Microwave Brands

In the very first episode, Jory told us microwaves are gonna be tested to see what they can really do. This page is an overview of those outcomes and it shows us all the used brands, from strong to weak. Which microwaves are strong enough for Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?.

Samsung
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Samsung. This was Samantha. She made it to her retirement while still operable. Her career was relatively hard. Two of her experiments were hard to survive (bottle rocket and firecrackers) and they might be the demise for other microwaves. Samantha also survived the special two-part finale of season 6. Respect for Samsung, the strongest microwave brand the guys ever used!

Panasonic
Three of the microwaves used for the show were from Panasonic. These were Whoopi, Penny and Penelope. They all three had a hard career. Both Penny and Penelope got retired while still operable and also their careers were relatively hard to survive, because a lot of experiments caught fire. Penelope also had a couple of heavy explosions. Whoopi however was declared dead, as her safety feature kept turning her off, because she was too hot. Actually she was killed by her own strength. Also: some experiments with Panasonic microwaves were called early, because the safety feature turned the microwave off. This happened in episode 123 with Whoopi and episode 177 with Penny. Panasonic is an extremely strong brand, but when you look at the death of Whoopi, it's just that one tiny bit too strong to achieve first place. Each microwave did about 16 experiments.

Hamilton Beach
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Hamilton Beach. This was Heather. Hamilton Beach is a relatively strong brand. The microwave detector Heather microwaved, caught fire and with '40 left on the clock, Heather stopped microwaving. She didn't die however, it probably was a safety feature turning off Heather's microwaving to avoid danger. Other microwaves probably would've died at this point. She died on the next experiment though (firework mortar), but that was simply not an experiment to survive. The safety mechanism Heather has, makes Hamilton Beach just a relatively strong microwave brand and hard to kill if you don't microwave something truly dangerous.

GoldStar
Four of the microwaves used for the show were from GoldStar. These were Melissa, Beth, Gabrielle and Shelley. Melissa got retired while still in working condition. She had a extremely hard career, but she did survive it. She survived experiments which would be really harmful or maybe even fatal for other microwaves. An example is the experiment with the rocket engines. Beth however died after only one experiment, albeit this experiment was not one to survive. Gabrielle died on her tenth experiment while having a fire on her inside. Shelley retired with three experiments, which is not very many and she also had only one fire on her inside. But after Heather died, Shelley was brought back to have the honor to microwave the final experiment of the series in wich she probably recieved the most damage of any microwave ever as her door partially melted off at the end and she was even shot with a gun wich ironically, a gun was what killed her twin sister, Gabrielle. This said, Goldstars all had really tough careers on the show. Each microwave did an average of about 7 experiments.

Magic Chef
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Magic Chef. This was Ivanka. In her first experiment with the Samsung Galaxy Phone, she froze (much liker Heather ), to avoid any danger. In her third expirement with Santa Claus, Ivanka turned off completely and although it looks like she actually died, it later turned out that she didn't : she rose again. When she was about to microwave the stress ball experiment however, she suddenly died again, but for good this time. Thanks to the phone and Santa experiments we can presume that Magic Chef is a very strong brand, but we'll sadly enough never know the reason for Ivanka's sudden death...

Emerson
Two of the microwaves used for the show were from Emerson. These were Saint Margaret II and Emily. Saint Margaret II probably had the most painful career of all microwaves ever used. The inside of her door screen and later part of her inside melted off and her plate broke. She even died a few times, but came back alive every time. According to Jon, Jory and Riley, Emerson is the brand of microwaves if someone plans to microwave all sorts of junk. If an Emerson dies, it will eventually rise again. Jory even bought an Emerson brand microwave for his new house. However: Emily showed not all Emersons are as holy as Saint Margaret II, as Emily died for no reason. The fatal experiment didn't catch fire and Emily didn't rise after her death.... Each microwave did an average of 10 experiments.

G.E. Turntable
Nine of the microwaves used for the show were from G.E. (General Electronics). These were Lacey, Vanessa, Jasmine, Jackie, Summer, Erin, Rapunzel, Gina and Unknown. The first one got retired (Lacey, with 25 experiments). But Lacey only had a couple of experiments which caught fire, making her career relatively easy to survive. Also: all G.E. Turntable microwaves after her died (except for Unknown), with just a couple of experiments, the only microwave with a outlier was Jackie (19 experiments). Actually the same story as Sharp Carousel (ranked sixth), but most of the G.E. deaths were on experiments which were practically impossible to survive. In season 10 Rapunzel got retired after 5 experiments, but her career was relatively easy to survive (up to that point), as it was kinda short and she had only one fire. But after Gabby died, she was brought back for the cup of gasoline episode. She survived 5 explosions and most of the experiment with only 1:17 left on the clock, so she probably had one of the toughest experiments of all G.E. microwaves (but easier compared to many other G.E deaths like Summer's). But still, she died leaving again Lacey and being retired of all G.E. microwaves, as Gina, which followed after, already died on her second experiment. Unknown was a performance microwave, so she was retired. Only two G.E.s were retired, Lacey and Unknown. Each microwave did an average of about 8 experiments.

Sharp Carousel
Fourteen (the most) of the microwaves used for the show were from Sharp. These were: Unnamed, Diane, Sandra, Helga, Tracy, Susan, Beatrice, Cinnamon, Gladys, Sarah, Margaret, Justine, Esmeralda and Felicia. The first two got retired (Unnamed and Diane, with 18 and 26 experiments, respectively), but it was quite easy for them to survive their career, because just a couple of their experiments caught fire. It was just a long career, but not very hard. The later experiments from the show (season 5 onwards) became much more dangerous and after Diane there was no more Sharp Carousel microwave which made it to her retirement, as they only survive a couple of experiments, with only Tracy with a real outlier (16 experiments). Exceptions are for Justine and Felicia, which were used on live performances. They both got retired while still operable, but they were both used for only one experiment which was relatively easy to survive, so they are not counted. Every season included at least one Sharp Carousel microwave, an average of 1.4 per season. Each microwave did an average of about 8 experiments.

Kenmore
Three of the microwaves used for the show were from Kenmore. These were Zelda,   Marissa, and Khloé The first two died on their career. Zelda had a pretty hard career and died on her fourth experiment while having a fire on her inside. Marissa's career was not as hard as Zelda's, but still, her demise was one experiment earlier. She died at the end of her third experiment, when the guys pulled the plug on her. Marissa did not survive a very easy career? Well... Sharp Carousels Unnamed and Diane did it. In addition, their careers were much and much longer than Marissa's (18 and 26 experiments), making Sharp Carousel much stronger than Kenmore. In addition, Khloé succeeded four experiments. Each microwave did an average of about 3 experiments.

Chefmate
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Chefmate. This was Candy. She died after just three experiments, probably because of her own power which was not absorbed by the experiment and became fatal for her. However: there were more experiments where the microwave power was not (or barely) absorbed and this did not became fatal for the microwaves in question, making Chefmate just a very weak brand.

Eleventh Position - Sunbeam
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Sunbeam. This was Cindy. She was declared "undead" after only two experiments. However she could survive past her second experiment as she wasn't really dead. The only way to discover if a Sunbeam is strong or weak, is to see another one which hopefully won't be declared "undead"! As Cindy was neither dead or retired, she can't be counted for the strong/weak measure and because of the fact she was the only Sunbeam, this brand will be placed rock bottom as a disqualified brand.

Twelfth Position - Rival
One of the microwaves used for the show was from Rival. This was Rhianna. She was completely slaughtered on her only experiment, in which she microwaved Christmas trees doused with gasoline. This experiment simply was not one to survive as this was something truly dangerous. And as this was the only experiment and Rhianna was the only Rival microwave, we just don't know how strong this brand really is! Therefore: Rival will be placed rock bottom as a disqualified brand as long nothing more comes clear.