A very old friend, my Sharp combination microwave, convection oven and grill lost functionality last night. Currently the grill heats as usual, the fan blows and the turntable rotates but neither the convection oven nor the microwave produce any heat.
When working do they share the same heat source?
I looked at some YouTube videos showing an "easily fixable" fuse problem but these videos are about simpler machines.
I changed the turntable drive motor a couple of months ago with quite pricey spares, so I feel quite committed to keeping this model going. If they do share the same heat source I'd be more encouraged to delve.
True, but both are "high power". Perhaps there is a 10A fuse or similar in the "high power" circuitry in the microwave which has blown. However, fuses usually blow for a reason, and finding that reason could be difficult. It is also inherently dangerous; even if disconnected from the mains microwave ovens can retain a high voltage in the magnetron drive circuitry capacitor for some time. That capacitor would need to be completely discharged carefully before the OP went digging around inside for a fault (that does not include putting an insulated screwdriver across its terminals!).
The grill, and convection mode heating are both resistive heaters.
I am slightly surprised if the grill is working that it doesn't also generate some lower heat in the convection oven mode.
The microwave unit is entirely separate and has some seriously lethal voltages available on capacitors in its circuitry. If you need to ask the question above then delving into it is highly inadvisable.
Thanks for the advice chaps. "Wee scrap" puts it in a nutshell I think. Ordered a new one but may play about with the old on in the garage. I'm quite lucky in a way because the old model was mere stainless steel, whereas the new model is "Silver"!
Not really as in a pure Microwave its the microwaves that heat the food, in a convection oven you can, assumedly, just use that part with no microwave in the mix. These tend to use normal elements and a fan!
Sounds like it might be a control board issue. One assumes the display is still telling you all is well etc? I guess the parts probably have protection for each device. On the Microwave side its normally a diode that goes and trips the fuse. I'm assuming it no longer hums loudly when microwave is used? It would seem odd if the convection oven was on the same fuse, but I guess it could be, which would shut both off, and you would need to find out which one is the fault. Did the element short or did the microwave psu die? Strange that the other heating element is separate though.. Brian
Microwaves don't run on a heat source. There isn't normally a fuse that runs 2 out of 3 of the heating modes.
The caution about lethal voltage is true, but it's not hard to de-lethal it. However you still need to understand about microwaves and safety to do the job.
You've now got a spare tt motor, spare fan, MOT which has many uses, some quite interesting, and a magnetron that's seldom useful and likely quite toxic. And often a VFD that you can turn into an exotic radio. And a spare bit of mica.
Sounds fascinating. I did pull it to bits to make carrying it downstairs less troublesome. The magnetron was the heaviest part and by it's name and nature most interesting. Toxicity seems to be the most discussed aspect on YouTube. Is there a special dumping method for one of these?
Beryllia is dangerous when sanded, ground, or otherwise turned into a powder and inhaled. If a product has such a substrate in it, there should be a warning sticker on it, a skull and crossbones. I've seen it used in lab equipment, which is where I saw the markings. (And part of informing everyone at work, is so our resident Dremel Fool would know the rules. Some people will Dremel just about anything given a chance.) The only microwave oven I've thrown away, I don't recollect seeing anything like that inside.
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"Safety
BeO is carcinogenic in powdered form and may cause a chronic allergic-type lung disease berylliosis. Once fired into solid form, it is safe to handle if not subjected to machining that generates dust, clean breakage releases little dust but crushing or grinding actions can pose a risk.[13]
Beryllium oxide ceramic is not a hazardous waste under federal law in the USA. "
You would not use an angle grinder or a Dremel on it.
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I gather it's the white bit in the picture.
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If you take your electronics to an electronics recycler, they probably have a disposal service just for microwave ovens at a guess. For the older microwaves, the oil filled cap should probably have the oil drained before further disposal. I have no idea how much oil is inside. I put the cover back on my microwave oven, before heading off to dispose of it. The sound the microwave made, there was no need to do any root cause on it. On mine you could tell something shorted out, as the transformer let out a rather loud hum for two seconds.
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