Wave form guard

[ken&ellen]

With the unfortunate photos of the H3 fire I was reminded of a small piece inside the microwave / convection oven. This piece of card board with a silver colored coating can develop carbon deposits which can cause arcing and even a fire! Since reading the warning online we checked our unit and guess what ....our unit was carbonized and glowing during the defrost cycle We immediately ordered a replacement...under $3 and resolved the problem. Take a few seconds and check it out. Any discoloring or carbon is not normal...replace immediately. I believe the website is www.parts store.com or something close to that. Ken & Ellen

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

What does anyone know if anything about the wave form guide cover mentioned in the preceding post.

Mine glowed dark orange red and I was told the microwave tube was burned out? Wondering how that could be though.

Isn't it somewhat logical to think that, if the tube were burned out, one would expect nothing to happen.

This is a Sharp microwave convection unit.

Any opinions on weather to replace with the combo unit or just go with a straight microwave are welcome.

Thanks, JIM

[truk4u]

Jim,

Why not try just replacing the wave form guide? I also had to change one, no big deal and cheap. Mine was kind of sparking, but don't know if it glowed like yours.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

So tom, when you replaced the cover was everything copesetic?

JIN

[gmcbuffalo]

What's a "wave form guide"? What does it look like?
GregM

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Greg, to my understanding it is a duct for the microwaves to follow from the source/tube into the cooking chamber. It is usually covered with something like mica or plastic " the cover" at the opening to the cabinet to make the cabinet appear nice and be easy to clean. A lot of speculation here. Someone in the know please clarify/enlighten.

I don't understand how "the cover" can be so critical to the proper operation of the oven?
So you mean if the guy's at Raytheon that invented the microwave didn't have a cover on their first devise, it didn't work I think not!

The faster we go the behinder we get!

JIM

[truk4u]

Jim,

Yes that solved my problem. It's just like a piece of cardboard and takes about a minute to change out.

SharpMicro.jpg

[gmcbuffalo]

So if your microwave has areas in the cooking chamber that are hotter than others it could be a wave guide problem? Where do you get new ones.
GregM

[lewpopp]

I guess you get them from Truk.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Greg, I ordered from http://www.partstore.com/
In their site search your brand and model, and then look for the part you want. If you have a part number it is easy, but if not, there is some guessing and hoping, because they do not show pictures of what you are ordering.

The cover I ordered was priced at .95 and seemed to fit the description of what I wanted, but I won't know until I receive it. The shipping was $7.95.

JIM