I have a countertop microwave but it's taking too much space and my counter looks crowded. Since there is an allotted space for an over-the-range microwave in the kitchen we just decided to purchase a GE Spacemaker 1.8 cu.ft JVM1850DMBB model.
Obviously it gave me more counter space and enables me to keep my old countertop microwave. My counter is no longer crowded.
My new GE Spacemaker has a 1.8 Cu. Ft. capacity good enough to accommodate larger amount of food to cook. It has a Circuwave 1100 Cooking System that provides 1100 watts of power and it allows me to heat a regular bowl of food from the refrigerator in just two minutes.
Another feature is the Sensor Cooking Controls which is supposed to automatically adjust time and power to cook the food evenly. It's funny because the sensor doesn't adjust the time or the power at all, for instance if I'm heating up a larger amount of meal, the top part of the food is already hot but the bottom is still cold. To evenly cook the food, I need to interrupt the cooking and stir the food to heat it up evenly.
The 1-lb. Quick Defrost feature which is supposed to evenly defrost a pound of meat, poultry or fish in a fraction of the usual time without precooking or turning the food isn't actually true. It does cook the meat if you don't turn it. The good thing about my microwave is it beeps and gives me signal to turn the food to be able to defrost it evenly.
It has a 14-1/4" Recessed Turntable which is removable and it allows me to easily clean the interior of the microwave especially when a food spills.

The best thing I like about my microwave is the Four-Speed, 300-CFM Venting System with Boost feature because I cook 2-3 meals a day. The ventilation fan works great in moving out the smoke and steam to the vent really fast. The smoke doesn't spread around the house, minimizing the smell especially if I'm frying fish. It has also a Removable Oven Rack with Two Positions; I just completely removed them because I don't need the racks anyway.
The preset cooking for beverage, popcorn, potatoes, reheat with 3 vegetable settings works good. It cooks the pop corn perfect in one push of the button. But cooking a potato properly requires me to push the button two times. The cook top light allows me to better see the food I'm cooking on my range at night and I just leave the nightlight on from the microwave to light my kitchen.
The performance of my new over-the-range microwave doesn't have much difference from my old countertop unit. The good thing about my GE-Spacemaker is it gives me more space and the vent fan which I find the most important feature works great for me especially the boost setting. I'm happy with this product because it's durable and it meets my expectation for the features I'm after for.I paid $350 for my microwave including shipping and tax.
By: samutsari