Skip to main content

Using regular LED light bulbs in a microwave oven's surface light

I have an over-the-range GE microwave oven, and I use its surface light quite a lot. It's great for illuminating the stove top, or just brightening the kitchen a bit. Sadly, the bulbs it uses are a weird size and they burn out often. Here I discuss how I installed common and inexpensive LED bulbs in my microwave oven.

Stovetop illuminated by Microwave Surface Light
Microwave Oven Surface Light with LEDs

Most over-the-stove microwave ovens and exhaust hoods still use old-school incandescent light bulbs. They burn out rather frequently, and it's a pain to replace them because it entails removing the glass panel with a screwdriver. To compound the pain, the weird bulbs are stupidly expensive. And since each bulb uses 40 watts of energy, cost to run them (80 watts) is ridiculous. I initially replaced my microwave's 40 watt bulbs with 25 watt bulbs, but that's still 50 watts, and they're still burning out several times a year.

I decided that I'd replace the lousy old bulbs with quality LED bulbs, but sadly nothing is as easy as it should be. The screw connector of the microwave's bulb socket are weird "intermediate base E17" sockets, and there are very few LEDs available in this form. The LEDs with an E17 base that I've found are both expensive and crappy. 

I figured that a "candelabra" style bulb could squeeze in, and it is easy to find Candelabra LED bulbs everywhere. But candelabra bulbs use an E12 screw connector, and so they won't fit into the microwave's E17 bulb sockets.

The Solution: the inexpensive E12 to E17 adapter. These friendly little devices make it easy to convert an E12 bulb to fit into an E17 socket. The downside is that the adapters make the bulb about 3/8 inches longer, so it's a tight fit. But it all works for me.

LED bulbs installed in Microwave Surface Light
Retrofit Microwave LEDs in Action
 

Flicker: Yes, cheap LED bulbs can flicker, and that's why it is always smart to by certified Energy Star bulbs. Yes, they cost more, but they last a lot longer and are far better at dimming.

Here's what I did to test it all out:

  1. Open up the microwave's bulb panel and remove the existing bulbs.
  2. Find a quality candelabra-style LED bulb. I only buy EnergyStar certified bulbs because they last far longer. Gauge whether the bulb will fit inside.
  3. If so, then we invest!
    1. Get some E12 to E17 socket adapters. Remember that these adapters add a little length to your bulb, roughly 3/8ths of an inch.
    2. Screw the adapters onto your favorite high quality LEDs
    3. Screw the adapted bulbs into the microwave
    4. Test
  4. Close it all up!

That's it! It was a tight fit, but it all went together perfectly. Even better, these bulbs will likely last for the life of my microwave oven, and it uses 70 watts less energy. As someone who uses that light basically 16 or so hours a day, my cost savings are more than $100 a year. WIN!!!


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Installing a CarPlay radio in a Honda CRV

I ended up buying a 2013 Honda CRV and decided to replace the stock radio/CD player with an upgraded unit.  This was far easier and cheaper than I imagined, but the hardest part was selecting a unit to buy  This article covers how I made my choice.   The basic form factor for my CRV head unit Selecting a Unit The Car I have a 2013 CR/V, which is the same series of all of the CR/Vs from model year 2012 through 2016. Therefore it was important to find a radio unit that fits this model. The CRV has steering wheel radio controls, and I wanted to use them.  This uses a technology called CAN-Bus, which is kind of like USB for cars.  Therefore, a CAN-Bus capability would be able to leverage all these steering wheel features.  In addition, the CRV has a backup camera that would be nice to tie into. And of course I wanted to leverage the existing speakers and USB port. Form Factor I wanted a unit that had a big display, and I wanted a unit that was easy to purchas...
Read more

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...
Read more

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My  Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer  has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more.  Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl.  Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws.  By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...
Read more

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be.  All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life.  This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...
Read more

MacBook: burnt out magsafe connector repair

My MacBook (A1342 model from 2009-2010) stopped working, thanks to a cheap knockoff magsafe charger. The magsafe connector looked burnt with heat-distorted melted plastic and some black carbon surfaces.  Plugging in the charger resulted in no lights and no action.  My MacBook was dead. First I tried to clean up the connector with some Q-Tips, tooth picks and solvent, but that did little, as seen in this "after" picture (below).   The heat generated by the aftermarket charger permanently deformed and distorted the MacBook's magsafe connector.  Clearly the damage was significant. Burnt Magsafe Connector - Replacement Required! Looking at iFixIt , I determined that it would not be difficult to replace only the magsafe connector with the right tools.  I hoped and prayed that the problem was isolated to the connector assembly and not the logic board. I bought a replacement magsafe connector assembly (available from Amazon) for under $20 and started to rep...
Read more

Other Posts

Show more