Sunbeamn Microwave is one of the most affordable microwave on the market. They had a lineage that goes back a hundred of year. In the past, they were known as the leading manufacturer of kitchen appliances. However, these days they are known more for their subpar quality. While this does not necessarily mean that its bad, they just have limitation that other manufacturer has. This review will take a closer look at Sunbeam microwave. We will go over design, performance and general performance.

Sunbeam Microwave (SGB8901) Review Quick Summary

Categories	Sunbeam Microwave (SGB8901)
Performance	Acceptable
Colors	Black
Brand Awareness	USA
Power	900 watts
Size	0.9 cu ft
Door Style	Pull Door, gets stuck with age.
Thoughts	A affordable but functional microwave. For the price, you get a pretty powerful microwave. While mines have last for years, not everyone has this experience. It is a good option for a budget microwave.
Reviewed Cookware	Cuisinart CSB-75BC Smart Stick 200 Watt 2 Speed Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome

How Does Sunbeam Microwave Work?

Sunbeam Microwave works just like any other microwave. They uses microwave radiation to directly heat up water molecules. The atoms in the water molecule will start vibrating causing it to heat up. As a result, the food next to the moisture filled food will start to heat up. That is why you often get heat spots in food. Sections in the food with more moisture will heat up faster than the dry portion. To get it more even, manufacturer will put a rotating base to even out the heat.

In terms of efficiency, it is one of the best appliance there is. Since the microwave directly heat up liquid, energy is not wasteful like a oven.

Hearing this might scare off some people. Luckily, as long as the microwave is closed while its in use, its safe. Microwave are designed to contain the radiation. It is unlikely to microwave you…If the door is broken, do not try to force it to work.

Power, Wattage and Capacity

The wattage is how much power an appliance uses. Generally, the higher the wattage, the more powerful it is. On the sunbeam SGB8901 the power is only 900 watts. Quite weak compared to the larger models. However, if you cook smaller portion of food, it should be quite effective. There are even power level option so that you can be more efficient with the electricity usage. You only need the larger wattage if you intend on cooking large amount of food. In that situation, you should be looking for larger model microwave. This model is only 0.9 cu ft in capacity, one of the smallest available. Its good for preparing food for one or two people.

There are larger capacity available but those power are not linear. A lot of model who are at 1.5 capacity or higher only have wattage of around 1000-1200 watts. If you think about it, the smaller one has more power per size. Not only that, you should be cooking food individually not all at once. In those situation, the 900 watts is plenty.

Known Issues

With the price of Sunbeam Microwave, you can expect some issues to arise. One of the most annoying thing that I face is the door. Since there is no button to open it, you just pull it open. When new, it works without the microwave moving. However, it gets quite sticky and the microwave is pulled with the door. One way that I found to get around this is by pulling it hard and quick. This usually lets the microwave stay in place.

Another problem is the smell. The filter seems to fail overtime and it holds the smell of whatever food you last microwave. You can unplug it and air it out though.

There are some users stating that theirs break after only a few use. However, mines have been working for year. I think it really depends on the model you get, some are more lucky than others. If you get one that works, it will keep on working…

Sometimes when a microwave stop working its due to the fuse. All you need to do is replace it and it should work. But if its something more involved, I recommend just buying a new one or replacing it. This is one instance where you do not want to diy the repair. There are high voltage capacity inside that can kill you. Improper repair can also cause leakage in microwave radiation.

Thoughts

Overall, this is a decent budget microwave. The main issues that I have with it is the door getting stuck. A lot of users seems to be annoyed by the beeping but I personally never had any issues with it. It beeps when the food is done and you leave it there, so threes that. But you should really be removing the food in those situation. There is no way to turn off the beep as far as I know.

I hope you like this Sunbeam Microwave (SGB8901) Review, If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.