An elaborate guide to buying a Microwave Oven

Author- Vibhor Shergill (Brother of Sabhyata Shergill)

Alright guys, now, choosing a microwave for your home could be quite a tedious and mind stirring job. Microwave oven is one such consumer electronic item that every brand wants to try their hands upon, though only few products of few brands are safe for use (discussed in detail in this post). Choosing which product to short list and which one to avoid is quite a daunting affair.
So, before we go on to decide which would be an ideal microwave oven for your home, let’s know the basics of how this device works, which will help you in making a good buying decision.

Let’s begin..

The Basics
A microwave oven consists of a device which generates micro waves (which is a kind of electromagnetic wave with very small wavelength). These micro waves hit the inside walls of the microwave oven and bounce back and forth between them. When a food item is placed inside the oven, these micro waves hit the food item and cause vibrations inside the food matter. And as you might be aware, that when a particle vibrates, heat is liberated, this heat warms your food.

Now let’s proceed to discuss the ways by which some manufacturers cut manufacturing costs to maximize their profits and in turn deliver a sub-standard product to the customers that are highly inefficient in performing their intended function and may also pose a threat to human life.

• COST CUTTING TECHNIQUES

• Construction using sub-par, poor grade outer sheet metal

Microwave ovens operate on the principle of passing microwave radiation through the food items so as to excite the food molecules. The excited food molecules produce thermal energy which in turns warm the food. Now, to contain the microwave radiation within the microwave oven requires sturdily built outer body. For its significance, the sheet metal constitutes to about 30% of the entire cost of the microwave oven.

However, to reduce the manufacturing costs and to increase profits, some brands resort to fabricating the outer body of the microwave oven out of a thin sheet of metal which is not potent enough to contain the microwaves within the walls of the microwave oven. This often results in microwave radiation getting leaked into the surroundings, which when exposed to human tissues and cells over a period of several years might lead to development of health issues.

• Low-quality, pervious door seals

For the same purpose that I have mentioned above, the seal on the door is made in such a manner that none of the harmful micro waves escape to the surroundings. But again, this is the area where most manufactures cut costs by applying seals that are not potent enough to keep all the micro waves inside and a major part of these waves leak to the surroundings.  

(Image of the seal on the door that prevents the micro waves from escaping out)

Now, one obvious question in your mind would be, how am I aware of all these cost cutting techniques of the manufacturers. Well, you would be glad to know that my father works at a company that manufactures home appliances like geysers, microwave ovens, washing machines etc. So at home, we frequently have a conversation about commercial appliances, what goes into making them, how brands try to do cost cutting etc. This is my father’s experience and knowledge that I am sharing with you, here.

Now, having discussed the cost cutting techniques some manufacturers make use of to enhance their profits, it is imperative to learn about the various configurations - Solo, Grill and Convection, the microwave ovens are manufactured in and which configuration among them should one purchase a microwave oven in, as per one’s family’s cooking requirements.

• Configuration of the Microwave Oven

Depending upon the purpose they serve, microwave ovens are primarily manufactured in three configurations:-

• Solo - Such microwave oven performs only the basic functions such as re-heating and de-frosting of food items. It finds its application in homes with members having hectic work life or in the homes of bachelors and students where only re-heating the stored food is the priority. The cost of this type of microwave oven is significantly lesser than the other two types.

• Grill - This microwave oven in addition to performing the normal re-heating functionality, can also perform grill, bake and toast food items. This type of microwave oven finds its application in homes of passionate cooks who like to make new dishes and/or desserts.

• Convection - This category of microwave ovens is popular in majority of homes. It can perform the regular functions of re-heating food and also perform functions like grilling, baking etc. Therefore, it is a future-proof machine for all one’s present as well as one’s future cooking requirements.

Furthermore, the capacity of the microwave oven - the unit that dictates the amount of food one can prepare/reheat at once, too is an important factor that needs to be kept in consideration while making the purchase -

• Capacity of the Microwave Oven

There is a thumb rule to follow - take into consideration the number of members in one’s family. Based on that, below is mentioned the capacity one should opt for in a microwave oven that would accommodate the one’s requirements -

For one-three members, a microwave oven with the capacity up to 21 litres would best cater to the requirements, considering that food for the entire family would be prepared/reheated at once. 

For a family consisting four-eight members, a microwave oven with the capacity up to 28 litres would be adequate to cater to the needs. 

For more than eight members, it would be wise to decide on a microwave oven that has the capacity of at least 30 litres.

The above mentioned analysis is based on the consideration that food for the entire family would be prepared/reheated at once. If different members are to eat at different times, the capacity of the microwave oven that would suit one’s home’s requirements would differ slightly.

Having discussed that, let’s proceed to zero down at some of the best microwave ovens available in the market manufactured by a few good brands in each of the above three categories that are not only safe to use, perform efficient cooking/heating operations, but also provide the best value for one’s money.

Note: In our constant endeavour to assist you in making an informed buying decision, we test the new launches of the products on multiple parameters, and if they stand tall in our analysis we periodically add them to the below mentioned list of our recommended products. So, if you plan to make the purchase at a later time, you may visit the links once again at the very time of buying to ensure that the purchase turns out to be a very fruitful one.

For defrosting and re-heating purposes:-
For Indian residents:- Best Choice 1, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8 and Best Choice 9

For grilling and baking purposes:-
For Indian residents:- Best Choice 1, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6 and Best Choice 7

For all your cooking needs:-
For Indian residents:- Best Choice 1, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8, Best Choice 9, Best Choice 10 and Best Choice 11