 5GHz band for your WiFi as that will free up more of the 2.4GHz microwaves for your oven to use. 

Lol.....you almost had me convinced and I used to repair marine Radars for a living!

 

Edit: The high power ‘microwaves’ inside the cooker are produced and transmitted by a Magnetron. The Magnetron gets very hot and naturally starts to degrade and lose some of its power the more it is used. All will eventually fail completely, however, some Magnetron’s have greater longevity than others.

Much like any electrical/electronic equipment Microwave ovens have other critical components that are prone to failure as well but it’s a slowly failing Magnetron that is responsible for the extra time needed to cook food.

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

I used to work on high power air defence radars. They didn't like 8MW up 'em. We used to use klystrons cos it gave the radar frequency agility capabilities

Maritime S-band and X-band man myself. Salt down your waveguide isn't recommended.

The_Fat_Controller

If you compare the power outputs, microwave 600+ Watts to that of a router in the UK, legal maximum 100 mW, even a little door leakage could be an issue.
It won't cook you, but your WiFi connections could be toast at dinner time !
I, like @Biggus_Dickus, was involved with radar, I was a merchant navy Radio Officer and often one of the tell-tale signs of a magnetron issue was strange noises, so for the OP, don't worry about losing a few Watts over time, but keep an ear out too.

unforeseen

Biggus_Dickus said:

unforeseen said:

Biggus_Dickus said:

unforeseen said:

It's because of the increase in the use of wifi. WiFi is in the same frequency band as microwaves
Due to this there are less microwaves for your oven to use so things take longer.

You can improve the cooking times by using the 5GHz band for your WiFi as that will free up more of the 2.4GHz microwaves for your oven to use. 

Lol.....you almost had me convinced and I used to repair marine Radars for a living!

 

Edit: The high power ‘microwaves’ inside the cooker are produced and transmitted by a Magnetron. The Magnetron gets very hot and naturally starts to degrade and lose some of its power the more it is used. All will eventually fail completely, however, some Magnetron’s have greater longevity than others.

Much like any electrical/electronic equipment Microwave ovens have other critical components that are prone to failure as well but it’s a slowly failing Magnetron that is responsible for the extra time needed to cook food.

I had a National Panasonic microwave a while back and that used to kibosh my Wi-Fi;...it would stop Netflix dead in its tracks! 

I used to work on high power air defence radars. They didn't like 8MW up 'em. We used to use klystrons cos it gave the radar frequency agility capabilities

Maritime S-band and X-band man myself. Salt down your waveguide isn't recommended.

These were my babies
https://www.radarpages.co.uk/mob/linesman/type85.htm
And
https://www.radarpages.co.uk/mob/linesman/type84.htm

forgotmyname

Tested yesterday and there was a mere blip on the speed test before it picked up again. Wonder if the newer routers
switch channels to avoid the interference or maybe the beam forming antenna?