microwave nightmare

OK, got a dead over-stove GE microwave in park model home. I got m/w trim stripped away and mounting screws are visilble coming inwardd from side/overhead cabinets. Problem is, I don't see screw heads in adjacent cabinets! Looks like approx 1" spaced trim between cabs and stove. Is it the nightmare I suspect? Do I hafta disassemble cabs to get to screws in trim spaces? I'm afraid to look! :|

nb

Reply to
notbob
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If it is, and you can work out the exact locations of the screws, you could drill a 1/2" counterbore and 3/8" through hole and then plug them.

-Kevin

Reply to
LEGEND65

If you've verified that it's not a power/fuse problem, I'd be tempted to drill screwdriver access holes with a brad point bit trough the walls of the adjacent cabinets. 3/8" may be big enough, and is small enough to plug/hide when you're through.

Reply to
Morris Dovey

Would it use a system of mating rails (with rails that mount to the outside of the m/w, and rails that mount to the cabinets)? Then maybe just a few fasteners would hold it in place once the rails are lined up and slid together.

It beats ripping your cabinets apart just yet... --Glenn Lyford

Reply to
Glenn Lyford

On my over stove MW I have two bolts in the cabinet above but the MW is really supported by a bracket on the back wall. I need to remove a cover on the MW and pull a release lever. YMMV.

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Reply to
Limp Arbor

On my GE microwave, it's held in place by 2 screws going downward from the cabinet above it. The screws are flat headed and are flush with the shelf surface.

The microwave is held to the wall by a bracket that gets screwed to the wall. The rear bottom of the microwave then hooks into the bracket and the entire microwave pivots upward to where the screws from the top can capture it and hold it tight against the bottom of the shelf.

The microwave is covered in a shroud that precludes putting screws in from the sides.

Reply to
dicko

I've found the top screws. I'll try loosening them and see what happens.

:\

nb

Reply to
notbob

Suggest you have a third or fourth hand supporting the microwave from underneath - especially if you have a ceramic cooktop.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry

I son't want to discourage you.

But in my last house, replacing the combo microwave - stove vent fan unit became a classic repair job from hell. It took two days. And even though the new unit was supposdly an exact replacement for the old one, it wasn't. I had to strip everything to the outside wall and fashion another vent from sheet metal. I had to trim the cabinets to make it fit. Etc. etc.

Hopefully, your job will not turn into a nightmare like this one did.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

I installed a GE a good while ago when I put in my kitchen and thats exactly how it worked. The M/W died 2 years ago and I put in a Maytag, (which btw is a POS). The Maytag had the exact same mounting bracket on the back, I didn't even have to replace the bracket... the screw holes in the top were different though, so I had to drill new ones.

It helps to have 3 hands but you can get by with just two. The mounting bracket holds most of the weight, and you can hook the mic on the bracket and then swing it up with one hand, screw in the screws with the other. Not too hard if the screw holes line up, can be a bear if they don't:-) Once installed, you can take it out and put it back about as fast as you can unscrew 3 screws, 20 seconds with a screw gun. Mine is not hooked up to an external vent though, so thats something that could complicate matters.

Interestingly, when I ripped out the old kitchen, it had a vent over the stove, and the vent was hooked up to a bunch of duct work to the outside, BUT, the cover on the vent that lets the air go outside was in place, so whomever the asshole was that installed the vent spent a lot of time on ductwork that was never used... One of those things that make you wonder...

The Maytag buzzes so loud when running I've been thinking of calling OSHA to see if ear plugs should have been provided...

Reply to
Jack Stein

...I have to do those things from scratch once-in-awhile...every one of them is different, if you're going straight up through the attic it ain't half bad (heh) but woe if you're dealing with a two story application...

cg

Reply to
Charlie Groh

I've seen some bolted at the top, rather than sides.

Reply to
Phisherman

Only attachments are usually the cabinet above and a mounting bracket on the wall. Try pulling it forward. Next would be to go to the GE website and see if they have installation instructions to download. Most do these days.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:11:25 GMT, the infamous notbob scrawled the following:

I've installed several GE microwaves for clients and they usually have a ledger strip in back and two screws holding the front from the top, about 1-2" in from the sides and 3" back from the face.

Normal removal is to unplug it, loosen both top screws, pop it loose (oven grease makes sides stick), then support the front while you remove the two screws. Tilt it down so there's an inch of gap above the back and lift it up and forward, off the ledger strip. It's now free.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Thats exactly how my GE MW installed. I recently replaced it with a MayTag MW and the MayTag not only installed the same way, it had the exact same metal mounting bracket. I didn't even have to replace the bracket.

Reply to
Jack Stein

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