Sharp R956SLM - Mystery Microwave oven.

Bendy_House

It is 'just' a fan oven. With a microwave, and grill.

It works well as one, but an 'air-fryer' is a slightly/significantly different beast; these tend to have smaller elements, but more focussed fans, so they send a concentrated blast of hot air down and around the foodstuffs. Fan ovens 'just' circulate hot air, a bit like some folk on here.

I have a wee air-fryer now too, and have to say I'm a convert.

Although the 956 was a disappointment in terms of what I was led to expect, it is still a decent combo oven, and roomier than most. Given my time again, tho', I'd go back to my trusty 959. That li'l beauty even had shelves, for goodness sakes. Alas, being Skottish, I let the slight saving - and over-egged description - lead me down a slightly lesser path.

I am now going to get a BIG air-fryer for Chrimbo. Mrs BH is going to be SOOOOO chuffed.

makara

Hi, is the door reflective?  Or can you see the food as it's getting cooked?

Bendy_House

You can see through it, and catch your porridge before it overflows.

makara

Many thanks - that seals the deal for us 🙂

Bendy_House

Which model?

The 'beast' - the 959 - leaves little to be desired.

makara

The 956 

The 959 at £100 more is too much for our needs

Out of interest which "rank" does Sharp sit at in microwave quality? Doing some random research the other brands that seem to get a mention are Panasonic, Beko and Russell Hobbs

Bendy_House

I think they are considered pretty reputable, but don't really know how they compare.

Our 959 suffered a worn TT motor after a few years, but that was certainly due to us loading it up with too many plates for pre-heating them! I often caught it failing to turn under the strain - yup, we abused it.

More years later on, a couple of the door microswitches went in fairly quick succession, but - like the motor - was an easy fix.

It finally died - no more microwaves, and no obvious cause.

The 956 that replaced it is doing well - and we overload it too...

makara

That's interesting..I bought the large Sharp as our 6 year old Logik (Currys) 20 litre TODAY stopped turning, although it still heats...I was constantly stuffing it full, and it often would get stuck in rotating...I guess you've unknowingly explained what went wrong with ours 🙂

Bendy_House

If you turn it upside down (after removing all the loose bits), there might be a small, screwed-on plate in the middle of the underside. If so, good chance the motor is accessible under there.

OBVIOUSLY, you need to be competent & confident to do this, but if that's all that's wrong with it...?

See if you can get a motor first!

If you don't want to fix it, rather than dumping it (a hassle and a waste) I think it's worth sticking on Fb Marketplace even for now't, and I'm sure someone can fix it and be grateful.

makara

Thanks - I think we'll keep it as is, because it's still heating the food - but moreover about a decade back my strict vegetarian mum was annoyed at builders we had in for using the microwave to warm up food with meat in it...and now we will soon need builders again...

So my plan is going to be leave the small microwave where it is - put the new Sharp next to it - and tell the builders (and my meat eating brother) to use the small one :-)