Microwaves

Three cabinets showed up in this category: a countertop box, an over-the-range hood with a microwave in it, and a built-in trim kit. A countertop microwave that had been filed under refrigerators by mistake now lands here.

Over the range

An over-the-range unit has to vent, or it only pretends to. Some recirculate through a charcoal filter. Some can be turned to blow through a duct above the cabinet. The fan is often the weak half. Grease on the filters is a cooking problem, not a microwave problem, and the filters come out for washing. The microwave itself still wants a dedicated circuit in a lot of kitchens because the hood light, the fan, and the magnetron share the cord.

The number on the door

Wattage printed on the label is cooking power inside the cavity. It is not the amps the plug draws, and it is not a promise about a built-in trim. Inverter models drop power in steps. Older transformer models pulse full power on and off. For a counter that already holds a coffee maker, the cord and the clearance at the vent matter as much as that wattage figure.