Spec me a microwave

Cyber-Mav

Cyber-Mav

Cyber-Mav

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So the Hotpoint microwave I got for £50 lasted 6 years and blew up smoking out the entire house so now I'm in the market for a new one.
Old one was 24L so looking for a bit bigger one but don't want to spend too much.
What's good to get?
 
For pure microwave, one with no spinning dish, a flatbed one, Panasonic call it "Inverter"

But if I were to replace mine I would get a combined Airfryer, like the Sage 3 in 1.

www.sageappliances.com

Combi Wave™ 3 in 1 - Multifunction Microwave

Make delicious family favorites with the Combi Wave 3 in 1. This multifunction microwave combines the power of an air fryer, convection oven & microwave.
www.sageappliances.com www.sageappliances.com
 
I'm afraid cheap is cheap, most use very similar internals/components since there aren't too many people making magnetrons.

We have many microwaves in work for staff to use, they get abused a lot and the only brands that survive more than a year are Toshiba and Panasonic..

But those cost £120..

I have an inverter Panasonic combi oven, which gets a lot of use at home (since it's a great small oven as well!) and it's going well after 6 years, but we paid £400+ for it!
 
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Diddums said:
It's a microwave, it heats food and does a spinny thing, what more could you need? Grab whatever tickles your fancy and cook your pot noodle in it!
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Better ones don't spin, use an inverter, have shelves, oven built in, grill built in, steam even. They're definitely not all the same, cheap ones are crap.
 
I think a push button digital interface is better than the analogue knobs which just get more and more vague as they age. makes it hard to set the time
 
It's a microwave.
Get one that matches your current appliances and with a digital interface, at the lowest cost you can find.
 
For me this is one of those "is a microwave".

A more expensive one doesn't do any better. I've only owned 2 microwaves in 15 years. Both were "just microwaves"

I do really like the aesthetics of the one I have now. When it broke I fixed it (that was interesting) as it was just a little part near the capacitor (a resistor I think) that had split. I bought a new one for 5 pounds and it was as good as new.

Basically everything was working except the magnetron.
 
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413x said:
For me this is one of those "is a microwave".

A more expensive one doesn't do any better. I've only owned 2 microwaves in 15 years. Both were "just microwaves"

I do really like the aesthetics of the one I have now. When it broke I fixed it (that was interesting) as it was just a little part near the capacitor (a resistor I think) that had split. I bought a new one for 5 pounds and it was as good as new.

Basically everything was working except the magnetron.
Click to expand...
More expensive ones definitely do better, an inverter is a must for me, I could do without the flat bottom and go back to a turn table but no way I'm doing without the inverter.
 
robj20 said:
More expensive ones definitely do better, an inverter is a must for me, I could do without the flat bottom and go back to a turn table but no way I'm doing without the inverter.
Click to expand...

In what way? I thought microwaves were still basically the same as they've always been (except some don't have a turntable)
 
413x said:
In what way? I thought microwaves were still basically the same as they've always been (except some don't have a turntable)
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It's the way the power is delivered.
Lower powers on cheap microwaves is just full power pulsing on and off.
An inverter actually delivers lower power so you can get much better results, non of that burnt edges frozen middle you get with cheap ones.
 
robj20 said:
It's the way the power is delivered.
Lower powers on cheap microwaves is just full power pulsing on and off.
An inverter actually delivers lower power so you can get much better results, non of that burnt edges frozen middle you get with cheap ones.
Click to expand...

Just like the difference between a cheap rice cooker and one with Fuzzy Logic.

Cheap rice cooker is on full blast until the sensor detects 100c.
Fuzzy logic delivers power in a curve and raises temperature slowly to ensure even cooking throughout.
 
robj20 said:
It's the way the power is delivered.
Lower powers on cheap microwaves is just full power pulsing on and off.
An inverter actually delivers lower power so you can get much better results, non of that burnt edges frozen middle you get with cheap ones.
Click to expand...

Ah! That is interesting. Didn't know that. Makes sense though.

And yes. That does sound better. I use 80pc a lot for reheating. (not sure why tbh) and it.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
Is this an inverter one that's good to get
Click to expand...

I have this, it is great but it is BIG.

4MLnxep.jpg
 
Panasonic Invertermajig here. One thing to note that our buttons are grey text on black and not backlit which makes them a bugger to read. The above with white letters looks much more readable.
 
Diddums said:
It's a microwave, it heats food and does a spinny thing, what more could you need? Grab whatever tickles your fancy and cook your pot noodle in it!
Click to expand...

Some microwave can keep the fan on for a few minutes after the timer to stop condensation built up if you don't take the food out straight away.
Power of microwave range from 600 - 1200, some have grill or air fry built in. 600w is not just how long it take to heat but also how heat penetrate the middle of the food as well, get at least 800w

Size does matter , don't listen to what ladies tell you otherwise :P

Finally, the fancy buttons and touch panels usually break first before any internals. If it feels too plastic or tacky then most likely wont last unless you don't use it everyday.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
Is this an inverter one that's good to get
Click to expand...
It appears to be:
panasonicdirect.store.panasonic.co.uk

Panasonic Panasonic 27L Solo Microwave Oven - Silver

1000W, 27L Flatbed microwave oven only. Thanks to the innovative Flatbed cavity design, gives you a cooking area that is 31% bigger than a conventional turntable model. This allows you to use bigger plates or cook more dishes which saves both time and money.
panasonicdirect.store.panasonic.co.uk

Aside from inverters, the waveguide and how that effectively directs the energy is also part of the design that more expensive microwaves also improve on, some more dynamic than others.. this can massively improve the even-ness of heating.
Then there is the way the Magnetron is driven, with a basic one, it's often a relay just switching mains to a step up transformer to a few thousand volts directly to the magnetron, more expensive ones have a little better method of more sympathetically switching, even if they aren't using inversion..

And then sensors can massively help with reheating/defrosting etc..
 
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