If you’d like a second oven but don’t have the room, the Sharp Microwave Convection Oven may be a great choice for you. The Sharp R930 has been around for a long time, and will more than likely be around for years to come. This convection microwave can be used as a countertop unit, or can be built in to a 24” deep cabinet and finished with either a 27” or 30” trim kit. The oven capacity is 1.5 cubic foot, which is an average size. (It’s very easy to find microwaves that are 2 cu’ today.) Power rating is 900 watts which is modest for modern microwave ovens today. It isn’t the fastest microwave available today, but how fast do you really need to reheat your coffee, anyway?
How is the Sharp Convection Microwave like a Second Oven?
Inside the inner left hand side wall is a 120v heating element and convection fan. It pushes air through the convection baffle, or holes in the inside wall and circulates the air back. The turntable rotates to prevent any hot spots from occurring while cooking.
Does it Work Well?
Yes and No. You can grill steaks and it bakes cookies. But, if you are one to constantly open the oven door to peek inside, you more than likely won’t be happy with how long it takes to cook and the compromised results from temperature fluctuations. You range or wall ovens operate on 240v power (electric ovens) and can recover from a temperature swing much faster than the 120v element in this convection microwave. If you properly preheat the oven and leave the door closed during cooking, you will be very satisfied with the results. I have cooked many things from cookies, bacon, pies, to roasts and have been impressed with what comes out of the oven.
If you’re like me, a busy control panel can be very intimidating! I honestly didn’t like selling convection microwaves for the first 5 years in the business because the panel scared me to death! Don’t be like I was. It’s actually really easy and I was a little disappointed in myself for letting so much time go by before I sat down for 10 minutes and figured it out!
On the Panel
For the Convection portion of the control panel, you have many options. There is Compu Broil, Compu Roast, Compu Bake, Preheat, Convect, Broil, Slow Cook, Low Mix / Bake, and High Mix Roast.
One quick thing to keep in mind: if you are unsure how to use a certain feature, the control panel will walk you through what to do next. For most of the next things discussed it will tell you if you need to use the lower rack, turntable, or if it’s okay to use both racks.
Let’s discuss the terminology.
The following modes use the convection fan and the element around the fan for heat. No microwave energy is used.
Compu Broil has options for Hamburgers, Chicken Pieces, Steaks, and Fish steaks. The control panel will ask you how many items you may be putting in the oven and to put the items on the lower wire rack supplied with the convection microwave.
Compu Roast has settings for Chicken, Turkey, Turkey Breast, and Pork. As with Compu Broil the control panel will ask you how many and where to place the items in the oven.
Compu Bake offers options for a Bundt cake, Cookies, Muffins, and French fries. The control panel will let you know that you can use the upper and lower rack for some of these settings.
Preheat
To give you a general idea of how long the oven takes to preheat, I’ve clocked the preheat time from room temperature to 350° F in approximately 9 minutes. This is pretty standard for a convection oven today.
Convect
This mode only uses the convection fan and element – no microwave energy.
The oven temperatures available are 100 (good for proofing some breads), 150 (for keeping things warm), 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, and 450.
Broil
This is a quick step to get to 450° F. Instead of hitting 2 buttons in Convect mode, you simple hit one with Broil. There is no broil element in the oven and it is using the convection fan and element.
Slow Cook
Another shortcut, this mode is 300° F for 4 hours.
Low Mix / Bake
This is a speed cook feature! The setting is for 350° F and uses a low mixture of microwave energy, as well. This will bake faster than if you were to use 350° F in Convect mode and is good for baking. You more than likely won’t be able to tell a difference at all.
I have had an apple crisp done in this mode and it was fabulous!
High Mix / Roast
Another speed cook feature, the default temperature is 300° F and will use a higher mix of microwave energy with the convection element and fan.
We did an 11 lb. roast in this mode and you couldn’t tell it came out of a microwave oven!
As you can see, there are many different ways you can cook in this convection oven. And even though it doesn’t draw 240v of electricity, it does a very good job of producing foods that you’ll swear came out of the oven. Always remember this catchy phrase when it comes to opening the oven door in a convection microwave or a standard oven:
If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’!
Another one to remember:
There ain’t no cheatin’ in preheatin’!
Got it? Good! Let’s talk about the microwave portion of the Sharp R930.
When you look at the control panel on this Sharp microwave oven and if you haven’t been overwhelmed by all the convection features, you begin to see the microwave functions are pretty standard. There are buttons for:
Sensor Reheat – a great way to reheat a plate of food, or soup, etc. It uses a moisture sensor to avoid over cooking
Minute Plus – You can push this button once for 1 minute on High power, or continue to press it for an additional minute on high for each push.
Popcorn – VERY IMPORTANT! If you don’t use the low wire rack provided with the microwave and all you do is pop popcorn, you will hate this appliance. This is a 900 watt microwave. There are others that are more powerful than this and may pop the corn faster, but if you use the low wire rack for this function you will produce a nice bag of popped corn. If you don’t use it, you won’t pop even half the bag!
Then there is:
Sensor Cook
- Baked Potatoes
- Frozen Vegetables
- Fresh Vegetables – soft
- Fresh Vegetables – hard
- Frozen Entrees
- Hot Dogs
- Bacon
- Fish, Seafood
And of course, you have 10 power levels to choose from.
As you can see, there are a many, many things you can bake, roast, broil and microwave with this combination convection microwave oven. It is a great choice for those of you who would like a double oven but don’t have room for it and a microwave, or even for a mother-in-law apartment or college dorm room.
The retail price for the Sharp Convection Microwave Oven is $699.99 for stainless steel. The street price will be lower, check your local stores for that or online for any deals and shipping costs.
A convection microwave costs more than a regular microwave oven, but as a second oven it is downright cheap! If you need flexibility in the kitchen, be sure to check out the Sharp Microwave Convection Oven.