Casita / microwave

[Sue and Henry]

My microwave seems to be dead. ☹️ I did try the control panel switch labeled microwave. No luck there. I have gotten into the panel shown in the photo on the outside, but it’s for the refrigerator. The microwave has a panel holding it in place attached with six (possibly) screws. Could they be rivets? I’ve got a wide variety of screw heads and sizes. None seem to match. Has anyone taken a microwave out? Any clever tricks?

[Gene680]

It may have come unplugged from the electrical outlet in the compartment. I would check that first.

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Sue and Henry

My microwave seems to be dead. ☹️ I did try the control panel switch labeled microwave. No luck there. I have gotten into the panel shown in the photo on the outside, but it’s for the refrigerator. The microwave has a panel holding it in place attached with six (possibly) screws. Could they be rivets? I’ve got a wide variety of screw heads and sizes. None seem to match. Has anyone taken a microwave out? Any clever tricks?

I am far from an expert on this one, as I opted not to have the M/W. The vent outside is for the 3-way Dometic refrigerator. Casita does not use rivets for securing the M/W. They put plastic caps over the screws. You can use a knife or small screw driver and carefully pop the cap off. You will immediately know what kind of screws. Along with the cap is a special nylon washer that holds the cap in place. Don't loose them as you remove them. The screws are probably unique as well. So try not to strip the screws when removing them. If you have problems, I am sure Casita will sell you the hardware needed to replace your M/W.

I suspect that you are correct in that the M/W is dead. Did you try resetting the M/W breaker on the control panel? Breakers can be deceptive at times.

As for replacing the M/W, if it is definitely "dead", go shopping at a local store and find one that fits the space and has the features you like. There is a standard electrical outlet inside the cabinet where the M/W plugs in.

The probability is that almost all M/W's are made in China. So it is just a matter of picking your poison.

The best option is to contact Casita service department for help. They are usually pretty good at providing answers.

I have usually worked with Tim Kennemore at Casita. Here is his email address. I usually get a response from him within 24 hours during a normal work week.

tim@casitatraveltrailers.com

Best wishes to you in resolving your problem.

[idugas]

This is probably a stupid comment but make sure you are using it on AC. It won't run on DC. Our microwave works fine. If it is defective you should contact Casita to get it replaced. Their service department is very good for warranty issues.

What has failed for us, the second time now is the mounting hardware. First the factory installed microwave metal fascia was actually ripped apart (the metal was torn at a corner and some screws pulled out). I was sent replacement parts and we reinstalled the new fascia and the Microwave seemed very secure, but we came home from a camping trip yesterday and the microwave is detached from the fascia again. I called Casita support today and they said to bring it to Camping World. Warranty has run out.

[CalCop]

There are several things to check
First check the circuit breaker. Flip to off then firmly reset it to the on position.
Second, using a flashlight. Look into the compartment through the vents near the top to the trim plate. In the corner closet to the sink you should see a cord plugged into a wall socket.
The trim plate is held in with rivets. If the plug isn’t in the socket you might be able to remove the circular vent near the sink, reach in and insert the plug.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Sue and Henry

My microwave seems to be dead. ☹️ I did try the control panel switch labeled microwave. No luck there. I have gotten into the panel shown in the photo on the outside, but it’s for the refrigerator. The microwave has a panel holding it in place attached with six (possibly) screws. Could they be rivets? I’ve got a wide variety of screw heads and sizes. None seem to match. Has anyone taken a microwave out? Any clever tricks?

The outside vent is strictly for venting the condenser cooling fins of the fridge. There are two round "vents" located inside the trailer on the vertical bulkheads on each side of the microwave compartment. My factory OE micro zapper crapped out a few years ago after 12 years of service, so I replaced it with a new micro.

Since my original Dometic microwave started acting goofy and only working intermittently, I pulled it out in preparation to install its replacement. If you are curious of what it looks like in there, here's a few pics to let you see it with the microwave removed.

There are no screws in the microwave surround as it comes from the factory. It is installed with rivets, which need to be drilled out to remove the microwave from the cabinet. When I installed my new replacement microwave, I installed Riv-Nuts, which are compression fittings that you squeeze and expand into the mounting holes, much as a rivet would be expanded, but the difference is that the Riv-Nuts have internal machine screw threads to accept regular machine screws. So, the next time I need to remove the microwave, I can just unscrew it and I don't have to drill out any more rivets.

The yellow and green wires coming out of the carpet shows you where the "porch light" wiring is under the carpeting, and also my new switch conversion, on the left, where I mounted the light switch in the front hallway. The porch light itself no longer has a switch.

The wires on the right side are for the thermostat and the switch I added to use the t-stat for either using the A/C or using the heat strips/propane furnace, or both. I also reversed the orientation of the hidden outlet mounted in the floor of the upper cabinet, so that it sits facing upward instead of downward. I drilled a hole in the back rear corner to route the microwave plug up through so I can plug it in and still have another outlet for something small to use it.

After much research and decision making, I bought this one based on the ratings, even though it is only a 900 watt unit, which is no big deal. I couldn't find one with a "good-enough-to-suit-me" rating other than this one, but it is a little bit smaller than the Dometic that it replaces. The stainless steel louvered vented trim package of the new one is smaller than the original rough opening in the trailer. I saved the old trim ring from the Dometic and modified it, (quite heavily,) with a lot of beating, cutting, grinding, and generally hand-fitted it to use with the new stainless trim ring mounted inside it. To maintain the proper floor level inside the cabinet for the microwave to sit on, I had to raise the floor exactly 1/4" to get my original Riv-Nuts to properly line up in the old ring with the MW sitting on the floor squarely and level. The new ring is mounted to both the microwave and the old ring.

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[LarryB.]

On my Casita 2007 Spirit Deluxe, the outlet box was mounted to the back of the storage shelf above the microwave so that it occupied space in the storage shelf and the microwave plugged into it from below. When my microwave “went dead” the problem was that the plug, after several thousand miles of vibration, had simply fallen out of the outlet box despite the small piece of stretch cord that Casita had wrapped around the plug in an attempt to keep it plugged in.

In Greg’s pictures it appears that the box is mounted under the shelf with a hole in the shelf for the microwave’s power cord to reach into the storage compartment to be plugged in. (Similar to the approach for at-home over the stove microwaves.)

In my case I bought one of these shallow fiberglass outlet boxes and, using its flange, I mounted it to the shelf support in the microwave cabinet area and discarded the original outlet. That gave me a smidgen more storage pace in the area above the microwave and eliminated the problem of the microwave plug falling out. For added insurance, I threaded a zip tie thru the flange and around the plug to make sure that it didn’t disconnect itself.

[LarryB.]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

... Since my original Dometic microwave started acting goofy and only working intermittently, I pulled it out in preparation to install its replacement. ...

Once upon a time, my Casita's Dometic microwave would shut itself off after one or two seconds. Searching FiberglassRV, Casita web sites and RV web sites didn't come up with anyone else reporting a similar problem. Diving into the world of google searches, I found a blog where one or two folks had a similar problem with their kitchen units (multiple manufacturers).

Finally someone in google-land posted three potential problems on that blog: (1) the thermister; (2) the magnitron or (3) the control panel.

In my case the fix for #3 was a piece of aluminum foil and two sandwich baggies. Put the foil into baggie #1; put baggie #1 into baggie #2; duct-tape the baggie package to the back of the control board. The rationale is that the microwave's magnitron was generating RFI (radio frequency interference) that was causing the control board to malfunction.

Voilà!! My microwave now works like a champ.

[Sue and Henry]

Thank you all! Such a wealth of knowledge!!
Casita Greg! I am finally getting to that dead microwave. It’s been a tough couple years. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. �� your response is a fantastic treasure and the photos are a great help. Thank you!