About Darren Expertise Any questions on the repair of towable rv`s. No questions on the chassis of any motorized rv, but I can answer questions on the coach area and appliances. No questions on fiberglass repair or airstream type exterior repairs.
RV Repair - Microwave in 2000 Sportsmen Travel Trailer
Expert: Darren - 3/1/2004
Question Thanks Darren...
Thanks Darren.
The microwave isn't in its own cabinet.
It is in a cabinet adjacent to the pantry.... Although there is only about a 4" clearance all around the microwave, the left side of the microwave faces the pantry (no cabinet wall between them).
Based on above, there is quite a bit of "cabinet space air" surrounding the microwave.
Do you think I should open the door to the pantry when using the microwave for more than a few minutes?
Barbara
Thanks
Barbara
Based
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Followup To
Question -
I just bought a 2000 Sportsmen Travel Trailer and am having a problem with the Magic Chef microwave. It gets hot inside and blows a circuit breaker when it is used for awhile (like for baked potatoes). It is fine for warming things for just a few minutes.
I looked inside and see that this microwave has feet which leads me to believe that it shouldn't be in the cabinet. (The frame outside the microwave does have vents to the inside of the trailer.)
I am wondering whether I should just buy a new microwave or vent a hole to the outside of my tt to let air escape from the microwave. Right now there is about 3" from outside wall to back of microwave.
Thanks
Barbara
Answer -
Barbara,
Your microwave is supposed to be in the cabinet, but it should have vents above and below it. It does sound like it may be overheating, but venting it to the outside is a little extreme. I would first try to open the cabinet up to the other cabinets. The microwave cabinet is usually sealed up wit just a hole for the electrical to come through. You can probably take a hole saw (1-2") and drill some holes in the cabinet next to it to allow for a little more air flow. You will want these all the way towards the back of the cabinet. I hope this helps.
Darren
Answer Barbara,
You can certainly try leaving the pantry door open, but if the microwave is open to the pantry I have very little faith that this will help. It is possible that the breaker that it's tripping is weak, or possibly something else is wired into the same circuit causing it to overload the circuit and trip the breaker. The microwave should be on its own breaker. If you have signifcantly low voltage that could increase the amperage draw of the micrwave and cause it to trip the breaker. It may be a bad microwave, but we don't repair them we just replace them. Good luck.
