Sharp R890EST

my previous sharp convenction microwave lasted 25 years, with magnetron replaced once. very disappointed that in this model, the magnetron has died after 2 years - only regular domestic use (1 year warranty) i'm open minded to the fact that i may have just had a bad experience, but will now look for a replacement that is not sharp. Show details

Sharp no more – After 16 years with a Sharp Carousel microwave it finally gave up. Empty nest now so off to the Goodguys to get a smaller unit that better suits my needs. Came home happy with a 32L Sharp R890EST. Turned it on - not happy. Spent some time getting familiar with the unit, all good till I found the Grill and Confection didn't work, the key features… Read more

considered in my purchase. Also could not read the entire Control Panel, only the top row. No Panel back lighting. No matter the units orientation to ambient or general lighting, needed to use a hand held torch light directly on the Panel to read anything. Got a Customer ID number from Sharp Corp, and told to take the unit back. After reading more not so nice reviews and not wanting to risk another unit possibly in a bad production batch, I came home with a 27L Panasonic NN-CD58JS. Around the same price but felt a more solid unit with all the required functions. Itself has some minor issues but choices were limited in my chosen budget. That review will come shortly.

Some things don't get better with age – Sometimes on telly you will see a TV show host waxing lyrical about how something (or someone) has, like a fine wine, gotten better with age. You can sort of extrapolate that to consumer products in the sense that you'd expect a follow-on model of something to be better than the one it replaced, certainly not worse. This is, in a nutshell, the… Read more

story of our Sharp R890EST microwave oven.

We'd had a Sharp Carousel microwave for years. The words "Sharp" and "microwave oven" kind of became synonymous with the term "good stuff for the kitchen" because it just worked, tirelessly, for a long time and did things properly and didn't cost an arm and a leg to do so.

Then one day it died. No reason, no warning, just no worky. Given its age we decided it was time to upgrade and given the service we'd had from it, we figured another Sharp microwave oven was a sure bet.

After checking them all out with their fancy features, along with some where we wondered who would actually buy something that had no defrost function, we settled on the Sharp R890EST. We figured it should be a good unit because hey, the old one was, right?

The "new" Sharp does everything it says it will do in the marketing blurb and of course what it says on the box, but with *one* very important exception.

The defrost function is absolutely useless.

This is one thing where the product DOESN'T do what it says on the box, simply because it is either coded wrong in the microwave's processor, or it is simply marketing crap where they have tried to say it defrosts, but actually doesn't because it will either:

1. cook your food partially instead of defrosting it; or 2. leave it still frozen.

No matter how many different methods or tricks one tries with the defrost function or your defrosting method, the result is the same - cooked or frozen. Compared with the old one, when you hit the defrost button - and you could actually program the meat type and its weight and the microwave did the rest - the R890EST does nothing of the sort. In short, it's defrost function doesn't just suck, it actually doesn't work as advertised.

As for the rest of the deal, as a microwave, it does the job and does it reasonably well. It makes more of a racket than the old one and the motor/fan running after you've removed something from the compartment is more of an annoyance than a benefit from what I can see. It's looks would suit most modern kitchens and the price wasn't that exxy but in saying that, for $499 I'd expect the defrost function to actually work. So with that in consideration, it doesn't actually represent good value for money.

Time will tell if it can go the distance as well as the old one. It might, but my patience might not.

Do your research – There are just two main manufacturers of microwave ovens. It doesn't matter what brand; they pretty much all come out of the same two groups of factories. With this model, the parts and design are subpar. It seemingly takes twice as long to microwave, more than double the time to grill, and almost two and a half times longer to heat via… Read more

convection.

To make matters worse, the magnetron is unable to evenly heat, so parts of a microwaved meal may be cool, while another section of the same food is overcooked.

It is still usable, and there is no point avoiding Sharp as the manufacturers will probably build more junk under a different brand. Buyer beware and check reviews. Do not fall for brand loyalty like I did.

Not what I expected from Sharp – It has been 12 months since I bought this unit, and I would not recommend it to anyone. I haven't experienced issues with the light failing or the time not keeping accurately like other people have reported but the condensation build up is ridiculously excessive. I know heating water based products will generate steam, but my previous Sharp… Read more

microwave actually vented the cavity and kept this to a minimum. This one does not, water drips from the door onto the bench if you cook a packet rice or pasta meal. Even a two and a half minute microwaveable sausage roll covers the door with that much condensation that you can't see inside the microwave anymore. Don't get me wrong, it does cook/heat food well and the convection oven function works fine. Just very disappointed after having Sharp microwaves for over 20 years.

Biggest Ornament in my Kitchen – Useless at best. Convection only mildly warms food...it certainly doesn't cook it. My old convection microwave would cook my pizzas in about 10 - 12 minutes, I tried cooking the same pizzas in this useless ornament and after about 40 minutes the cheese was only just melting. My advise....run out before you buy this useless thing called a convection microwave...shame on you SHARP. Show details

Worst microwave I've ever owned – I bought this a few days before Christmas after my old Baumatic stopped working suddenly, days before I had to cook Christmas dinner for 18 guests. Normally, I would read reviews, but I was in a hurry to get a replacement and I wanted one that fitted in the same space as my old microwave oven. Big mistake choosing a Sharp! It does cook the food… Read more

on microwave function, usually - though on several occasions a cycle has completed leaving the food uncooked and I've had to run the cycle again. I hate the pre-progammed functions. Defrost, for example, is hopelessly unintuitive as you seem to have to select from fish, steak, etc. and then insert the weight. Many food types I want to defrost aren't listed. On almost any microwave cycle, the oven overheats, and it seems to sweat somehow, leaving the inside dripping wet after every use. The convection and grill functions are useless. They don't work at all. I am about to contact Good Guys and ask what can be done. I don't expect they will give me a refund or another brand, though and I have no confidence in any repair given the bad reviews here that suggest it is just a badly designed and manufactured product. I have owned many microwaves over the years, starting with a Panasonic convection microwave back when convection microwaves were a real novelty and outrageously expensive. I have never before had one that disappointed. Even some ultra-cheap models from Kmart did what they were supposed to do quite satisfactorily. This Sharp is just a piece of junk! Don't buy one.

A capable microwave, but – This unit does everything we need it to do, however we are surprised and disappointed that the bulb blew after just over a year of infrequent use. An online search for a replacement revealed a price of $44.00 plus postage! This could turn out to be a very expensive investment if this is a typical lifespan. Considering the expected longevity of LED bulbs, this is certainly 'not up to scratch'. Show details

Convection oven is more like a convection refrigerator – My new Sharp R890 is a good microwave oven but a useless convection oven. In my first use of the unit I attempted to roast a small chicken and vegetables I cooked the food for 10 minutes at 220C then 75 minutes at 180 C per the recipe and neither the chicken nor the vegetables were near cooked. I then gave it 45 mins at 230C and the chicken went… Read more

slightly brow. The roast potatoes were still firm and chewy. The chicken flesh near the large bones was still pink and undercooked.

For my next attempt I ignored the recipe and cooked the chicken and quartered potatoes for 99 minutes at 230C. The result was slightly better but both the chicken and vegetables were still undercooked.

I didn't have a thermometer, but I don't think the oven reached anything like 230C.

It's a good microwave oven, but a useless convection oven. I haven't tried the griller yet but I'm not too optimistic.