Consumer Reports – December 2018

Ratings Power Up There’s strength in numbers (wattage, that is), so nearly all of the
microwaves we’ve called out here are 1,000 watts or more. We also test small
microwaves with lower wattage, but they disappoint as a category.

01 02 03 04 05

POOR EXCELLENT

! 0

RECOMMENDED

$ 0

CR BEST BUY

Brand & Model OveScorrall e Price ResSuruvey lts Te st ResultsFeatures

RecommendedRank Predicted reliabilityOwner satisfactionHeating evennessDefrosting evennessSpeed of heatingNoiseEase of useVenting (airflow)Usable capacity (cu. ft.)Claimed capacity (cu. ft.)WattsDetailed promptsConvection modeSensorStainless/ SS-look option

OVER-THE-RANGE MICROWAVES

! 0 1 Whirlpool WMH75021HZ^87 $370 40 03 05 50 40 50 05 03 0.9 2.1 1,100^000

! 0 2 KitchenAid KMHS120ESS^83 $585 30 03 05 50 40 50 04 03 1.0 2.0 1,000^000

$ 0 3 GE JVM3160RFSS^82 $250 30 03 04 50 40 50 05 04 0.9 1.6 1,000^00

! 0 4 LG LMV20^3 1ST^81 $350 30 04 04 50 40 40 05 04 0.9 2.0 1,000^000

! 0 5 LG LMH22^3 5ST^81 $400 30 04 04 50 40 50 05 03 0.9 2.2 1,000^000

! 0 6

Frigidaire Professional

FPBM3077RF^80 $560^4020045040400404 0.9 1.8 1,050 000 0

! 0 7 Kenmore^8333780 $300 30 03 05 50 30 40 04 04 0.8 1.7 1,000^00

! 0 8 Kenmore Elite 80^37380 $440 30 03 04 50 40 50 05 02 0.9 1.8 1,050 000 0

9 Insignia NS-OTR16SS8 79 $200 −− 40 50 40 50 04 04 0.8 1.6 1,000^000

10 Kenmore 87583 79 $400 30 30 04 50 40 40 05 03 0.9 2.2 1,000^000

11 Kenmore 80353 77 $360 30 30 04 40 50 50 05 02 0.9 2.1 1,100^000

12 Whirlpool WML55011HS^77 $405 40 03 03 40 40 50 03 05 0.6 1.1 1,000^0

13 Kenmore Pro 89 393 76 $620 30 03 04 40 40 50 04 03 0.9 1.8 1,050 000 0

14 Frigidaire FFMV1645TD 75 $320 40 02 04 50 30 40 04 03 0.8 1.6 1,000^0

(^15) FGFrigidaire MV176NTDGallery^75 $350 40 20 03 50 30 50 04 04 0.8 1.7 1,000^000
16 GE JVM6175DKWW^74 $250 30 03 04 40 40 50 04 03 0.7 1.7 1,000^000
17 Frigidaire FFMV1745T 73 $280 40 02 03 50 40 50 04 04 0.8 1.7 1,000^0
18 Whirlpool WMH78019HZ^73 $570 40 30 05 30 30 50 05 02 0.9 1.9 1,100 000 0
19 LG LMV1762SB^73 $220 30 40 04 40 40 40 04 03 0.8 1.7 1,000^00
20 KitchenAid KMHC319ESS^72 $550 30 30 05 30 30 50 04 03 1.0 1.9 1,000 000 0
21 Ikea LAGAN IMH160FW [70336457] 72 $150 50 30 03 40 30 30 03 02 0.9 1.7 900
INSIDE
CR’S LABS
A microwave’s ability
to heat food evenly
is critical, whether
the appliance is used
primarily to warm
up leftovers or to
defrost frozen food.
To test the evenness
of heating, Consumer
Reports’ testers
put a bowl of cold
mashed potatoes in
a microwave, heat it
for 10 minutes, then
take the temperature
of the potatoes in
20 different spots
with the help of
thermocouples (left).
“We use mashed
potatoes because
as a food, they’re
uniform throughout,”
says Kyaw Naing,
a technician. “We
can control the
amount of liquid
in the mixture and
get consistent test
results.” Other
microwave lab tests
include heating water
for 5 minutes to see
what temperature
it reaches, using
a decibel meter
3 feet from each
microwave to
measure noise
levels, and making
popcorn. (Our
technicians check
for thoroughness
by weighing the
number of unpopped
kernels.)
CR technician
Kyaw Naing
PHOTOS, FRO
M LEFT:
BRIAN FINKE; JOHN WALSH/CONSU
MER REPORTS
24 CR.ORG