Noticed there is smell in the microwave that doesn't smell like it's food
related. Maybe something internal burned up. I'm not sure. I'm afraid to
unscrew the oven and take it apart. A repair man once told me there is a
lot of voltage stored up inside mw ovens. Don't want to do anything foolish
and get an incredible zap.

Money-wise this is a cheap $35 microwave. However, replacing it, I would
probably spend close to $100.. thinking maybe the low quality is what may
have caused this thing to burn up. Then again, I don't know for sure what
caused the smell. Maybe it is food related? And, the microwave is okay. I
haven't tested it out yet. Any suggestions?

Tested out microwave. It still works. Smell is present. Will wait for
tomorrow and find out if the smell goes away. May even take off the
cover... making sure I don't make contact with anything inside to see if
there is anything obviously wrong.

"Charlie S." wrote in message
news:BxC2f.3959$Iq3.2957@trndny01...
Noticed there is smell in the microwave that doesn't smell like it's food
related. Maybe something internal burned up. I'm not sure. I'm afraid
to unscrew the oven and take it apart. A repair man once told me there is
a lot of voltage stored up inside mw ovens. Don't want to do anything
foolish and get an incredible zap.

Money-wise this is a cheap $35 microwave. However, replacing it, I would
probably spend close to $100.. thinking maybe the low quality is what may
have caused this thing to burn up. Then again, I don't know for sure what
caused the smell. Maybe it is food related? And, the microwave is okay.
I haven't tested it out yet. Any suggestions?

Fear not. There's no voltage stored up inside your microwave oven.
Particularly in a $35 unit the charge on any capacitor in it will leak
off by the time you get the screws out and remove the cover. Do
remember to unplug it though.

Boden

Charlie S. wrote:
Noticed there is smell in the microwave that doesn't smell like it's food
related. Maybe something internal burned up. I'm not sure. I'm afraid to
unscrew the oven and take it apart. A repair man once told me there is a
lot of voltage stored up inside mw ovens. Don't want to do anything foolish
and get an incredible zap.

Money-wise this is a cheap $35 microwave. However, replacing it, I would
probably spend close to $100.. thinking maybe the low quality is what may
have caused this thing to burn up. Then again, I don't know for sure what
caused the smell. Maybe it is food related? And, the microwave is okay. I
haven't tested it out yet. Any suggestions?

"boden" wrote in message
...
Fear not. There's no voltage stored up inside your microwave oven.
Particularly in a $35 unit the charge on any capacitor in it will leak off
by the time you get the screws out and remove the cover. Do remember to
unplug it though.

Be careful though. A microwave is basically a 500 to 100 watt radio
transmitter in a metal box!
Voltages can easily exceed 2000 lethal volts and microwave radiation can be
dangerous; if you operate it with the cover off stand well back. The short
term effects of microwave radiation are well know; you don't want to cook
your hand like a piece of meat! The long term effects of exposure to
microwaves still uncertain; but best to be sure!
If/when you put it back together make sure the covers fit absolutely to
prevent RF leakage.
If you are not an experienced technician it's probably not worth the effort
of fixing it. Repair rates including the availability of proper test gear,
use of manuals etc. probably runs between $25 and $50 per hour.
Brand new m.waves available here for between $50 and $100

"Terry" wrote in message
.. .

"boden" wrote in message
...
Fear not. There's no voltage stored up inside your microwave oven.
Particularly in a $35 unit the charge on any capacitor in it will leak
off by the time you get the screws out and remove the cover. Do remember
to unplug it though.

Be careful though. A microwave is basically a 500 to 100 watt radio
transmitter in a metal box!
Voltages can easily exceed 2000 lethal volts and microwave radiation can
be dangerous; if you operate it with the cover off stand well back. The
short term effects of microwave radiation are well know; you don't want to
cook your hand like a piece of meat! The long term effects of exposure to
microwaves still uncertain; but best to be sure!
If/when you put it back together make sure the covers fit absolutely to
prevent RF leakage.
If you are not an experienced technician it's probably not worth the
effort of fixing it. Repair rates including the availability of proper
test gear, use of manuals etc. probably runs between $25 and $50 per hour.
Brand new m.waves available here for between $50 and $100
I was thinking the same thing. May just scrap it. Not worth taking a
chance on something like this. I'm using our old microwave at the moment.
Doesn't have the rotating tray, but it has more power and works well enough.