Microwave Oven Layout...

[Ricky]

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

--

Rick C.

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[Dean Hoffman]

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 12:18:00 PM UTC-5, Ricky wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

A search for combination and/or built in microwave turned up a few. Over the range with bottom
controls exist. That doesn\'t really answer your question though.

 

[Martin Rid]

Dean Hoffman <deanh6929@gmail.com> Wrote in message:r
> On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 12:18:00 PM UTC-5, Ricky wrote:> I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed. > > Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter? > > It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little. > > -- > > Rick C. > > - Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging > - Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209 A search for combination and/or built in microwave turned up a few. Over the range with bottom controls exist. That doesn\'t really answer your question though.

There is a UL requirement for height above a range, so. Side
controls would work better there.

Cheers
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[Fred Bloggs]

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 1:18:00 PM UTC-4, Ricky wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

There\'s this little thing called a magnetron that has to be routed via waveguide into the oven cavity. So unless you\'re willing to turn all your food upside down, it goes where it is now, the controls are just a fraction of that footprint. Hey- thanks for the brain teaser of the day tho...

You should have planned for more space.

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Rick C.

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[legg]

On Sat, 9 Jul 2022 10:17:56 -0700 (PDT), Ricky
<gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

The control panel isn\'t the culprit, it\'s the magnetron and fan that
force extra real estate.

.. . . and controls have to face the operator, unless they\'re
remote ( aaaagh ! another remote control ! )

The rotator, or uwave-spreader already occupies hight.

Probably the biggest waste of space are the rear corners,
but they\'re no use to the end-user anyways, except to route
line cordage, or avoid wall socket protrusions.

You\'ll see this expressed as a \'bulge\' in the back wall
of some units, to increase rotator platten diameter.

RL

 

[Fred Bloggs]

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 4:48:51 PM UTC-4, legg wrote:

On Sat, 9 Jul 2022 10:17:56 -0700 (PDT), Ricky
gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.
The control panel isn\'t the culprit, it\'s the magnetron and fan that
force extra real estate.

. . . and controls have to face the operator, unless they\'re
remote ( aaaagh ! another remote control ! )

The rotator, or uwave-spreader already occupies hight.

Rotators are going back a ways, if you mean that fan blade looking thingamajig.

Probably the biggest waste of space are the rear corners,
but they\'re no use to the end-user anyways, except to route
line cordage, or avoid wall socket protrusions.

You\'ll see this expressed as a \'bulge\' in the back wall
of some units, to increase rotator platten diameter.

RL

 

[Cydrome Leader]

Ricky <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to
simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same?
I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they
can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven
cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or
alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

The standard layout is fine, and works fine for making $60 microwaves.

What\'s you looking for is called a \"microwave drawer\" and they\'re all
rediculous to use. Its like loading and pulling food from a slide out
trash can. Everything about them sort of sucks.

 

[Ricky]

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 9:14:04 PM UTC-4, Cydrome Leader wrote:

Ricky <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to
simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same?
I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they
can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven
cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or
alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.
The standard layout is fine, and works fine for making $60 microwaves.

What\'s you looking for is called a \"microwave drawer\" and they\'re all
rediculous to use. Its like loading and pulling food from a slide out
trash can. Everything about them sort of sucks.

No, I\'m asking about a $60 microwave that has the controls above the door, rather than beside it. The part I don\'t know about, never having taken a microwave apart, is if it\'s a big deal to try to reposition the rest of the oven layout. Someone has said it\'s a problem, but that guy sounds like a moron. Another talked about the magnetron, but didn\'t say it was a problem moving it.

The place I\'m in this week has a medium size microwave, wedged diagonally in the corner of a small counter and takes up a much larger portion of the counter than is needed. But there\'s just no other place to put it really. Turning it parallel to either wall makes it less convenient and still doesn\'t give back any worthwhile space. But if it were four inches less wide, that would make it worthwhile to sit against the wall rather than cross ways in the corner.

All in all this is one of the more accommodating places I\'ve been in Puerto Rico. Nothing in particular stands out, but it doesn\'t have many of the many oddities you find here. There are no steps in the floor anywhere in the house or the porches. This may be the first place I\'ve stayed without that oddity. One apartment I was in had a 1 inch rise to the bathroom. With the tile (nearly everywhere is ceramic tile in PR) and the grout about the same color, I stubbed my toe on it a number of times in the dim light. Another place had a flush threshold from patio to inside at one door, but a one inch rise at another door. I guess levels are not popular in Puerto Rico. That same place, had an 8 inch step into the bathroom (not uncommon, maybe for pipes) but no wall. That\'s right, the bathroom only had three walls, so a full view from the bedroom with a queen and a bunk bed.

Well, that\'s a drift from the microwave, so I guess I should stop dragging my own thread off topic.

--

Rick C.

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[John]

Ricky <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

Cydrome Leader wrote:

What\'s you looking for is called a \"microwave drawer\" and they\'re all
rediculous to use. Its like loading and pulling food from a slide out
trash can. Everything about them sort of sucks.

No, I\'m asking about a $60 microwave that has the controls above the
door, rather than beside it. The part I don\'t know about, never having
taken a microwave apart, is if it\'s a big deal to try to reposition the
rest of the oven layout. Someone has said it\'s a problem, but that guy
sounds like a moron. Another talked about the magnetron, but didn\'t say
it was a problem moving it.

Wow. You sound desperate, or, too much time on your hands.

 

[Dave Platt]

In article <ef621e9c-bc32-4c17-a8f6-f2030e0f964fn@googlegroups.com>,
Ricky <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

No, I\'m asking about a $60 microwave that has the controls above the door, rather than beside it. The part I don\'t know
about, never having taken a microwave apart, is if it\'s a big deal to try to reposition the rest of the oven layout. Someone
has said it\'s a problem, but that guy sounds like a moron. Another talked about the magnetron, but didn\'t say it was a
problem moving it.

The magnetron is in fact a fairly sizable device as things
go... several inches on a side if I remember correctly. The
transformer is of a similar size. In a typical counter-mounted
microwave, these two components (and a fan) take up most of the space
behind the control panel. The magnetron needs fan cooling.

In the microwaves I\'ve looked at, the RF arrangement seems to follow
one of two patterns. In some, there\'s an aperture on the right side
of the cooking chamber, and the magnetron fires through this... ovens
like this usually have a rotating platform. In others, there\'s a
metal waveguide mounted above the cooking chamber which carries the
microwaves from the magnetron to an aperture with a rotating \"fan\"
which disperses the microwaves... ovens like this often don\'t have a
rotating platform.

In principle I suppose it would be possible to rotate this arrangement
on either axis, putting the magnetron and transformer either above the
cooking chamber (trades width for height) or behind (trades width for
depth). The \"behind\" approach wouldn\'t be good for countertops, I
suspect, as it would result in a shallow cooking chamber which might
not be able to hold an entire frozen dinner (and in that case what\'s
the point? ;-)

I wonder if anyone has ever tried to market a two-piece built-in
microwave? (cooking chamber with thin control strip, a separate
enclosure with transformer and magnetron, and an RF-tight
waveguide connecting them). Seems as if it might work in theory,
but getting consumer-safety approval would probably be hellish.

 

[whit3rd]

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 10:18:00 AM UTC-7, Ricky wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

Or, just putting the controls on the door; something like a four-wire USB cord could easily be routed through
a door hinge.

I think most of the magetrons are kinda... cubes, though. That and a mode mixer (fan) andtable rotator are always going to be space hogs.

 

[Bertrand Sindri]

Ricky <gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them
are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side
of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on
the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes
putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a
smaller footprint on the counter?

Have you ever taken apart one of the microwaves you reference (i.e., in
another article you reference a $60 cost microwave).

The control panel on the side is simply the front cover for the space
which holds the transformer and capacitive doubler that drives the
magnetron. Most of the space behind the side front panel is consumed
by the transformer and magetron (with some extra for the cooling fan
and enough room for airflow).

The transformer itself is usually about as wide as the control panel,
and often equally as deep, and about 1/2 to 3/4 the height of the
volume behind the controll panel. The magnetron generally takes up the
remaining 1/2 to 1/4 height of the control panel.

The controls could be moved to the top, or bottom, or onto the door,
and you still have to put that transformer volume and magnetron volumne
somewhere. If you put both on top (or below) the cooking space, then
you get a very tall unit that likely will not fit underneath normal
cabinet spacing for normal kitchen countertops. If you put it behind
the cooking space, you get an extra deep unit that likely sticks out
too far from the wall and/or is too long to fit on a typical depth
countertop.

See \"Step 7\" and \"Step 8\" here:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microwave+Teardown/56516
for photos of what is in the volume behind the control panel. The
transformer, magetron, and cooling fan have to go somewhere. Turns
out, on the side, with the control panel being the front cover of the
volume containing the working guts, is pretty close to the optimal
layout, you get the most overall compact unit with that arrangement.

 

[Malcolm Moore]

On Sat, 9 Jul 2022 10:17:56 -0700 (PDT), Ricky
<gnuarm.deletethisbit@gmail.com> wrote:

I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.

Thirty years ago Mitsubishi had several models with the controls above
the door, so it is possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rDhgAwdGUc
https://imgur.com/qQ22mNS&Wx8gnnV
Possibly not enough purchasers wanted to buy them so they deleted them
from their range.


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[Martin Brown]

On 10/07/2022 03:08, Ricky wrote:

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 9:14:04 PM UTC-4, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ricky <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them
are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the
side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more
space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes
putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the
oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down
to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the
same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so
small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side
panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using
more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in
places that have very little.
The standard layout is fine, and works fine for making $60
microwaves.

What\'s you looking for is called a \"microwave drawer\" and they\'re
all rediculous to use. Its like loading and pulling food from a
slide out trash can. Everything about them sort of sucks.

No, I\'m asking about a $60 microwave that has the controls above the
door, rather than beside it. The part I don\'t know about, never
having taken a microwave apart, is if it\'s a big deal to try to
reposition the rest of the oven layout. Someone has said it\'s a
problem, but that guy sounds like a moron. Another talked about the
magnetron, but didn\'t say it was a problem moving it.

You can have microwave (or rather combo) ovens where the controls are
above the heating space (but they are not the $60 ones) more like $600+.

https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/bct/cooking/microwaves/neff/combi

They are not especially small though 600mm width. A quick scan of my
local store found just one free standing which meets your requirements
(apart from being 2x the price). Every other looked to be the same basic
chassis design with different external cosmetic look and feel.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hotpoint-curve-mwhc-1331-fw-solo-microwave-white-10235895.html

Controls and magnetron are underneath the cooking zone.

Cheap ones it is just so much easier to lump all the active components
in a standardised block off to one side of the oven space.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

 

[Clive Arthur]

On 10/07/2022 12:41, Martin Brown wrote:

<snip>

They are not especially small though 600mm width. A quick scan of my
local store found just one free standing which meets your requirements
(apart from being 2x the price). Every other looked to be the same basic
chassis design with different external cosmetic look and feel.

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hotpoint-curve-mwhc-1331-fw-solo-microwave-white-10235895.html


Controls and magnetron are underneath the cooking zone.

Shame about the controls. A nice big dial and some Bakelite knobs would
work well there.

--
Cheers
Clive

 

[amdx]

On 7/9/2022 9:08 PM, Ricky wrote:

On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 9:14:04 PM UTC-4, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ricky <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to
simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same?
I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they
can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven
cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or
alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.
The standard layout is fine, and works fine for making $60 microwaves.

What\'s you looking for is called a \"microwave drawer\" and they\'re all
rediculous to use. Its like loading and pulling food from a slide out
trash can. Everything about them sort of sucks.
No, I\'m asking about a $60 microwave that has the controls above the door, rather than beside it. The part I don\'t know about, never having taken a microwave apart, is if it\'s a big deal to try to reposition the rest of the oven layout. Someone has said it\'s a problem, but that guy sounds like a moron. Another talked about the magnetron, but didn\'t say it was a problem moving it.

The place I\'m in this week has a medium size microwave, wedged diagonally in the corner of a small counter and takes up a much larger portion of the counter than is needed. But there\'s just no other place to put it really. Turning it parallel to either wall makes it less convenient and still doesn\'t give back any worthwhile space. But if it were four inches less wide, that would make it worthwhile to sit against the wall rather than cross ways in the corner.

All in all this is one of the more accommodating places I\'ve been in Puerto Rico. Nothing in particular stands out, but it doesn\'t have many of the many oddities you find here. There are no steps in the floor anywhere in the house or the porches. This may be the first place I\'ve stayed without that oddity. One apartment I was in had a 1 inch rise to the bathroom. With the tile (nearly everywhere is ceramic tile in PR) and the grout about the same color, I stubbed my toe on it a number of times in the dim light. Another place had a flush threshold from patio to inside at one door, but a one inch rise at another door. I guess levels are not popular in Puerto Rico. That same place, had an 8 inch step into the bathroom (not uncommon, maybe for pipes) but no wall. That\'s right, the bathroom only had three walls, so a full view from the bedroom with a queen and a bunk bed.

Well, that\'s a drift from the microwave, so I guess I should stop dragging my own thread off topic.

I haven\'t had a newer switching style microwave apart, but with the
older heavy transformer, that had to be set out side
the cooking area, along with the magnetron and control pcb, it just
seems reasonable to put the control panel in the
expanded area made for the other parts. Putting it on top would add
about 5\" to the height, also make it very top heavy,
instead having uneven weight distribution. Maybe it could all be put
underneath, I don\'t know enough to know if the magnetron
energy could efficiently guided up to where it needs to be, probably. It
might be niche need that a company could make a buck on,
but they don\'t seem to have made that happen.

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[Don Y]

On 7/10/2022 5:46 AM, amdx wrote:

I haven\'t had a newer switching style microwave apart, but with the older heavy
transformer, that had to be set out side
the cooking area, along with the magnetron and control pcb, it just seems
reasonable to put the control panel in the
expanded area made for the other parts. Putting it on top would add about 5\" to
the height, also make it very top heavy,
instead having uneven weight distribution. Maybe it could all be put
underneath, I don\'t know enough to know if the magnetron
energy could efficiently guided up to where it needs to be, probably. It might
be niche need that a company could make a buck on,
but they don\'t seem to have made that happen.

You can find microwaves with the controls on right (most common, by a huge
factor), top (common in industrial settings), bottom (rare) and *left* (rarer
still!)

There\'s little demand for \"tiny\" ovens as most folks are looking for something
in which they can, at least, reheat a plate of leftovers. And, with convection
capabilities, \"turkeys\" are probably the high end of that size range.

[Having turned down an offer to design said controls for a firm specializing in
that, many decades ago]

 

[Fred Bloggs]

On Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 12:12:20 AM UTC-4, Bertrand Sindri wrote:

Ricky <gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them
are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side
of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on
the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes
putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a
smaller footprint on the counter?
Have you ever taken apart one of the microwaves you reference (i.e., in
another article you reference a $60 cost microwave).

The control panel on the side is simply the front cover for the space
which holds the transformer and capacitive doubler that drives the
magnetron. Most of the space behind the side front panel is consumed
by the transformer and magetron (with some extra for the cooling fan
and enough room for airflow).

The transformer itself is usually about as wide as the control panel,
and often equally as deep, and about 1/2 to 3/4 the height of the
volume behind the controll panel. The magnetron generally takes up the
remaining 1/2 to 1/4 height of the control panel.

The controls could be moved to the top, or bottom, or onto the door,
and you still have to put that transformer volume and magnetron volumne
somewhere. If you put both on top (or below) the cooking space, then
you get a very tall unit that likely will not fit underneath normal
cabinet spacing for normal kitchen countertops. If you put it behind
the cooking space, you get an extra deep unit that likely sticks out
too far from the wall and/or is too long to fit on a typical depth
countertop.

See \"Step 7\" and \"Step 8\" here:
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microwave+Teardown/56516
for photos of what is in the volume behind the control panel. The
transformer, magetron, and cooling fan have to go somewhere. Turns
out, on the side, with the control panel being the front cover of the
volume containing the working guts, is pretty close to the optimal
layout, you get the most overall compact unit with that arrangement.

That big line transformer is ancient history and no longer used. For the past ten years or so the industry has gone with resonant converter switching power supplies for magnetron HV and filament power. It saves a LOT of weight and wasted energy too.

 

[Fred Bloggs]

On Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 8:59:17 AM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:

On 7/10/2022 5:46 AM, amdx wrote:
I haven\'t had a newer switching style microwave apart, but with the older heavy
transformer, that had to be set out side
the cooking area, along with the magnetron and control pcb, it just seems
reasonable to put the control panel in the
expanded area made for the other parts. Putting it on top would add about 5\" to
the height, also make it very top heavy,
instead having uneven weight distribution. Maybe it could all be put
underneath, I don\'t know enough to know if the magnetron
energy could efficiently guided up to where it needs to be, probably. It might
be niche need that a company could make a buck on,
but they don\'t seem to have made that happen.
You can find microwaves with the controls on right (most common, by a huge
factor), top (common in industrial settings), bottom (rare) and *left* (rarer
still!)

There\'s little demand for \"tiny\" ovens as most folks are looking for something
in which they can, at least, reheat a plate of leftovers. And, with convection
capabilities, \"turkeys\" are probably the high end of that size range.

[Having turned down an offer to design said controls for a firm specializing in
that, many decades ago]

Whirlpool makes this for the corner situation:
https://www.whirlpool.com/kitchen/cooking/microwaves/countertop/p.0.5-cu.-ft.-countertop-microwave-with-add-30-seconds-option.wmc20005yw.html

I don\'t see weight listed but I doubt it\'s 5 lbs. So even that hag in PR can carry it.

 

[Ricky]

On Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 7:00:37 AM UTC-4, Malcolm Moore wrote:

On Sat, 9 Jul 2022 10:17:56 -0700 (PDT), Ricky
gnuarm.del...@gmail.com> wrote:
I\'ve seen microwave ovens designed for small spaces. None of them are actually so good, because they put the control panel on the side of the oven door making the oven larger and taking up more space on the counter than needed.

Is there something about the internal organization that precludes putting the controls above or below the oven door, giving the oven a smaller footprint on the counter?

It seems there must be some reason for this. Does it come down to simple expediency on their part, keeping all oven layouts the same? I\'ve seen no shortage of microwave ovens with openings so small, they can barely cook a bag of popcorn. Remove the side panel and the oven cavity can be that much larger without using more counter space, or alternately, use less counter space in places that have very little.
Thirty years ago Mitsubishi had several models with the controls above
the door, so it is possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rDhgAwdGUc
https://imgur.com/qQ22mNS&Wx8gnnV
Possibly not enough purchasers wanted to buy them so they deleted them
from their range.

That\'s exactly what I was thinking. Not only would it be more narrow, if used in the corner still, it would sit back further, wasting less space behind it in the corner.

Like most \"new ideas\", they probably wanted a premium price and small microwave are mostly budget units.

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Rick C.

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