Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn. The oven has a "popcorn" button on
it, after all. Well, after a few weeks of sometimes smelling and
sometimes not, the turntable stopped rotating. I removed the glass
turntable and attempted to remove the plastic roller "spider" unit
and it wouldn't come out. After doing some Google searches, others
said it may not come up easily, so a little force in in order. I
pried with a large screwdriver and it come out with not too much
problem. However, hole in the bottom of the spider was definitely
burned. So I proceeded to remove the motor. After more Googling, I
found that Whirlpool put in a cover plate at the bottom of the oven
which must be cut out with side cutters. Replacement was easy as
you flip it 180 degrees, put the tabs in the slots and add a screw
at the other end. Cute design! I removed the motor and its shaft
end was also burned. The motor was rated at 30 volts AC, so I bench
tested it with 30 volts AC and it rotated fine. I called my
appliance parts guru and asked about the 2 parts, the motor and the
spider. He said, "Ah making popcorn?" Together they were about
$100. He said the bag transfers so much heat through the glass to
the spider and shaft causing it to melt down and burn. Nice,
Whirlpool, you put a popcorn button on a machine that will self
destruct if you try to use it to make popcorn. I managed to
moto-tool out the 1/2" diameter rotating plastic piece in the motor,
making a 1/4" flatted shaft hole. I then fabricated a 1/4" flatted
shaft from a piece of plastic and epoxied it in place. It was still
able to grip the flatted hole in the spider. All is fixed and
working now. When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag. If this repair breaks, I'll
probably get a 1/4" nylon screw and form the shaft from that. Or, I
noticed on ebay, you can buy the exact oven for about $70 used ....
basically, a boatload of parts for future fixes. BTW, my previous
microwave oven, a built in GE, I think, never had this problem. It
made 100s of bags of popcorn in its life and is probably still going
strong in my previous house.

Also, Whirlpool WILL NOT SELL YOU THE PART due to "safety concerns".
Thanks again Whirlpool for being a great company. I know there
are many places on line where you can get the parts, albeit at a
premium price. But I'm sure, if you had factory service replace the
parts, they would cost the same or more.

In article , Art Todesco wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

"Art Todesco" wrote in message
...

. . . I called my appliance parts guru and asked about the 2 parts, the
motor and the spider. He said, "Ah making popcorn?" Together they were
about $100. He said the bag transfers so much heat through the glass to
the spider and shaft causing it to melt down and burn. Nice, Whirlpool,
you put a popcorn button on a machine that will self destruct if you try
to use it to make popcorn.

It may be pushing the envelope to blame the maker for
a design fault that stops the device only after two years'
use. If you think safety is an issue, and the oven has
an Underwriters' Laboratory sticker (was tested there),
you could inquire whether they still have an interest.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

--
If your doctor isn't taking new patients,
he ain't curing any of them.

On 5/7/2011 12:15 PM, Art Todesco wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to vent a
little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year old
Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic type of
smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always when we did a
bag of popcorn. The oven has a "popcorn" button on it, after all. Well,
after a few weeks of sometimes smelling and sometimes not, the turntable
stopped rotating. I removed the glass turntable and attempted to remove
the plastic roller "spider" unit and it wouldn't come out. After doing
some Google searches, others said it may not come up easily, so a little
force in in order. I pried with a large screwdriver and it come out with
not too much problem. However, hole in the bottom of the spider was
definitely burned. So I proceeded to remove the motor. After more
Googling, I found that Whirlpool put in a cover plate at the bottom of
the oven which must be cut out with side cutters. Replacement was easy
as you flip it 180 degrees, put the tabs in the slots and add a screw at
the other end. Cute design! I removed the motor and its shaft end was
also burned. The motor was rated at 30 volts AC, so I bench tested it
with 30 volts AC and it rotated fine. I called my appliance parts guru
and asked about the 2 parts, the motor and the spider. He said, "Ah
making popcorn?" Together they were about $100. He said the bag
transfers so much heat through the glass to the spider and shaft causing
it to melt down and burn. Nice, Whirlpool, you put a popcorn button on a
machine that will self destruct if you try to use it to make popcorn. I
managed to moto-tool out the 1/2" diameter rotating plastic piece in the
motor, making a 1/4" flatted shaft hole. I then fabricated a 1/4"
flatted shaft from a piece of plastic and epoxied it in place. It was
still able to grip the flatted hole in the spider. All is fixed and
working now. When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if it
breaks, plate under the bag. The middle of the plate becomes too hot to
touch after just on bag. If this repair breaks, I'll probably get a 1/4"
nylon screw and form the shaft from that. Or, I noticed on ebay, you can
buy the exact oven for about $70 used .... basically, a boatload of
parts for future fixes. BTW, my previous microwave oven, a built in GE,
I think, never had this problem. It made 100s of bags of popcorn in its
life and is probably still going strong in my previous house.

Also, Whirlpool WILL NOT SELL YOU THE PART due to "safety concerns".
Thanks again Whirlpool for being a great company. I know there are many
places on line where you can get the parts, albeit at a premium price.
But I'm sure, if you had factory service replace the parts, they would
cost the same or more.

Unless you always happen to enjoy that toxic chemical factory explosion
smell from the fake butter an alternative is to just use one of these:

http://www.cookware.com/Nordicware-60120-NWR1271.html

Ours is probably 10 years old. It uses plain popcorn, doesn't heat up
the glass and no oil is needed.

On 5/7/2011 12:34 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

But what about that great chemical factory explosion smell from the fake
butter?

In article , George
wrote:

On 5/7/2011 12:34 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn,
and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk
popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

But what about that great chemical factory explosion smell from the fake
butter?

There is nothing that smells more like a locker room full of very stinky
gym socks than microwave popcorn. Absolutely revolting. IMO, of course.

On Sat, 07 May 2011 14:14:13 -0400, LSMFT wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

No kidding. Is it true they don't teach grammar or other English
skills in school anymore? At any rate, there is a reason why
paragraps developed. I couldn't manage to read more than a couple
lines of the OP. OP, for your own benefit, you should learn to use
them. Google "topic sentence" paragraph and you'll
probably get lots of info.

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

I didn't think they used butter, just yellow flavoring. Seriously.
Maybe art theatres use butter, or in expensive neighborhoods, but
gnereally I thought they didn't.

On Sat, 07 May 2011 14:24:35 -0400, George
wrote:


Unless you always happen to enjoy that toxic chemical factory explosion
smell from the fake butter an alternative is to just use one of these:

http://www.cookware.com/Nordicware-60120-NWR1271.html

Ours is probably 10 years old. It uses plain popcorn, doesn't heat up
the glass and no oil is needed.

I've got you beat. Mine is 54 years old. I was iirc (I was only 10) a
premium from a popcorn company, or at least a much reduced price with
proofs of purchase. This was before Orville Redenbacher even sold
popcorn, at least where we lived, but probalby everywhere. Either my
mother or I have had my pot for 54 years now. It does need oil in the
bottom. It's just a big pot with a lid that fits.


Yours is only 22 dollars, I'll admit, but I've thought about remaking
my own if I ever ruin it. (I've dropped he lid and bent the edge, and
when I bend it back, it's not quite as round as it was, but so far so
good. The lid has a handle sort of like (| but sideways, where |
is the top of the pot, with about a 4mm hole in the lid and the
handle, and a metal rod going through both. Abvoe the lid, the rod
turns sideways for 3 or 4 inches and then bends up to hold a loose
fitting, rotating knob.

Inside the pot, it goes down the middle almost to the bottom, where it
turns almost horizontal to go close to bottom of the pot and reach
almost to the side of the pot, but an inch from the edge turns
clockwise a little, I guess to scoop up unpopped corn from the outside
and put it closer to the center.

I only go into this detail, because one could make one of these
himself. Pots are easy to get (you need one with a handle so the
wire rod won't flop around, but you could even rivet a handle on a
regular lid. I do think my pot has vents on the side of the lid. I'll
look if someone wants. The only slightly hard part would be getting
rod the right diameter, but all it needs is to weak enough that you
can bend it, and strong enough that it won't bend by itself. How hard
is that. That the crank is on the top has never bothered me. A
little steam probably comes out the hole around the rod, but I've
never noticed. I do notice that after 54 years, and periods where I
ate popcorn every day or two for months, the hole is a little bigger
than it was.

On May 7, 12:15*pm, Art Todesco wrote:
When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. *The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag.

Paper plate. Won't get hot. Won't transfer heat to the carousel. Cheap.

On 5/7/2011 2:14 PM, LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make
popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk
popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.


It ain't butter. And popcorn minus the used motor oil and salt they pour
over it is actually a fairly sin-free snack on most diets. Fills you up
with mainly air.

--
aem sends...

In article , LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

In article , Larry Fishel wrote:
On May 7, 12:15=A0pm, Art Todesco wrote:
When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. =A0The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag.

Paper plate. Won't get hot.

Yes, it will.

Won't transfer heat to the carousel.

Yes, it will.

Cheap.

On 2011-05-07, Doug Miller wrote:

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

....and in the top 2-3 fiber foods. If you ever get uncomfortably
constipated, start eating popcorn and drink lotsa water. You WILL
move.

nb

On Sat, 07 May 2011 14:14:13 -0400, LSMFT wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.
2990 in the butter.

In article ,
(Doug Miller) wrote:

In article
, Larry
Fishel wrote:
On May 7, 12:15=A0pm, Art Todesco wrote:
When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. =A0The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag.

Paper plate. Won't get hot.

Yes, it will.

Won't transfer heat to the carousel.

Yes, it will.

Cheap.

I use a simple paper towel folded in half under the center section of
pop corn bags to act as a thermal insulator... the carousel does still
pick up little heat, but it's negligible. I do the same with frozen TV
dinners, and other items that tend to transfer large heat loads to the
carousel.

I think an inverted paper plate would work as well, or possibly a bit
better. A foam or plastic plate would not be a good idea for pop corn
use, and as always, carefully monitor all pop corn preparation in
microwaves.

I use the pop corn 'sensor' setting on my microwave and have noticed
that the paper towel insulator method very much decreases both the time
for kernels to begin popping, and total popping time.

Erik

On May 7, 12:34*pm, (Doug Miller)
wrote:
In article , Art Todesco wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. *I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. * My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. *I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-...-Pop/dp/B00004...

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

I like using jiffy pop, the kind in the aluminum shaker. We find then
near campsites, but very hard to find otherwise. A grocery near our
campground sells them.

Popcorn is a difficult load for microwave. To small an area. Almost
better to also put in a cup of water.

Greg

On May 7, 2:58*pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , Larry Fishel wrote:

On May 7, 12:15=A0pm, Art Todesco wrote:
When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. =A0The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag.

Paper plate. Won't get hot.

Yes, it will.

Won't transfer heat to the carousel.

Yes, it will.







Cheap.

I use a double paper towel sheet...works like a charm.
==

Get a hot air popper, use actual corn kernals, and add real butter and
salt when it's finished. Much easier, faster, safer, lower in calories
and MUCH higher in taste.

On May 7, 12:15*pm, Art Todesco wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. *I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. * My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. *I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn. *The oven has a "popcorn" button on
it, after all. *Well, after a few weeks of sometimes smelling and
sometimes not, the turntable stopped rotating. *I removed the glass
turntable and attempted to remove the plastic roller "spider" unit
and it wouldn't come out. *After doing some Google searches, others
said it may not come up easily, so a little force in in order. *I
pried with a large screwdriver and it come out with not too much
problem. *However, hole in the bottom of the spider was definitely
burned. *So I proceeded to remove the motor. *After more Googling, I
found that Whirlpool put in a cover plate at the bottom of the oven
which must be cut out with side cutters. *Replacement was easy as
you flip it 180 degrees, put the tabs in the slots and add a screw
at the other end. *Cute design! *I removed the motor and its shaft
end was also burned. *The motor was rated at 30 volts AC, so I bench
tested it with 30 volts AC and it rotated fine. *I called my
appliance parts guru and asked about the 2 parts, the motor and the
spider. *He said, "Ah making popcorn?" *Together they were about
$100. *He said the bag transfers so much heat through the glass to
the spider and shaft causing it to melt down and burn. *Nice,
Whirlpool, you put a popcorn button on a machine that will self
destruct if you try to use it to make popcorn. *I managed to
moto-tool out the 1/2" diameter rotating plastic piece in the motor,
making a 1/4" flatted shaft hole. *I then fabricated a 1/4" flatted
shaft from a piece of plastic and epoxied it in place. *It was still
able to grip the flatted hole in the spider. *All is fixed and
working now. *When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. *The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag. *If this repair breaks, I'll
probably get a 1/4" nylon screw and form the shaft from that. *Or, I
noticed on ebay, you can buy the exact oven for about $70 used ....
basically, a boatload of parts for future fixes. *BTW, my previous
microwave oven, a built in GE, I think, never had this problem. *It
made 100s of bags of popcorn in its life and is probably still going
strong in my previous house.

Also, Whirlpool WILL NOT SELL YOU THE PART due to "safety concerns".
* Thanks again Whirlpool for being a great company. *I know there
are many places on line where you can get the parts, albeit at a
premium price. *But I'm sure, if you had factory service replace the
parts, they would cost the same or more.

THAT IS ONE CHEAP ASS MICROWAVE OVEN.
PERSONALLY, I CANT EAT POPCORN IT GOES STRAIGHT TO MY FEET
I ONLY SNACK ON GHOST TOASTS AND EVAPORATED MILK.
BOOWAHAHAHA

TGITM

On Sat, 7 May 2011 17:34:35 -0700 (PDT), Roy
wrote:

On May 7, 2:58Â*pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , Larry Fishel wrote:

On May 7, 12:15=A0pm, Art Todesco wrote:
When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. =A0The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag.

Paper plate. Won't get hot.

Yes, it will.

Won't transfer heat to the carousel.

Yes, it will.







Cheap.

I use a double paper towel sheet...works like a charm.
==
My microwave doesn't have that problem - it has no carousel - it has
a rotating antennae instead. Old Quasar (about 25 years old) - the
antennae disk had a problem (arc burn) within the first year under
warranty, but the unit has been rock solid dependable ever since.
oes an excellent job on popcorn when I do it - but my wife often
manages to burn the popcorn.

Doug Miller wrote:
In , wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

That's why they have corn fed hogs I suppose.

--
If your doctor isn't taking new patients,
he ain't curing any of them.

On 5/7/2011 10:23 PM, LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In ,
wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art

wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make
popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35


It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying
bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a
waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

That's why they have corn fed hogs I suppose.


Assuming this site is accurate (
http://popcornpoppershop.com/watch-t...uickly-add-up/)
, plain air-popped is pretty sin-free. You only get into the porker zone
if you polish off a family-size tub of movie popcorn with extra faux
butter by yourself. And even that was only 1640 calories, not the
claimed 3000 for a small bag.

--
aem sends...

In article , LSMFT wrote:

SNIP previously quoted stuff

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

I think that's the number for the large one. 3,000 calories is
about right for 1 pound of buttered popcorn that's mostly butter or
"butter".

Also, most of the calories are in the butter / "butter", not the
popcorn. A pound of butter or fake butter has well over twice as
many calories as a pound of dry popcorn - which is gallons of popcorn.
--
- Don Klipstein )

In article , LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , wrote:

SNIP what was in between

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

That's why they have corn fed hogs I suppose.

Farm animals raised for meat are fed and raised in ways to get the most
muscle tissue for the least cost. Muscle tissue sells for more than fat
does - ever pay attention at the meat section of supermarkets?

Meanwhile, corn farmers love it when people take on the attitudes of,
"carbs are what food eats" and "grain is what food eats". Corn farmers
sell more corn that way.
--
- Don Klipstein )

In , Smitty
Two wrote:

In article , George
wrote:

On 5/7/2011 12:34 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn,
and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk
popcorn instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a
waaaaaayyyyy better job of making popcorn, too.

But what about that great chemical factory explosion smell from the fake
butter?

There is nothing that smells more like a locker room full of very stinky
gym socks than microwave popcorn. Absolutely revolting. IMO, of course.

I find microwave popcorn to smell pleasant, though "real food" can beat
cheap stuff with cheap flavoring chemicals.

My biggest complaint against microwaving popcorn is that "fully popping
it" takes about 80-90% as much time as it takes to make it catch fire.

Microwave popcorn requires supervision, especially if you use a
different microwave than the one you are used to, or if the package got
downsized the way ice cream and yogurt packages got downsized.
--
- Don Klipstein )

In , Erik wrote in part:

Major snippage to get to this point

and as always, carefully monitor all pop corn preparation in microwaves.

Reason: Once the kernels are nearly all popped, temperature rises fast.

Microwaving of popcorn is a major cause of fires in college student
housing.
--
- Don Klipstein )

On 5/7/2011 10:23 PM, LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In ,
wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art

wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make
popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35


It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying
bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a
waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a very
low-calorie food.

That's why they have corn fed hogs I suppose.


Maybe you haven't considered that change of volume thing when you pop it?

On 5/7/2011 9:07 PM, tmclone wrote:
Get a hot air popper, use actual corn kernals, and add real butter and
salt when it's finished. Much easier, faster, safer, lower in calories
and MUCH higher in taste.

We used to have one of those and the plastic housing finally self
destructed. Couldn't find a replacement so I bought the microwave popper
I linked to earlier in this thread. One thing we immediately noticed is
that the popped corn had more flavor than the air popper version. If you
think about it the air popper fills the room with "popcorn smell" when
you use it which means there is a lot less remaining in the corn.

I do like that chemical fake butter smell.

Thanks for the head up, I've been using a plate under the
popcorn bag. Helps to keep the heat from melting the rotor.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"George" wrote in message
...

But what about that great chemical factory explosion smell
from the fake
butter?

Yellow flavor, and about five pounds of sodium.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"mm" wrote in message
...

I didn't think they used butter, just yellow flavoring.
Seriously.
Maybe art theatres use butter, or in expensive
neighborhoods, but
gnereally I thought they didn't.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article , George
wrote:

On 5/7/2011 12:34 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art
wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make
popcorn,
and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk
popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a
waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

But what about that great chemical factory explosion smell from the fake
butter?

There is nothing that smells more like a locker room full of very stinky
gym socks than microwave popcorn. Absolutely revolting. IMO, of course.
===================

I've noticed that especially with certain brands/flavorings. Not only smells
revolting (I might rather dirty socks) but popping in those bags is really
unhealthy. I always pop mine in my boring, everyday old steel lidded cooking
pot. Just like grandma used to do. There's a certain satisfaction doing it
that way, plus knowing it isn't poisoned, and that I didn't spend money on
or have need to store any special contraptions.

George wrote:
On 5/7/2011 10:23 PM, LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In ,
wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art

wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make
popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-.../dp/B00004SU35



It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying
bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a
waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you.

Absolute nonsense.

Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

The problem there is the faux butter, not the popcorn. Popcorn is a veaery
low-calorie food.

That's why they have corn fed hogs I suppose.


Maybe you haven't considered that change of volume thing when you pop it?

You should consider the volume you eat, paper bags full.

--
If your doctor isn't taking new patients,
he ain't curing any of them.

On May 7, 4:58*pm, (Doug Miller) wrote:
In article , Larry Fishel wrote:
Paper plate. Won't get hot.

Yes, it will.

You are probably technically correct, but hot paper is of no real
significance in this problem.

Won't transfer heat to the carousel.

Yes, it will.

Not to any significant extent as long as it's dry. If your carousel
gets hot under a paper plate it's mostly because of radiant heat from
the popcorn passing through it, not the paper transmitting heat. Not
that the difference between radiant heat and thermal conduction
matters much to the carousel, but the point is that a simple paper
plate will protect the carousel better than a glass one. As mentioned
by others, a paper towel works well too, for the same reason.

On May 7, 4:02*pm, mm wrote:
On Sat, 07 May 2011 14:14:13 -0400, LSMFT wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In , Art *wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. *I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. * My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. *I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn.

[snip looooong tale of woe]

No kidding. *Is it true they don't teach grammar or other English
skills in school anymore? *At any rate, there is a reason why
paragraps developed. *I couldn't manage to read more than a couple
lines of the OP. * *OP, for your own benefit, you should learn to use
them. * Google * *"topic sentence" paragraph * * * *and you'll
probably get lots of info.



There's a very simple solution: stop using your microwave to make popcorn, and
get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Wabash-Valley-...-Pop/dp/B00004....

It will pay for itself rapidly with the money you'll save buying bulk popcorn
instead of those stupid little microwave bags. And it does a waaaaaayyyyy
better job of making popcorn, too.

Don't eat popcorn, it's bad for you. Buttered small popcorn at the
theater has about 3000 calories.

I didn't think they used butter, just yellow flavoring. *Seriously.
Maybe art theatres use butter, or in expensive neighborhoods, but
gnereally I thought they didn't.

"At any rate, there is a reason why paragraps developed."

I only ask this since you felt a need to comment on the OP's grammar
skills:

What are "paragraps"?

On May 7, 12:15*pm, Art Todesco wrote:
Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. *I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. * My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. *I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn. *The oven has a "popcorn" button on
it, after all. *Well, after a few weeks of sometimes smelling and
sometimes not, the turntable stopped rotating. *I removed the glass
turntable and attempted to remove the plastic roller "spider" unit
and it wouldn't come out. *After doing some Google searches, others
said it may not come up easily, so a little force in in order. *I
pried with a large screwdriver and it come out with not too much
problem. *However, hole in the bottom of the spider was definitely
burned. *So I proceeded to remove the motor. *After more Googling, I
found that Whirlpool put in a cover plate at the bottom of the oven
which must be cut out with side cutters. *Replacement was easy as
you flip it 180 degrees, put the tabs in the slots and add a screw
at the other end. *Cute design! *I removed the motor and its shaft
end was also burned. *The motor was rated at 30 volts AC, so I bench
tested it with 30 volts AC and it rotated fine. *I called my
appliance parts guru and asked about the 2 parts, the motor and the
spider. *He said, "Ah making popcorn?" *Together they were about
$100. *He said the bag transfers so much heat through the glass to
the spider and shaft causing it to melt down and burn. *Nice,
Whirlpool, you put a popcorn button on a machine that will self
destruct if you try to use it to make popcorn. *I managed to
moto-tool out the 1/2" diameter rotating plastic piece in the motor,
making a 1/4" flatted shaft hole. *I then fabricated a 1/4" flatted
shaft from a piece of plastic and epoxied it in place. *It was still
able to grip the flatted hole in the spider. *All is fixed and
working now. *When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. *The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag. *If this repair breaks, I'll
probably get a 1/4" nylon screw and form the shaft from that. *Or, I
noticed on ebay, you can buy the exact oven for about $70 used ....
basically, a boatload of parts for future fixes. *BTW, my previous
microwave oven, a built in GE, I think, never had this problem. *It
made 100s of bags of popcorn in its life and is probably still going
strong in my previous house.

Also, Whirlpool WILL NOT SELL YOU THE PART due to "safety concerns".
* Thanks again Whirlpool for being a great company. *I know there
are many places on line where you can get the parts, albeit at a
premium price. *But I'm sure, if you had factory service replace the
parts, they would cost the same or more.

I used to do warranty work on microwaves. Rule 1 should be "Always
place your popcorn on a trivet. Never place it directly on the glass
tray". Popcorn causes an extremely localized heating of the glass tray
that results in a local expansion of the tray causing it to crack,
very common. In this case it transferred the heat to the motor shaft
that is not so common. Yepper GE will not sell directly to the
consumer, only qualified techs.That is the same for the rest of the
companies who make microwaves too. One less liability issue to worry
about.

Jimmie

On May 8, 4:56*pm, JIMMIE wrote:
On May 7, 12:15*pm, Art Todesco wrote:





Well, maybe the Subject line got your attention. *I just wanted to
vent a little and warn others of this potential problem. * My 2 year
old Whirlpool microwave oven started producing a burning plastic
type of smell. *I didn't notice it at the time, but it was always
when we did a bag of popcorn. *The oven has a "popcorn" button on
it, after all. *Well, after a few weeks of sometimes smelling and
sometimes not, the turntable stopped rotating. *I removed the glass
turntable and attempted to remove the plastic roller "spider" unit
and it wouldn't come out. *After doing some Google searches, others
said it may not come up easily, so a little force in in order. *I
pried with a large screwdriver and it come out with not too much
problem. *However, hole in the bottom of the spider was definitely
burned. *So I proceeded to remove the motor. *After more Googling, I
found that Whirlpool put in a cover plate at the bottom of the oven
which must be cut out with side cutters. *Replacement was easy as
you flip it 180 degrees, put the tabs in the slots and add a screw
at the other end. *Cute design! *I removed the motor and its shaft
end was also burned. *The motor was rated at 30 volts AC, so I bench
tested it with 30 volts AC and it rotated fine. *I called my
appliance parts guru and asked about the 2 parts, the motor and the
spider. *He said, "Ah making popcorn?" *Together they were about
$100. *He said the bag transfers so much heat through the glass to
the spider and shaft causing it to melt down and burn. *Nice,
Whirlpool, you put a popcorn button on a machine that will self
destruct if you try to use it to make popcorn. *I managed to
moto-tool out the 1/2" diameter rotating plastic piece in the motor,
making a 1/4" flatted shaft hole. *I then fabricated a 1/4" flatted
shaft from a piece of plastic and epoxied it in place. *It was still
able to grip the flatted hole in the spider. *All is fixed and
working now. *When we do popcorn now, we put an old, I don't care if
it breaks, plate under the bag. *The middle of the plate becomes too
hot to touch after just on bag. *If this repair breaks, I'll
probably get a 1/4" nylon screw and form the shaft from that. *Or, I
noticed on ebay, you can buy the exact oven for about $70 used ....
basically, a boatload of parts for future fixes. *BTW, my previous
microwave oven, a built in GE, I think, never had this problem. *It
made 100s of bags of popcorn in its life and is probably still going
strong in my previous house.

Also, Whirlpool WILL NOT SELL YOU THE PART due to "safety concerns".
* Thanks again Whirlpool for being a great company. *I know there
are many places on line where you can get the parts, albeit at a
premium price. *But I'm sure, if you had factory service replace the
parts, they would cost the same or more.

I used to do warranty work on microwaves. Rule 1 should be "Always
place your popcorn on a trivet. Never place it directly on the glass
tray". Popcorn causes an extremely localized heating of the glass tray
that results in a local expansion of the tray causing it to crack,
very common. In this case it transferred the heat to the motor shaft
that is not so common. Yepper GE will not sell directly to the
consumer, only qualified techs.That is the same for the rest of the
companies who make microwaves too. One less liability issue to worry
about.

Jimmie
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ONLINE NAME-BRAND ELECTRONIC PARTS DISTRIBUTORS
THAT SELL MICROWAVE PARTS AND HARDWARE, ONE I RECALL IS "PANSON"
BASED IN NEW JERSEY..
GIVE IT A TRY.
TGITM

On Mon, 09 May 2011 03:47:12 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 07 May 2011 16:02:35 -0400, mm
wrote:


I didn't think they used butter, just yellow flavoring. Seriously.
Maybe art theatres use butter, or in expensive neighborhoods, but
gnereally I thought they didn't.

A friend used to own a bar and had a popcorn machine just like in the
theaters. A yellow oil in a bottle was put in with the corn before
popping. I said vegetable oil with "Butter Flavor" contained salt
too. The idea was to make the popcorn with the least effort. No need
to add salt or anything else when done. It did taste good despite the
fake flavoring. After adding the oil and corn everything was
automatic.

Of course now there are places that bring in pre-popped popcorn!

P&M