Microwave Oven Repairs - Chiang Mai City

[whimsy]

Our 18 month old Daewoo microwave oven is only slightly warming the food all of a sudden. It seems to have lost 90% of its' heating power. I assume the microwave emitter is in bad shape. Any recommended places I could take it to see if it is repairable?

[agsnowdon]

probally just as cheap to buy a new one.

[p1p]

Electronic Plaza or Niyom Panich - in that order.

[Maejo Man]

Our 18 month old Daewoo microwave oven is only slightly warming the food all of a sudden. It seems to have lost 90% of its' heating power. I assume the microwave emitter is in bad shape. Any recommended places I could take it to see if it is repairable?

Well you can thank messrs John Randall and Dr. Harry Boot for your Magnetron failure

Did you purchase it locally? Did you check your warantee? It's commonplace now with a lot of electronic items to give two years warantee.

I would suggest Siam Electrics or Niyom Panitch, but the cost to replace the magnetron could easily come close to the cost of a new unit. I also have no idea if they have the means to check for spurious radiation once the unit has been repaired. A most important aspect of repairing amy microwave device.

Personally I would bite the bullet and look for a new one; far safer and less trouble all round.

[chownah]

Mine did the same thing...and then fixed itself....then it did it again...and fixed itself again. It might be that some bug or jing jok (small lizard) has gone inside and touched two bare wires and fried itself causing a short circuit. If/when the corpse dries out so that it will not conduct electricity then perhaps it will work fine again....at least that's the fairy tale that I have adopted to explain my experiences. You might try the following to fix it yourself.

Put an old newspaper on the floor to work on. Take the turntable and any other loose items out of the microwave and set it on the floor with the door closed and unplugged. Gently tip the microwave until it is resting on its back instead of its base. Pat the top, sides, and bottom of the microwave about as hard as if you were burping a baby...don't whack it hard, just enough to give it a little shake and vibration. Then tip the microwave so it is resting on its top. Then burp the microwave again. Then tip the microwave onto its back again and burp. Then tip it back onto its base. Maybe you will have dislodged the critter that's causing the problem. I've never tried this before but if my microwave develops the problem again and does not cure itself as it has in the past then this is the procedure I'll use to try to cure it myself. It probably won't work....if not then just either take it in to fix or donate it to some neighborhood child as a science project!!!

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I used to have a part-time job in an electrical store and you can be guaranteed that when the salesperson take your item through the back, then the fisrt thing that they will do is hit it a few times!

[cmsally]

I also have no idea if they have the means to check for spurious radiation once the unit has been repaired. A most important aspect of repairing amy microwave device.

Interestingly enough heard that there was something on at the moment offering free checks on microwaves for leakage.

It was announced on local radio FM100. I switched channels and missed the location but maybe someone else heard the details?

[whimsy]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. It is working again today, so it seems the magnetron is probably OK. Perhaps an intermittent connection somewhere as Chownah suggests. If it does it again I'll try 'burping' it as suggested. Failing that, I'll try the repair places mentioned. It is bigger and more powerful than the average microwave here. Replacing it with an equivalent model looks like it would be over 5000B, so it should be worthwhile at least looking at repairing rather than replacing.