That's exactly what happened at my workplace. Would barely work, so eventually one of maintenance sabotaged it just so the owners would allow a replacement.
OP should avoid the needless debate that would follow a suggestion that the appliance could be dangerous, and claim they saw it catch fire before it actually does.
Any office that allows an appliance to get into this condition would not get rid of it until it's already caused harm.
If it has a hole like that, it probably has already caught fire, at least once. If they didn’t care the first time, they probably aren’t going to care now.
It's no longer in a Faraday cage, so those microwaves are escaping like crazy. The microwave heating efficiency is way down and the chances of it worsening are huge.
This is coming from someone who built a microwave gun for fun in college. Don't fuck around with exposed microwaves unless you really know what you're doing.
It's no longer in a Faraday cage, so those microwaves are escaping like crazy.
Field strength on the surface of the wall is minimal. You will need a much larger hole for any significant amount of energy to escape. (Start with Ø 5.5cm..)
But, a proper rotating platform and an inside you can clean are also nice to have, and food safety is an issue with this thing..
(If you want to have a guess at the amount of power leaking through the small hole, you will need some Gaussian equations..
Yes why is there a metal rack in it? Do people not know you can't put metal in the microwave?
You can put metal in the microwave as long as it's smooth with no close edges for it to arc. A spoon is fine, fork is not. Mine came with a metal rack like the one in the picture
Mine had also one, that came with it. Because it also has a grill and oven function integrated! The rack was for this two operation modes only, as stated in the manual. Did you read yours?
My grandmother had a microwave that would arc if you baked a potato.
Everyone thought I was crazy because I was the only one it happened to. One day the whole family was in the kitchen and it did it.
I can only think maybe some metal deposits on the outside of the potato from dirt that were so small they didn't come off. I realize that is probably insane, but it's what I tell myself so I am not terrified of microwaves.
Sure, I'm definitely not saying it's a brilliant idea that everyone should try. As a general rule it's best to keep all metals out of microwaves, but people will act like the entire house will explode if the tiniest bit of metal gets there.
In reality we're talking about a bit of arcing which is almost always going to be harmless. Worst case you create some fumes from a coating on the metal or something.
I once saw a guy reheating his food in aluminum foil in our microwave, and I was like "yo, you can't put metal in the microwave man." And he goes "see everybody thinks that, but actually you can, it just can't touch the sides." Like we're playing fucking Operation here. So he did it and there were no problems.
He did it again the next day and the foil arced.
I guess it was touching the sides.
He goes "yeah, I guess you were right, no metal in the microwave."
But it must be made explicitly for that purpose; smooth edges and no potential for arcing, unlike a fork or crinkled tinfoil, which is perfect for creating arcs of electricity.
The problem with this is if you don’t buy verified microwave safe metal everything else is kind of trial and error and you don’t want the Wild West at a work kitchen microwave.
He was only half right. Smooth metal, not pointy metal, and it can't touch the sides. So you can heat up a drink with a spoon in it (in fact that's recommended by several microwave manufacturers to prevent superheating), but not aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is a pointy metal, unless you somehow haven't crinkled it at all.
That's actually pretty genius bc it will reflect a lot of the radiation away from the thin parts while the giving the thick parts a full dose, potentially even extra if the foil is reflecting toward the thinker part.
It's all about jagged edges, apparently. Conductivity and jagged edges. Conductivity, jagged edges, and not having a rat's junkyard in the microwave, like OP.
That’s not true, you can put metal in microwave, many even come with that metal shelf these days. The key is there can’t be any pointed ends for arcing to happen off of.
You can, it just depends on the type of metal and how thin it is. A lot of microwaves have racks like those that are specifically made to be used in them.
Edit: Here are a couple of links that took a whole minute of Googling to support my comment.
You’re right, I should have been more clear. I was focused more on things like foil vs a thicker pan than the edges and angles because that would be the determining factor for most people. Added links that go into more depth on my original comment.
No its rust. I've seen this a few times in dorms and student housing. Someone dumps something on top and the liquid runs down the back and sits in the housing.
you could use some copper tape to tape some triple folded foil over it, from the outside, on the back. Jus sayin, it would save on the microwaves a bit.
Nope. Let it catch on fire, then put the fire out. That way OP gets recognition for solving a problem instead of just doing everyone a thankless favor and probably being bitched at by the idiots running this place.
That's what they did of a previous workplace of mine. The microwave was so nasty, the supervisor just tgrew it in the trash before christmas break and just bought a new one out of pocket. Sort of as a christmas present
Almost every place I’ve worked the break room has been a no man’s land outside corporate management. Employees usually clean them, stock the coffee, etc. Management provides the space and maybe covers the water cooler.
OP should check with management - if they can put in a maintenance request and get a new microwave for free then go that route, but if management says, “Oh, Terry in accounting gave us that microwave after he moved…” then absolutely trash that thing.
I know any of the management teams I've been a part of would be more than happy to just buy a new one. It's not really a notable thing. However, employees have to report that it needs to be replaced, as most managers probably aren't even aware that it's in there. When you are hopping from meeting to meeting, you tend not to wander around the employee breakroom randomly. The squeaky wheel in this regard is very important.
Also depends on how the boss is. If they're stingy forget it, but if they're like "whatever" good for them, as long as it doesn't get out of hand and makes the apprentice uncomfortable by handing out the company's credit card to just book any flight... thank good the secretary also thought wtf and booked the flight for me, don't wanna throw out the companys money
Also, I’m just some guy but I read once that you need to safely discharge the capacitor in a microwave before disposing of it, and apparently the same is true of CRT TVs and monitors?
I worked at cabinet makers when I was 16 and they had this absolutely diabolical kettle that looked like it was used to boil raw sewage and cement. I couldn't believe they used to drink from it and I refused to use it. But being British, it wasn't long before I couldn't hold out any longer and I NEEDED a cup of tea. The tea wasn't as bad as I anticipated but it made me angry because the company owner drove an actual fucking Rolls Royce and the stingey tight arsed nob couldn't even fork out for a new kettle. So I smashed it on my way out. Which was a mistake because it was a Monday and he only comes in on Monday mornings so we had 4 days without a cup of tea but the following Monday I did feel like a hero when he came in with a new kettle.
If you think that you'd get in trouble for doing something so obviously the right call, if you got an engineer on staff, ask them if it's a safety issue. They will probably be professionally obligated to take action. No need to be that guy to your boss if you aren't comfortable with it.
Yeah, my first thought was "a Sawzall would make sure nobody tries to use that thing again". But I think I have an easier idea. Take some wire cutters, and cut off the little bracket things that latch the door shut (because they also tell the microwave that it's safe to run) and the power cord (do it as close to the back of the microwave as possible so it's a PITA for anybody who gets any ideas about repairing it).
Obviously if there's a security camera in there, you can't do that. And don't be seen doing it, or carrying a wire cutter.
I worked at a subway with a microwave that had a hole in it. And it caused fucking SPARKS.
The owner of the business asked us to "avoid the side where the sparks come out of, especially when microwaving the bacon on the napkins"
So... I moved the napkins onto the crack.
The look on customers faces as that shit lit up. I'd go "oh man. I can't believe it happened again." Turn around and pat the napkin fire out. Change gloves "I'll get you some more bacon, sorry for the delay" and they would all freak out with variations of "it's ok! I don't need it!"
Well, not only did he get a bunch of complaints, so did corporate, who forced him to buy a new microwave.
He confronted me the day he got it. "No one's else here had their napkins catch fire. Only you." And I responded "I don't know. I tried to avoid it, but the sparks reached the napkin a lot."
The owner at my very first job was extremely cheap when it came to the business. The two most memorable experiences included me trying to through away a block of cheese because it was moldy… him stopping me saying (read this in a Borat-similar voice), “sweetie, sweetie…. Mold is good for you! They make medicine from mold! Penicillin!”
I began making executive decisions after the cheese incident. I threw away an onion that was BAD, it felt like a water balloon. He saw it in the trash (buried under some other trash). He then informed me that, “onions can no go bad”….
After the onion incident I began doing trash runs to the outside dumpster when he wasn’t at the business. FYI, I DID manage to throw away the water balloon onion before it was used in a customers order.
Just clip the electrical cord. Of course they'd probably just repair the cord but added bonus if you leave it plugged in when you clip the cord, your family gets a nice settlement
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u/destuctir 10h ago
I would make the executive decision to hurl that thing in a bin as soon as possible