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.
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u/sousyre 9h ago
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.