Mounting a microwave in a cupboard

[Sproket]

I'm thinking about mounting our Asda Microwave in the cupboard above the cooker.
I know that new vans come allready fitted with them, but i do seem to remember issues about possible overheating problems ?

The back of the microwave will be nearly touching the outside wall, there is no grill on this part,
The oulet grills are on one side & the top only.
I have measured & there will be 75mm each side & 130mm clearence from the roof to the top of the microwave
The cupboard door will close as normal with it inside....

The cupboard door will be open when it is being used....
I intend to use one of these to wire it in the wardrobe rather than putting another socket in.....

What i am asking is how much clearence is there around one that is fitted as standard in a new van ?
I will have to make a plynth for it to mount to.

 

[Robtel]

Hi sprocket,
Your photograph shows a lot more space at the sides than in any fitted as standard microwave I've seen. In my last van I had to get the microwave replaced under warranty when it stopped working - I blamed this on it overheating due to poor ventilation. One thing the fitted microwaves have that you might like to add are extra ventilation grills underneath the shelf, towards the rear. The one in mine is a longish, narrow rectangle shape covered with a plastic mesh, it also has two smaller round vents, again covered with plastic cover in the top rear corners of the housing for the microwave. In my case one of these vents into the cupboard next to the microwave while the other vents directly into the caravan next to the door. Looking at your photos I'm guessing if you did the same one would vent into cupboard but the opposite might be into the wardrobe, don't know if that would be such a good idea.

Robert

 

[Sproket]

Robert
Thanks for that about the grills, i have just been out & had a look, no chance of putting any below due to the full length tube light fitting, the thought of maybe fitting a 12v CPU fan at one side & above to circulate air, but it wont be used with the door shut, & we can both walk under it, as it measures 6' from the floor when opened.

There is about a 40mm gap at the top between the cupboards, & yes the wardrobe is on the right.

 

[Sproket]

Just done a bit of testing before i totally decide to go ahead with the idea, i decided to cook two frozen ready meals, one after another with the microwave sat on the table so that i could see how much heat actualy came from the cabinet whilst it was working....
This is the top of the microwave after six mins on full power 700w

This is the left hand side where the vents are

The back panel at the left hand side near to the top got to about the same temp after six mins.
This one shows how the temp has risen after fourteen mins in total.
Im glad that there is quite a lot of clearence in the top of this cupboard...

And the left hand side vents were roughly the same temp, the rear had also increased, so a bit of carefull planning & measuring is now called for, as i dont want the rear of the microwave touching the side of the van, I'm hoping to have a gap of at least 1cm & I'm definetley fitting a CPU fan or two to blow the heat out of the cupboard
It's quite easy now to understand how they can overheat due to not having adequate ventilation.
How hot do they get when they have been on for a while ????
This is what i used to check the temerature infrared thermometer with dual-laser targeting You can also check if the fridge & freezer are working with one of these.....

 

[earlyriser]

hi sproket
just popped out and had a look
microwave sanyo 800 w
installion 20 cm at top 10 cm at back
5 cm at sides
hope this helps
george.

 

[Sproket]

hi sproket
just popped out and had a look
microwave sanyo 800 w
installion 20 cm at top 10 cm at back
5 cm at sides
hope this helps
george.

Am i right in thinking that the back of yours is 4" from the side of the van & 8" from the top of the microwave to the roof ??
& 2.1/2 " at each side ?
You havent by any chance got it fitted in place of a oven ? due to the amount of space ?

 

[earlyriser]

hi
it is factory fitted above cooker
measurements came from instruction manual as supplied with microwave.
george

 

[Sproket]

Thanks George,
That explains all of the room....

 

[Bosch_Dave]

Hi Sproket

I did this recently and had no issues even with minimal clearance but did have issues with the bottom of the cabinet deflecting a little. Be mindful an average microwave will weigh 8-12 kgs and as such the bottom of the cupboard should be suficiently braced / supported.

 

[Sproket]

Well after a lot of thinking, checking, double checking,& messing about ...........
It's in & tested working ok.......

Yes it's a double fan

when the heat rise's it is blown out side of the cupboard,

All i need to fit now is a miniature microswitch so that when the cupboard door is closed the fan automaticly turns off & when you open the door it starts............

Door open & the fan's are running

Micro switch closed & the fan's stop

Sorted

Well after five night's away the microwave has been in use every day,
It has been thoroughly tested, & is working ok, no excess heat is building up in the cupboard.....

I don't know why i did not do this modification two years ago....

 

[Gagakev]

Sprocket said...................
Well after five night's away the microwave has been in use every day,
Hope you havent put on too much weight Sprocket

Welcome back, hope you enjoyed your time away and well done on fitting your new microwave.

Sorry about the font size if its small, computor is kicking off tonight!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sproket]

92kg on the nose when i checked it today............

Any way whilst i was away i was shown a van that had had one factory fitted............
It had got so warm at the back, the heat had transferd through to the outside of the van, & you can see the shape where the paint has dulled, the owner has tried various polishes, but he had no joy.........

This is because of very little or no space around the unit

But on the other hand he did not say how long time wise in one go it had been used....