Customer Reviews

JEM25DMBB%2DSpacemaker II Series%2DCountertop Microwave Oven %2D Black

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I searched all over for a microwave to go on a shelf that was made specifically to hold a microwave over my stove. The shelf is only cabinet size deep. I didn't realize how hard that is to find! I didn't want to spend a fortune on removing the shelving and oven hood that goes w/ my cabinetry to purchase a built in microwave. This works perfectly! Looks great and is the perfect depth. Very happy.-*****after a year and 2 months of owning this microwave it has now stopped working. Made horribly. Looks good, but not worth the price to last a year!

I bought my first Spacesaver microwave when I was remodeling my kitchen and wanted something usable but unobtrusive. Alas, after 12 years, the microwave bit the dust. I wanted to get something that would fit where the old one was, and it turns out that GE has a lock on that market - could not find any other microwave that would fit into a 24 inch wide, 13 inch high cubby.

GE makes two versions of the Spacemaker microwave. The JEM25 line (this one) is the more basic model. It offers a fair amount of features, including several that were lacking in my original, such as a turntable. Wattage is 800. Love the one-touch buttons and the add 30 second button - those were my favorite features on the old one, and I'm glad they were retained. Also nice to be able to turn the turntable off when you have big, rectangular dishes. This model comes in black or white.

The PEM31 line is a step up. In addition to black and white, it comes in stainless. It is the same size as the JEM25 line, same wattage, and includes the same features. It, however, adds a few more programming options, plus has a sensor to automatically determine when the food is hot. The look is also a bit improved to match the GE Profile line of products. It has a one year warranty like the JEM25, but also has a 5 year warranty on the magnetron. There's a catch, however - the five year warranty is only for parts; you have to pay for labor (which tends to be as, or more expensive than the part).

I went for the JEM25 model since I only use a microwave for warming, and didn't want to pay extra for programming features I'd never use (such as the sensor - have that on another microwave and very rarely use it). My head was turned by the look of the stainless, but a very low price on the JEM from abt sealed the deal. I paid for it using an amex card so that extended the warranty to 24 months.

So far I'm very pleased with it. It works faster than my old GE (which was 700 watts) and is very, very quiet. However, it does feel cheaper, especially the door assembly. Much lighter weight.

I'm was concerned about the low ratings from other users on Amazon, but ratings at other sites that sell it are pretty good, and are based on a more extensive number of reviews. consumersearch gives it the top rating in the compact/built-in microwave category (they rated the PEM31).

I'm hoping this will give me another 12 years of service as the first one did. I'll report back should any problems come up.

I purchased this item the end of October and received it about a week later. I used it for nearly two weeks when it suddenly stopped working. It took service and repair until January 7th to repair it. That was Friday and now it has already stopped working again...three days after the repair. This is obviously a lemon. I have been using a cheap $29 microwave in it's place that I had to purchase because of the long wait for repair. It has been plugged in and sitting in the same location as this item and it has worked great, therefore I am confident that it isn't our wiring or some weird fluke with the location of the item. I really like the options, the size and the appearance of this microwave, but these things are useless if the unit won't work. Sadly I will now wait for another repair, since GE repairs microwaves instead of just replacing such a small appliance. It just doesn't make sense.
Don't waste your time and money on this. I should have heeded the reviews and got something else.

We had a GE Spacemaker for 18 years. It started acting weird and we needed to replace it. We found the same model and were able to replace our old one in 15 minutes!! The new one has a turntable. The power is not as high as many of the newer models, but it looks built in and fits exactly where we had the old one so we are thrilled! It is much better than the Sharp over the counter micro in ratings and I would recommend it for that application.

These GE spacemakers truly are the perfect size, as the other review says. But the one we purchased several years ago had the most annoying, long, loud beeper! It drove us all crazy. The microwave quit on us after a few years (not worth the money we spent), and we did not replace it with the same. We had to purchase a small .7 cu. ft model to replace it due to our space restraints. We'd rather put up this undersized model than listen to the annoying beeper on the spacesaver.

When we remodeled our kitchen our designer made a space for our microwave that only fits the Spacesaver II. Lucky us. Our second Spacesaver II in about four years died a few days ago and I thought "why not get the next one from Amazon." Ignoring all the bad reviews I forged ahead, since I really had no other choice. Well I just put the new one in and it has a very interesting "feature:" neither the light nor the fan will turn off when you close the door. Its not heating, just that the fan and light don't turn off. I suspect some interlock is not falling into place. Why? Because when you smartly tap the top (or close the door really hard), they turn off. Otherwise it seems to work fine. No apparent shipping damage. So now I have two 50lb bricks instead of microwaves. At least the new brick will heat our stuff until I can get a new one. I don't usually write reviews but this is frustrating enough to warrant one. Unless you can afford to treat these as disposable items (I unfortunately have to) then I'd suggest you look elsewhere.