wdk450
Well-known member
Gang:
I just went through an emergency replacement of my built in microwave oven in my 08 Bighorn I fulltime in. I have been through about 3 of the original Apollos early in my ownership, Then Got a Sharp (premium brand I thought) Model R309YK about 5 years ago. It had the right external dimensions. but I had to move the external fan from the Apollo oven, and shift around the footings mount adapter placement on the microwave compartment floor. In the last year the front panel buttons stopped working 1 by 1, until the always needed "Start" button quit last week. I could never locate a parts source for the Sharp control panel.
When the Sharp quit last Saturday, I got online countertop microwave searching by external dimensions (H W D 12"x20.3"x15.6") and came up with the Magic Chef Model HMM1110B. I found that Home Depot had these on pre black Friday week sale for about $89. Other brands with models that fit this dimension spec were in the $200 range. There are about 12 Home Depots here in the San Diego area, and none of them anywhere close to my location had it in stock. I ended up driving 70 miles each way to Vista, Ca. (near Escondido) to get one. I did the installation mods on the microwave and enclosure cabinet, repaired the broken plastic trim panel, and got it all working.
I am less than delighted with the hard push pressure needed for the new control panel, though. I am thinking it probably won't last long, and then started an online search for a spare touchpanel. During this parts search i came across a GREAT website on consumer microwave ovens. Besides starting out with their recommended best ones, it also has in depth explanation of the current cheap manufacturing by most all brands in the same plant in China, the short new oven life expectancy, etc. It is well worth getting down to the the text beyond the evaluations in this article.
Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-microwave/
I just went through an emergency replacement of my built in microwave oven in my 08 Bighorn I fulltime in. I have been through about 3 of the original Apollos early in my ownership, Then Got a Sharp (premium brand I thought) Model R309YK about 5 years ago. It had the right external dimensions. but I had to move the external fan from the Apollo oven, and shift around the footings mount adapter placement on the microwave compartment floor. In the last year the front panel buttons stopped working 1 by 1, until the always needed "Start" button quit last week. I could never locate a parts source for the Sharp control panel.
When the Sharp quit last Saturday, I got online countertop microwave searching by external dimensions (H W D 12"x20.3"x15.6") and came up with the Magic Chef Model HMM1110B. I found that Home Depot had these on pre black Friday week sale for about $89. Other brands with models that fit this dimension spec were in the $200 range. There are about 12 Home Depots here in the San Diego area, and none of them anywhere close to my location had it in stock. I ended up driving 70 miles each way to Vista, Ca. (near Escondido) to get one. I did the installation mods on the microwave and enclosure cabinet, repaired the broken plastic trim panel, and got it all working.
I am less than delighted with the hard push pressure needed for the new control panel, though. I am thinking it probably won't last long, and then started an online search for a spare touchpanel. During this parts search i came across a GREAT website on consumer microwave ovens. Besides starting out with their recommended best ones, it also has in depth explanation of the current cheap manufacturing by most all brands in the same plant in China, the short new oven life expectancy, etc. It is well worth getting down to the the text beyond the evaluations in this article.
Here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-microwave/
