Need a new microwave... Recommendations?

[politicat]

Ours is on its last legs - it was second hand from a friend who was moving out of state about the same time as our previous antique was dying. So now I need to actually... gasp... buy one.

I know I want a carosel, and I know I don't need a huge one since there are just two of us, but since there are two of us, we use it a lot.

What is this convection stuff, and is it worth the extra cost?

Also, who is a reputable vendor (preferably a Blue one)? Are all Microwaves made in China?

Thanks!

[Warpy]

1. I bought a cheap one from Target

which was $5.00 more than my last one, a piece of crap from Wallyworld that rusted within the first two weeks I had it. The one I have now is a Westinghouse, $34.99, two heat settings, keypad, caroussel, light, alarm when it finishes, what more could I want? It's the smallest size out there, but perfect for one or two people who use it for reheating, frozen veggies, and popcorn.

[eleny]

2. Is McGuckins a blue store?

They'll probably have a lot to choose from.

[politicat]

3. um... not really.

They're "apolitical" but they do sorta kinda push their Christian faith. Since I'm not Christian, I feel rather uncomfortable in their stores.

Really sad, because otherwise, they're grand, but when they go out of their way to make me feel uncomfortable with lots of Jesus stuff and God Bless X, (And this is BOULDER, where half the population is most definitely not part of a mainstream religion....) they're not going to get a lot of my business.

[eleny]

8. Thanks, I haven't been there in years

I didn't know they had more than one location. Thanks for the word!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. Costco

They've got good prices on a variety of sizes of microwaves - last time I looked.

Everything's made in China.

Hell, even I was made in China, but that was just Old Yeller being ...... never mind.

[politicat]

9. Our costco didn't have a gorram one today.

Grr. Argh.

(That being the one thing that drives me batty about Costco... sometimes they have things and sometimes they don't. It's like shopping in Kiev in 1997... You hope and pray that a shipment came in and that the word hasn't spread too fast...)

[onecent]

5. I don't know which microwave to tell you to buy, but my husband

and I bought a panasonic at Sams and the one thing I don't like about some new microwaves is when you want to defrost something it wants the pounds (lbs) of whatever you are defrosting...

I went to my daughterinlaw's house for dinner and noticed she had the same type of microwave.

I don't know if microwaves come in defrost seconds/minutes...but my old one sure did.

Guess I just have to be smarter than the defrost button, but many many things I defrost DON'T have a poundage. such as butter, froz spinach, softening cream cheese...etc

Good luck to you...

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. The only thing that I would

recommend is to be sure to get one that can time in seconds. We got a cheapo that had a knob & we overcooked & ruined enough food to feed several animals.

My parents have one that they got for about 100 bucks at costco that is a toaster/mic combined. My mom loves it.

best

[politicat]

10. Keypad is a must.

I remember the knobby ones from work... Never again.

[Tab]

7. Go for one with "power inversion"

I have a regular convection OVEN which I love, but I've never used a convection microwave (or are they just dual purpose?)

However, there are two kinds of microwaves you can get now, and it applies to reduced power settings (e.g.: not nuking on full power).

Let's say you put the power level on 5 (out of 10) - half power if you will.

The OLD kind, and still used by cheap ones, will alternate - turn the zapper on for a second or two, then turn it off. In other words, it only runs at full power, but they "fake" half power by pulsating the power - so you're still getting full power shots, but spaced apart. Of course, the lower the power, the further apart the spacing.

The NEW kind, and mine is a Panasonic, and I think I only payed $39 for it, has something called "inverted power" or "power inversion" or something to that effect, but basically it's CONTINUOUS power, but at a lower power level, for a more true power reduction, AND a more controllable cooking experience.

The equivalent is if you had an old oven that only cooked at 500 degrees, and if you wanted to cook at 250, you'd have to shut the power off and open the door every few seconds/minutes to control the temp and keep it from getting to 500.

On the new oven, it simply cooks at 250.

I know Panasonic has it (and it's not that new, I bought one a few years ago), and others probably do, although I don't know if they use that term.

As for other features, it depends on what you use it for. I mainly use mine for heating frozen foods, the oven/stove does the bulk of the work. So I'm just interested in a carousel and controllable power, and some decent space inside. Other people do much more elaborate work in theirs, so your requirements as to programmability and whatnot might be much more involved if you put the microwave to more than just casual use.

- Tab

[politicat]

11. Thanks!

I kept seeing that in the descriptions, but had no idea what it meant and hadn't gone to look for it yet. (The stupid thing is still working, but I'd rather get my ducks in a row before it decides to die...)

[bettyellen]

12. my best friend got the convection + microwave combo and swears by it.

very rarely uses her oven since she can brown things vey quickly w/ the convection part . and she does some stuff 3/4 mocrowave and finishes em off w/ convection for crisping/ browning etc. she's an amazing cook, so i gotta believe she's on to something.