Microwave exploded. Am I alone?

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RomanyStar

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This is the second microwave in 6 weeks to ‘explode’ (the side light inside ignited straight away after starting the power), both microwaves were the same make & model. I put nothing metal inside. Has anyone else had an issue? I can’t imagine it being the soap but I’m unsure.
 
Sounds like a defective lot of bulbs!

I can't think of any reason it would be the soap; you're talking about melt and pour? There's no reason for metal to be in any soap.
 
It might be a problem with the 'wave guide cover', which can be found on one of the surface walls of the inside of oven- many times located near the light, depending on the model. The cover is about the size of a playing card or a baseball card. Apparently, it's a fairly common cause of sparking if food debris gets stuck on it. I found several YouTube videos on how to either fix it or replace it. Sometimes all it needs is to be cleaned, but at other times cleaning is not enough and the cover needs to be replaced. I don't know if that is the cause of your issue, but here is one of the videos I found:




IrishLass :)
 
Irish lass, I think youve hit the nail on the head!! I'll be taking it back tomorrow, it looked like flames were coming out of the light, and slight smoke. Son was only microwaving a burger, nothing metal etc.
 
Irish lass, I think youve hit the nail on the head!! I'll be taking it back tomorrow, it looked like flames were coming out of the light, and slight smoke. Son was only microwaving a burger, nothing metal etc.

I would take that microwave back and write a letter to the company - that's dangerous!

Side note: I don't own a microwave.
 
Irishlass is right (as usual). My previous microwave did that if the cover wasn't scrupulously clean. Those things are made of mica-impregnated paper and are transparent to microwaves. The problem is that if they get some grease splashed on them, that spot is no longer transparent. The waveguide opening is where all the microwaves come out into the box, so the field density is really high right there. Those now non-transparent spots start absorbing the microwaves and heating up until they get hot enough to start "burning" the mica and its paper substrate.

This isn't a "fault" with the microwave, per se, other than a poor design. (That's why you keep seeing the same problem with different units of the same model, by the way.) If you have one of the designs with the waveguide opening on the side like the one in the video, you essentially MUST use a plate cover to stop oils splashing onto the waveguide cover. Water isn't usually a problem because it will evaporate, and solids will often dry out quickly enough to stop absorbing the microwaves. But oils both absorb microwaves well and stick around long enough for things to get hot enough to cause a problem - with the added bonus of being flammable themselves once things get going.

Luckily those covers are cheap and simple to replace. As long as the metal sides of the box aren't scorched or melted, you can just keep replacing them if somebody (like a kid) makes a mistake and forgets to use a plate cover.
 
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