Follow-up on microwave oven

How much effort would it take to put the screws back in?

A properly fitted and installed microwave case acts as a Faraday shield. It is much more likely to leak microwaves if there are open around the sides of the incompletely snugged down, tight case. Why take chances? Put the screws back in snugly and make sure to check the most common location for microwave ovens to leak even though it's not part of the case - around the perimeter of the door.

The "better question"here is a theoretical question. The case won't be floating in the air. But it's the question that interests me the most.

The detailed instruction papers that came with the mw, that I wrote about in the prior thread, warn more than once about the high voltage at the transformer, capacitor, and magnetron, but still refer to testing with the cover off. With no warning about microwaves. Once I screw the cover on, after I find my tester, I won't unscrew it and take it off just to check for microwaves, so I'm looking for the tester to test before screwing the cover on. It pays to look I already found 4 old bottles of liquor that I've started drinking.

I'll compromise and push it in place and wait to screw it on later.

I hate to inspire other people to be careless, amd this refers only to an undamaged, properly assembled microwave:

Nothing I found was very scary.

It seems your interpretation of "testing" involves actually turning on the magnetron and generating microwaves. I don't know if that's consistent with what the manufacturer's instruction/repair manual considers "testing". Perhaps 'testing" in this context means only doing continuity and resistance checking in a unit that has been powered down and with all the capacitors discharged, followed up by plugging it in to see if the display and interior light now are illuminated. If so, then put the case on snugly, put a pyrex measuring cup with water inside, and see if the magnetron functions.

I should just drop this, but I had the paperwork in front of me anyhow, and I see that it says, "To prevent electrical shock, use extreme caution when diagnosing oven with outer case removed and power "on". Then high voltage section of the power supply, including of leads, is

Elsewhere it says "When replacing the Magnetron, be certain the R.F. Gasket is in place and mounting screws are tightened securely to wave guide. Failure to do so can result in hazardous levels of microwave leakage. Perform microwave leakage test. "

The two above are both in boxes. The first was in BOLD CAPS. Elsewhere at least 4 places, in only 6 pages, sometimes in a box, it warns about high voltage. One says (in all caps), "Danger high voltage - 4000 V potential. Risk of electric shock. Can cause personal injury or death: use extreme caution when diagnosing oven with outer case removed and power "on" , the high voltage section of the power supply including filament leads is 4000 volts potential with respect to ground "

In a big bos it says not to operate othe oven with the door open. .... "Before turning on microwave power for any test or inspection within the microwave generating compartments, check the magnetron, waveguide or transmission line and cavity for proper alignment, integrity and connections " So IMO it's clear that "power on" means running, not just plugged in.

Also says at the start fwiw "Important safety notice This information is intended for use by individuals possessing adequate backgrounds of electrical, electronic and mechanical experience. Any attempt to repair a major appliance may result in personal injury and property damage . The manufacturer or seller cannot be responsible for the interpretation of this information nor can it assume any liability in connection with its use."

And it says to do a leakage test anytime the door is replaced or adjusted.

I wouldnt' have typed all this but I recently learned about Windows-H, which listens and types for you!!

It made only 2 or 3 mistakes in all the dictation here. After you stop typing or make any manual correction, you have to do Win-H twice to restart. I guess once to stop (even though the box at the top is gone and it's not apparent that it's still running) and once to restart.

Thanks for the followup Micky. Glad you have the manufacturer's detailed instructions and warnings. Apparently, if you're confident that the wave guides etc. are all properly aligned and firmly attached, people who are familiar with repairing microwave ovens can safely energize the magnetron with the oven's case removed. Certainly not within my competency. Life is not worth jeopardizing for $80 - $100.

Well, it's not going to kill you. AIUI, the worst it can do is heat the liquid inside your eyeballs and harden your eye's lens. That's all. But that takes time, just like it takes time to cook the food, and the strength of the mwaves decreases as the square of the distance. Even 3 feet is enough to get a weaker dose, 1/9 of 1 foot. 1/36 of what the food gets at 6 inches, the rough distance from the magnetron to the center of the cooking chamber (and there the waves that miss the food the first time bounce around the inside and might hit the foot later. )

I suppose if one is outside on a 95^ degree day, the inside of your eyeballs gets a little hotter than normal??? but in either case, hot day or microwave, it cools off later. So far, so good.

The new mwave is supposed to come today, so I was trying to put the case back on the old one. Getting it off was harder than the repair was, and getting it back on is much harder than that. Not the screws but sliding the 3 long edges in where they are supposed to go. I've spent 10 solid minutes so far. I'm certainly not taking it off if I find the mwave meter, because I'll have to put it back on again, and I don't think I'm finding the meter soon anyhow. So I'll never know what the meter would have said.

They have new meters, digital, for sale for $17 to 21 and they have the same meter on ebay for just $1 less. I'd rather spend another dollar and buy from a store.

I did find 5 bottles of liquor while looking for the meter. Two or 3 I brought from NY 40 years ago and haven't drunk from since. I'm repeating my mother's story. After my father died when I was young, we were moving back to my mother's home town, and rather than pay to move the liquor, she was drinking it, as much as she could. Then she thought, Here I am a recent widow drinking as much as I can. I'd better stop.

The sherry bottle was stored upright. That was bad, right?** The cork in the sherry bottle crumbled when I tried to twist it out, but the sherry seems fine.

I wonder how sensitive/resistant prosthetic lenses are to microwave heating. I had my original lenses removed years ago due to cataracts (no hx of microwave exposure; just age-related).

AIUI microwave ovens are tuned to the resonant frequency of water molecules.

I needed reading glasses since I was about 50 but about 2 years ago, age