Anybody know anything about microwaves?

**Rhinohuey** · 07-24-2007, 07:40 PM

We got a new microwave a few months ago and its already starting to give us problems. I've tried searcing on google and have found nothing and I can't find the book for the microwave. (not even on Samsung's website) Everytime we try to cook something in it, the overhead light thing that shines down on the stove will start to flash randomly, the lights on the display will start to flash (all the lines in the numbers and stuff will flicker from really bright to really dim), and it will suddenly turn off a few seconds after it starts doing this. Usually it will work normal for about 10 seconds, then start going crazy for about 10 secons, then it will just shut off. It says "SE" when it turns off. (like I said, I can't find the book to look up what this means)

At frist I though it was some kind of low voltage problem or something, becuase we had a 15amp breaker on that circuit, but we recently changed it to a 20amp breaker and it is still having the same problem. I'm scared to put in a bigger breaker becuase I'm worried about the wiring in the circuit.

If anybody has any idea what could be the problem, or any searches I might try to be able to do to find any information, that would be great. Thanks

**FSANE** · 07-24-2007, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by Rhinohuey

We got a new microwave a few months ago and its already starting to give us problems. I've tried searcing on google and have found nothing and I can't find the book for the microwave. (not even on Samsung's website) Everytime we try to cook something in it, the overhead light thing that shines down on the stove will start to flash randomly, the lights on the display will start to flash (all the lines in the numbers and stuff will flicker from really bright to really dim), and it will suddenly turn off a few seconds after it starts doing this. Usually it will work normal for about 10 seconds, then start going crazy for about 10 secons, then it will just shut off. It says "SE" when it turns off. (like I said, I can't find the book to look up what this means)

At frist I though it was some kind of low voltage problem or something, becuase we had a 15amp breaker on that circuit, but we recently changed it to a 20amp breaker and it is still having the same problem. I'm scared to put in a bigger breaker becuase I'm worried about the wiring in the circuit.

If anybody has any idea what could be the problem, or any searches I might try to be able to do to find any information, that would be great. Thanks

If its few months ago, then its still under warranty.

**Rhinohuey** · 07-24-2007, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by FSANE

If its few months ago, then its still under warranty.

Unfortunately the warrany was an option....

**FSANE** · 07-24-2007, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Rhinohuey

Unfortunately the warrany was an option....

where did you buy it? some stores give you 90 days warranty, just return it and get your money back or store credit.

**67CamaroRSSS** · 07-24-2007, 08:19 PM

All I know is mine cooks almost everything I eat.

**Rhinohuey** · 07-24-2007, 08:19 PM

Ok, so I guess it was more like 8 months ago. Samsung did have the 90 day warranty and from what my dad told me, Best Buy had an optional 2 year warrany. I have a feeling they probably won't take it back now.

**joerockhead** · 07-24-2007, 08:24 PM

Maybe it is a power issue. 20amp unit on a 15 amp ckt?

**Rhinohuey** · 07-24-2007, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by joerockhead

Maybe it is a power issue. 20amp unit on a 15 amp ckt?

Well the whole circuit is 12 guage wiring, so I figured a 20amp breaker would be safe.

**LS1Powerhouse** · 07-24-2007, 09:50 PM

buy a new one of the same kind and then take the old one back in the newer one's box... i've done like 4 times with my old PS2 and Xbox

**Rhinohuey** · 07-24-2007, 09:52 PM

Originally Posted by LS1Powerhouse

buy a new one of the same kind and then take the old one back in the newer one's box... i've done like 4 times with my old PS2 and Xbox

Hey...thats not bad thinkin!

**NdrSiege** · 07-24-2007, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by LS1Powerhouse

buy a new one of the same kind and then take the old one back in the newer one's box... i've done like 4 times with my old PS2 and Xbox

+1. Works every time. Course, I wait a few weeks or so as to not raise suspicion.

**SSTODD** · 07-25-2007, 07:50 AM

The new p.o.s units are all electronic pcb controlled and they die often. My moms went after a month and they are so cheap now buying new is probably the best option until you get one without the quirks.

**bmyers** · 07-25-2007, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by LS1Powerhouse

buy a new one of the same kind and then take the old one back in the newer one's box... i've done like 4 times with my old PS2 and Xbox

hehe ive dont this a few times

**02ultraZ** · 07-25-2007, 08:43 AM

It sounds like the transformer is going bad in the microwave, not really worth fixing. Just do like the others said buy a new one and return the old...

**Rhinohuey** · 07-25-2007, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by 02ultraZ

It sounds like the transformer is going bad in the microwave, not really worth fixing. Just do like the others said buy a new one and return the old...

Does the transformer in a microwave hold a charge? So like, if I did decide to just replace the transformer, could I die or anything trying to take it out?

**02ultraZ** · 07-25-2007, 12:58 PM

Dude a new transformer would cost as much as a new mike. Thats why i said your better off getting a new one. you won't die lol, it's not emitting waves unless it's plugged in. But seriously my dad can fix anything and when a transformer goes bad in a mike even he's like fuk it.

**02ultraZ** · 07-25-2007, 01:00 PM

Just a tip for you guys that are returning that stuff like that. I don't care but the stores do. Thats fraud so make sure you pay with cash initially and when you return it give false info. They can track you down later and press charges. I used to work at a store and they like to go after people that do that...

**eddierox** · 07-25-2007, 01:39 PM

Microwaves are radio waves.
In the case of microwave ovens, the commonly used radio wave frequency is roughly 2,500 megahertz (2.5 gigahertz).
Radio waves in this frequency range have an interesting property: they are absorbed by water, fats and sugars.
When they are absorbed they are converted directly into atomic motion -- heat.
Microwaves in this frequency range have another interesting property: they are not absorbed by most plastics, glass or ceramics.
Metal reflects microwaves, which is why metal pans do not work well in a microwave oven.

You often hear that microwave ovens cook food "From the inside out."
What does that mean?
Here's an explanation to help make sense of microwave cooking.
Let's say you want to bake a cake in a conventional oven. Normally you would bake a cake at 350 degrees F or so, but let's say you accidentally set the oven at 600 degrees instead of 350.
What is going to happen is that the outside of the cake will burn before the inside even gets warm.
In a conventional oven, the heat has to migrate (by conduction) from the outside of the food toward the middle (See How a Thermos Works for a good explanation of conduction and other heat transfer processes).
You also have dry, hot air on the outside of the food evaporating moisture. So the outside can be crispy and brown (for example, bread forms a crust) while the inside is moist.

In microwave cooking, the radio waves penetrate the food and excite water and fat molecules pretty much evenly throughout the food.
No heat has to migrate toward the interior by conduction.
There is heat everywhere all at once because the molecules are all excited together.
There are limits, of course.
Radio waves penetrate unevenly in thick pieces of food (they don't make it all the way to the middle), and there are also "hot spots" caused by wave interference, but you get the idea.
The whole heating process is different because you are "exciting atoms" rather than "conducting heat."

In a microwave oven, the air in the oven is at room temperture, so there is no way to form a crust.
That is why microwavable pastries sometimes come with a little sleeve made out of foil and cardboard.
You put the food in the sleeve and then microwave it.
The sleeve reacts to microwave energy by becoming very hot.
This exterior heat lets the crust become crispy as it would in a conventional oven.