Bypassing the turntable in a microwave-convection oven

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Pat

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Mar 17, 2005
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Payson AZ
Hi:  I have a wobbly turntable in my Sharp R-820BK microwave-convection oven.  It is not designed right, and the matter is worse in an RV that is not 100.000% level.  Someone has heard that you can remove the turntable and turntable support and place a microwaveable support platform over the turntable spindle and set microwaving dishes on the support platform to cook.  Or, if the convection feature is used, place something metal with feet to clear the lower heating element.  My turntable has a small 1" tube about the diameter of a straw that sits loosely over a shorter spindle that goes down through the floor of the oven to the motor, which turns it.  The whole turntable wobbles.  TRUST ME.  It's designed that way.  I have it assembled correctly.  Sharp went through the motions of authorizing a repair person to look at it.  He's an RVer and pronounced the oven poorly designed, especially for in an RV.  Nothing to fix.  It wobbles as much as an inch.  You get boiling soup or baking custard in there, and it slides all over the turntable and bangs into the wall and stops the turning.  I'm surprised the thing hasn't blown out yet.  But I digress. 

The inside of this oven is stainless steel.  There is a permanently attached heating element in the bottom.  The heating element is square and stretches over quite a bit of the bottom of the oven.  Does the turntable protect the oven from the microwaves?  Or is it just a turntable?  When I'm convection baking, I could set their grilling rack over the heating element and put the food on it.

The manual says never operate the oven without the turntable.  Is that to keep someone from trying to balance a dish on the tiny turning spindle?  Or does the turntable provide some kind of insulation?  I can think of plenty of pieces I could put on the bottom of the oven to hold dishes above the spining turntable spindle.  Sure, I'd have to stop the cooking process partway through to turn the bowl or stir, but that's no problem.  Anything has to be better than this wobbling. 

--pat
 
This may sound dumb ,but do you have the removable turntable "support" under the turntable ?
 
Pat

Sounds like this issue didn't get resolved after the last time it was discussed here. Were you not able to get any support from either Sharp or the RV manufacturer?
 
Tom:  You have a good memory.  Problem was never resolved. 

I was reading some posts on the internet regarding people having problems with Sharp microwave ovens, and the prevailing complaint was the refusal of Sharp customer "service" to help or even to acknowledge the problem.  Same issues I ran up against with them since a couple weeks after the oven was installed by the factory that makes my motorhome.  It's not an installation problem, and I DO HAVE IT ASSEMBLED CORRECTLY.  So nothing was ever resolved.  Recently somebody mentioned that a former service technician for Avantium said that the turntable could be bypassed by placing a platform over the turning spindle.  Something in glass or microwaveable plastic for microwaving, and I assume something metal for convection baking.  What's appalling is that these design problems are forwarded by Sharp to the designers.  Like leaving the old fox to guard the henhouse. 

I remember when we had to turn microwave dishes manually during cooking or buy some plastic turntable to do it, so they built the turntables into the ovens.  Now I'm trying to reverse the process and operate without the thing. 

It's beginning to sound like my only solution, short of going to court against Sharp, is to fork over the money for a properly designed little microwave-convection oven.  I plan to be at the RV factory after Moab in May, but I'll have to find something that works.  I suspect they're still putting this defective design in the few motorhomes where the microwave-convection is requested.  Most of the motorhomes have just the microwave oven, which is a different oven.

BTW, I'll be happy to conduct tours of this little nightmare in Moab.  Maybe somebody will think of a solution.  Picture a relatively heavy 12" diameter turntable sitting on a turning straw that is slightly larger than the turning spindle inside it.  No other support.  Most ovens have those 3-wheel Y things to provide stability.  Not this one.  In the aforementioned previous comments I included pictures of the oven, the parts, and the page in the manual showing that's all there is.


--pat
 
Pat,
I foresee no problem in placing a rack over the turntable.  The primary purpose of a turntable is simply to move the food around to even out the cooking.

A glass one  should work for either microwave or convection (if oven-proof).  An upside down pyrex baking dish would do nicely if it leaves enough height available to conveniently place food dishes on top.

You might look for one of those racks designed for the bottom of a roasting pan, though most I have seen are metal and possiby not good for microwaving. However, our convection/microwave has metal bottom/sides and a metal support between the turntable spindle and the glass turntable itself, so maybe metal is no longer a problem in this sort of microwave.
 
Gary,

You're right. a round, metal cake cooling or grilling rack should not cause any problems IF it doesn't come near the sides of the oven. Aluminum foil and small metal objects are still not recommended; they make pretty good receiving antennas for the microwaves but can't dissipate the power very well. If you want to see a pretty good light show, place an old cd on top of a glass and place it inside the oven, then set the timer for only a two or three seconds. Instant electrical storm! Adults: don't try this at home! 
 
This is a major relief.  Because the floor heating element is a large square thing, I need something with legs to stand over it.  I'll cut a large enough microwave dish to miss the element and stand that in the oven when I'm microwaving.  I'll use the metal 3-legged grilling rack supplied by Sharp for baking.  I don't think it's too high.  If it is, I'll find something else.  This is great.  Thanks!

Don't know if anybody's old enough to remember Ed Sullivan's show, but he used to have people on juggling spinning plates on sticks.  That's exactly how this turntable is designed, but with a thinner stick.  Even Ed's jugglers wouldn't have been able to keep a custard pie or cake mix from sloshing and sliding around on the slippery teflon turntable.

I rip and code my CDs to MP3 files for my iPod, so regretfully I'll have to forego the light show.  Hmm.  On the other hand, I have plenty of recordables...

--pat
 
Don't know if anybody's old enough to remember Ed Sullivan's show, but he used to have people on juggling spinning plates on sticks.
I'm afraid I qualify...

spinning plates on sticks.  That's exactly how this turntable is designed, but with a thinner stick.  Even Ed's jugglers wouldn't have been able to keep a custard pie or cake mix from sloshing and sliding around on the slippery teflon turntable.
Strange. I never seen one that did not have some kind of support bracket between the "stick" (spindle) and the plate. Our GE convection/micro has a circular, 4-spoke metal wheel that fits on the spindle and the glass plate sits on that. Maybe they forgot to include a similar part with yours?
 
RV Roamer said:
Our GE convection/micro has a circular, 4-spoke metal wheel that fits on the spindle and the glass plate sits on that. Maybe they forgot to include a similar part with yours?

Gary, without seeing Pat's microwave, that would be my bet also.

Pat - click here to see the part that Gary is talking about. This one is specifically for your R-820BK oven.
 
Pat said:
Someone has heard that you can remove the turntable and turntable support and place a microwaveable support platform over the turntable spindle and set microwaving dishes on the support platform to cook.? Or, if the convection feature is used, place something metal with feet to clear the lower heating element.

Here is a PDF of your operations manual. Do you have such a manual? If so, look on page 9. It displays all the parts you mention, including the turntable support (Item 7).

http://www.sharpusa.com/files/mic_man_R820B.pdf#search='sharp%20r820bk%20and%20turntable%20and%20repair'

(if too long, you may have to cut and paste into your browser)
 
Wow do you ever wonder how the Sharp customer support experts would overlook a detail susch as this given that the information is found in their own manual??? ??? ??? ??? ???
 
My model is the Sharp R-820BK (BK for black)

My parts are displayed on page 7.  I have also posted a copy of that manual page in another topic, but I'll include it herein.

I will go out and look at this PDF page, because there is no other support than the spindle. The 3-legged rack they show is only for grilling.  It sits on top of the wobbly turntable.  No way on earth to keep something on that rack safely. 

I've read and reread the manual with disbelief, and there is no support other than the spindle.  Sharp's repair guy pronounced the design faulty.

The turntable support is a small plate with a short straw-like thing in the bottom of it that sits loosely on the spindle.  I'll include a picture of the bottom of the big, heavy turntable and the bottom of the turntable support sitting in place. 

I'll also include a picture of the bottom of the oven with the turntable and support removed to show the lone spindle.

--pat

 

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Part 7, the turntable support, does not have the Y configuration with wheels. It's just a 6 7/8" diameter platform with a short straw-like tube on the bottom that sits on the spindle (see picture in previous posting).  Also the previous posting has a picture of the inside of the oven with the turntable and support removed to show the spindle and the heating element on the bottom of the oven.  That Y support with the wheels could not turn in there, because the permanently affixed heating element is in the way.  I'm not sure why the Y part is given by the website as a part for this oven model. 

The concept of the spindle and turntable support tube is to make the turntable float above the bottom heating element.  Unfortunately, it is not stable.

Anyway, I'm glad to get the manual in electronic form, and I've copied the web page with the Y piece. 

I plan to go on to the Yakima Chinook plant from the Moab rally.  I hope to have some suggestions for Chinook for a replacement oven that is safe.  The oven is small, so most well-designed microwave-convection ovens won't fit.

--pat
 
Pat said:
That Y support with the wheels could not turn in there, because the permanently affixed heating element is in the way.

I think that several of us missed that point Pat.
 
Couple interesting developments.

I called the website that shows the Y adapter for this model of oven. The CSR just argued that they got the info from Sharp and that another website shows the same part for the same model oven.  I suggested they look into it, because it won't work.  They were nice, but I got the impression the comment was going into the circular file.

I used the 3-legged grilling rack on the oven floor to convection bake this afternoon. Place didn't burn down, so I think it works great.  I was baking rice pudding, which would have turned out more evenly cooked if it had been able to rotate, even though I turned it a few times by hand.  But at least the heavy glass dish isn't crashing into the oven wall on its slide down the sloping teflon turntable. 

I need to build something microwave proof that will jump over that affixed lower heating element and spindle.  A heat resistant plastic version of the grill rack would be great.  As long as the metal grill rack doesn't touch the sides of the oven, will it work during microwave cooking?

--pat
 
Here's an idea...
When you aren't baking, the bottom heating element should be dormant and maybe could be covered by a flat sheet of some kind. Put a hole in the center of the sheet for the spindle to poke through and then the sheet might support the rotating table better. 
 
Gary:  It might even work with that Y adapter if the flat sheet is sturdy enough.  I was sure surprised at how much more evenly the oven works with the turntable turning.  I can always get one of those plastic things from the stores and set it on the platform.  Anyway, I'm glad to get a better handle on this thing.  It's fun learning new ways to solve problems.

--pat
 

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