Spec me a microwave

JonRGV250

JonRGV250

JonRGV250

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When heating some beans this morning I heard a crackling noise, then boooom, a flash of light, followed by rather a lot of smoke.
So I’m guessing it’s popped it’s cloggs.
Don’t care what it costs, but it must have a very good defrost function that actually defrosts rather than partially cooking stuffs.
I don’t need an inbuilt grill or whatnot, just the microwave functions.
I’ve got an AO membership thingy, so get free delivery and old unit taken away, so one from them would be good.
 
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I had been looking at this Samsung one just the other day.

I have a really old model currently and the inside is still immaculate due to the ceramic interior which is easy to clean and doesn’t rust.

Never use the defrost thing as I found they all start to cook the food eventually!

Then you can get inverter microwaves but they are more for pro kitchens and industrial use.

I would likely go for Samsung again given my experience.
 
I dunno about you, but when I look at microwaves, there are only 2 important aspects for me.

One is a flatbed one.

Second, one that has two knobs, for power and time.

I cannot stand programmable microwaves, they are absolutely pointless.

That being said, there are not that many out there that are flatbed and manual.

I have a Samsung semi commercial one I think it's like 1500w, Flatbed, manual and it's pretty large, it defrosts pretty well as the lows power setting is really low.

But it wasn't cheap......
 
 
BUDFORCE said:
I dunno about you, but when I look at microwaves, there are only 2 important aspects for me.

One is a flatbed one.

Second, one that has two knobs, for power and time.

I cannot stand programmable microwaves, they are absolutely pointless.
Click to expand...
Yes, very much agree.
My soon be be recycled Delonghi then turned into a Fiat 500 has similar.
But that Samsung you posted is enormous and wouldn't fit in the pantry :(
This will, just about and is the closest I can find that'll do..

ao.com

Bosch Serie 2 Microwave Oven | Black/Stainless Steel | ao.com

This FFL020MS2B Bosch microwave has a 20-litre capacity and an 800-Watt output. It also has rotary dials, a programmable timer and a clear LED display.
ao.com ao.com

Guess I'll find out soon enough
 
What you want for good defrost is a microwave with an inverter. A cheap microwave does pulses, it will blast something with 900w for 10 seconds, stops for 10 seconds and blast for 10 seconds. This is how it does “half power” for defrost.

One with an inverter actually deliver true constant power, at various amount. So it will do 50% power constantly for defrost.

Now think about how your food can be cooked on the outside and frozen in the middle….a cheap microwave is like putting an oven at 220c to cook something, in a way.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
What you want for good defrost is a microwave with an inverter. A cheap microwave does pulses, it will blast something with 900w for 10 seconds, stops for 10 seconds and blast for 10 seconds. This is how it does “half power” for defrost.

One with an inverter actually deliver true constant power, at various amount. So it will do 50% power constantly for defrost.

Now think about how your food can be cooked on the outside and frozen in the middle….a cheap microwave is like putting an over at 220c to cook something, in a way.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
This should fit the bill..

ao.com

Panasonic Microwave | White | NN-SD25HSBPQ_WH | ao.com

This Panasonic microwave has a 23 litre capacity, auto cook programmes, a defrost feature and a control panel lock. Order today, get it tomorrow at ao.com
ao.com ao.com

I’m drawn to it because it has a “chaos” mode :)
 
JonRGV250 said:
Thanks.
This should fit the bill..

ao.com

Panasonic Microwave | White | NN-SD25HSBPQ_WH | ao.com

This Panasonic microwave has a 23 litre capacity, auto cook programmes, a defrost feature and a control panel lock. Order today, get it tomorrow at ao.com
ao.com ao.com

I’m drawn to it because it has a “chaos” mode :)
Click to expand...

I have this one.

Flatbed
Inverter

Panasonic NN-SF464MBPQ Microwave, Silver

Buy Panasonic NN-SF464MBPQ Microwave, Silver from our Microwave Ovens range at John Lewis & Partners. Free Delivery on orders over £50.
www.johnlewis.com www.johnlewis.com

But it is big.
 
Philtor said:
I had been looking at this Samsung one just the other day.

I have a really old model currently and the inside is still immaculate due to the ceramic interior which is easy to clean and doesn’t rust.

Never use the defrost thing as I found they all start to cook the food eventually!

Then you can get inverter microwaves but they are more for pro kitchens and industrial use.

I would likely go for Samsung again given my experience.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, that was the one I was looking at.
Also, this one.



The advantage of the second one is that it's flatbed.

The only one thing I would say that is worth it, if you can find it, is a stainless interior. Perhaps real enamel is as good, but paint just falls off after time and the metal starts to rust.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
I have this one.

Flatbed
Inverter

Panasonic NN-SF464MBPQ Microwave, Silver

Buy Panasonic NN-SF464MBPQ Microwave, Silver from our Microwave Ovens range at John Lewis & Partners. Free Delivery on orders over £50.
www.johnlewis.com www.johnlewis.com

But it is big.
Click to expand...
AO have the same for a tenner less + free delivery and they’ll take away my blown up one.
I really do like the idea of a flat bed for easy cleaning.
Also it looks easy enough to use, albeit with no dials.
It’ll have to live on a worktop instead of in the pantry as it’s pretty big in comparison to what I’ve had, but it’s doable.
 
BUDFORCE said:
Yes perfect, other than it has buttons UUUUUEEEGH
Click to expand...

Or get one of these, you see them in convenience stores in Asia a lot. They get abused and they last. Although I don't know how the 0-9 buttons work lol. I know in places like 7-11, when you get something from the freezer in there, on the packaging will say a number, and then after you pay and go use the microwave, you just press the matching number to use it. The time and power is programmed in.

 
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Sharp or Panasonic. I've had a Sharp one for for about 15 years, only annoying thing about it is the light doesn't come on when the door is open, only when it's actually operating.

That Russell Hobbs one would annoy me having no time adjustment.
 
I've had a fancy Panasonic one for about a decade.

the plastic front suround has started cracking around the hinge but it still works perfectly.


I was looking to upgrade recently but it seems moderm combination microwaves are less advanced than they were a decade ago, and they no longer have ones that can fit a full sized pizza tray....
 
Raymond Lin said:
Or get one of these, you see them in convenience stores in Asia a lot. They get abused and they last. Although I don't know how the 0-9 buttons work lol. I know in places like 7-11, when you get something from the freezer in there, on the packaging will say a number, and then after you pay and go use the microwave, you just press the matching number to use it. The time and power is programmed in.

Click to expand...

Now you are talking.

Some folks look at Ferrari's and dream, other folks look at microwaves.

To be fair I wouldnt be spening a grand on a microwave, although I did spend about £300 and to most that would also seem insane.
 
Raymond Lin said:
What you want for good defrost is a microwave with an inverter. A cheap microwave does pulses, it will blast something with 900w for 10 seconds, stops for 10 seconds and blast for 10 seconds. This is how it does “half power” for defrost.

One with an inverter actually deliver true constant power, at various amount. So it will do 50% power constantly for defrost.

Now think about how your food can be cooked on the outside and frozen in the middle….a cheap microwave is like putting an oven at 220c to cook something, in a way.
Click to expand...
That turned out to be good advice about an inverter microwave.
Just defrosted a steak and a chicken breast in 3 minutes without even slightly cooking them using the chaos mode.
To quote Paul Whitehouse..

Brilliant!
 
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