Microwave Hints

Basic problems like replacing the lamp, and the waveguide splash-guard are quite easy, and simple. Like everything else electrical, ALWAYS SWITCH OFF THE POWER FIRST. The lamp is usually inside a small cover that is held in with a screw, but some have a clip in cover. The ones that are replaced from the outside are usually the screw-on metal cover type.They are usually a ”pygmy” type E14 appliance lamp, but if yours is a grill too, then get one with high temperature glass (oven lamp). Some Japanese models are a special size, so get from manufacturers spares site, or try MAPLIN.
The wave-guide splash guard is like a large piece of MICA like material, about 3” by 4”, and just clips into place. NOTE: this part can easily become damaged during removal and cleaning, as it is made from a soft, brittle material. Before it gets too damaged, remove it and take an outline drawing of it by running a pen around it on a peice of drawing paper. This is so that you can cut out the exact shape you need from a SHEET of replacement material (about £3.50 with VAT). Some high-end manufacturers are charging over £30 for these items!! To obtain a sheet of the correct material that you can cut to fit almost ANY domestic microwave, try: http://www.kitchenwareonline.com/acatalog/waveguide_cov er_material.html
If you have a lot of dried on food from spillages, it is best to clean this, before it gets really hard, and carbonised. This can cause sparking. To loosen the hardened food, try a glass (PYREX) dish , put in one cup of hot water, with a half cup of WHITE VINEGAR, and half a lemon. Put on medium heat for about 10 minutes, then leave in for about 1 hour. You should find that the hardened food becomes soft enough to remove with one of those orange scouring cloths, and a bit of neat washing-up liquid or simliar, added to the vinegar/lemon mix.
If the turntable sticks, it could be the drive motor, but check for small grains of rice jamming the roller wheels, they get very hard, and can’t always be seen on the white base.
If you are interested in more technical details on the inner workings of Microwave ovens, go to the link:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/micfaq.htm

(BEAR IN MIND THE LINK ABOVE IS FOR ACADEMIC INTEREST ONLY, AS A LOT OF ITEMS APPLY TO THE USA, AND MAY NOT BE CORRECT IN THE UK)

[HOME] [TOP] [UP TO APPLIANCE HINTS] [FAQ] [HINTS] [USEFUL_LINKS] [SITE MAP] [EMAIL] [Back 1 PAGE]