Why do I need a bigger microwave oven?

Our microwave oven is coming to the end of it's life. It is a 20 litre capacity.

I am looking at various ovens online now and I am a bit bamboozled as to why I should purchase a larger 25 litre plus capacity microwave.

All my bowls and pots are standard size and fit in the 20 litre size fine so why do people purchase the larger size models? Does it make a difference?

Also any recommendations for a combi microwave/oven model and do people often use these?

Ours has just gone on the blink as well, and the main criteria I am looking for in the replacement is that it has a 800W setting. Our current one had 90, 180, 300 (who uses any of these), and a 600 and 1000W setting. All microwavable food we bought "assumes" a 800W microwave in it's instructions! PITA trying to guess the right time to nuke it.
Can't help you with your 25 litre capacity question - ours was a grand size as well, and don't know a reason for going bigger.

I have a fine big one and like it. I thought it was on it's last legs at one stage but it rallied Anyway I did go shopping for new ones and they seem to be a lot smaller than the one I have, now I couldn't tell you how many litres it is, it's at least 25 yrs old if not older.

Anyway I use it a lot and one thing I use it for requires a large bowl, similar to a bowl on a kenwood chef mixer for example so when I was shopping I just pinched a bowl off the nearest mixer to try in the ovens. Practically none of them would take it as a lot have a grill function too which means an element in the top of the oven which was getting in the way. I don't want a grill in it. Another thing I didn't like was ones without turntables.

We bought my father a new one last year and it is small, biggest disadvantage I find is because the turntable is only the size of a big dinner plate it is light and if you put anything heavyish in like a decent size bowl of mashed potatoes to heat up it dislodges the turntable off it's little flimsy plastic thing and you have to fiddle around to get it back again. It's the bane of my life any day I am cooking there as it's just a blasted nuisance and I think it's entirely a weight issue. Might be fine if you were just putting in small plate of something to heat but if you anything bulky in the microwave like a decent size casserole dish or something get a good big one with no grill and a heavy turntable

Buddyboy, I use the lower settings regularly, every day! If you are melting choc for example you need a lower setting, just one example, I could give you loads.

My last microwave was a smaller size and I did have a few dishes that didn't fit, particularly rectangular casserole dishes - they would fit width-wise but couldn't rotate the whole way round. It was also a pain for re-heating pouch type food, eg rice or sauce pouches as the microwave wasn't tall enough and they would just fall over.

I would imagine that not all 20l microwaves are the same dimensions inside re width and height...

I spent the morning in Carrickmines looking at microwaves in Power City, Currys, Woodies, Harvey Normans. The display models in Currys were poorly displayed. Wobbling, doors not opening, sticky paper over the fronts where old price stickers had not been removed etc, yet staff standing around scratching themselves. Harvey Norman's had a poor selection. Power City was the best all round.

I don't think it's a problem if a rectangular casserole dish does not rotate. Is it a problem?
I suppose pouch type food could be placed flat in the microwave rather than standing up?
I would only need a grill to cook a pizza. That would be my main reason for the combi thing.

The 20 litre size were coming in the cheapest. So I man not sure if purchasing a larger capacity model justifies the extra cost.

Monbretia said:

Another thing I didn't like was ones without turntables.

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Just a matter of interest, but any particular reason you don't like these? Those without have far better distribution of the microwaves within the oven and so don't need the rotation to prevent hot spots, they're far easier to clean, and have greater internal space for the same overall size.

I'm just old fashioned I still believe the turntable gives a better distribution, of course that could be wrong but old habits die hard!

I don't find it hard to clean and it doesn't take up much space as the turntable is kind of recessed into base but my microwave is very large in comparison to those available now. None of the ones I saw when I was looking were as big as mine. Now if my father's one had no turntable it would be handy as it's a useless turntable and takes up space in what is already a small microwave.

The microwave stirrer(s) in the ceiling of the device are more important than the turntable, but you can't see it/them and they don't seem to generally be advertised as a feature.

I have a grill element once, never used it, just complication if ever got splashed. Most important feature for me is a simple clock like control for time. Digital ones seem unnecessarily complicated. A small one suits for most of my chores and is neater to accomodate on a worktop. I would trim down top of a pouch for heating so it can stand up. I occasionally use lower power settings for defrost or reheat of more delicate items.

Mine has an inbuilt space under the oven so space not an issue. Mine is digital but I'm used to it, would definitely just buy one with a basic knob on it rather than trying to learn a new one. Mine was very fancy in it's day, it could figure out how long it would take something to heat or cook automatically. I haven't used that function in years, in fact I never used it, it was bought with the more domestically challenged in mind

Monbretia said:

Buddyboy, I use the lower settings regularly, every day! If you are melting choc for example you need a lower setting, just one example, I could give you loads.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected
You obviously do a lot more (cooking) with your microwave than I do. Any chance of coming round to yours for a decent meal? I'll bring the wine.

On another note, I once had a microwave similar to the one you describe. It had the ability to figure out how long it took to heat something. You could put in something, say a potato, and press start, it would detect when it stared to steam, and then work out how long it would take to cook. Perfect baked potatoes every time.
(and you're right I resemble that remark, about the more domestically challenged.)

I miss that microwave.

Monbretia said:

I'm just old fashioned I still believe the turntable gives a better distribution, of course that could be wrong but old habits die hard!

I don't find it hard to clean and it doesn't take up much space as the turntable is kind of recessed into base but my microwave is very large in comparison to those available now. None of the ones I saw when I was looking were as big as mine. Now if my father's one had no turntable it would be handy as it's a useless turntable and takes up space in what is already a small microwave.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the turntable ones do a worse job of distributing the energy, and even though the turntable might be recessed, it it wasn't there, you'd get an extra 2+cm of height internally for the same cabinet size, with less to go wrong.

But I don't think I will get one as big as mine even without the turntable short of buying some sort of commercial model, the bulk of them have the grill element which takes up the space again and makes cleaning harder and are just smaller. Maybe I just like to see the thingy going around and around, familiarity and all that

As for going wrong the microwave is at least 25 yrs old, I'm fairly sure I had it before I moved into this house and nothing has gone wrong yet so I won't worry about that part at this stage. Now a newer model would probably be broke and thrown out within a few years, nothing lasts anymore so maybe no turntable could be a plan for a newer one.

Buddyboy, that's exactly what mine would do, put in a spud and it will know how long it will take, ingenious really! It works out the time based on the first blast of steam or something it gets from the object.

I use the microwave an awful lot, right this minute there is plasticine in it on low setting to make it soft enough for me to mould into something