MeFi CSI: Identifying a microwave from a blurry photo
July 31, 2013 12:50 AM Subscribe
I have just bought a house that was foreclosed on (yay for me, not so yay for the folks who lost their house to the bank). Before leaving, the last owners took the appliances out of the kitchen, leaving behind custom built-in cabinetry with specific cut-out dimensions. I would very much like to find out what microwave they had before hand, so that I can try to buy it (and the associated trim kit) to fit the existing space. But all I have to go on is a small listing photo showing the microwave installed in the cabinet.
My first thought was to try finding a microwave of any brand that can fit into the opening and has a trim kit that will match the dimensions, because these things have to be standard, right? Turned out that the answer is no. This opening seems to be significantly wider then anything I have seen so far that is sold by Panasonic, GE or frigidaire.
Here is what I have:
1. A blurry photo from the house listing, showing the microwave and the oven: photo link. Thankfully, ovens are standard sized, and so that's not an issue.
2. Dimensions of the cabinet cutout, where the microwave used to be: 27" x 16.75", and 23.25" deep.
3. Dimensions of the cabinet behind the cutout (not sure if this matters, but just in case): 31.25" x 22", and same depth of course.
4. It's likely that the microwave was purchased sometime between 2005-2007, because that's when the last owners were remodeling the kitchen.
I am hoping that someone here has a microwave that looks like the one in the photo, and can tell me its brand name - I can take it from there. Thanks in advance!
My first thought was to try finding a microwave of any brand that can fit into the opening and has a trim kit that will match the dimensions, because these things have to be standard, right? Turned out that the answer is no. This opening seems to be significantly wider then anything I have seen so far that is sold by Panasonic, GE or frigidaire.
Here is what I have:
1. A blurry photo from the house listing, showing the microwave and the oven: photo link. Thankfully, ovens are standard sized, and so that's not an issue.
2. Dimensions of the cabinet cutout, where the microwave used to be: 27" x 16.75", and 23.25" deep.
3. Dimensions of the cabinet behind the cutout (not sure if this matters, but just in case): 31.25" x 22", and same depth of course.
4. It's likely that the microwave was purchased sometime between 2005-2007, because that's when the last owners were remodeling the kitchen.
I am hoping that someone here has a microwave that looks like the one in the photo, and can tell me its brand name - I can take it from there. Thanks in advance!
Best answer: Agreed with above- the 'Advantium' series bears a strong resemblance (with one of the 'SpaceMaker' series as well), though narrowing down the specific model may be more tricky; the photo you provided looks like the microwave has no pull-bar (which most of the current models do).
If you purchase the exact model pre-owned, you may wish to consult the manufacturers' instructions on fitting the microwave in customised cabinetry. This area of the GE Appliances site may assist.
posted by The Zeroth Law at 1:20 AM on July 31, 2013
If you purchase the exact model pre-owned, you may wish to consult the manufacturers' instructions on fitting the microwave in customised cabinetry. This area of the GE Appliances site may assist.
posted by The Zeroth Law at 1:20 AM on July 31, 2013
Best answer: First to agree with the above two posts, those are GE profile appliances of some variety (I have similar in my own kitchen).
As for the microwave, it looks like there is a trim kit that fits the cut-out with a smaller microwave mounted inside. After some google image searching for "GE profile microwave trim kit," I found this 27" trim kit on best buy's website that seems to match what you're looking for.
It's an adapter for a 2.1 cu. ft. countertop microwave. This discontinued GE profile seems to be the one in your picture.
I would imagine that you should be able to find a 27" trim kit for currently produced GE's as well.
posted by NormieP at 3:56 AM on July 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
As for the microwave, it looks like there is a trim kit that fits the cut-out with a smaller microwave mounted inside. After some google image searching for "GE profile microwave trim kit," I found this 27" trim kit on best buy's website that seems to match what you're looking for.
It's an adapter for a 2.1 cu. ft. countertop microwave. This discontinued GE profile seems to be the one in your picture.
I would imagine that you should be able to find a 27" trim kit for currently produced GE's as well.
posted by NormieP at 3:56 AM on July 31, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: AJ Madison has good searching on sizes.
This one looks close but the 27" trim kit that they list specs for is 19" high. Maybe the trim overlaps the hole though?
This one matches the height but the width is off.
posted by cmm at 8:55 AM on July 31, 2013
This one looks close but the 27" trim kit that they list specs for is 19" high. Maybe the trim overlaps the hole though?
This one matches the height but the width is off.
posted by cmm at 8:55 AM on July 31, 2013
One extra thing you should note: when the previous residents removed the appliances, did they do it neatly and carefully? You'll want to make sure they didn't do any damage to the wiring or outlets.
(People get really, really mad sometimes when they're evicted or the house is reposessed, and sometimes they'll figure that they've got nothing to lose with a little vandalism.)
posted by easily confused at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2013
(People get really, really mad sometimes when they're evicted or the house is reposessed, and sometimes they'll figure that they've got nothing to lose with a little vandalism.)
posted by easily confused at 10:53 AM on July 31, 2013
Might want to let the bank know that the appliances were taken, if they aren't already aware. Depending on the specifics (specifically: whether they were purchased as part of the house, or separately by the previous owners) ... well, I hate that sort of thing, but the bank might want to know if their appliances were stolen, since the whole house is the collateral on the loan.
We have an Advantium and like it quite a bit. We do not have the built-in style so cannot comment specifically on your situation, however, if it does turn out to be an Advantium, please do read up long and extensively on them prior to making a decision to acquire one. It seems that they are either loved or hated, with relatively minor in-between zones. We rarely use our oven since we acquired the Advantium. But not everybody feels this way.
posted by jgreco at 7:42 PM on July 31, 2013
We have an Advantium and like it quite a bit. We do not have the built-in style so cannot comment specifically on your situation, however, if it does turn out to be an Advantium, please do read up long and extensively on them prior to making a decision to acquire one. It seems that they are either loved or hated, with relatively minor in-between zones. We rarely use our oven since we acquired the Advantium. But not everybody feels this way.
posted by jgreco at 7:42 PM on July 31, 2013
Response by poster: All right, thank you MeFi CSI squad! I concur with the majority opinion: this does indeed look like a GE Advantum microwave. The cutout I have doesn't quite match the modern kit dimension, but I think this is due to the model changes over time.
easily confused: luckily, the appliances have been removed carefully, and I can easily install new ones in their place.
jgreco: the bank already knew that appliances were taken. Thank you for the personal review of the Advantium microwave. I have read a number of reviews online and agree with your assessment that people either like it or hate it. Given that the trim kit is a poor fit anyway (and expensive/difficult to source), I think I will go with another microwave that I can get more easily, and adapt the existing opening to fit its trim kit. But thanks again for the detailed information!
posted by blindcarboncopy at 12:06 AM on August 1, 2013
easily confused: luckily, the appliances have been removed carefully, and I can easily install new ones in their place.
jgreco: the bank already knew that appliances were taken. Thank you for the personal review of the Advantium microwave. I have read a number of reviews online and agree with your assessment that people either like it or hate it. Given that the trim kit is a poor fit anyway (and expensive/difficult to source), I think I will go with another microwave that I can get more easily, and adapt the existing opening to fit its trim kit. But thanks again for the detailed information!
posted by blindcarboncopy at 12:06 AM on August 1, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pipeski at 1:06 AM on July 31, 2013