Microwave update from Ernie

[ERNIEMA]

Our 2001 Dip had a Sharp microwave that quit.  I tried to post here and search for relevant YouTube videos.  

I now have my new Sharp installed. This is what I learned.

First: contact Sharp, or your brands manufacturer. Have the model number, serial number, date of manufacture all ready to tell them. In my case the last failure was the door latch.... the info was on the inside, but I had luckily written it down.... so if you don't have all that... may I suggest you get it and record it elsewhere.

So with Sharp, I pressed all the right phone buttons and reached a person who provided me with 2 model numbers that were exact replacements.

I bought the first one suggested from Amazon.

I removed the trim above my unit and discovered the steel frame of my slideout. That turned out to be wrong & unnecessary.

For me, there was about a long 1x1 inch piece of trim right above my unit. Discovered that slides out; no nails or screws; just wedged in.

I also took off the plastic vent from across the top.

After looking at the replacement unit we realized the back plate supplied was also likely on the wall of the coach. That turned out to be true. We left it and used it and threw out the new back plate.

Using a flashlight we discovered 2 screws at the back left and right corners accessible by a 15 inch extension to our screw driver put through where the vent had been removed.  We took them out. The unit remained in place.

Looking at the bottom of the new unit and the back of the new unit.... the key: 2 very long rods threaded for about an inch... we looked at the unit still hanging... they were there too!

So as we removed those 2 screws the old unit came loose.  My helper is 6 ft 3 inch and strong.  He literally grabbed it and took it out of the coach.

Later we realized the first 2 screws we removed were from fittings that had remained on the old unit. We removed those 2 fittings and discovered threaded nuts were at the same places on the back top of the new unit.

So, we found new screws about 1.5 inches in the install hardware kit that fit those brackets and tightened the old L shaped brackets onto the top of the new unit.

Due to my friends strength we did not use the shipping box as it is described as part of the install.  He set it on the back plate and screwed in one of the top brackets, then the 2nd. Then the 2 in-place long bolts.  

And I had fed the electric line in when he placed the unit on the back plate.

Summary: 4 screws  2 short, 2 long that are part of the unit, and the setting on the back plate.  That is the whole thing.

The key is calling the manufacturer and getting their exact replacement. 

Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

My helper is a self-employed general handyman. I gave him $250.  He will fix my intake water back flow problem tomorrow.

Ernie Maier

248 789 5808

[glang11082]

What model # did you buy new?

[Larry Laursen]

I had a similar experience with my microwave.  The MW failed last Wed July 28th, so started search for a new one.  I found it at Home Depot here: Sharp 1.1 cu. ft. Over the Range Convection Microwave in Stainless Steel-R1874TY - The Home Depot 

Now I have to say, I have had the old MW out twice before, once to install an external vent and second to replace the damper motor.  I used a multiuse tool to get behind the valance above the MW and remove it.  I had use velcro to keep it in and on mine it is about 3 1/2 inches wide.  This gave access to the 2 top mounting screws. FedEx delivered the new one in two days July 30th and I had installed with my brother-in-laws help in about 1/2 hour.  The MW above is a direct replacement of the original MW and fits on the bracket. You just have to adjust the exhaust fan for your set-up.

[Deepseated]

Larry, sorry for the thread hijack but can I ask how you managed to locate the exterior wall studs for an exterior microwave vent? 

 

Thanks,

Chris

[Larry Laursen]

Chris,

The only way I could determine the location of the studs in the wall was to look at the outside in the morning when the moisture on the outside showed the studs.  I then drilled holes from the inside at the perimeter of the final opening.  I found an aluminum reinforcing plate in the wall.  I then cut the hole from the outside.  I put tape on the exterior for the drilling and cutting the hole to reduce the paint damage.  I did this when the coach was relatively new and got a painter at Monaco to paint the cover when he was doing some touch-up on the unit.  I also installed a light spring on the door to keep it from flopping when driving. 

[eddie4ne]

The venting-vents the microwave and the range hood, correct? That sounds like a grand idea! We are constantly setting off the smoke detector in the kitchen with the least of our cooking!

[Larry Laursen]

Yes, The vent for the microwave also draws air out from the hood below the mw.

[Deepseated]

Great idea thanks.