Kitchen Over the Stove microwave gave out! HUMMMMMmmm

Personal Finances Building / Maintaining a Home
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A Maytag MMV6178AAW unit, original one in 1994 gave out, I replaced it with this one, built in 2005, so it’s given us some years duty, but the plastic handle cracked, from the heat, apparently, could not see how to replace it, even after buying a new handle, so I’d epoxy it years ago… But now it’s stuck humming, even if unplugged, rebooted, no help. So not worth repairing… Paid $387 in 1994! Then it broke, repairs were a hassle with the Appliance store where we bought it, so the next failure I replaced it with this 2005 version, now it’s toast…

It would have been nice to find another, but it’s long since discontinued, so I need to find a decent replacement. So I’m looking for a ~30 inch unit, maybe white, but seeing the current one not handling the over-stove heat well, maybe a stainless one would be better, but DW has the final word…

Costco? Lowes? Online? Thoughts?

weco
(When it rains it pours)

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We recently replaced ours with a unit from Lowes that was on sale for around $250, IIRC. I was surprised to see them so cheap. It actually had died a couple of years earlier, but we bought a cheap countertop microwave to delay replacement until we replaced more appliances. Ours are currently white and I would prefer stainless, but we we decided to get another white one as we are going to sell the house next year and not redo the kitchen.

FWIW,

IP

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I suggest you check out the data set below. These people record their sales and service they provide. They will miss service by others - but it is a place to state.

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One thing I insist on with a microwave is that it use an inverter for varying the power. The alternative is cycling on and off at 100% power. I use it a lot at less than 100%. For me this has always meant having a countertop Panasonic (from Costco). My house came with an over-the-stove microwave that I never use. I have no idea how available they are in that configuration.

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Well, the search begins today, the old Maytag hums when the door is closed, not the turntable, so likely the klystron, since the interlock is the only thing that stops its HUMMMMM…

My DW, aka CFO, wants it replaced ASAP, but also wants White, as are the other appliances. So, I’ve dropped the links to her Inbox, I thought I had one at Costco, but White is Out of Stock… That was a GE…

The LG’s I see are WiFi enabled, not sure why that’s needed, but I don’t find a White version… A Maytag might just pop in with the same support brackets, but so far I’m not finding any.

GWPotter’s link does not include Over the Range microwaves…

Other appliances are Samsung Refridge, not happy with the finish, original freezer door was replaced, but this one’s finish is blistering near the water/ice dispenser… Bosch dishwasher has been OK, but we’re not locked into any brand other than reliable… Maytag Micro , as I noted earlier had it’s failures, too.

Thanks for the links, will see if we can find a unit, see how it fares with Consumer Reports, might be best to take a ride up 101 to Lowes, the floor guys there were the best for other appliances…

White, 30", availability are the keys. so far… Per my CFO.

Thanks again…

weco

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Seems like a useless feature that can just cause problems and waste energy staying connected.
Since most of my microwave usage is a few minutes at a time and possibly checking to see if warming leftovers is hot enough I can’t imagine why this would be useful. I don’t really need a downloaded recipe to see how long it takes to ~boil a cup of water.

Mike

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Am reasonably sure this is the model we recently bought and find works well. Currently on sale for $299. A couple of the things we were looking for were the ability to use both the timer and the microwave at the same time, as well as have the power come on automatically when we pushed the +30 seconds button. Our countertop Panasonic, (with the inverter,) makes you push start as an additional step to the +30 button, unless of course you were just adding time to nuking something already in progress, which happened never.

We don’t use a lot of bells and whistles and I confess I have yet to read a microwave manual. I use it for reheating, mostly.

Note that we installed ourselves. Crazy overhead arm strength required. If we had to pay an arm and a leg to have someone do it for us, we may have gone higher end so that it didn’t cost more to install than buy!

IP,
who really was not wanting to spend a lot of money on this

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We tried to go to this model, a GE JVM7195DKWW, but it’s out of stock nearly everywhere, there was one in SoCal and another in Indiana, from other Sellers, but they limit their shipping distances, so don’t allow even ordering or paying to ship. I’d like to stick to Costco, maybe call an see if they have any info… (I did call, their answer was to wait a week, to see it any came in…) :frowning:

The interior cleaning is a big seller s somehow the current SS interior stained, couldn’t be cleaned…

onward… The Search continues…

Update: Final answer was this one, from Home Depot, a different model, a tad pricier, but Ordered, Free Delivery, will be here Thursday, 3 days… Fastest of any similar we could find… Our Range is a GE Profile, via Lowes I think… That was fun, as I had to cut back granite tile o make it fit… So this will match…

They really tried to push Installation, for another $140, but I declined, did the one we have, replaced it, etc…

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One feature I can’t seem to avoid in microwaves is planned obsolescence. Since I mostly use mine to reheat coffee, or tortillas, a simple no frills model is fine. But… I am intrigued by low profile models: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Whirlpool-1-1-cu-ft-Over-the-Range-Low-Profile-Microwave-Hood-Combination-in-White-WML55011HW/304768841?irgwc=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-197432-456723-&clickid=Uf90jqRxExyNTm0SiXUTAXRYUkA1BmUVrzdzwM0

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Since they don’t make it easy to determine the cavity size or the max distance between the plate and cavity ceiling, I’m inclined to think this is a problem for many users.

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DW and I are not tall people and we were never fans of our over the stove microwave. We found it difficult to get things in and out and to keep clean. We also thought that it limited the size (height) of pans on our stove top.

So when we did a kitchen upgrade about 5 years ago, our kitchen designer recommended this model and we couldn’t be happier with it! No problems getting things in and out, and we have plenty of room over our new induction cooktop. Our was installed in our kitchen counter island.

We would recommend this type for those of you who might be vertically challenged!!

'38Packard

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DW & I are a mix, my 6’-2" means I’m the one called to reach or place things up high, or she uses a stool…

Originally, the micro was too close to the range, so I had to take it down, then the cabinet above down, and raise it up 3 or 4 inches, that meant my knocking the cabinet apart, cutting it down, then carfully cutting the doors down Then reinstalling the micro, extending the granite backsplash as well…

So the replacement needed to be the same size, but finding one was a pain… But it’s on the truck, be here Thursday… I’ll take the bad, bad old one out… Eventually take it apart, see what’s in there!

Update, Thursday @ 4 PM, the new Micro has arrived, awaiting my next moves, removing the old, prepping the space, etc…

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Busy weekend, but Monday AM, removed the old beast, had to call my BIL for a hand, heavier than I remember, but that was '05, I was a lot younger then…

Then sorting out the new hanger bracket for the GE, similar, but I still had the old Centerline and stud makings on the wall from '05… New supprt bolt holed, the old spacer boks worked out, but the old blue tape ws crappy, so this time I used drywall screws to lock them in place… Taped, compounded to old bracket toggle bolt holes no longer needed…

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More work than I’d expected, wiped me out…

Tomorrow, set the new GE micro into place seal up the exhaust duct… So another call to BIL for a lift…

Progress!

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Well, the new day, but it did not turn out well. Bracket mount, everything was fine, but once the new GE Micro was in place, we, BIL & me, see the center where it meets the upper cabinet the steel casing is depressed about 1/4", the plastic front trim distorted, sides are up flush where they should be, but not the center. We pull it back out, and sure enough a depression in the steel casing on the top. Unseen as I attached the top vent flange/flapper assembly, but definitely wrong.

Broke out my phone, called the HD Customer Service Hotline. In theory any damage has to be reported within 48 hours of delivery, but good guy John talked to GE, and they accepted everything, a replacement unit will arrive on 2/4/23. Original Order was 1/23, delivered 1/27, but not in place until today ,1/31…

So now it’s back in the box, and we wait for the delivery on the 4th, John @ HD Support said to be sure to unbox, inspect while the delivery guys are onsite… Call him back if there are any issues…

What’s crazy was that this defect wasn’t very obvious earlier at all, until found then very obvious… As you see in the pics the box damage is on the Back side, not the top front where it actually was.

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Update for today, not that I’m antsy, but… Called the HD Hotline at Noon PT, to check on the replacement, this time Ashley did great, connected with GE, and it’s all set for delivery tomorrow (Saturday) between 7 & 11 AM… and yes they have my number, will call… But there is no online info on my HD account, just the phone calls I’ve made to the hotline, and notes I made, nothing in my account… So far so good, but it would be nice to see it written somewhere…

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Update: Driver called at 0730, be here in a half hour, so up I scrambled, and right on time, Luis and his helper came, single-handedly grabbed the dented one, brought in, unboxed the replacement, even set it up on the kitchen counter! Signed, initialed the paperwork, took a pic of it and the box, details, they were gone in maybe 10 minutes, on to the next…

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Whew… So now I just need to add the vent flange, remove the mounting braket, then it’s only a matter of help when my BIL has a chance to swing by…

Young, strong fellows, they got a kick out of handling that box likely it was a challenge… Good to see…

Update: Mounted, powered, almost done… A matter of the learning curve, as in, it seems to be smarter than me… And for some reason, the User Manual included was very skimpy, but a 32 page User Manual online was much better. Took a bit to sort out how to set the clock, combinations of buttons and the knob… It does more things than we really wanted, needed, air fry, bake, etc… so, yes a learning curve for all… Original User manual pdf file was 64 pages, but by trimming off the alternate languages, only 32 pages, easier to read on the computer screen…

Only been a day, but we find this micro is a lot more featured than we expected, meaning there is a learning curve. OTOH, I was able to slice up the GE micro box, disposed of the packing debris, pulled most of the tools back out to the shop, moved the little temporary micro out to the garage shelving, might be handy someday…

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weco

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Yet another Update, rather than a new thread…

We had adjusted to the new MW, a lot of stuff we don’t really use, but my DW noticed the vent fan wasn’t really pulling any air out, so naturally I had to investigate.

Reading various reviews on either the Home Depot or GE site, the little or no vent pull seems to be a consistent complaint. I had noticed if I’m using cast iron pan to brown stuff on the range below, I’d get the smoke alarm to go off!

I’m not feeling the pull at the MW. It should pull, hold a sheet of paper or newspaper if it were moving any air, it doesn’t, even a light strip barely moves… It does move air, I pulled the output duct adapter off the top, then I see it’s back flow flapper is hung up, so I removed it, wasn’t really doing anything, more air flow, but not from the bottom! Some from the top edge of the door, the optional output if there was not an outside vent…

If I can’t sort it out, there is a Warranty, service appointment at the GE site…

“You can schedule an appointment online at: Appliance Repair Service and Support | GE Appliances Or if you prefer to call, you can reach our scheduling department at 1-800-432-2737, Mon-Fri 7 am – 10 pm ET, Sat-Sun 8 am – 6 pm ET”.

Naturally it’s out of hours now…

A new day, a new mystery… weco

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You got me curious. I started googling the model number at the link you provided.

When I looked at the installation instructions pages 12-14 go into a lot about setting it up for Non-Vented Ductless installation. Page 23 of the owner’s manual goes into some odd stuff about the vent operating automatically. Page 27 mentions a Bump Out Kit:

Bump Out Kit
When installing a microwave in a kitchen with 15” deep
the microwave to be installed 3 inches further out which
prevents the cabinets from blocking the ventilation holes
at the top of the microwave grill.

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The previous, and way back kitchen remodel continued the access through the attic, roof vent connection. So the external venting is what I set up on this one as well, that is good to go, same slot in the upper cabinet, only had to connect to the 3.5x10 adapter and out it goes… The damper seems to have been maybe been stuck closed, so I removed it for now, will pop it back in once I get to the final fix, or lack of, to be sure it’s moving freely…

Problem is down under the MW, there are only two 5x7 openings, covered by grease trap filters, washable, there is near zero air flow there, it won’t even hold a 2 inch strip of newspaper, much less a full sheet. It should be slamming it up, try to pull it in and blow it out the roof vent! Not happening!

Screenshot 2023-08-27 at 10.37.04 AM Screenshot 2023-08-27 at 10.38.55 AM

Not very hopeful at the moment… I’m hesitating calling GE on the weekend, might get better help during the work-week…

Thanks for looking, like to find another user out there…See how their worked out, if I had it to day over I would have checked this before mounting it, takes two to get it in place, screws started, BIL is out of town this weekend…

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I got busy/lazy this week, didn’t call GE until this afternoon, well, online chat, but that ended with no solution, so I scheduled a Service Tech appointment for next Thursday…

Looking down I see the fan, as it should be oriented, so no ismple fix… It seems to be just pulling from the vent over the door, covering that are doesn’t make it pull from below, however… A bit of a mystery. If it was lighter, I’d drop it out, see what’s below. the fan, but will find out next week…

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