Oh, man you whippersnappers. “If it doesn’t say Amana, it’s not a Radarange !™️”
There’s only one company that makes microwaves.
The electronics are so particular that creating more than one supply chain doesn’t make sense.
Every brand just whitelables microwaves assembled by Midea
I had a microwave-air fryer combo that broke last week. It’s been agony trying to replace it because I bought it for $150, and now they’re going for like…$300-$400. Even a solo microwave is like $180 for a decent one.
When did microwaves get so expensive?
I’m curious what part of the world you live in, a basic microwave can still be had for like $40 in my area
I think it’s the air-fryer part that makes it substantially more. I agree that a microwave can be bought for $40 in USA. My partner asked for an air fryer two years ago and I probably spent $120 getting one of the best ones on Amazon, but there were cheaper ones for sure. I don’t know anything about prices above that or prices today.
I really don’t understand. Airfryers are convection ovens, not microwaves. Does that microwave also toast bread?
Yes. There have been microwaves with heat elements in them for ages. You remove the glass plate, put in a wire rack, and run it in convection mode. They generally already have modest fans to help combat hot spots. I’m not sure about the brand-new ones, but the last one I had either ran in convection mode or microwave mode.
Air fryers usually have a massive coil tucked away in the top and blast heat+IR down on the food, but you can’t just throw a large metal coil in the middle of a microwave, You could cover it over with a mica waveguide, but those don’t love to pass through heat.
Fan ovens rather than convection surely?
I’m in Canada!
I could probably get a $40 no-name microwave from Walmart or something, but I don’t know if it’ll last more than a couple of years and I don’t really want to create more e-waste (hence “a decent one” in my og comment). I’ve been looking at Panasonic ones because those seem to be the ones people recommend for longevity.
Additionally, it’s the combo air fryer/microwave that’s troublesome to find under $250 here. I don’t really have the counter or storage space currently to have multiple appliances, so my previous appliance was a huge convenience.
If any Canadians have any input or recommendations, I’d be happy to hear it!
You don’t have to worry about a No Name microwave because literally all microwaves are the same microwave. There’s only one company that makes the inverters and everybody else just slaps their brand on it
*edit naturally I’m sure there’s at least a couple other companies but the point is that no matter what you buy you’re probably getting a midea
This is so helpful, thank you!
edit: Of course Half As Interesting would have a video about microwave manufacturing lol. Time to pull them up on Nebula.
A temporary solution can often be found for cheap or free in local classifieds like Craigslist or at a thrift store like Goodwill.
Edit: whoops, didn’t see the reply. My b.
No problem, I appreciate the sentiment all the same!
When did microwaves get so expensive?
When households started having 3+ children who won’t bother cooking. Idk if is a generational thing, but I’ve noticed most people my age won’t even bother to learn how to cook SMH.
Why do you think you can’t cook with a microwave? 😭
Oh you can. Now whether they do it or not is a other story.
Should…shouldn’t that make it cheaper?
We DON’T live in a supply side utopia?? 😱
Lmao. No. Take for example the most popular smartphone in the world: the iPhone. Why isn’t it cheaper? Also microwaves have gotten cheaper, I’ve heard they used to cost thousands in the 1970s and 80s.
I have because I watched 30 Rock and the first 3 seasons of that show have so much GE product integortion
I have because I watched 30 Rock and the first 3 seasons of that show have so much GE product integortion
Ugh don’t even get me started on all the integortioning in that show. On daytime television no less!
That’s my favorite kind of product, which doesn’t need ads, because it just does the thing you want for a reasonable price, a.k.a. commodity goods.
Exactly, you just can’t get a cheaper forge
Infomercial, early 2000’s, around 1am. They cooked a Turkey.
I only remember being told to set it and forget it. I’m interested in this microwave competition.
I had one of those. For all that infomercials are functionally the worst thing in the world for getting a valid perspective on a product, that thing cooked everything they said it did, and it did it deliciously.
Maybe this is it? I never paid all that much attention lol. So memory ain’t too good
I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t know that Coke exists, but they still have ads everywhere. It’s older than the microwave!
That’s because cokes are consumables, so more ads might make you buy them more frequently.
That’s because you’re an infant. Used to be lots, like this one for an Amana Radarange. I was a teenager in '75.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/296814620117
Edit: I say infant not as an insult, merely to compare your fresh youth with my advanced decrepitude.
Microwave companies twisting their nipples - and be like what are you going to do? not buy one? (laughs mynaically and spends marketing budget on cocaine)
Broke microwave? No problem, I’ll get a used one.
I was gonna say both of my microwaves were free hand me downs. One is a nice one that goes over the top of your stove. Apparently they had an undersized breaker because it kept tripping and blamed it on the microwave. I hardly use it but it works no issues! Free microwaves for all!
I imagine it’s because their use is evident (no need to advertise what they do, since they’ve been common in households for the past half century), and they’ve likely peaked in terms of function. You can’t really improve much beyond what we have now, the last great advancement in the microwave was probably the turntable for consumer units, and the moving fields that commercial units have. You’re limited in power output by the outlet you plug it into, so “faster cooking” is a no-go (unless you stuck a 240v plug on the end, and good luck getting that to fly with your average consumer in the US, we already find those annoyingly sparse for dryers and ovens and such) – what else can you innovate to differentiate your microwave from every other microwave on the market?
what else can you innovate to differentiate your microwave from every other microwave on the market?
My ideal microwave:
- 800W, always full power
- A dial to set the time/make it go
- Pull door to open, not pushy-button-open-nonsense
I have never needed to use power variation, defrost settings, popcorn button, or any of the other junk.
Innovate through simplicity. Less features means less to go wrong, and cost savings that can be put into either making it cheap or improving component quality.
Could I tempt you with:
- Touch screen
- Bluetooth control via proprietary app
- AI, for reasons
While I feel strongly about the subject, I’m not yet ready to turn it into a masochistic kink.
I’ll let you know if I do though ❤
Does it also need to connect to my wifi and won’t operate unless it can dial home?
Yes, but only on 2.4Ghz (despite that being the frequency the magnetron operates at, so it interferes with itself) and only with WEP encryption.
Also, a single fucking ding when it’s done. I don’t need it to beep five fucking times goddamnit I HEARD YOU
Ours screams on completion. Even when you stop/open the door, it will ‘sing’ the whole song…
For a dial, Ding is assumed :)
popcorn button
I discovered the existence of those on online forums, it literally blew my mind. Manufacturers engineering microphones in microwaves because US people can’t be arsed to stay for two fucking minutes next to the oven. Fucking unbelievable.
Wait, is that what the popcorn button does? I always thought it just was a preset for a time that would work decently for most standard brands.
Mine is definitely just a preset time estimated for what a bag of popcorn should require. It sets a timed countdown that looks and works exactly the same as if I had simply entered that time.
Pretty much agree, would probably prefer 700w myself. Get rid of the damn clock too. There are commercial grade ovens like this. The consumer ones are packed full of total crap (looking at you motorized rotational platter). I’ve always wondered why a couple of infrared thermometers to allow for a closed loop heat cycle hasn’t been done though. I think I’d like that if it worked halfway decently even if just for soup/liquid (more homogeneous).
Turntable is fine, never had trouble with ours.
It’s handy if you can place what you’re heating offset from the centre. Moves around more in the unit and prevents hotspots/coldspots.
I briefly rented an apartment with a microwave that was also a toast oven. Grandet, it had a dumb, slow, digital screen to control. But it was really nice inside. There was no turn table but still heated everything evenly, and due to its size, it was much more efficient that a normal oven at baking. The door also opened forward like an oven.
That is to say, I agree with you thst I want a dumb dial, but there are some nice features out there that I wouldn’t mind having.
Hold up. Most of what you described was just a toaster oven. You’re saying it used microwaves but could also toast? I need to see this magic machine.
Yup. I’ve never seen it before. A toast oven that is also a microwave. But instead of a dial to select the mode, you have to go through a touch menu 🤮
All i care about is that it’s stupid. After that, 1000W and a +30s button.
My current microwave has a dial with 5deg rotation per minute. So hitting 30s often just turns it off. Was super cheap though so 🤷
Must be a proper chunky dial that actually controls the circuit then.
I like that, but would also accept ‘cook by wire’ where the dial sets a time digitally. Cost would go up though…
Yeah it’s a mechanical switch
Honestly if the only control on the thing was the door switch and a +30s button I’d be soo happy LMAO
How nice it is to find your people hahaha.
I swear if I had more time I would Kickstarter this.
They can rebrand, make it a lifestyle thing. Like how convection ovens got rebranded into airfryer.
The main difference between an airfryer and traditional convection oven is less space to heat (i.e heats up quicker) and the heat is on all the time. A conventional convection oven will cycle the heat on and off. So yeah, the same core technology, but with different tradeoffs.
Feels almost obligatory to post this
Quick question, is there just one “air fryer” manufacturer that sends out blank units to other distributors for branding and final design? Because I’ve seen dozens of air fryers in my life and they all have almost the exact same shape as the one on the vid’s thumbnail dispite being branded entirely different.
The model shown is a cheap big store variant. I imagine the design is rebranded 6 ways to Sunday depending on who’s buying.
One could almost say the same thing about cars. But there are ads for those everywhere.
But similarly, you never see an ad for a stove/oven anymore.
I think you’ll occasionally see an ad for a fridge or washer/dryer but it’s usually actually an ad for a local appliance retailer. The manufacturers themselves don’t seem to make ads.
It’s because demand is inelastic. Every household needs one. No more, no less.
When I was a kid we had three…
boiler
One was broken, the other was on the countertop, and the third was stored in the attic equivalent, but we had three!
I imagine, the difference is that profit margins are higher for cars and they’re more of a status symbol, something you’re seen publicly with.
Cars are also consumable.
But ours has four doors and wheels!
Even at 50% efficient 110V on a 20A breaker is 1100W. I only have guesses as to why 700 or 800W is the standard for the cheapest models.
Great Caesar’s ghost!
