Commercial Chef 0.9 Cu. Ft. Countertop Microwave Oven, CHM009 | Touch Controls with Digital LED Display, 900W Small Microwave, 10” Turntable, Push Button Door, 10 Power Levels

This is going to be more than most people want to know -- but I've been using microwaves in this size/price/power class for 20 years and might be able to help a few people who are newer. 1. This 'Westinghouse' is a good example and works very well. Amazon price and delivery are first rate. 2. NO microwave in this ~$100 price class is made by the company that has its name on the front. Essentially 100% are either made in one Chinese factory or by Samsung in South Korea. The labeled manufacturer tells the real maker what specs (power, controls, etc.) he wants and they make it, package it to say 'Westinghouse' or whatever, and ship it to the USA. There is a 'Rival' model that is identical to this one except for details of the controls and the Westinghouse comes in white which the Rival didn't. That's why I bought this one -- wanted an exact replacement but in white. The 'works' within a power range and maker may be identical -- my two are. Fit, finish, screws, paint type, turntable -- it's ALL the same. The actual POWER may vary somewhat. The Rival was closer to 1100W while this one is a real 900W -- needs a bit more cooking time than given for 1100W machines. 3. Since the price/power range pretty well sets the construction, you should look for features you want and the control panel details show the biggest variation: Size of numbers, number of specific food buttons, does it have a +30 second full power button (Rival did, WH does not), color of numbers, etc. Latest models all have a child safety lock -- if set requires specific keystrokes to make the thing go at the start. Color choices also vary. One label may have what you want in -- say -- red, while another will only offer black. Etc. 4. Weaknesses/things to be aware of are similarly alike. In this price range they're all baked enamel ('good paint') inside, which means that if you aren't very careful about cleaning/keeping it dry the life will be about 3 years before it rusts badly under the turntable. For long life use a plastic cover over an open plate, open the door promptly when done and LEAVE it open until next use, remove the turntable and dry underneath each night. Damp paper towel if necessary to remove any spilled food as food acids will take paint off pretty quickly. A nailpolish mark on one of the dents in the turntable underside makes it a cinch to put it back each time. So far as I know, porcelain enamel (melted on glass) finishes are only on high end (and much larger) microwaves. They'll take a lot more moisture. If you leave the door open, the lightbulb will burn out in a couple-three years but it helps keep the insides dry. Other than that READ THE DIRECTIONS. There are any number of long-life cautions there that aren't labeled as such. The Westinghouse manual is excellent and only in English. 6. EVERYTHING that fails on these machines is pretty easy to fix and all the parts are out there if you are cheap like me and want to keep a good machine in service as long as possible rather than just throwing it away every three years. The window over the microwave passage (silver-grey thing upper right inside of oven looking at front) is available -- if it catches fire, replace it, cut to size (boxcutter knife) from a kit. The light bulb can be replaced but requires removing the cover over the high voltage internals: Don't do that if you aren't familiar with LETHAL voltage precautions. The turntable motor can be replaced rather easily -- never had one go. The magnetron lasts for years: I have replaced one and it failed because of a factory defect. Ditto the fan. Maggy and fan are also in the killer HV area. It's good to remove and wipe down the magnetron window every few months. Use a paper towel dampened with water and wipe firmly to remove food vapor deposits as they're what catches fire but when that fire burns out it will likely have ruined the window. After wiping, LET DRY for several hours before using. You can even repaint the insides. Search 'microwave cavity paint' and read/follow the directions carefully. DO NOT use that paint indoors -- it's highly flammable and nasty to breath. Remove the microwave window and plug the hole with crumpled paper towel, just lift out the drive hub for the turntable. Let it dry a couple of days before bringing in/using. 7. It's possible to hang these under a cabinet and there used to be many models with the kit of parts to do it. Now, NONE. I think the lawyers killed that setup because IF YOU ARE STUPID and start a serious fire in the oven and it's right against wood you may have a kitchen fire. So if you're given to pouring your McD's coffee on your ... you know ... or washing your gloves in gasoline and trying to dry them in the microwave, DO NOT EVEN TRY a hung installation. Otherwise cut bars (aluminum bar stock is good) to go inside the cabinet top and distribute the 30# load over the whole front-to-back distance, drill/tap holes for about 12-32 machine screws AND HANG WITH SPACERS AT LEAST !" long using a scheme that allows free air circulation over the top of the machine. Ideal spacing for the bars is about 15-1/2" L to R and centered; that's what the original kits did and the insides of this model are identical. CHECK CLEARANCES INSIDE to wiring and terminals. NEVER use a microwave for anything that might have a flammable solvent in it. Food or water washed items ONLY. NO MICROWAVE should be 'turn on and leave the house for a few hours.' In 20 years we've never even had a scary event but I don't trust heating appliances at this power level with so many variables and while the machine IS well protected internally -- there's an over-temp shutoff, the top and upper surfaces are two layers all metal, etc. -- extra safety precautions are still appropriate.

Really easy to use and works great. Smaller tha my 10 year old one the finally died. but works much better. Easy to underdstand manual. Realy pleased with it.

Good microwave. Sometimes feels noisy, but it generally quite. It does what I need to do for the price. It is definitely durable. Downside: no auto-30 second button, if you're accustomed to that than you might find it annoying. I do, but have learned to live with it. Everything else works great on it. I bought this on what I think is now Amazon ResSale (WareHouse at the time). Other than cosmetic damage to outerbox, the Microwave was in great codition.

Love this microwave! I had one similar that I bought in 2010 for $50 bucks in a store and it lasted me over 10 years. It’s a nice design smaller but not too compact, large enough to hold big plates and containers and other packaged meals. Easy to clean especially the outside where it’s black but nice front design with the stainless steel accents; clear number pad (remove the protective film on the pad or it will start to bubble and you will think that it’s part of appliance) easy to use with some quick features for the price point. This is a deal compared to the other ones out there that are almost $200. Even though the one I had was a different brand name, I can tell it’s still similar manufacturing design. To compare it was just a number pad slightly different design as you can see in my previous photos of my older brand Oster from 2010. This is why I chose this model Commercial CHEF because of my experience of it lasting until just recently which I think was my fault because of a spill which likely malfunctioned the number pad area. I’ve also bought other products from Commercial CHEF as well with good experience to receive something that was not damaged and working as advertised. Nice size, looks modern and under $100 this is an amazing price for something that will last for a long time if you take care of it. I prefer to not have the pull handle because people always touch it with food on hands and gets dirty easily. This is very quick to open, which is a small push and to clean it right after a quick wipe without having to wipe a whole handle regularly. It’s sturdy too, even though people can slam the door you don’t need to do that, but if you do, it has held up to that type of use in the past on my older one, and I believe this is gonna have the same type of endurance. You do have to set the clock after you plug it in and then it’s good to go. Others said they received the unit damaged, I did not. There was zero damage, and it came in the manufacturers box well packed with foam blocks when it was delivered, but it was not within an outer bigger box; maybe for other people it would arrive like that or maybe in the past they realized when they put in a big box it got banged around and would damage if the driver also couldn’t see that it was something such as a microwave that needed to have some proper handling and care upon delivery. I just got it today but I’ll update if there’s any issues but I’m hoping it will last a long time like my previous similar microwave, the fact that they were nearly exact design, the older one fit in the box like a glove to be able to get rid of which was ideal making an easy replacement. It’s a timeless clean modern design that would go well in any kitchen!

I selected this model because about all we use a microwave for is popcorn and occasionally melting butter or warming up leftovers. This model is smaller so by buying it, I was able to regain some counter space. As I am facing it, it vents on my LEFT. The door and dials are to my right. The dials are extremely easy to use- there's absolutely NO learning curve. Even though we're a fairly high tech household, you just can't beat simple when simple will do. Also, when it goes off, it just dings like a timer, instead of dinging all night long, like the old one would. I wouldn't mind so much, but often I'd get up to turn off the dinging and couldn't figure out what if it was the dishwasher, a coffee pot, a microwave- gosh everything in my kitchen DINGS the same. Also, if someone uses it at night, there isn't a lot of dinging as various buttons get pushed. Also, there's nothing fancy inside, like a broiler element - my last one had ALL that, and that was a mistake to buy, I think, since it was so hard to clean. This one is just like a smooth box inside, with a roller and about 10" plate on the bottom. I can just put some lemon juice and water in this one, on high, and then wipe it down. The plate fits in the dishwasher. It is also small and light enough to pack to travel with. It will fit in a large duffel bag. Downside- It is very light. So light that you can about jerk it off the counter when you open the door. I put a big bowl of potatoes on top of mine and it solved that problem. 7/24/2017 2 years + and still going strong!

Our 40-year-old Litton Go Anywhere microwave finally gave up on us, so we needed a replacement. I chose this one because it was the same size and would fit where the old one was, and because the price was good. This has improvements over the old Litton; a carousel, higher power, quieter. But, the Litton had an easy-to-clean glass bottom in the oven, and it's as sound now as it was when new. This one will probably rust out long before 40 years pass. Then again, I'm in my 70's, so I'll probably never know. The one real issue I have with it is that the keypad is hard to read if the light falling on it isn't just right. Stand between the kitchen light and the panel, and it's black - except for the clock. But, I suppose, we'll just have to get used to that.

Updated: Sadly, after only 2 days of usage, the oven light stopped working. All else seems to be working. But I will be returning since I lost confidence with this model and brand. Original review: This is really my first impressions review, since I just received it and started using it today and tested it out. I just wanted to put my thoughts here now as they are still fresh. Hopefully I will not have a reason to update this review anytime soon. I bought the 1000W 1.1 cf SS version. The size is just right, replacing my beloved 20+ year old GE that recently died. Make no mistake, I liked my old one much better, but as they say, they don't make 'em like they used to. I picked this new one from this brand mainly because the outside looks somewhat similar to my old one, sadly minus the door pull handle and sorely missed dial knob which is very rare on machines now days. But for the price, I think with all the features, look, and power level so far it seems good. The keypad features are all standard. I expect to use primarily the Start/+30 sec button and the Time Cook button to manually enter the time I want to cook. But it does have all the usual presets that you would expect. There were no surprises with setup. Basically right out of box, peel off the film, plug it in, disable the child lock, set the clock, and ready to go. It cooks and heats as quickly as expected for a 1000W. Things I do not particularly like: the inside light is not very bright. And it is a bit more noisy when cooking compared to other microwaves I have used. And it is true the keypad is dark as other reviews have mentioned, but I don't think touchpads on appliances are usually lighted anyway; the text could have been made more visible though. Overall this machine has the standard light feel that it was built to last only a few years at most pretty much like anything else sadly, difficult to avoid. But who knows, maybe it will surprise me.

I've had this thing for almost exactly two years now. It lives in my service van so I can heat up lunch out in the field. It runs without issue on a Harbor Freight 1000W modified sine power inverter. It's a pretty basic and smaller unit, which is what I was looking for. The mechanical timer is fairly accurate for what it is. I typically just use the timer on my watch, though. Having a turntable on such a basic unit is nice. It reverses direction every time you start it up. The hardest part to get used to was the lower wattage. I have a 1000 watt unit at home, and I generally have to about double all the cooking times with this unit. I've had no issues at all with it. It has worked perfectly for two years now.

Very pleased with this purchase, no problems and easy to use, definitely would recommend this microwave.

very happy with this purchase

Muy buen micro, hace todo lo que promete, muy bonito, excelente calidad.

I love everything about it. It's small but powerful. Takes up very little space on the counter & works as well if not better than my old big microwave. So glad I got rid of the big one & purchased this little cutie. Highly recommend.

Five stars for poor design! I purchased two of these microwaves, October 9th and 19th, 2021. They have both worked very well and are still working. I love the dial and it's so easy to use. They heat well and have functioned for about 18 months. However, there is a design flaw: the food steam is collected and drops under the glass plate. Over time this corrodes the paint. I clean the ovens regularly, but not often enough to prevent this corrosion. I think if there were a vent for steam, and possibly better application of the paint, this mess would not have happened. Previous to these two ovens I had a Kenmore that lasted over ten years. I use these ovens two or three times a day and was expecting them to not fall apart so soon. I will use them until they fall apart, but I will not be buying this brand again.