My Microwave Oven Fills With Water

Sell it to someone in California, maybe? They're suffering with a drought out there.

That's a bit below your usual standard.

Monday morning... not enough coffee...

I'll try to do better next time.

You seem to be lacking internal air circulation....maybe some plastic stuck in the intake?

There should be enough air flow in the chamber to cause a paper towel to react.

Whenever I cover a plate with a paper towel to prevent splatter, it gets blown off the plate.

If not, like Solar Eagle suggested, you have something preventing flow. The discharge air you feel may be by-passing the chamber.

In all probability, the paper towel is being moved by the microwaves. I find that in my mictowave, cooked cereal or eggs are pushed up the sides of the bowl by the microwaves.

Did you check the water input connection on your microwave oven?

Oh yes, I checked that and it has 10 gallons per minute input. Is that too much?

Not for soup!

I was going to talk about dishwashers filling up with water, and how to fix that, but it might have to go "off-topic". I have never seen a microwave fill up with water?

Does it make a mess on the counter top when you open the door? Is your tea cup cracked, see thread on using cyanoacrylate glue to fill cracks in counter tops caused by smashing them after the microwave fills up with water.

Sorry, my words were poorly chosen. Let's change that to:

"My microwave gathers a not inconsiderable amount of condensate internally after each operation."

HAhAhahahahahahaha!

You may have a rare gravitational anomaly causing a phasor time-shift. Does this water contain diatoms?

I checked the torque ejector for overboost and found a trace of dilithium crystals. I'm working on the patent as we speak.

Probably no diatoms...but if you electrolyze the water using a microwave arc, there could be some diatomic molecules floating around after.

Who ever did your wiring must have received bad suggestions from CR4

All I can tell you is don't try to dry wet tenis shoes in the microwave. They are combustable after about 4½ minutes.

Directions say until it boils. Not boils over!

Just because you have air being blown out the exhaust does not mean it coming from inside the cooking chamber.

May want to remove that kitchen magnet from off the intake too.

When did this start, is it recent? Are you doing anything different (different food water content, longer cook times, covering the dish differently, etc).

Because we only stay here intermittently in Ireland, I cannot say when it started. I've only noticed it in the last 4 months. I cannot say that I am doing anything different from before with this unit or others in the past. I generally do not cover any food during cooking.

I took a look at the back of the unit today to see if getting inside would be straightforward - it isn't - and I'm loathe to meddle with it. Neither the air inlet at the back or exhaust at the side are restricted. So, still a mystery. Thanks!

Put popcorn in it and watch for smoke. For a long time, I thought microwaved popcorn was supposed to be burnt.

Best not to meddle with a microwave unless you plan to replace it.

I have "meddled with" several microwave ovens over the years. The most successful "meddling" yielded a high-powered 2.4 GHz transmitter; the other "meddling" incidents brought me nothing more than a trip to the store to buy another microwave oven.

These consumer devices are not intended to be repaired or modified in any way, but someone with lots of time and desire might develop something usable out of the wreckage of some models. By the way, if the cooling fan fails, the magnets on the magnetron fracture and become completely inadequate for their purpose.

By "something useful" do you mean Ground Penetrating Radar? That is swell!

Oh we were missing crucial information. It's Ireland hmmm.

I'd say fix the roof!

Well it certainly is a wet place here on the west coast, but it doesn't rain inside my microwave.

And where is all the water coming from?

Obviously from the food. Typically heating milk, baking potatoes, instant meals (oops sorry), heating up previously-cooked meals, soup, etc. Potatoes probably the worst offender - no surprise - high water content - but have never experienced so much condensate before.

Maybe I'll try that "smoke test" and see if it can be observed passing through the oven.

Warning! If using popcorn for smoke test your oven will stink like burned popcorn for sometime afterward.

Maybe Kelp would be better?

Rice is worse. Never accidently cook rice for 25 minutes on high in your microwave.

Potatoes? Ireland?

Why, there's your problem right there!

sure! that it would boil down to potatoes in Ireland!

Do you mean that you haven't actually witnessed it, or were you just assuming ?

Druid plumbing is often unreliable...how old is your kitchen again ?

I removed a micro with water on it yesterday and it was because of a leaky roof. Check the downspouts and make sure you don't have leaks above the micro.

Use the paper towel trick someone mentioned on a cup of cold water...

At 19 months old, you probably have no warranty anymore anyway so you have nothing to lose in taking it apart for a look see. If you do, let everyone know what your findings were.

As an alternative:

Climate change at its best. Just think about it. It's the moisture in the air. Oh wait its in the food. Wait, do you heat your coffee in there?

No.

I think you change your mind if you can't find an answer.

Put dry ice in a glass of water. Place in microwave. Turn it on and see how the air circulates. Should move the fog from the dry ice around rapidly. If not the fans bad or some things obstructing the air flow.

I don't know if its a stand alone cabinet microwave, or one that installs above your range. If its the later, did you follow the instructions to ensure that there is not an obstruction in the vent?

It's stand alone.

Take a vacuum cleaner and thoroughly go over the interior air vents. There may be an accumulation of debris that is restricting the air flow through the oven.

You say 'every time' you use it. Since you first got it? Is there any protective film blocking the air vents that you forgot to remove after you bought it?

Maybe the extraction fan is drawing air directly out of the oven, and the incoming cooler air is draw in from behind the oven side walls causing moister to condensate, particularly if cooking frozen meals? The fan Maybe running in reverse?

Regards JD.

Check the polarity of the fans. Also check that the operational settings are working correctly. It could be that everything is set to defrost!

Microwave ovens are dangerous, I am sure you are aware of that. They work at high voltages and frequencies. Is the door sealing properly and are there any new dents in the interior. For your safety I suggest that you get it checked. I was taught that when handling these things to make sure the plug was pulled and placed in my pocket before ensuring the cap. was discharged. These things can, have and will kill. Probably preaching to the converted but as I hate funerals I always stress the safety aspect of working on these things.

Could this be as simple as you're allowing the temperature in the kitchen to fall below what would be considered normal: because you don't spend a lot of time in there, and, it seems like a waste of money to heat it. The inside surfaces of the oven will then be cold enough to condense more water.

Just measured kitchen temperature at 65 F. Wouldn't have thought to too cold to operate microwave.

Sounds dangerous. Have you asked a repair shop or a vendor, surely whatever is causing this must have happened before to someone else unless it is a poltergeist.

The repair shop should probably tell you to recycle it and get a new one. I think you can pick them up for about $30 US nowadays. Small price to pay for safety.

And something even better for your health would be to recycle it and not get a new one.

One more thing to check. Do your lights come on when you flush the toilet?

Hit it with a sledgehammer!

Oh, wait. Wrong thread...?

The microwave in our office will get that way on rare occasions. I believe it is usually due to the "amount of usage" and the relative humidity on those days. Not all foods heat at the same rate due to water content. Left overs tend to be overheated if they have potatoes (since they take longer to heat).

Little things like leaving the door ajar can also help. Closing the door does get points for neatness but it traps any moisture in the box and the fan only runs when in use.

It's a little bit like the dilemma regarding the shower curtain. Leave it pushed open and you get mold on the curtain. Leave it closed, and the grout seems to grow mold better. And then the cleaning products advise to use in a well ventilated area!?! If it was well ventilated, I wouldn't need those cleaning products!

Just microwaved a couple of spuds, medium setting for 12 minutes. Kitchen temperature 68F. Got condensate inside unit again. Warm air from exhaust tells me that air is passing though the oven. Definitely a cold humid day outside, but wouldn't have thought would have any influence inside.

Maybe Irish potatoes have an abnormally high water content. I think I'll try some Saharan potatoes.

Perhaps the microwave is just plain designed badly.

Hey, it happens.

Those wrapped microwaveable potatoes emit a blood curdling scream on occasion. This phenomena can be used to cook blood sausage.

"Suffering from unreasonable tolerance." Shouldn't that be "Suffering from slight madness."

SLIGHT! I beg your pardon.....Uh, I did find this on Wikipedia: "In Berlin, hot Blutwurst mixed together with liverwurst and potatoes is called "Tote Oma" ("Dead Grandma")."

You're not going to get to the bottom of this problem with horizontal thinking.
A more advanced diagonal approach begs the obvious question : is the axis of the generating element aligned to compensate for recent variations in planetary tilt ?
Sometimes complexity is simpler in the long run.

Have to admit I've never thought of that. But then I've never thought of elephant soup with oriental rissoles either.

C M itty bitty feet?

M R mice.

No M R not mice

O S A R, C M itty bitty black pills?

Oh and by the way, make sure you have not opened a druid portal to the Magrav demention (notice I intentionally misspelled dimension there). If you inadvertently did, you need to drop everything immediately, take a dead cat (preferably an outdoors one), and grasping it firmly by the tail, spin around and around with the cat held aloft, until the tail breaks, or you pass out from dizzy. When you wake back up, normal dimensions will be restored, and you may continue watching satellite on your microwave.

Those pills that wre prescribed to you - what exactly were they?

Go ask Alice....

ROFLMAO

Actually, I am still attempting to choose between the red pill and the blue pill, the imbalance in the matrix appears to be gathering to a critical point in the conundrum.

Smells like a wiener. Then I started covering them. Now I eat them cold. It's faster.

If you're going to microwave an egg you need to peel it first.

I get some condensate. If it's looks like too much I'll run it empty for a few seconds to dry it out.

I've rescued more microwaves from dumpsters by replacing the fuse. One had a large cartridge style fuse. Had to go to an electrical distributor to get the right one. The hardware store didn't have it.

I've replaced microwave timers with wind-up timers like you use in bathrooms. On one I used a wind-up timer and a hot-plate control to do everything a $160 "smartboard" would do, except tell time. Who needs a clock on a microwave, anyway? Plus, I got a digital clock out of the deal. Now they're so cheap it isn't worth the trouble.

When I found an old microwave with a wind-up timer at a yard sale I snapped it up. It's still running strong many years later.

Sounds much like the way I fix my bread maker.

No harm can come to you as long as you unplug the oven and discharge the capasitor.

Mostly the cheap HV diode between earth and cap is microwave non heating trouble.

Just wipe out the moisture after use and leave the door open....remove oven light bulb.

A microwave with accumulating water will re-write your smart phone's memory. Not only that, it will scramble any storage devices that are even close to your microwave. It will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty.

It will demagnetize the strips on all your credit cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CDs you try to play.

It will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number, mix Kool-aid into your fish tank. It will drink all your beer and leave dirty socks on the coffee table when company comes over.

Having insufficient air exhaust will make you fall in love with a penguin, give you nightmares about circus midgets.

It will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Discover card.

It will move your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. It will leave libidinous messages on your boss's voice mail in your voice! It is insidious and subtle. It is dangerous and terrifying to behold. It is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.

A microwave that fills with water will give you Dutch Elm disease. It will leave the toilet seat up. It will make a batch of Methanphedime in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while it goes out to chase gradeschoolers with your new snowblower.

An idea is to keep using it as is.

Guess who's got far too much time on their hands.

It is a toss up between Multi-wave and Charlie

But time well wasted!

Take heed. If even only some of it is true, ........

Microwave water under the bridge?

Refer to post 74 (link below) and give me a GA

http://cr4.globalspec.com/comment/1076043/Re-My-Microwave-Oven-Fills-With-Water

Just been reading my old course work on m'wave ovens and i may have an idea. A fan is used to cool the magnetron and that may be what you are feeling the exhaust from. Another fan may be installed to 'stir' the microwaves for even heating. There is no mention of a venting fan. Of course individual oven designs will vary and only an internal inspection will give an idea of what is supposed to happen in your oven. I suspect mine has a stirring fan that also vents but never had to look inside.
I passed the course to inspect and repair but never had to actually do one. Cheaper to get a newer model.
Jim

I would have thought that the magnetron cooling fan would need fresh air in order to do its job - no sense just recirculating it, and that air would most likely be accessed from, and exhausted to, outside the device.

Microwaves can be quirky and beam in a way that's far from a nice, even, ideal field.

Could be there's something peculiar or has become peculiar with this oven along those lines that the original venting wasn't meant to deal with.

Yes, that is precisely my point. The fan exhaust that the OP feels is possibly fresh air that has cooled the magnetron ONLY. Therefore the stirrer fan may be seized and not venting the chamber properly.
Of course this particular unit could have just one fan that cools the magnetron first, stirs the waves second and blows to exhaust through the chamber last. That is why i say he needs to look inside the unit to determine just what the internal configuration is. I am sure if he sees 2 fans he would be able to see what each one does and which one is likely to be faulty.Jim

At last - a sensible suggestion. Thanks.

We watched "The Matrix" in philosophy class. On day two we passed around a plate of red and blue jellybeans. Guess which ones disappeared the most.

Avoid the problem altogether by using it only at low tide..