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Microwave Oven: Noisy, shuts down sometimes?

P

(PeteCresswell)

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fairly new oven - but out of warranty.

Makes a lot of noise when running.

Aside from the noise, it works OK... mostly.

But every so often, when heating something for more than about 3
minutes, it just shuts off. Totally: no LED readout, no nothing.

Then, maybe 10 minutes later, it comes back to life.

Maybe some kind of safety breaker getting tripped by heat and
coming back on when things cool down?

I'm wondering if it's worth buying the special tamper-resistant
Torx driver and tearing the thing down - or better to just spring
for the $200 or so to buy a new one.
 
J

Jamie

Jan 1, 1970
0
(PeteCresswell) said:
Fairly new oven - but out of warranty.

Makes a lot of noise when running.

Aside from the noise, it works OK... mostly.

But every so often, when heating something for more than about 3
minutes, it just shuts off. Totally: no LED readout, no nothing.

Then, maybe 10 minutes later, it comes back to life.

Maybe some kind of safety breaker getting tripped by heat and
coming back on when things cool down?

I'm wondering if it's worth buying the special tamper-resistant
Torx driver and tearing the thing down - or better to just spring
for the $200 or so to buy a new one.
Keep the metal dishes and tools out of there.
 

shrtrnd

Jan 15, 2010
3,876
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Messages
3,876
Sheez, what kind of noise is it?
Klystron tube crackling?
Fan blades scrapping?
Rotary turn-table gearing?
You're obviously tripping some kind of thermal protection circuit. (That resets itself when it cools down).
I wouldn't keep running it like that.
If you can't identify the noise source, it's tough to speculate.
Maybe you oughtta shoot for one of the $40 models this time, instead of a $200 one.
 
B

bw

Jan 1, 1970
0
William Sommerwerck said:
The noise suggests a bad fan -- which could be preventing proper cooling.
This, in turn, might result in overheating which opens a resettable
thermal
breaker.

I'd find out why it's noisy. If it's a bad fan, and replacing the fan
doesn't fix the problem, I'd toss the oven. Sorry.

It's possible you're doing something wrong to make it overheat, but I have
no idea what that might be.

Yes, the fan is the only moving part and is essential to cool the magnetron.

I've scavenged more than a few microwaves. They all have basically the same
internals. You should have no problem finding the air-flow obstruction or
replacing the fan.

You don't need the special torx driver, just use a dremel to slice a slot
into each screw head and then use a regular slotted screwdriver.
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
You don't need the special torx driver, just use a Dremel
to slice a slot into each screw head...

True, but you should have no trouble finding an inexpensive torx set. This
would be less hassle than grinding slots.
 
M

Meat Plow

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fairly new oven - but out of warranty.

Makes a lot of noise when running.

What /kind/ of noise? Describe. What make and model oven?
 
N

N_Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
(PeteCresswell) said:
Fairly new oven - but out of warranty.

Makes a lot of noise when running.

Aside from the noise, it works OK... mostly.

But every so often, when heating something for more than about 3
minutes, it just shuts off. Totally: no LED readout, no nothing.

Then, maybe 10 minutes later, it comes back to life.

Maybe some kind of safety breaker getting tripped by heat and
coming back on when things cool down?

I'm wondering if it's worth buying the special tamper-resistant
Torx driver and tearing the thing down - or better to just spring
for the $200 or so to buy a new one.


One source of noise can be the windings of the transformer rattling against
one another due to the serious currents
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
One source of noise can be the windings of the transformer
rattling against one another due to the serious currents.

Would the amperage drawn by the lamp in the oven be considered a "lighter"
current?
 
N

N_Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
William Sommerwerck said:
Would the amperage drawn by the lamp in the oven be considered a "lighter"
current?

Anything is possible. A supermarket near me has free-range sausages for sale
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
One source of noise can be the windings of the transformer
Anything is possible. A supermarket near me has free-range
sausages for sale.

I can just see the pork-boys roundin' 'em up...
 
P

Puddin' Man

Jan 1, 1970
0
Fairly new oven - but out of warranty.

Makes a lot of noise when running.

Aside from the noise, it works OK... mostly.

But every so often, when heating something for more than about 3
minutes, it just shuts off. Totally: no LED readout, no nothing.

Then, maybe 10 minutes later, it comes back to life.

Maybe some kind of safety breaker getting tripped by heat and
coming back on when things cool down?

I'm wondering if it's worth buying the special tamper-resistant
Torx driver and tearing the thing down - or better to just spring
for the $200 or so to buy a new one.

You can get a kit of specialty fastener bits at Harbor Freight
or ? for $5-6, last I looked. Should handle 95+% of what you'll
run into.

Aside from that, if you're a tinker, you'll take a look-see.
If not, ya buy a new one.

P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."
 
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