Microwave problems
#9
Two weeks ago our microwave stopped heating food.  The "hum" coming from it changed its tune but otherwise it looked like it was supposed to be doing what it's supposed to do EXCEPT heat up our food.  We experienced no power blip that I'm aware of because the clock was still set.

I tell the landlord and he gets us a new microwave--different make.  It works fine for a day and then we go on vacation for a week and a half.  Fast forward to this morning and my wife reports this microwave doesn't seem to be heating either.  We've only been back one day from vacation and I just used it yesterday!   The clock is still set on this one, too, and we definitely didn't have any kind of lightning storm.

So now I'm thinking the first microwave wasn't a fluke.  2 microwaves, different brand, same problem.  Seems suspicious.  The only common denominators is that my wife discovered the problem both times and it's using the same electrical outlet (220V here).  The other thing in common is that we kept a roll of aluminum foil on top of the microwaves because storage is scarce.  The convection oven is below the microwave separated by a shelf.

So is it pure coincidence that 2 microwaves have stopped working in the same manner or is there something else going on?
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#10
Sounds to me like a power problem. Has the landlord , or you, checked
the electrical outlet? Full voltage and amperage? May be a loose connection
or even a worn out receptacle. They do wear out over time, most
especially the "builder grade" ( cheap ) ones.
Mark Singleton

Bene vivendo est optimum vindictae


The Laws of Physics do not care about your Politics   -  Me
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#11
My dentist, who has specialized equipment that is particularly sensitive to voltage and amperage fluctuations, has a very sensitive meter that warns him if the voltage or amperage increases or reduces by more than 3%.  

He tells me that the electric company never announces a voltage reduction of 5% and they call a reduction of 10% "5%".  They regularly understate voltage reductions by  5%, enough, he tells me to damage his equipment.  

Mostly this occurs in the summer on the hottest days.  I don't know the impact on microwaves however.  

I do know that I fried a $3,000.00 studio strobe when I plugged it into a wall outlet that had a dimmer switch on it.  Someone had turned down the dimmer and I burned out the unit (repaired around 1985 - 1990 for $500.00).
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#12
220? Is yours like the US kind? Could you be loosing power on one leg? One side runs the lights, controls, display and the other runs the tube that makes the hot??
We had that happen at our house years ago- utility company had a bad connection, half of our stuff worked, half didn’t.
Could be the same thing, just with that one curcuit

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#13
(09-20-2018, 02:15 PM)goaliedad Wrote: 220? Is yours like the US kind? Could you be loosing power on one leg?  One side runs the lights, controls, display and the other runs the tube that makes the hot??
We had that happen at our house years ago- utility company had a bad connection, half of our stuff worked, half didn’t.
Could be the same thing, just with that one curcuit

This would be my first thought, too.  Happened to my entire house once when one leg of the power line outside broke.  

John
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#14
(09-20-2018, 02:15 PM)goaliedad Wrote: 220? Is yours like the US kind? Could you be loosing power on one leg?  One side runs the lights, controls, display and the other runs the tube that makes the hot??
We had that happen at our house years ago- utility company had a bad connection, half of our stuff worked, half didn’t.
Could be the same thing, just with that one curcuit

220, yes.  (We live in the Middle East)

I think I should try the obvious and plug this microwave into a different outlet and see if it works.

I haven't been a homeowner for 9 months now and I'm already adopting a renter's mentality (not my problem).  Yeesh!  I had to eat a crappy sandwich for dinner instead of heating up leftovers so I am now motivated to get this figured out.

Thanks for getting the hamster cage rolling.
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#15
How many pins are on the plug? 

Most countries have a 220V system (but transitioning to 230V) with a single hot and a neutral, plus a grounding conductor.  Some middle eastern countries, though, have 127/220V, which would work similar to a 120/208V system here, derived from three-phase power with a neutral (high voltage hot-to-hot, low voltage hot-to-neutral). 

So I suppose it's possible, but it would be an odd way to make a microwave oven for a small market, especially when 120V MWO's of high (for residential) output power are all over the place, like North America.
Tom

“This place smells like that odd combination of flop sweat, hopelessness, aaaand feet"
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#16
(09-20-2018, 02:36 PM)atgcpaul Wrote: I think I should try the obvious and plug this microwave into a different outlet and see if it works.

Bingo!  Moved it to another outlet and now it heats up--unfortunately nowhere convenient in the kitchen.  At least this is a landlord problem and not mine.
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