Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
> On Tue 26 Oct 2010 05:20:46a, Pete C. told us...
>
> >
> > jmcquown wrote:
> >>
> >> "Pete C." > wrote in message
> >> ter.com...
> >> >
> >> > jmcquown wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> "James Silverton" > wrote in
> >> >> message ...
> >> >> > jmcquown wrote on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:02:16 -0400:
> >> >> >
> >> >> >> "Dora" > wrote in message
> >> >> >> ...
> >> >> >>> Sqwertz wrote:
> >> >> >>> Are these
> >> >> >>>> the fancy "paddle-based" (as opposed to turntable-based)
> >> >> >>>> microwaves that Wayne is always touting? I have never
> >> >> >>>> heard of them outside of his posts.
> >> >> >>>>
> >> >> >>>> -sw
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>> My apartment came with a newly-installed
> >> >> >>> over-the-stove Kenmore microwave. I was surprised to find
> >> >> >>> it didn't have a turntable - it has a rectangular plate
> >> >> >>> which travels from side to side. Seems OK, although I
> >> >> >>> haven't done any serious cooking in it.
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>> Dora
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >> The last microwave I had (a Sharp) was fine for nuking
> >> >> >> frozen dinners or vegetables. But there was no way to turn
> >> >> >> the turntable off. Sometimes you don't want or need a
> >> >> >> turntable. It drove me nuts!
> >> >> >
> >> >> > You could remove the turntable and cook without it but the
> >> >> > only reason I
> >> >> > can see for doing this is that the dish is too large to
> >> >> > rotate.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > --
> >> >> >
> >> >> > James Silverton
> >> >> > Potomac, Maryland
> >> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> Precisely why I wanted not to use the turntable, James. Sure,
> >> >> I could remove the glass turntable but the "track" it ran on
> >> >> kept going round and round. I used to make a decent microwave
> >> >> lasagna, but a glass lasagna pan on a turntable? Nope.
> >> >>
> >> >> Jill
> >> >
> >> > I take it you didn't read the owners manual for that microwave?
> >> > The specifically tell you that if you don't want the turntable
> >> > rotating you just lift up the glass turntable and remove the
> >> > plastic "spider" which just lifts out of a square drive hole.
> >> > You put the glass plate back down it that's it, it takes about
> >> > 5 seconds to remove or install the spider.
> >>
> >> I take it you didn't read my thread about 12 years ago when I
> >> bought the microwave. (I'm one of those people who *does* read
> >> the owners manual.) Removing the "spider" wasn't the issue. I
> >> didn't want to put the glass plate back down, I wanted to use my
> >> own rectangular lasagna baking dish. Spider or not, it would try
> >> to turn it. That didn't work out. It was a cheap microwave. It
> >> served the purpose for popping in a frozen dinner or heating up
> >> leftovers from time to time, but not much else.
> >>
> >> I was used to an old RCA (yes, like the television) microwave.
> >> It had a a dual cooking rack (for cooking several things at once
> >> on two levels) and a temperature probe. It was somethiing you
> >> could actually COOK in without the oven mechanisms trying to take
> >> over.
> >>
> >> Jill
> >
> > You are not supposed to operate the microwave with out the glass
> > base platter installed. They are there specifically to elevate the
> > food above the actual metal floor of the microwave so that the
> > microwaves can bounce around under the food and cook the bottom.
> > If you put something directly down on the floor the bottom will
> > not cook. Since those spiders plug into a recessed square drive
> > socket, I can't see how it would still be trying to turn your dish
> > anyway.
> >
>
> FWIW, in many cases it's not the spider that connects with the drive
> unit, but the glass turntable itself, which has a molded center to
> conform with the drive unit. The spider is there only to provide
> stability and is connected to nothing.

On the ones like that that I have seen, there is still a little plastic
drive hub that is removable so there is no link between the turntable
and the motor drive.

>
> Still other microwave units have a recessed turntable, so that if one
> needs to use an oversized rectantular baking dish, it can be set on
> top, not touching the rotating turntable. Not to mention the already
> mentioned turntables that have a switcht to turn them off.
>
> If all this still boggles the mind, you need to get out more and look
> at how various units are made today.

Again, I've looked at a lot of microwaves and have yet to see one where
you can not easily disable the turntable motion in a way documented in
the owner's manual.