On Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:51:05 -0400, mm wrote:

I just got out of the hospital with a broken arm and abdominal surgery.
(you don't want to know the gory details) It's very hard to do
anything. I live alone.

I have a small microwave whhich had an intermittent fuse. This happened
a week before I was hospitaized, and I hadn't fixed it yet. It would be
great to have hot food. I can replace the fuse but finding and getting
and and putting on the metal cover, the cabinet, is probably beyond me.
It it safe to use without that outside cover? How far away would I have
to be?

What if I do find the cover but I can't do more than lay it on top, in
place, but can't even put one screw in. Does the cover help at all
wihout any screws? What about one screw? Does the screw have to be in
tight?

Thanks a lot.

1st try to get a new microwave oven.

IIRC, I once heard a lecture by a professor of Electrical Engineering
from a Big Ten college who stated that most Microwave Ovens have the
frequency of the oven focused on heating water molecules. The long
string protein molecules pick up vibration (heat) from the vibrations of
the water molecules (convection heating).

Thus, most microwave ovens will not hurt most of your body because you
blood will move the heat to other parts of your body. The more blood
circulation (because it is mostly water) in a specific part of your body,
the less danger. Obviously, the place(s) where there is water and
little, or no, blood to transport the heat is a potential problem: the
inner part of your eye and inside your bladder. Heating up the fluid
inside your eyeball over and over can be bad on the cones and rods on the
back of your eyeball.

{Aside: microwave energy is NOT X-ray or Gamma-Ray energy. Wrong energy
level and E-M frequency.}

As someone else pointed out, keep metal well away with the cover just
slightly on. Make sure you turn your head well away from the oven when
in use. The further your eyeballs and bladder are from the source, the
better. Worst case: sitting in wheelchair, watching food cook by staring
into oven while oven is on counter eyeball height and the cover is
loosely on.

But still get a new oven.