A Huge Disappointment
Pros:
Beautiful and easy to use
Cons:
Nearly caught on fire with no warning, after only 3 years' use
The Bottom Line:
Lovely to look at, but DON'T buy this machine! GE has sold lots of microwave ovens with defective magnetos in past years, and this is one of them, apparently.
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
I bought the GE 1288 SH02 microwave oven in the summer or fall of 2004, and have never had a moment's problem with it until two days ago, when suddenly it began buzzing loudly while cooking an egg patty on a paper plate. Light was flashing behind the little cardboard cover inside the machine, smoke was coming out of the same area, and a small circular burn appeared on the front of the cardboard.
I checked the machine over, found nothing wrong, and certainly there was no metal in the cooking area to cause an arc, so I tried it again; same result. The inside of the oven was clean and so was the cardboard piece.
The next morning when I first woke up, I absent-mindedly set my coffee in the microwave to heat, as usual. Only after the coffee got hot did I realize what I had done; but the machine worked just fine, no problem. I've used it a few more times since, for quick heating of this or that, being sure to stand by and watch for any malfunction. No further problems.
But I went ahead and bought a comparable new GE microwave (WES1384SMSS) yesterday, not feeling comfortable with trusting the old one. I know from prior experience with out-of-warranty appliances that it's cheaper to buy new than repair the old. Tonight, though, it occurred to me I could look up any recalls or product information about my old machine online; and wow, have I found a LOT of other complaints about GE microwaves.
I'm really amazed this machine and others are NOT listed on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site. Obviously, GE has been selling very defective and dangerous microwave ovens for years now, and I was lucky not to have a much bigger problem with mine.
It's a beautiful oven to look at, super easy to use, and has worked flawlessly until now; I really hate to junk it. But now I'm wondering, with so many flawed GE ovens on the market, do I dare trust the new model? I'm not finding any problems with it on epinions and even a Google search doesn't turn up anything. But still, I'm debating taking it back to the store and exchanging for another brand.
Bottom line is, including tax I paid nearly $200 for the JES1288SH02 three years ago, and I figure it should have lasted at least as long as the cheap little Magic Chef model I had before that, which was still going strong after about 15 years. GE, you really let me down here, shame on you. I'm severely disappointed in this major American brand.
