My parents recently bought a new over-range Maytag microwave, and it's
throwing the breaker occasionally. They told me they had somebody out
to look at it (still under warranty), and he measured the current
going over 16A occasionally. It's a 15A breaker, so no surprise that
it's tripping. But I looked at the sticker on the microwave and it
specifies 120V, 14.8A. Given that, I think that the microwave should
not be drawing >16A long enough to even measure on his meter. I guess
some very brief spikes would be OK, but apparently he was repeatedly
measuring currents over 15A during normal operation. (Unfortunately,
I didn't actually see it; I'm relying on my mother's telling of the
story, and I didn't bring my own meter with me.)

The repair guy said this was normal and told them to upgrade the
breaker to 20A. I say an appliance rated at 14.8A should draw no
more, and if it does, it is defective and should be replaced. Anybody
who knows more about this than I care to comment? Should they demand
a new unit? It was installed just a few weeks ago.

TIA,

--
Randall