Which microwave to buy?

clive0510

my old panasonic microwave, which I never liked from day one, has started sparking n arking,. but only when it thinks it will. done it 3 times now since xmas. most recent was earlier this week. so Mr Skip here we come. 
question is, as allways, which one to buy to replace it? theres literally 100s to choose from. amazon recommend a very smart ,looking russel hobs one. any suggestions please?. bearing in mind, only me here now, dont hardly ever have to cook for others. having said that it still needs to be able to accomdate a full size dinner plate. thanks folks.

Murmansk

I'd have thought it wouldn't be easy to find a microwave oven that doesn't take a full size dinner plate?

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/product-reviews/electricals/g27555375/best-solo-microwaves/

victor2

When our trusty old Sharp microwave (purchased last century ) finally died last year, we wanted to replace it with a similar one with the sensor cooking it had, which included a "One touch reheat" button, where you just put a plate of food in, pressed the one button and waited for it to beep when it was done. It also automatically cooked jacket potatoes, just telling you when to turn them over. Worked a treat!

Unfortunately, none seem to have that exact feature today - I concluded it was elf 'n safety that outlawed them. You can get sensor cook microwaves, but they require to select the type of food and weight first. Anyway, we ended up with a Samsung with sensor, but it's nothing like as simple to use. By experimenting, you can find out which menu selection is likely to get the best result. It's a "23 litre" capacity and has a turntable which comfortably takes a full size dinner plate.

Bendy_House

Hi Clive.

If it's arcing, it's likely due to bits of carbonised food in there that's attracting the 'waves and creating leccy. Give the sparky bits a good clean  

However, if you want an oven that'll take over from all your ovens, I can thoroughly recommend the beast that is the Sharp R959SLMAA

If you bear in mind it is BIG, and if that's ok, then it'll almost certainly serve all your needs.

I miss ours... When it finally went 'pop', I replaced it with another Sharp which also claimed to have 40L capacity, but that was barlocks. The new one also doesn't have the same useful 'auto' programs, such as jacket pots.

The Sharp can also be built-in to a unit, provided the correct ventilation is allowed. You can get kits for this.

elsien

Never used any sort of auto programme. For me, as long as it’s digital rather than turny dial thing, that’ll do me.
OP, what (if any) features would you find useful? 

Bendy_House

elsien said:

Never used any sort of auto programme. For me, as long as it’s digital rather than turny dial thing, that’ll do me.

The auto progs on the Sharp were genuinely useful. For example, call up 'potatoes', select the quant, and press 'go'. It would combine the micro and fan oven to give you really nice, proper, browned, jacket pots in around 20-25 minutes. (A light coat of olive oil made the skins super-yummy...)

It also had slide-in shelves, so you could use it like a normal fan oven, and not need to put everything on the turntable. A beaut.

GrahamLM52

I purchased a Sharp R861KM 25L 900W Combination Microwave to replace an old Sharp that have given good service for years. I liked the drop-down door and lack of turntable.

I'm very disappointed with it. It is incredibly loud (mentioned in a lot of reviews, but I had not realised just how loud they meant). The grill function is very poor (low power and takes ages to heat) and the so-called "Jacket Potato" function is hopeless. It cooks on full microwave power for 6 minutes. This is not long enough to cook a large jacket and it does not use the grill or oven function to crisp the potato. I thought this was a fault, but Sharp UK confirmed that the "Jacket Potato" function is just 6 minutes on full microwave power.

After the bulb was replaced the microwave was very much quieter! The repair man pointed out that some sound-deadening insulation inside had not been fixed in the right place. When he put it back, the microwave is much quieter.

So, all in all, I'd say avoid the Sharp R861KM.

JohnB47

Our two and a half year old Russell Hobbs died recently and we went for a Panasonic NN-SD27HS. We're pleased with it but see below. Quieter in operation and the door isn't so clunky.

It's an Inverter type, which means that it doesn't vary the power by simply switching full power on and off repeatedly. I presume that's what makes it quieter.

One slight problem we've had recently is when we've finished heating something. About a minute later it gives one tone (there's usually five to indicate that it's finished) and when I look, the clock has gone blank. I then have to reprogram the clock. Wierd. That's happened twice and if it does that again I'll go for a warranty replacement. 

clive0510

well in the end I went for the russell hobbs rhm2076 as reccomended by amazon on there site. and its here and installed. amazon delivered it just before lunch. and what a lovely machine. used it once so far. spot on.and all for less than £80. well done amazon.