Great $50 Microwave

Upon moving to our new apartment here in Las Vegas, we soon realized that unlike most apartment complex, ours, did not come with a microwave. Like around 99% of the population we couldn’t imagine our lives without one, so we rushed down to Costco, checked over their limited stock and ended purchasing the Sharp R-305.

There were only three things that I required in the purchase. The microwave, must:

* Have a carousel.
* Be large enough to hold a 12-inch plate.
* Have a kitchen timer.
* And, it would be nice if the LED was green in color.

Granted, most microwaves these day come with a carousel, but there are quite a few types that are too small to hold big plates. The kitchen timer thing is a personal thing since I like to use timers built in to devices like a microwave since I am less likely to lose them when cooking. The green LED is kind of a childhood psychological thing (I don’t like red LED).

The Sharp R-305 had all these qualities – and, even better, the price was a little over $50, not bad for a medium-sized, carousel, 1100-watt microwave.

In addition, the R-305 had:

* A 5-digit, 2-color lighted display (mostly green, very very little red).
* Popcorn button.
* Minute Plus button.
* Manufacturer’s warranty.
* Child lock feature.

Plus the unit offers Multiple Pre-set Cooking/Defrosting Buttons. When I touch a particular button on the microwave I can automatically cook: baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables, frozen entrees, ground meat, or rice. When I decide to pull something out of the freezer I can defrost: ground meat, steaks/chops, boneless poultry or bone-in poultry. And the next day after cooking a tasty meal I can reheat: a casserole, soup, pizza, a beverage, a dinner plate, or fresh rolls/muffins just as easily.

(Of course after touching that button I then have to select the type of product and then either the quantity, pounds, ounces, size, or cups – and then the START button, but whoever reads the fine print!)

The R-305 does an amazing job when it comes to defrosting food. In fact it does, perhaps too good of a job! As an example, once I put in two frozen chicken legs that were already in a Ziplock bag to defrost. I hit the appropriate automatic buttons on the microwave; programming it to defrost bone-in chicken; weighing it in my hand to “be about a pound” – and then I pressed start. About 30 seconds passed and the microwave asked me to “check” on the contents. I did so, and although more defrosted, they were still frozen. I flipped the contents over and hit Start again. This time, the microwave stayed on for over a minute. When it beeped I checked again. In that time the defrosting process I felt was complete. The meat looked good; no more ice crystals, and I was ready to cook! That was a little too quick. The microwave still had a minute and 30 seconds on its display, remaining in the defrosting cycle, if I had let it continue it may have started cooking the chicken.

One feature that is good for those with small kids around is the child-lock feature. After turning the feature on (by holding down particular buttons on the microwave that are not labeled “child-lock”) the microwave will not accept any commands from the front panel. Your child can press start till their little finger begins to bleed and the microwave will do nothing. They can however still open it up.

The microwave is rated with 1100 watts which makes it powerful enough for any use. I don’t notice any power drain when using it in our apartment but our apartment is also fairly new.

Unlike some microwaves this one does not have the multiple sequence cooking feature. This would allow the microwave to be programmed to cook for example one minute at high power and then automatically switch to cook for five more minutes at medium power. This switching must be done manually.

Sadly, the microwave won’t work if the timer is in use. If the microwave is needed the timer must be canceled before the microwave will operate.

Also, after having the microwave for about 6 months now I’ve started to see and feel that the plastic liner that covers the buttons is peeling off. Especially around the Start button. Pretty soon it will peel all the way off making the buttons less easy to keep clean.

Cleanup is simple. The turntable lifts off the rollers and can be cleaned in the sink or in the dishwasher. Like with most microwaves a hot damp sponge can clean up any mess inside.

The Sharp comes with a one year warranty. Peace of mind in case it breaks down in the next six months. After that the price to fix it may be more than just buying a new one.

Overall, I like our Sharp microwave. It’s white and fits in with our white kitchen counters. It is the perfect size for the two of us in our apartment and I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work for a large family. It could use some additional features but none that I really need. I don’t do any “cooking” in my microwave. I just use it to heat or reheat things. For me the quality of the microwave was great and the $50 price tag couldn’t be beaten!