Rack in microwave

Can anyone  tell me what the  rack  in the microwave  in my warwick  XL is for

So you can cook two items at once - and yes it is metal in a microwave - and yes that's what it's for.

Does the microwave have a combi-grill function?  If so it will be to get the food to be browned up nearer the grill element.

That was my first thought when I heard there was a metal shelf but apparently not. I understand the latest model fitted is a Dometic but I can't find anything online except for a microwave with grill the MW13, in which case I'm wrong and Roger is right.
I have found this though , not specific to Dometic......

"

Why it Works

That gleaming metal rack in the center of some microwave models is tuned to the metal in the cavity of the oven itself. By using plastic or rubber clips to hold the metal to the sides of the oven, the rack is safe and no arcs of energy will flash in your microwave. That flash comes from the electrons banging into the metal's atoms. The racks are usually high enough that most of the things you use your microwave to cook or reheat can slide onto the main turning plate at the bottom of the microwave and not be bothered by the rack. This way, you don't have to store the rack or search for it when you need to use it. It can safely sit unused in your microwave and easily be removed on the occasions when you have rather tall or large items to cook in the oven.

Cooking Options

The rack doubles the cooking surface in your microwave. By having the rack in place, you can cook your breakfast burrito while reheating your morning coffee or tea. The wave flow that travels up and over and around the rack cooks food more evenly. This makes it better for defrosting and cooking foods, such as meat and fish, that need to be cooked thoroughly.

Safety Always

Although you may have a metal rack sitting snugly in your microwave oven, don't take it as a sign you can put any old hunk of metal in it. This includes forks or other metal eating utensils, aluminum, a generic metal rack, small pots or pans and lids to cover food so it won't splatter. The rack that came with your oven has been tuned to that oven for safety reasons. The rack can never be placed on the bottom of the oven cavity. This will cause it to come into contact with the metal of the oven and make it reactive. It's the little rubber clips or plastic outcroppings that it sits on in the oven that make it safe to use in your microwave."

You have the same age van as mine so assuming the same microwave - if so it doesn't have a grill or anything and is just as Paul says, just a shelf to allow microwaving a couple of things at once.

It also allows something to get a more even heat as the microwaves can move all around the item rather than sitting on the base plate.

Metal isn't an issue in a microwave as long as there are no sharp edges.  People see things like tin foil or forks etc sparking away, but it's not because it's metal so much as the fact they have sharp edges that the sparks can propagate from.

Metal with smooth round edges (like the tray) are fine.

EDIT - just noticed Pauls extra bit saying the same - beat me to it :)

Thanks Paul - never too old to learn something new every day!   

Our home microwaves have grills and metal stands (the basic one I fitted in the Pollensa doesn't) but I'd never thought of using them to cook two items without having to balance them on top of one another; I'm guessing the spacing will let the waves bounce around more freely so cook quicker.  

I put an open jar of honey in a microwave once briefly as it had set hard and I wanted to re-liquify it. Enjoyed a mini firework display from the metalised printing on the label!

Paul is correct. We have the same rack in our M/W and the instructions say to heat 2 (say) ready meals you put one on the turntable and one on the shelf and swap them over at half time.

……then wait for it to cut out due to overheating and inadequate ventilation 

We have the older Daewoo microwave without the rack. We had it cut out for the first time this summer, thought it had just blown up as even the digital display went off but while we're eating it came back on. I'm going to cut a couple of holes for extra vents in the surround.

Paulmold wrote:So you can cook two items at once - and yes it is metal in a microwave - and yes that's what it's for.

I agree with this. The shelf is to give you extra space when cooking in more than one container.


I have a 2017 Warwick and it has a Daewoo KOR-6L6BDBK, It has the metal shelf that fits about half way up and a glass turntable at the bottom.
I think this will be the same as Rabbit18

The manual says to only fit this shelf when food is on it, otherwise remove it. Also don't use for pocorn, pizzas and certain other food. So I just never use it.

The first time I found the metal shelf I thought to myself, this is metal so can't be used when cooking, but, that is indeed what it is for.

when you have two meals in at once as the time to be extended?

RABBIT18 wrote:when you have two meals in at once as the time to be extended?

Yeah, maybe not twice as long, but certainly you need to extend the time to allow for the larger amount of food.

The general rule with m/waves is that two takes 1.5 times as long as one.

Remember to swap positions half way through with these racked m/waves.

both food items would need to have similar rates of absorbency e.g. a sausage and a potato would quickly result in a hot sausage and cold potato