Overheating microwave oven
 

We have an Iris model home in Fenney which has the microwave oven above the stove. Whenever we do any significant amount of cooking on the stove the fan in the microwave starts up running at full blast for several minutes, I assume to cool down the microwave oven. I'd rather not start trying to enjoy dinner with this racket going on in the background.

Is this a common problem, and has anyone found a way to fix it?

This may sound silly but there are options to turn down fan , you just keep hitting the fan button. If it’s new home just call warranty, frankly in 14 homes, 5 in villages never heard of problem

I would contact manufacturer of the microwave and see if they have answer.

If that does not work consider an exorcism.

You need to determine if the microwave has been modified to vent to the outside of your house. Most of them do not. They merely circulate air through a metal filter at the bottom of the microwave and back into the kitchen. The microwave will have a fan button on the front panel that will manually turn the fan on and off and usually will have two speeds. It sounds like someone may have modified your microwave fan to operate on a thermostat instead of the usual manual operation. If so, that would be highly unusual. I would try to locate the thermostat and disable it. I would start by removing the metal panel and filter at the bottom of the microwave and look for a thermostat attached to the fan motor. Good luck.

Ours does the same thing. It is designed to come on when the temp gets extremely high. If you look at the readout on the microwave, it will says automatic fan or something to that effect.

You are correct. Here is a link with instructions on how to turn off the automatic fan feature on a Whirlpool oven. The feature is designed to protect the microwave electronics from overheating, but, I think I may turn it off and use the manual fan when cooking.

Access Denied

Shortly after moving to the Villages, it was clear an over the stove microwave was a mistake, poor ventilation, placed too high to easily manage large items, difficult to observe cooking. Removed the microwave and placed it elsewhere. Installed a proper efficient hood to vent outside.

Probably a good idea if you do a lot of cooking. But, the standard over the stove microwave has a fan that can be positioned to vent to the outside. However, the builder usually doesn't install it that way.

It is a safety feature for 2 reasons 1) to protect the microwave and 2) to ensure The excess heat that is being sensed, is being evacuated. I would not disable.

There is a vent to the outside in your microwave. The fan keeps the heat from building up on the bottom.

Unplug it and turn it into a fish tank.

call the warranty dept. you are covered for ANYTHING that goes wrong in your new house. Don't suffer when you don't have to. I do not have that problem with my microwave and it is also over the stove. Doesn't sound like it should be happening,

To clarify, on most microwave ovens, the fan will suck air through the bottom of the microwave and will discharge it through the vent holes in the top, front part of the microwave. So, you are blowing hot air toward the drywall kitchen ceiling. You may be reducing the temperature directly above the cooktop, but you are not removing any heat from the kitchen. In my opinion, this is not a good design. The builder should install a vent through the exterior wall or roof. The microwave ovens are designed to allow the fan position to be changed to discharge the air to an outside vent.

Like me, you probably have the feature, but didn't know it. The bottom of the microwave has to get hot before the fan will come on and override the manual fan setting.

Good for you! Ranges should always have real range hoods that vent outside, ideally with powerful but very quiet fans. Of course, you are talking several hundred dollars for the vent and fan, and then there is installation, perhaps with a soffit around the pipe, and a roof penetration to flash and seal. And, you’ll be sucking in hot, humid air from outside to replace the hot, humid air you are expelling. I wonder if it even makes any sense to vent outside instead of into the attic, given that the attic is hot and humid. Maybe, though, cooking in winter when the attic is cooler would lead to the humidity soaking the insulation in the attic. If your stove is against an outside wall, sometimes you can vent directly through the wall, which is a lot cheaper and easier and more efficient.

I hate hot, steamy cooking, and I hate hot, steamy bathrooms. I believe in good ventilation.