Convection Microwave heating issue

Bones2003 · 11-05-2021, 03:07 PM

My 2021 Winnebago Vista 35U came with a Greystone Microwave Convection oven. In convection mode, it is supposed to get hot from a heating element and then a fan circulates the hot air around to thoroughly cook the food. However, when we use it in convection mode the top of the food cooks but the bottom does not. The oven does get hot and the fan appears to be blowing. It looks like there is only one heating element on the top of the oven so it acts more like a broiler than an oven.

Here are some things we've tried:
1. It did come with a large round convection pan that is on short legs. I assume this was to lift it off the bottom of the oven so that air could circulate under the pan. Does not work.
2. Tried using an elevated wire rack. Did not help.
3. Tried using small servings of food such as only one slice of pizza or one piece of Texas toast. Did not help.

Is it supposed to have a heating element on the bottom? Is our microwave convection oven broken? Am I doing something wrong? Or is that just the way they work? I've seen posts by people that love theirs so I think they can actually work. We are almost to the point of bringing a counter-top toaster oven but hate to use up any more counter space. Thanks for your advice!

**creativepart** · 11-08-2021, 06:51 AM

I’ve been hoping that others with more knowledge would respond.

I have no idea about your convection oven, but certainly Greystone has a support department that you could contact to get your answers.

I hope this is accurate but I found the following website for the company that distributes these ovens:

https://www.wayinterglobal.com/colle...SAAEgIvdfD_BwE

Hope this helps.

lenore · 11-08-2021, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bones2003

My 2021 Winnebago Vista 35U came with a Greystone Microwave Convection oven. In convection mode, it is supposed to get hot from a heating element and then a fan circulates the hot air around to thoroughly cook the food. However, when we use it in convection mode the top of the food cooks but the bottom does not. The oven does get hot and the fan appears to be blowing. It looks like there is only one heating element on the top of the oven so it acts more like a broiler than an oven.

Here are some things we've tried:
1. It did come with a large round convection pan that is on short legs. I assume this was to lift it off the bottom of the oven so that air could circulate under the pan. Does not work.
2. Tried using an elevated wire rack. Did not help.
3. Tried using small servings of food such as only one slice of pizza or one piece of Texas toast. Did not help.
.

Is it supposed to have a heating element on the bottom? Is our microwave convection oven broken? Am I doing something wrong? Or is that just the way they work? I've seen posts by people that love theirs so I think they can actually work. We are almost to the point of bringing a counter-top toaster oven but hate to use up any more counter space. Thanks for your advice!

Weird I have used mine for Pizza and cooking battered shrimp and had no issues. They both came out perfect. I used the elevated pan both times.

Lv2Roam2 · 11-09-2021, 06:25 AM

From my experience with our MW/Convection set-up (which I replaced):
- Use a rack to elevate the dish to allow 360 air circulation
- Check your power source / amount

And as usual, creative part's recommendation is on-target - get the company rep on the phone ...

Let us know how it works out - we all learn ...

danhannah · 11-13-2021, 03:32 PM

Ours cooks evenly. Can you feel airflow? maybe the intake is blocked...

sundog964 · 11-13-2021, 04:15 PM

Convection ovens typically work best with lightweight metal pans. And yes, use the tray with the legs. I usually take the carousel glass tray out as well.

DavidM · 11-13-2021, 04:29 PM

I have a suspicion that your lower heating element isn't working. Can you see it and check it out. Or stop it after a few minutes and see if the bottom is hot.

David

Bones2003 · 11-13-2021, 06:52 PM

Thanks to everyone for the info and advice. My RV is at the dealer right now for some warranty work. Once I get it back in the next week or so and can try some of your suggestions I will provide an update, so stay tuned. I do know there is an exposed electric heating element on the top but I cannot see any element on the bottom. From all the comments, a likely suspect is that the air circulation fan is not working properly.

just curious · 11-14-2021, 10:18 PM

If your 2021 coach is at the dealer for warranty work how about they check out the Microwave, it should be under warranty?

Bones2003 · 11-22-2021, 12:58 PM

Here is an update. Dealer says microwave/convection gets hot so appears to work. He says the cheap Greystones just don't work that well so not much real help there. I did some more testing with strips of aluminum foil and paper towels to see the airflow. A fan does come on and circulates air around the upper portion of the oven cavity but hardly any air movement at the bottom. With the elevated baking pan installed, there is no air circulation under the pan. It seems like the oven cavity is such a small space that the air should really be whipping around in there but it is not.

My next step is to pull it out and set it up on my workbench to see if the circulation fan has a problem. Maybe it is weak or a baffle has come loose blocking it.

Al10453 · 11-23-2021, 12:43 PM

Make sure your voltage is @ least 118v thru the heating cycle.

Bones2003 · 11-23-2021, 02:31 PM

Here is another update. I pulled the Greystone microwave/convection oven out of my RV and set it up on my workbench at home.

1) There are two heating elements at the top. One is inside the cavity and the other is above the cavity in a chamber. Both of those elements are working properly. There are no elements at the bottom.

2) There are three fans, all of which are working. One fan cools the overall unit. One fan cools the electronics and the third fan circulates the warm air inside the oven cavity. That fan is working and is driven by a rubber belt from the second fan. It is not very big and just does not move very much air. There are no blocked or missing baffles. As far as I can tell, it is working as it was designed but it is just a poor design.

3) While I was in there, I fixed the crooked door which always annoyed me.

4) Two unrelated items I found when I pulled the unit out. One was five 12V wires for the cabinet lights were pinched between the cabinet and a sharp metal bracket. That was guaranteed to short out at some time in the future. Another was a loose metal baffle that would rattle like crazy while driving.

Now I'll have to figure out a solution so I can have pizza!

Thanks to everyone for your ideas and suggestions.

bigb · 11-23-2021, 03:08 PM

Nice work. We have a Highpointe that seems to be working as designed but sill learning, it's definitely not like the 240 volt unit at home. When I removed ours I found only one top mounting screw had actually gone into the corner bracket and the ones that should be in wood weren't really holding due to Winnebago using self tapping sheet metal screws into wood with a power driver so basically only 1 screw keeping it from coming out of the cabinet.