Microwave operated empty and now not working.

[Julius]

The Toshiba microwave was accidentally operated without anything in it. However, there's no sign of any visible damage inside or outside of the microwave. It now operates as normal (light comes on, turntable turns, beebs when time is up) except it doesn't heat. This leads me to think that the microwave probably realised that the electron microwaves were not being absorbed and turned it off before damage to the magnetron or diode occurred. In other words, maybe it's just a fuse that tripped out and that this can be replaced at minimal cost.

So my question is: Is there anywhere in Dublin area where I could take it for repair or for diagnosis? It's 4 years old and so is out of warranty.

 

[Knuttell]

Microwaves are generally pretty cheap, have a look on adverts.ie, you can generally pick up a decent/little used or new one for 30-40quid.

Trying to get it fixed would be an economic loss on my thinking.

This is not a cost for you by the way, its a cost for the tenant who broke it. Make sure he ponies up the ducats.

 

[mct1]

This happened ours, a 15 year old built-in Bosch microwave. A domestic appliance repair service told us that if it turns but won't heat, that means the magnetron has been damaged. We replaced ours with a free standing one, which means when we move it can come with us. I'd take Knuttell's advice and buy another.

 

[Leo]

If it was smart enough to recognise there was nothing absorbing the radiation, it would simply switch off and not trip a physical fuse which would have a slower response time. A quick google didn't bring up any microwaves on sale here that offer such a feature.

You can get replacement magnetrons from the spares shops, many that don't involve soldering to replace. As above though, unless it's a high-end model, you might be as well off replacing it.

 

[ClubMan]

Yeah - magnetron is probably kaput and it's unlikely to be economical to repair rather than replace.

 

[Towger]

Kenilworth Electrical in Harold's Cross are one of the few places left. They may not look it, but are the official repairers of number of major brands in Ireland.

 

[Julius]

Microwaves are generally pretty cheap, have a look on adverts.ie, you can generally pick up a decent/little used or new one for 30-40quid.

Trying to get it fixed would be an economic loss on my thinking.

This is not a cost for you by the way, its a cost for the tenant who broke it. Make sure he ponies up the ducats.

Ahh, how did you know it was a tenant that broke it? You must have remembered a post I made on 31st Dec 2022 to which you responded with very good advice. As it's a different topic to this one, and I don't want to run foul of a moderator, I'll go back to that post and update you on just how right you were.
The microwave cost me €100 on Amazon and the Erasmus student currently staying with me is paying a very good market rent, is a really good and respectful lad and I've had no issue, apart from the microwave, so I won't ask him to pay for it. He thought he was using the Kitchen Timer function but activated the microwave function instead.