I have this wonderful combination convection/microwave oven from Sharp that John gave me a couple of years before we moved to Costa Rica. We use it all the time, for everything from dehydrating fruit to cooking bacon. So yesterday, I went to use the microwave to warm up some leftovers and sparks started flying, and it was making a weird noise. I turned it off as fast as I could, but you could already smell what appeared to be burnt electronics.
My hero John, came running to the kitchen to scope out the problem and found there is a mica plate mounted to the roof of the microwave and it had caught fire. He immediately started to Google microwave parts and found this is mica plate frequently needs to be replaced. Who knew?
The best price he could find for a replacement part was available at Sears for $63 USD. We have a great little domestic appliance repair shop here in Atenas, so I suggested we check with them to see if they carry mica plates. Sure enough, they carry generic mica plates that can be cut to size. Total cost ¢1500 (less than $3 USD.)
Today, John went to cut the new plate, and as luck would have it, he didn't have the right kind of saw to do the job. Off we went to the local hardware store to buy a coping saw for ¢2000 (less than $4 USD.) He was able to use the old plate as a template to cut a new one, and just like that, we are back in business with a working microwave oven.
This repair, would have cost us $63 USD, plus shipping, and my hero fixed it for well under $10. What a country!!!
