Convection microwave?

[ncage1974]

Ok my am sick of my micro. I have one of those over the range micros. I have no problem with it other than the handle has broke twice in the past two years . You would think oh no problem just order a handle and it will be cheap right? OHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. They want $50 for part that probably cost them $.25 to make in a 3rd word country. There is no way im going to up for $50 for another handle. Well since over the range micros are on the pricy side and since i have ceramic tiled by backsplash all around the microwave (i would probably have to try to cut out the slate and not damage the drywall) i think im just going to leave the over the counter micro where its at and use it as a vent and get a new microwave to set on the counter.

This is why i started looking at convection micros. First of all i do not know anyone who has one of these. Ive heard they act like ovens is this true or are the basically a microwave with a fan? I have a convection toaster oven and i have to usually replace it every couple of years because i use it VERY Often so i will not have to heat up the kitchen and waist a lot of energy to fix small dishes that i usually fix. So if i got one of these convection micros and it actually works like an oven (which i do not know if it does) it would allow me to replace two appliances with one. So could anyone tell me if these things actually work like an oven? If they do how do you they work. I mean i can't imagine you set a temperature like you would set an oven because you would have a meltdown with the microwave .

I was looking at this unit at walmart:
Daewoo 1.0 cu. ft Convection, Grill and Microwave Combo, Stainless Steel - Wal-Mart

thanks,
ncage

 

[StirBlue]

I found a site that seemed to have a lot of good information about these products at:

Reviews from Epinions

 

[ncage1974]

well scratch that i think im going to go with this:
Sharp 0.9 cu. ft. Microwave/ Convection Oven, Black & Silver - Wal-Mart

seems like a lot better unit

 

[Riverlady2]

Ncage1974

Good Morning,
Saw your post about micro-wave/convection combination...I have had one for many years...mine is a portable one, not built in type...I belive I purchased mine at Sears...I absoutely love it...I wanted the advantage of having two ovens...it works exactly like your regular oven , yet doesn't heat up the kitchen...during the holidays I use mine the most...I just convert any regular recipe by lowering the heat 25 degrees and the time by 20 minutes.
So as you can see my adventure with this product has been nothing but positive...Jan

 

[attie]

well scratch that i think im going to go with this:
Sharp 0.9 cu. ft. Microwave/ Convection Oven, Black & Silver - Wal-Mart

seems like a lot better unit

I have one, but an earlier version "Sharp Carousel" great machine, it's about 12 years old now. Use as microwave or roast or combined

 

[Corey123]

I had a Samsung mirco-convection oven years ago.

 

[ncage1974]

thanks...

Thanks eveyone. Looks like im going to stop by wallmart after work today and give the sharp unit a hard look. I might just go home with one. For those of you that said you had a sharp unit are their any cleanup issues especially the inside or are they as easy to clean up as a regular micro? I just wish i would have looked at these sooner. I think when people think microwave/oven they never concieve that a micro could work anything like an oven so they don't even give it a look. Whats so great about walmart is their awesome return policy of course if i wouldn't like it and i don't have to mess with trying to ship it back to somewhere.

Ncage

 

[StirBlue]

Have you worked out the microwave/oven/grill thing yet? I am curious as to the dimensions of the oven and if it would require new bake ware.

I am sorry that you could not get a replacement handle for your microwave for a reasonable price. The only companies that I have found to honor their warranties and guarantees are the toy mfg. That has saved me major bucks.

The worst companies for dealing with in getting parts and/or accessories (sold separately) are the ones who advertise on infomercials. I had a box of microwave browning paper and the tray had been misplaced. They are no longer in business!

 

[ncage1974]

Have you worked out the microwave/oven/grill thing yet? I am curious as to the dimensions of the oven and if it would require new bake ware.

I am sorry that you could not get a replacement handle for your microwave for a reasonable price. The only companies that I have found to honor their warranties and guarantees are the toy mfg. That has saved me major bucks.

The worst companies for dealing with in getting parts and/or accessories (sold separately) are the ones who advertise on infomercials. I had a box of microwave browning paper and the tray had been misplaced. They are no longer in business!

Sorry about waiting so long to reply but no i have not. I went to walmart and had my mind set that i was going to get a sharp convection they had on their website. When i went in the store it was tore apart and they said they were remodeling. Of course they didn't have the sharp unit and the only one they had was a GE unit that was in an open box.

Its probably a good thing they didn't have it because i have reconsidered. Im maybe thinking on just going full bore and getting a over the counter convection oven with the vent but they are quite expensive. In the neighboorhood of $600-800. It would be handy to have an extra oven though and they over the counter models are quite large. The cheapest was a GE profile unit and i think it was $638 if you install it by yourself.

Im just so mad at GE about my current micro....$50 for a stinkn pastic handle and within a year it BROKE again. The guy at lowes said parts for GE things are generally expensive.

Unfortunatly all this will have to wait until after next week. My water heat is failing in my house and needs to be replaced which will happen next week.

 

[Riverlady2]

You poor thing

You sure are having a rough time...I hate that for you...it should be a fun experience...we had to replace our dishwasher recently and two repair men told us..DON'T BY A GE ANYTHING ANYMORE...ITS THE MOST WORKED ON BRANDS WE HAVE ...SO we bought a dishwasher at our Lowes store...I won't even buy a $2.00 item now if its made by GE after their advise...hope things work out for you soon...Jan

 

[ncage1974]

You sure are having a rough time...I hate that for you...it should be a fun experience...we had to replace our dishwasher recently and two repair men told us..DON'T BY A GE ANYTHING ANYMORE...ITS THE MOST WORKED ON BRANDS WE HAVE ...SO we bought a dishwasher at our Lowes store...I won't even buy a $2.00 item now if its made by GE after their advise...hope things work out for you soon...Jan

I think it anymore its hard to tell. The bigger companies don't make a lot of their products. For example like is said above i had to replace my gas fired hot water heater. At first i was going to do buy a hot water heater at lowes because they sold whirlpool hot water heaters which i respected the brand. Well thank god i did some research before going to buy one. Whirlpool had a class action suit filed against them in 2006 because of faulty water heaters. The cause of the problem is a nonstandard defective thermacouple that keeps breaking on people who had the unit:
WHIRLPOOL WATER HEATER PROBLEM - WCPO.com
Consumer complaints about Whirlpool Water Heaters
Whirlpool and American Water Heater Company Water Heater Design Flaws

Does whirlpool make these units? No. Just like every big manufactorer they contract out to someone who will make them for the lowest bidding price which currently is American Water Heater Company which if i remember correctly was bought out by AO Smith. So your fancy new water heater is not actually made by whirlpool. It just has whirlpools name plastered on it. It doesn't matter whirlpool is still liable for these defaulty units.

I ended finding the best water heaters were braford white but are sold directly by plumbers so it would be about $800 for a new water heater. NO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! I ended up going to menards and they had something called richmond. I did some research and richmond is made by rheem. Still considered to be a very good water heater so i bought a richmond unit. Also GE water heaters are made by rheem.

I guess my point here is if your buying something from GE that doesn't mean its actually MADE by GE. Thinking your buying a quality product just because a brand name is not enough anymore. This is why the internet is such a great resource. I kind of wanted to replace my dishwasher because all my appliances in my kitchen except it are SS. The dishwasher is white. The diswasher is a maytag and is 12 years old and is still going STRONG. IT is awesome and removes food particles so well from dishes im kind of reluctant to replace it when my parents have had 3 dishwashers in this amount of time.

Ncage

 

[ncage1974]

got one...

Well guys/gals i wasn't going to get one and then i was in walmart tonight. They are gutting the local store in my area and rearranging everything. I was waiting on the pharmacy so i thought i would browse around at the appliances. Low and behold they have a GE convection microwave on an endcap with a $100.00 clearance sticker on it (originally 188). I fought with myself for awhile to decide if i should get it or not. It wasn't the brand i originally wanted sharp but it was bigger (which might be bad) 1.2 cu compared to .9cu of the sharp but for $100 i could not say no. I thought if i didn't like it i could just bring it back. I unboxed it when i got home and the features on this time are awesome. You can cook with the microwave or the convection or you can cook with a combination of microwave/convection or with a combination of microwave/grill (yes this thing even has a grill). So far im very happy and i couldn't imagine one of these things working this great. I used the combo microwave/convection and it worked wonderfully. The only thing i don't like is how much counter space it takes up since i have limited counter space. This thing is larger than your standard 1.2 cu micro.

Well this thing is a lot studier than the toaster ovens i buy and has a lot more room. I usually buy a new toster over every 1-2 years because i use it a LOT and no matter how careful you are the think ends up getting all gunked up and almost impossible to clean. I was quite suprised to see this convection oven just got slightly warm on the outside.

For anyone on the fence i think this contraption is just awesome.

Ncage

 

[ncage1974]

Ok guys the only thing im really wondering if you use the microwave/convection feature where it is using both microwave energy and oven energy at the same time then what can you cover your dish with? You can't use aluminum foil because of the micro energy and you can use saran wrap because of the oven. So what can you cover what your cooking with so it won't make a mess of the micro?

Ncage

 

[Andy M.]

You could always use a pyrex or corningware cassarole dish with a glass lid. However, it may be that recipes that call for the convection feature should not be covered.

 

[middie]

Try covering things with a paper towel. That's what I do. Usually if I'm re-heating something like chili or spaghetti sauce.

 

[jabbur]

How about waxed paper?

 

[MaBarbara]

I use a paper plate. It works great if you turn it over on the dish.

 

[JohnL]

Parchment paper maybe?

 

[Corey123]

Also, there are microwave covers covers that are designed to almost completely cover the plate of food that you are warming up so that any splatters of sauce or gravy is contained under the cover, and NOT on the interior walls of your microwave.

Yes Andy, you're right. The convection feature DOES work best without the food being covered such as a chicken, turkey or roast beef. It sort of sears and browns the outside and keeps the inside of the meat tender and juicy.

As for the micro-convection feature, this lets you use the speed of the microwave with the dry heat of the convection feature. So I can't say whether the food should be covered or not.