Microwave platter rotation

[Tim Elett]

Anyone know why they program microwaves with the beeping at every button and five or six beeps at the end of cycles?

[Charlie Velasquez]

Lee, FWIW, we ditched the microwave for heating water for tea (and hot chocolate) and now use an electric kettle. We never had one but every family we visited in Italy used them daily. After our last trip we finally broke down and bought one - I hope I'll never have to go back to the microwave!

We got one similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPK.../dp/B003KYSLNQ
Heats very fast, can optionally keep water hot for that second cup. Our family chef even uses it to preheat water when cooking pasta and such since it's faster than boiling water on the stove top.
JKJ

After I left the classroom I headed our district’s energy conservation program. I would often go to classrooms and discuss energy use with students (amazing how well teachers comply with guidelines when you have 23 first grades saying, “Miss Jones, you forgot to turn off the lights!”).
When discussing with middle schoolers the efficiency of appliances they saw teachers using during the day they wanted to know “which was best”.
So they devised an experiment boiling water to see how much energy the different appliances used. They used a kill-o-watt meter and compared an electric hot plate, a microwave, an immersion heating element and an electric kettle.
Can’t remember the exact numbers but the order from least energy to most, with a visual reference of difference was:
immersion element,..electric kettle . . . . . . . microwave . . . . hot plate.
The students got several teachers to switch from their microwaves.

[Curt Harms]

British kettles are generally 2,800 watts so they heat water very quickly. Brits who come to the USA are disappointed at how slow our 1,500 watt kettles are.

They also run 220 volts (I think, don't think it's 240 but it might be). No 120 volts really outside N. America I think.

[Myk Rian]

The clock motors in M waves have no pawl to force them to rotate in only one direction. Clocks, timers, etc. have that pawl.
Ours doesn't turn one direction, then the other with each use. It turns whatever direction it wants to.

We rented a house in Flagstaff for T-giving last year. The MW had a platter that rotated like Bruce mentioned. Kinda weird watching it.

[Lisa Starr]

I used to use an electric tea kettle. Now that I have an Induction cooktop, it is faster to use a regular tea kettle on the cooktop.

[Rob Luter]

Everyone I've paid attention to reverses on each use.

^ This ^

mine have all done the same thing.

[Brian Elfert]

They also run 220 volts (I think, don't think it's 240 but it might be). No 120 volts really outside N. America I think.

Correct that they use 230 volt 50 hertz in the UK. It is really the wattage, not the volts that matters. You could do 2,800 watts with a 120 volt circuit, but it is not normal to have circuits that big in kitchens in the USA.

[Mark Blatter]

Anyone know why they program microwaves with the beeping at every button and five or six beeps at the end of cycles?

Introverted engineers getting a bit of revenge on annoying extroverts.

[Kev Williams]

Microwave platter motors will turn both ways, as someone mentioned it's to do with resistance. They won't necessarily change direction every time, it depends on if the motor encounters a 'bump', if so it'll change direction. Usually the heavy platter will continue slightly after the motor stops, leaving some slack between the platter and the driver cog (or whatever it's called), and that slack creates the bump... But if the platter is essentially resting against the cog when it starts, then no bump and it'll just continue in the same direction...

And that Cuisinart water pot, we have one, wonderful thing that is! I'm not sure because I haven't researched it but I believe they heat via induction...

And those of you with an induction stove or single cooktop like ours, if you really want to heat up something fast, find yourself the thinnest, cheapest plain, NOT stainless, steel frying pan or pot you can find. I have such a cheapie frying pan, and I can boil a cup of water in about 15 seconds on our 1500w induction cooktop. I put a can of Grillin' Beans in the pan a couple days ago, had to stir constantly with a flat wood spatula, but they were blazing hot ready to eat in about 30 seconds. Normal cookware heats pretty quick, but nothing like a cheap, thin steel frying pan!

[Chris Parks]

We have a little glass coffee pot that we use to heat water for tea in the microwave. It seems no matter what time I set, the handle ends up in the back where I have to reach around the hot pot to take it out. Our micro wave does rotate in both directions and will auto reverse if it perceives a jam.

Our Meile MW does not have a rotating platter so things stay where you put them.