What microwave brands are considered good quality with good repair records? Apparently Maytag bought Amana, and I know Amana used to be very good. I'm looking for high quality, with fan/vent through the wall, non-convection, and very basic without a lot of confusing menus and controls. Thanks
Joseph Meehan wrote: ...
It seems there was just such a posting just about an hour before you posted you message.
New Microwave Trim Kit - Old hole too big
You may want to check out Consumer Reports magazine.
Personally I think I would avoid that idea. To start with it can't do it any good by placing it in a hot area. The real problem as I see it has been asked here a number of times. It goes out and the repair cost is more than the original cost or on occasion it is not repairable and there is no way to find a replacement that will fit in the same space.
My opinion is opposite yours. I had my original hanging above the range, trouble free, for about 15+ years. My new one, a GE, has been in place for about two years. We upgraded to get a convection oven combo.
It is cheaper to buy a countertop model, but we just don't have the counter space to allocate to it. It is OTR or nothing. We really like the second oven and I'd do it again tomorrow.
Hi, I had one installed at my daughter's new condo. Over the range vented outside unit. going into 3rd year without any problem. Panasonic unit. Tony
In my experience, avoid GE. They can't seem to get microwaves right.
well i just bougth a GE Spacemaker, and I like it alot. It has gt sensor cooking, which actuially seems to work well, and it has a pretty powerful fan (~300 CFM) BUT I only have had it 3 months. Hopefully it will last a while.
I needed a fan and a microwave, and didnt want to sacfice the counterspace, so the $250 was well worth it. As far as the size goes, it just seems ridiculous that you couldnt find a replacemnet. Mine is an over-the-stove standard 30" width. That is all there was where I bought it.
OTOH, if you didnt need a fan, you could just go with a shelf cabinet, and buy a countertop microwave
Good luck. I just threw my 5 yr old over-the-range GE microwave out; it would sometimes simply decide not to heat, despite going through the motions. Looking into it I came across sites like this
I have a Maytag over the range with lighting and fans...It seems to be a pretty nice unit......Ross
Avoid Maytag or anything connected with them.
Yeah that looked disturbing. I guess I'll just wait and see.
On the other hand, in looking a bit more, I found a complaint page for:
Whirlpool microwaves Kitchenaid microwaves (range hood) Maytag Refrigerators Jennaire appliances
And someone above said avoid anything Maytag.
That doesn't leave a lot of choices...
Sooooooo, the thing is there is always going to be a group of people getting crappy versions of a product (e.g. a lemon), and not getting the situation solved to their satisfaction. Although I must admit that there were quite a few complaints about GE microwaves (many of them were pretty old (well, mid 90's anyway)). BUT given that there must be hundreds of thousands of these GE microwaves in operation in this country alone (maybe in the millions?), I have to think that there are mostly good ones out there too, or there would really a situation. If those microwaves were routinely catching fire and burning down houses, I am guessing we would know about it.
now maybe I am a typical American consumer, but in todays world, I am not going to be too upset if i spend $200 on a microwave, and it goes bad after 5 years use. I mean, paying $200 for a producrt that does a whole lot (mine has a fan) and you use every day for 5 years (pretty much) is a bargan to me. Maybe microwaves did last 20 years, 20 years ago, BUT they certainly weren't as complex and feature-filled, and in today's dollars, they were a WHOLE lot more expensive. I cant think of much else I use every day for 5 years that would be so cheap (maybe a tube TV, but those are going by the wayside).
John Harlow wrote:
We had one of the original Amana's in 73. The unit was a workhorse. sure it did not have the power of today's models, but it just kept on working. When it died we bought another Amana. That was eight years ago. Completely different story. Last year the interlock switches began to stick. Strange things began to happen like the light would not turn off when the klystron stopped, and the fan would turn on when you opened the door. Admittedly, the klystron was double switch interlocked so there was no stray microwaves, but I had to replace the three switches. Shortly thereafter the paint began pealing and the inside to rus/corrode. We finally dumped it. Upshot is Amana sold out to someone (could be Maytag or someone else earlier) and the new corporate owners went cheap and killed the workmanship and name as far as I am concerned. Gary Dyrkacz snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net Radio Control Aircraft/Paintball Physics/Paintball for 40+
I put one into a rental condo about 5 years ago. No complaints. Basically, I got the cheapest one Loews had in stock that day.
They replace the range hood. They are designed to be plugged in. The hood circuit is often on a lighting circuit and the microwave is "supposed" to have it's own circuit. In a typical installation you put a outlet in the cabinet over the hood and drill a hold to run the plug through.
Your decision should be based on features (including power and whether it doubles as a convection over) and electric demand. If you have to use the power that's already there for the range hood, you want lower nameplate numbers.
Hmmmm and I was under the impression that they never break.. My Sharp Carousel is from the 70's and is still going strong. It was the first microwave that my parents ever bought. Maybe they built them better when they first came out.
Mine is about 25 years old and I love the fact that it's simple to operate. Just a dial and three buttons, Cook, Defrost and Start. It's so solid that I find myself slamming the door on the microwave at work.. :)
Could you provide more detail please? I am leaning toward Amana which is owned by Maytag.
There is probably not more than a half dozen manufacturers of consumer microwave ovens. Find out who makes them and who sticks their label on which one. After that, determine if one manufacturer has a better track record and buy it from a brand that has good service. Just get the features and price that suits you.
It is made to be in a hot area.
The real problem as I see it has
All OTR ranges are 30" so that is not a problem.
I've owned Maytag and Amana appliances and have had good luck with them. My guess is the poster got a bad one and thus thinks they are all bad. Every brand has made a lemon.
I think you're right. My first microwave was a Litton and it lasted 17 years of heavy use and cost about $450. Do the math...maybe we are better off now??? Ross
I had a G.E. in the early 1980s that was a workhorse. A few years ago I bought a Sharp Carousel that crapped out after a year or so. *However*!! It might have been my fault. I was boiling a large pot of potatoes on a back burner and condensation collected on the bottom of the microwave. The next time I turned it on I heard a loud POP! Fuse(s) blown. I guess theoretically that could happen to any brand. However, the Sharp had a couple other glitches which I found annoying, such as going through (incandescent) appliance bulbs at the rate of one or two a month and starting automatically when the door was opened and closed (even after the timer was off). I might have just gotten a strange one, though. Every other Sharp item I ever owned was excellent.
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