Customer Reviews

Amana 1.4 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave, AMC5143AAB, Black

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this for a few months. I did not want to buy a Panasonic or a Sharp because of their high failure rate. I have other Amana appliances, so thought I would try this. So far it has worked out very well. It's been reliable and nothing has gone wrong with it.
One time I grabbed the glass tray that rotates and spun it a bit. This was enough to make the belt inside the microwave angry for a while. It made a bit of a bumping noise while it was turning the tray. The belt eventually righted itself as the microwave is no longer making the noise.
So don't rotate the tray at all while you are cleaning or anything. The unit still works just fine. Overall, I'm quite happy with it.
My former Sharp microwave had the display die within a few months. The Amana's is still working.

Worked for about 2 weeks. Then unit began switching on when door is opened. Not clear if microwave radiation being emitted while door is open but light comes on and turntable spins. Also, one reviewer had indicated this is made in USA. It's not. It's made in Asia. Very disappointing.

This microwave is good. It heats in about half the time of my old one (which was failing) and it looks good, is quite large and is fairly quiet. It is hard to know how other ones are because my last one lasted a very long time, however I would certainly buy this one again if I needed a second one.

I was in the awkward position of needing a new microwave oven, and being in such a position, I researched ad nauseam, prior to making my final purchase. I am a "scratch cook", in other words, I have always relied on my stove, a full-sized oven, a convection oven, which I, due to circumstances beyond my control, no longer have immediate and convenient access to my full complement of kitchen appliances.

I have a microwave/convection (Sharp) that is nearly 30 years old, and it is still a fantastic machine, however I cannot use it in my current situation, so it is basically in storage. I had a very small Amana microwave oven that was a hand-me-down, but it was dying a slow death, in that the number pad would only allow me to enter "8" or "9", so I could cook for 8 seconds or 9 seconds, or 88 seconds or 99 seconds, wither at full power or at power 8 or 9... you get the idea.

Enter this new Amana AMC5143AAB... it carries the long-respected "Radarange" moniker, and it lives up to its name. This is a quality appliance, period. I never had a microwave with "cook" or "reheat" buttons (basically pre-programmed for several food items, dinner plates, casseroles, etc.). The people behind this appliance who thought about it really did their job. This oven reheats full dinner plates very competently, cooks oatmeal for breakfast (this took me a bit of time to figure out the right way to do it * see note at the bottom for my method)... I never liked oatmeal done in the microwave, but this one does it in such a way, that the result is wonderful. The "cook" features for fresh and frozen vegetables is very intuitive; the vegetables are not overdone (I have done broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, in both the frozen state and fresh, with truly good results).

There are buttons I do not use (the "snacks" or "kid's meal" buttons), but the "baked potato" feature is very nice, and intuitive. Remember that baking potatoes in the microwave are little more than steamed potatoes; the skin is soft and not as a true oven-baked potato, but that is just nitpicking on my part.

The other really cool feature about this oven, is that the instant start button is in increments of 30 seconds, and that is a good thing. This oven has 1100 watts of cooking power, and what used to take me two or more minutes in my older microwave ovens now takes less than half the time.

Another really cool feature is that while you are cooking, in any power level, you can touch the number "1" to decrease the cooking time by ten seconds, or the number "9" to increase the cooking time by ten seconds. I just love this flexibility!

* Okay, now for the oatmeal... put 1/2 cup Old Fashioned (long cooking) or "quick cooking" oats into a serving/cereal bowl, add a scant 3/4 cup water (approx 200 ml) to the bowl. Place in the microwave, and enter 50 seconds at 100% power, 50 seconds at 40% power, and press start. Your oatmeal will be done, and will not be overcooked to the slimy stage. (I also put a layer of raisins on my oatmeal too, from time to time, prior to cooking.) Remove from oven and top with milk, or honey, or maple syrup, or any other of your favorite toppings.

One more thing in the accolades category: I have never had a microwave that was as quiet as this one. It has a very subtle, yet confident hum while in operation, but it is really what I would consider to be a very quiet oven.

You can also customize the sounds of the buttons and the end signal and notice signals. (On or off, but I would like the option of just simply adjusting the volume of the notices... in an ideal world.)

There are some drawbacks, but they are again my nitpicking. My Sharp oven would let me program in four stages of cooking; e.g. 1 minute high, two minutes medium-high, 4 minutes medium, 10 minutes medium-low. This oven will allow programming for two levels. There is a "custom program" button that I have not yet used, but the manual tells you that you can program two levels, three if you use defrost. I have yet to explore this feature.

The other drawback is that I would like to see a back-lit keypad (there are no microwave ovens with this feature, to my knowledge).

Other than those few drawbacks I have noted, I only can say that you need to make certain that you have a dedicated 20 Amp circuit for this oven, and if you have other things plugged into the same circuit, you should not use them simultaneously. You cannot run anything on the same circuit at the same time you are cooking with this oven. It draws 1500 watts, and the cooking output is 1100 watts, and a 1500 watt appliance is pretty much the limit for a 20 amp circuit (a 20 amp circuit should carry no more than 1920 watts of continuous load, and depending on the wiring in your home a 1500 watt continuous load should be safe).

Okay, if you have the correct outlet and circuit, you're good to go with this Amana Radarange. It is a fantastic appliance; well designed, well engineered, great pre-programmed cooking features, and lots of power! Buy this with confidence! Oh, and by the way, Amazon delivered it really quickly, and the packaging was great!

Purchased as a gift. After six months it works fine and is easy to use. Footprint is small relative to the size of the oven, thereby preserving counter space. The door release on the front of the unit is a push button that seems a bit flimsy and requires a force to open the door that sometimes causes the oven to move on the counter. While it has functioned properly so far, I can see this as being a weak point of the design. Otherwise, I feel the unit is a good value and it has performed flawlessly. It gets a considerable amount of use and I hope it continues to perform.

Bought it as I thought it was made in USA. Not so- made in somewhere else. Inside paint has already worn out. Never had that in my 20 year old GE. I am really disappointed. On the plus side it is powerful. And working so far for the last four months.

I gave my microwave to my son who just moved into an apartment for college, so ordered this as a replacement. It looks fantastic, appears high quality, well made, etc. The display is bright and intuitive, easy to use without needing to read the instructions. Food cooks quickly and even better than the microwave I had prior (1200 Watt). So far, the microwave works wonderfully and I'm very happy with it.

I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for my one and only gripe with it - the rubber feet aren't rubbery enough to keep the microwave in place when you push the buttons. It especially slides around when you apply the necessary pressure to depress the door open button. So that's kind of a bummer, and I might try to figure out a solution to ease the inconvenience of having to reposition it after every use.

Initially I was a little disappointed, as Amana changed the keypad setup without changing the model number. The online manual I found shows how to change the beeping volume and set musical tones, but the model I received has an updated keypad and no volume control or musical tones.

However, the microwave itself is fantastic. It cooks so much more evenly and faster than my old microwave, I am very impressed! I had just taken for granted that things cooked in a microwave would have cold and hot pockets in them, but this Amana doesn't do that.