Is microwave safe without the outside cover screwed on.

[cshenk]

"mm" wrote

Would you be anyplace near Norfolk, VA? If so, email me. It's not grunged above.

[mm]

Another generous offer. I am "anyplace" near Norfolk but Baltimore is still too far. Thanks a lot.

Last night I looked at the fuse I had because I had to buy two to fix my sister-in-law's microwave. (My brother had used the wrong but almost identical rack in the thing, and it sparked, melted a bit of plastic, and blew the fuse.)

It was 20 amps and I needed 12, so I went back to RS today and got a

15 amp. 4 for 3 dollars. (They also have 10 amps.)

I'll put that in tomorrow, plus the cover, which has 7 clips I see now, that are part of the cover and clip to the metal parts of the microwave. I think i can get one screw in too.

I was testy Saturday night -- sorry all -- and what I didn't want to say is I have a temporary colostomy bag which also slows me down, and upsets me, although they tell me that people function normally for years with one. Although I'm not sure that includes crawling on one's belly into the eaves of the attic. But 2 to 5 more months and he's going to reverse that. I'm hoping to be 100% by April. And to have warm food in a day or two.

Posted and mailed.

[cshenk]

So sorry then. I was driving by that on the way to and from a picnic in NY (friends and family sort of thing) just this past month. I could have grabbed a quick cheap one and set back with a cup of tea with your for a spell, which would have tided you over.

Ok, long as you are careful to not hurt yourself. You need good nutrition to get over the surgery, but you also have to not stress the system just now with any lifting.

Grin, understandable. Meantime, a useful gadget to borrow if someone has one, is a *small* crockpot. Often called a 'baby' crockpot. Removable line weighs about 1 lb. Suitable to steam/heat/bake several small potatoes or 2 small apples. Not sure what diet you need, but if you want to meet me in the rec.food.cooking group or telnet to my place at shenks.synchro.net --> echos---> cooking (not same as usenet group, slower but much more friendly) we can probably help with recipes that fit any diet you need, if you tell us what it is.

From my little rememberance, you actually need a somewaht restrictive fiber diet with a colostomy bag? Not radically, but it shifts the longer you have it. Also because some of the intestines (lower presumed) are 'edited out of the path' you have to eat high in some items. I do not recall what they are, but I bet if you tell me, I can wipe up some tastey ideas you can run by your Doc. Might not matter just much to you this week, but as you start feeling better, it will.

What little I recall from ages ago as a nurses aide (that bright eyed little lady with a smile and a warm cloth where needed) was that things that made big stomach acids were not good (at least at the start, I didnt see folks after release). I seem to recall a low acid diet?

[JIMMIE]

I hae found that Goodwill is an excellent source for microwave ovens, usually $10 or so. Apparently they have people whp go through them, clean and make repairs.

Jimmie

[chris]

I see this blog is pretty old, but i thought i would give it a shot with a question to you. My microwave is making a rattling sound so i pulled the outside cover off, because it sounds like a loose screw. The cover is just sheetmetal with no additional cover or shielding attached to it on the inside. Im still skeptical about trying to turn it on without the cover after checking all the internal screws. Should i not try to turn it on to be safe? Im smart enough to know not too touch anyhing inside that could be holding a charge, but dumb enough to be attempting this ;)

[Ed Pawlowski]

The potential danger is from the magnetron. It is not instant death but long term not good. Fifteen seconds would not be so bad but a few minutes, I don't know and would not risk it. What do you hope to see?

How old is the unit and how good is it? You can buy small ones for $79

[micky]

Yes, but a metal cover stops microwaves. It IS the shielding. There is other shielding too, inside but it can become dislodged.

Have you looked first without even turning it on? Did you find a loose screw.

I think even 5 seconds ought to be enough to see if it's still rattling.

Or maybe 10.

If it rattles less than once ever 8 seconds, you can live with it. (or even if it rattels all the time. Have you tried turning it upside down to see what falls out?)

AIUI, microwave ovens are tuned to warm water without warming things with a different resonant frequenecy. There is water in just about all food so it works well. This part is true.

I'm not 100% sure I was ever told the truth** about the rest, and that is that the biggest danger by far is the water inside your eyeballs. Then hits I found were about heating the eye's lens and the retinal nerve endings. Maybe that's because the water, the vitreous and the humor aqueous humor, get hot. **It does look like I was basically told the truth.

So if heat is the problem you can run it for 10 seconds and then wait until the inside of your eyes cool off! Radiation strength decreases as the distance from the source, squared, increases.

Radio Shack used to sell a maybe $10 microwave detector. I have one but they don't sell them anymore. But I don't think you need one for 5 or

10 seconds and if you;re not taking it apart any more thhan the cover.

I had an Amana Radarrange model #2, which was for years the stereotype of a microwave oven. When I got it one of the door springs was broken, an easy repair. Later I thought I needed the schematic to fix it. I probably didn't, but I called Amana and she was very reluctant because she thought I'd hurt myself. I had to promise her up and down I knew what I was doing. On that one, and maybe all of them, there is a cage around the magnetron and where it attaches to the base is a metal woven rectangular gasket. She insisted I position it exactly where it was to begin with. But your rattle is not in there anyhow.

I just had crumbling insulation that I replaced with GE silicone. that lasted 5 years or more and then it broke two more times for other reasons and that last time they wnted iirc 300 dollars for the part. Rest of our conversation for another time.

[Dean Hoffman]

I found a little information. Your eyes and balls are the most vulnerable.