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Microwaves Not Made in China
- DeathArrow 2y agoSo the question to ask is: what is better for an individual long term, having access to cheap goods or have those goods manufactured locally? You can even have both if you are living in Asia.
- benguild 2y agoit doesn’t mean all of the parts are, though
- jumperabg 2y agoSome manufacturers say something like "Assembled in <<insert your country here>>" but usually the parts are outsourced.
- larsrc 2y agoThat's unavoidable for anything even slightly complex. The FairMouse project (https://www.nager-it.de/en/maus#language https://www.nager-it.de/en/maus#language) shows the full graph for a plain computer mouse. Microwaves are more complex.
- saagarjha 2y agoPutting aside the obvious "are they better?"–does anyone have strong opinions on microwaves? I feel like they are fairly reliable, unlike, say, fridges. Some of them have a nicer keypad or something or cook more evenly but I don't think I've ever been super upset by a microwave.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- garciasn 2y agoI use my microwave like once a year; I honestly would rather have that space for something else that doesn’t make food simultaneously boiling hot and freezing cold and/or rubbery. Maybe they should move toward deprecating microwaves for great airfryer/toaster oven combos.
- CoBE10 2y agoIf your food ends up with freezing cold and boiling hot spots after microwaving, it’s probably because of how you’re using the microwave. Don’t use the high setting on completely frozen foods. Set it to medium instead. This gives the food time to heat up evenly. Microwaves mostly heat the surface, so a medium setting works better for even cooking. Great explanation by America's Test Kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJrdXRZ3PUE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJrdXRZ3PUE
- ghaff 2y agoYeah but at that point I’d probably do it on the stovetop rather than futz around with microwave cycles and stirring.
- nikau 2y agoIt's not exactly a major inconvenience to just set the power level lower.
- ghaff 2y agoYou still need to take out of the microwave and stir a few times and do it once or twice more until it’s evenly hot. To each their own but I maybe use my microwave once a week.
- chaffroomba 2y agoThe entire point of running it on lower power is to avoid any uneven heating and manual intervention. Some really delicate foods I've put on low with plenty of success
- card_zero 2y agoIt seems popular to want to suppress them from making a noise when the food is ready, and to be annoyed if there's no silent option - or to prefer ones with mechanical bells that can be removed.
- makapuf 2y agoFairly agree with you, but a buzzer also can be removed.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoSome models let you do this but don’t advertise it. You have to always check their manuals online before buying. Often it’s a question of hitting a magic combination of buttons at initial configuration (when it’s powered up). Some of the higher end microwaves like from Panasonic or Breville or others are more likely to have this.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- crtasm 2y agoSamsung was my only option when I was downloading manuals to look for a silence option here. Press start+stop together to toggle sound.
- prirun 2y agoI bought a cheap Whirlpool microwave ($200), to replace my cheap Frigidare that lasted 20 years. It has this silencing feature and I love it. You hold 2 down for 3 seconds and it silences all beeping until the next power cycle. My only gripe with it is that it also silences the timer going off (ie, not using the oven, just the timer), which seems a little boneheaded.
- mbg721 2y agoI do actually have a strong opinion about microwaves, specifically about the keypads. I have a perfectly good microwave that's a few years old, and the keypad is a cruddy, worn-out mess that's harder and harder to use every day. The microwaving part is fine, but the cheaped-out UI is making a solved technology unusable.
- nxicvyvy 2y agoBeen using the same $25 dollar one from big mart for over a decade. We don't use it for primary cooking but use it quite a bit for reheating baby food and left overs. Spending money on a microwave is insane to me. There's almost always somewhere better to spend that money in a kitchen.
- asimpletune 2y agoI once found a microwave on the curb, in Pac Heights, that just had a charm to it. I took it home, replaced the broken fuse, and it was amazing. I described it to my roommates at the time as the kind of microwave a celebrity would have had in their house in the early 90s. It was super powerful and also had a lot of space. However the best thing about it was the sense based reheat and defrost functions actually seemed to work. So you could push a button, walk away, and come back and it would have figured out how to do the job. I’d say it did this well 95% of the time with the food exiting piping hot. The last thing about it was a very good user interface. The only buttons were the keypad and the sense options. Previous microwaves I owned always had totally bonkers UI’s, like a button that says “chicken”, “popcorn”, and “potato”. Those never worked, no one ever used them, and even if we tried how they were to be used made no sense. Plus the keypad would be littered with button of similar functionality while obscuring the important things. Anyways, years later I saw a YouTube video from that channel tech connections, or however it’s called, the one that does the engineering behind household objects, and he featured the exact same microwave as mine. I felt so validated at that moment. Someone else, an expert, agreed, this was the greatest microwave ever. I moved out of that house but the microwave is still going strong and it will probably continue to do so for decades to come.
- DragonMaus 2y agoWhat brand/model is it?
- asimpletune 2y agoIt was the “Sharp Carousel II”
- Luc 2y agoThis one? https://youtu.be/UiS27feX8o0?t=127 https://youtu.be/UiS27feX8o0?t=127 Sharp Carousel Multiple Choice. It seems to use a moisture sensor and lookup tables to adjust cooking times and power. I was expecting something more complex!
- gcanyon 2y agoYou can't mention the Technology Connections video without linking it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiS27feX8o0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiS27feX8o0 I owned this microwave back in the day. It was awesome, but its awesomeness didn't stand out that much because we really didn't need all those different recipes -- if we had changed our habits to Microwave All The Things then it would have been more compelling, but really our use cases came down to: 1. Reheating food 2. Popcorn 3. Potatoes very rarely did we actually cook in the microwave.
- DeathArrow 2y agoNever liked microwave owens. It's hard to get food cooked evenly. They might be useful for heating up precooked food, but so are other types of owens. What I use now and I kind of like is a natural gas owen which has hot air recirculation and also allows me to set the temperature.
- wil421 2y agoThe only issue with my current one is with the silicon bowls I use for my kids. Somehow the dish focuses the microwaves and starts making plasma on the food leaving burn marks.
- Ekaros 2y agoI have been thinking of getting inverter one which could control actual power level instead of doing on/off cycle of maximum power. But the probably cheap one that was left in place as slightly annoying to remove(power cable behind shelve) just haven't gotten around to. I got also top of the line Samsung one with all the features(convection+grill) stored but it was worse as microwave than the cheap one... Can't get that, I buy essentially best model and it does not do main job properly...
- fmajid 2y agoOn the contrary, it seems like microwaves that will last more than a year or two are now the exception.
- drivingmenuts 2y agoA microwave looked funny at my mom once. Seriously, though - I think microwaves are pretty much a solved problem now. Even the full-blown combos that include a convection oven are reasonably priced now. As long as you don't buy a shoebox and there's not some commercial regulation, where it's made probably isn't that important.
- r0ckarong 2y agoHighly opinionated: Never get one with the twist knobs for setting the time. They work for a while and eventually just do random things. I also hate the push button to open, I want a handle. My last microwave was a Sharp and worked well for about six years and then the entire inside started to flake off. I now have a Samsung that has ceramics coated interior, keypad everything and a handle. I hope this one will last me a while.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 2y agoI also have strong opinions on microwaves and while I agree with the 'handle to open' not push button, I am 100% about a knobs for setting the time. Just one knob, twist and push to start.
- freefaler 2y agoThe cheaper ones have a magnetron that work a set number of cycles. The more expensive ones have much more cycles that cheaper ones.
- tomn 2y agoMicrowave with knobs: put food in and turn the knob to the time you want. maybe turn the power knob if necessary, and wait for the ding Microwave with buttons: put food in, stare at the keypad for 30s looking for the "just f**ing microwave it" button, give up, start putting in a time, realise you need to put in a power first, work out the appropriate power in percent based on the excessive power of the microwave, put that in, figure out the expected format for the time (60 or 100 for one minute?), put that in, press start, wait for the interminable beeping, have to go and press a button to shut it up when you're busy with something else An exaggeration, but most button microwaves have at least one wacky and annoying issue in their UI, and i've experienced all those problems separately. The panasonic inverter ones with a convection oven are worth tolerating just for the quick yet crispy baked potato option, though.
- MrMember 2y agoOn mine I just push the number that corresponds with the number of minutes I want. I push two and it cooks for two minutes.
- paradoxyl 2y ago[flagged]
- Sporktacular 2y agoAh yeah, inferior Western weapons, 'elites', 'plans' to destroy the middle class, <insert right-wing populist here> will solve everything. Yawn.
- zztop44 2y agoPretty sure China isn’t fighting in Ukraine.
- card_zero 2y agoThere's some odd phrasing on that page. > It used to be that all companies made microwaves in China. Really? When? It looks like Amana have been making microwaves in the US continuously since 1967. > These types of electronics were lost to china manufacturers for one reason or another. "Lost to" is an ambiguous phrase. Compare "their match was lost to the other team" with "he was lost to the world". So I can't tell what's being said here. I guess the Chinese manufacturers are doing the losing, but it might be the other way round. I wonder what language this was translated from, and who's behind the site. Maybe it could be somebody disgruntled in Hong Kong, whose first language is Chinese. Whois yields no clues.
- willis936 2y agoThey also say "several" when referring to two. Not that any of these semantics affect the content.
- beretguy 2y ago> These types of electronics were lost to china manufacturers for one reason or another. These types of electronics were “outsourced” to china manufacturers “to make rich guys even more richer”.
- aragonite 2y agoJudging from all the undisclosed Amazon affiliate links, this seems like another generic content farm that's more about profit than politics.
- DeathArrow 2y agoMany people use politics to generate profits. :)
- gromneer 2y ago[flagged]
- pgsandstrom 2y agoSwede here. We fear a chinese hegemony as well.
- beardyw 2y agoDo you speak on behalf of the entire country?
- duda10 2y agoI'm Brazilian and I couldn't care less. Do not see the same advocacy in IT against American imperialism and financeirization of the whole world or against the cartels of american companies products preventing me of having a job due to no significant industry in Brazil.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoI agree it’s bad for a few companies in the west coast of America to have the power they do. However, America is a lot more trustworthy and less dangerous than the CCP, who are currently committing a genocide against some of their own citizens, jailing political opponents, suppressing democracy in Hong Kong, bullying other countries in South China Sea, threatening invasion of Taiwan, attacking other countries with cyber warfare, stealing through industrial espionage, and more. They’re powerful and hostile, and should be shunned by the free world until there is political change.
- pas 2y agonot to mention Xi's unconditional free blowjobs card to Putin, and no embargo enforcement against North Korea.
- pas 2y agodo not see anti Big Tech advocacy? where are you looking? every week there's at least one submission about EU vs Big Tech; every time there's any post on US law enforcement, healthcare, other cost(s) of living, compensation, etc. about US startup and software/hardware development culture or industry people rightfully say the words, fuck Google/Meta/Amazon/etc.
- beardyw 2y agoI remember when it was the Japanese who were bad guys for making good stuff cheaply. Now it's China. Has no-one read Orwell?
- dabber21 2y agosame with Germany, that's why the label was invented https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Germany
- wkrsz 2y agoIt's interesting that the label was introduced in Britain to discourage consumers from buying products imported from Germany. Only then Germany managed to turn it into a brand associated with high quality.
- pas 2y agobut have you read any economics textbook? it makes perfect sense to try to vote with your wallet against a dictatorship.
- DeathArrow 2y agoReading economics should help someone realize that there is something called competition and in order to be successful you should be competitive, do research and development. A few Spaniards conquered a continent in a few years because they were more competitive than the natives. Complaining is never going to help, hard, focused work will.
- DeathArrow 2y agoIf it's someone else making money instead of us, they are going to be the bad guys.
- Ajay-p 2y agoIt's not that they are "bad guys for making good stuff cheaply" it's that every dollar sent to China is another dollar used to oppress and abuse innocent people. It is another dollar in favor of an inhumane dictatorship. Everyone who buys products made in China must certainly know this on some basic level. By the size of the American-Chinese trade deficit consumers are largely ok with this. Some of us are not ok with supporting dictatorships.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y agoI’m glad to see this website shared! It’s good to divest from China, a country that has been supporting Russia and openly calling the US “the enemy”. I wonder why online stores like Amazon don’t have a country of origin filter. Fun fact, most microwaves and microwave components are made by a single company called Medea and just rebranded by various companies. Even brands that you wouldn’t expect, like Panasonic, allegedly use Midea parts inside. That’s why they’re all interchangeable. The higher end models like Panasonic’s “inverter” microwaves might be different. The lack of competition leads to a lack of choice. It’s very hard to find microwaves that operate quietly or that let you turn off beeping sounds for example.
- anonu 2y agoAs long as American consumer culture remains alive and well, the cheap stuff from China will remain in high demand.
- DeathArrow 2y agoBut as Chinese economy is growing their wages will be rising and so will the price of goods made in China. In Japan it was the same story.
- forinti 2y agoThe less profitable industries are already being shipped out to the likes of Vietnam.
- jimbobthrowawy 2y agoMuch like America before it, and vietnam/india after, manufacturing is great for building an economy but your time is limited before you price yourself out of it.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y agoThis list is missing some very prominent (and dare I say, expensive) European brands like Bosch, Miele, Gaggenau, Neff, Electrolux, Liebherr, most of which are still made in Europe.
- pseudalopex 2y agohttps://www.aintfromchina.com/contact/contribute.html https://www.aintfromchina.com/contact/contribute.html
- DeathArrow 2y agoYes but they don't have Amazon links. :)
- ivm 2y agoI have mostly Bosch home appliances in Chile, but at least the integrated microwave was made in China. They're quite good at hiding the country of origin from all descriptions and manuals, although according to my searches, some devices are made in Poland or Turkey.
- haunter 2y agoIf you buy restaurant-grade (and generally I recommend you should) there are more options, especially made in US. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/microwave.html https://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/microwave.html
- whatindaheck 2y agoI completely understand wanting to support products made in countries that have treat their workers or citizens better. If I can buy something from Sweden, for example, instead of China count me in. However the all Chinese products are crap meme needs to die. All our MacBooks and iPhone are made there. Your high-end hard shell rain jackets are all seam taped there. Arcteryx, the undisputed champion of seam taping, has successfully moved products to China. The list goes on. If anybody has weird quality problems it’s the automakers out of Detroit. I think a lot of “crap” comes out of China because it’s easy to. It’s not worth paying American wages for garbage that falls apart. And with real wages falling in the long term, junk has supplanted quality for affordability reasons.