I have a Magic Chef microwave oven (700 watts) that appears to have lost some cooking power. After one minute, a cup of water is still not very hot, and a soup that is supposed to take 1:15 is not very hot after 2 mins. Can this happen and why? Thank you. Frank
yeah power supply failure can do that, since its a low power microwave replacing is probably the best bet.
They not only can, they do. I have a Sanyo that is about 20+ years old and is doing the same thing. I posted about it here a year or more ago, and was told the mag tube gets weak. For now I am just living with it, as it still does pretty well, I like the controls on it, and I just haven't gotten around to switching the oven out. I have several others that I have gotten from here and there for next to nothing (yard sales, pawn shops etc.) and if/when the Sanyo gets too slow to be of any use, I'll toss it and try one of the others. Low voltage to the unit can also cause the problem, so you may check that. Unless you have a fancy built-in that is part of a conventional oven, they are throwaway now. You can buy a new microwave for less than the wholesale cost of a replacement tube, or practically any other part on it for that matter. Larry
Yes, it can happen. But for $69 you can get a new 1200 to `1500 watt model and heat that soup much faster. Sadly, your old unit will probably cost twice that or more to repair.
Thanks guys. I had a short extension cord on it, but it always seemed OK. Just to make sure though I moved it to another location and plugged it directly into an outlet. Same problem. I'd doubt this unit is even 10 years old, however. But you are right. I saw an 1100 watt GE at the Walmart for $65. Thanks again Frank
Is this a Magic Chef that is part of a combined unit with a range? If old, they won't repair them any longer. But you can buy a new Maytag microwave that will mount the same as the Magic Chef one.
Don (e-mail link at home page bottom).
Wow, I've always allowed two minutes to heat water, for soup or something, and even then it's not boiling. And I thought my unit was
1000 watts.
Wow again.
Maybe my unit is smaller than I recall.
I'm just guessing, but iiuc the microwave is designed to have the frequency of the resonant frequency of a water molecule. Or maybe a harmonic. I think if any part is the oscillator circuit were to change its value, the oscillation frequency would change and it wouldn't heat water as well.
You know it's not really magic. There are reasons why it works.
frank1492 wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Yes.the microwave source is a vacuum tube,with a filament and cathode like any other vacuum tube. Cathode emission drops with age,and the tube's power output drops.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:X8htg.3452$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net:
But you might have an older large-cavity microwave which costs a lot more then the low-priced small ovens. Then it might be better to replace the magnetron tube.
and the strong magnet, a part of that "tube" assembly, isn't as strong anymore either.
Most use the "1 cup of water to-boil" time test. When the time doubles, it's time to start shopping for a new one.
-larry / dallas
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