The other day my nine year old set the 'timer' on the microwave for 15minutes, and after the time was up, we realized he ran the microwave (instead of using the timer) with nothing in it during this time. A couple minutes after, all the electrical went out, and of course, the microwave smelled like burning plastic. Fortunately nothing melted. After it cooled, the electrical (digital display, fan, lights) came back on. However now the microwave does not 'microwave.' I am wondering if anyone has experienced this, and if so, was it repairable or did you have to replace it? The microwave is only two years old. In any case, a life lesson has been learned!! Thank you!
Unless you have an amazingly expensive microwave, replace it. They say that every year they get more energy efficient and repairs don't always mean it is completely fixed and damage is taken care of. I would vote for new.
The cost of repairing it would be as much as just buying a new one. Replace it.
Replace, definitely. I'm sure there is no way it could be fixed. Best Buy, Walmart and places like that have good buys on microwaves.
Who learned the life lesson? You or the 9 year old? You need to replace the microwave and have an electrician check to be sure the child didn't short the wiring in the wall. Safety first hon. Hope the child learned his lesson
I vote for a new unit. The Microwave is cheap enough to replace when you need to. Plus you won't have the risk of using a fried one, even when it's repaired. I would never use a damaged microwave.
I am told by my husband (very knowledgeable in this area) that they have to be replaced. My daughter did the same thing, but we caught it 30 seconds in. We were fortunate. He explained that something happens to the unit with nothing in it that causes like a burnout. I can't remember how he phrased it, but did tell me that at that point, it would have to be replaced.
your safe bet would be to get a new microwave...it would probably be slightly cheaper to have it repaired but because the electrical is messed up it would be safer to replace the unit
My Mom just did this with her brand-new microwave! Since it was only 2 weeks old (and still under warranty), she had repair services out and had it fixed. It was obvious to the repair man what had happened! If this hadn't been under warranty (and if the repair man didn't let it slide), it would have been very costly to fix. From a money perspective, it's probably best to buy a new one.
Yes, my inlaws had this happen. My nephew did the same thing to their microwave. It was a nice microwave, but they were unable to repair it for less that what a new one would cost. The internal workings were fried. I would say to be safe, get a new one.
Hi, ours went belly up too. it was the magnet in it and when you run it empty, the waves have nothing to bounce off of and it frys that. Mine would just hum, and get hot. Even when it was not turned on. I turned off that circuit and did not touch it after that. We replced it. Just to have someone come over to look at it was over 100.00. We bought from home depot. We had a built in, so we had them come and install it. ABT and best buy are quick with installation. Home depot was fine, but aftr we purchased, I found out ABT was the cheapest, (next day service too)and had additional warranty for free. Check them out! You can call them or order on line too!
Good luck!
considering the low cost of replacing a microwave, that is what I would do. by the time you pay for a service call...over $100 I just don't think repairs are worth it.
Replace...it will cost more to repair.
ours died last August. We found that the cheapest repair place was $80. A new microwave was only $99 and it was better then our old one. So, buy a new one. Isn't that sad?
