A Linux-powered microwave oven

Posted Feb 11, 2016 11:27 UTC (Thu) by jnareb (subscriber, #46500)
In reply to: A Linux-powered microwave oven by df5ea
Parent article: A Linux-powered microwave oven

> Placing a scale reliably under the rotating plate typical of many microwave ovens would be a mechanical challenge that Tulloh did not think worth confronting. Instead his design is based on the “flat-plate” or “flat-bed” style of oven — placing a sensor at each of the four corners is mechanically straightforward and gives good results.

The rotating plate in microwave oven is here to ensure even heating. If it is not used, then (probably more expensive) metal wave guide stirring fan is needed.

A Linux-powered microwave oven

Posted Feb 11, 2016 21:36 UTC (Thu) by neilbrown (subscriber, #359) [Link]

> stirring fan

Ahhh. That's what they are called. That explained the "stirrer" in the slide at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3DADx5z-XY&t=183
which had me mystified.
Thanks.

A Linux-powered microwave oven

Posted Feb 12, 2016 19:13 UTC (Fri) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link] (1 responses)

The stirrer is cheaper than a rotating turntable (just a stamped piece of cheap sheet metal and a tiny motor) but it's also less effective.

Don't most microwaves have both? Just looked, our crappy Frigidaire has both. Sample size of 1.

turntable vs microwave scatterer in oven

Posted Feb 15, 2016 0:11 UTC (Mon) by giraffedata (guest, #1954) [Link]

I read once that the stirrer is fully effective and the only reason for the turntable is that it seems to customers to be helpful.

That makes some sense. Customers are acutely aware of uneven heating problems in microwaves, so will pay more for something that seems to address that. But that uneven heating is actually caused by uneven composition of the food, so the turntable doesn't help.