Sahmmy, thank you for your reply and the link.

I am thinking that a commercial microwave is meant for heavy use (like 150-200+ times a day), so if I use it less frequently, like 20 times a day, maybe it will last longer?

ACP makes the Amana commercial microwaves. They make the HDC series in the US, and the RFS series in Korea (if I remember correctly).

I looked into the Sharp and Panasonic commercial microwaves too. The ones I were interested in (cannot remember the model numbers) are actually not made in Japan, according to their customer support.

This post was edited by ILoveCookie on Tue, Sep 9, 14 at 14:32

Thanks for the info. That is very interesting. I googled the HDC182 and the RFS18TS, and they're $1150 and $1250 respectively. Gulp.

I kinda hope you get one, because I am very curious what they are like, and how well they work. Too rich for my blood though - I can live vicariously through you!

We are not getting anything fancy (no steam oven, no warming drawer, no convection oven, no wall oven), so we don't mind spending a little extra on the basic cooking items -- the range, the hood, and the microwave.

We are also saving some money by reusing our existing 10-year old Miele dishwasher. It feels just as nice as the new ones we saw in the store.

I think we will probably go with the RFS18TS, but the HDC182 is very tempting, mostly because it's made in the US.

fyi: they require a 220v circuit, not your normal 120v.

I think we could re-use the circuit that's currently being used for the cooktop (208/240V, 60Hz, 26A) for the commercial microwave, which will need 208-240V, 60Hz, 20A.

I would see if you could test one out first to make sure it meets your needs for performance before you spend this kind of money on a microwave and the associated electrical work. Uneven heating is a common characteristic of microwave cooking and I'm not convinced a commercial model would do much better. If you do a lot of cooking in the microwave you should consider a speed oven for better results.

Just get the Panasonic with the inverter technology. It's 80% of the price of a commercial unit, has more more even heating, and can have a trim kit to appear built in. You can even afford the trim kit now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Panasonic MW's

Good point, hvtech -- I should test one before committing to it. ACP does claim their microwaves have even cooking performance, so there's hope.

hollysprings -- Thank you for the Panasonic suggestion. I will look into that.

We don't really want a trim kit for a built-in look, but I guess that's optional.

Hollysprings - I think you mean the Panasonic MWs are 20% of the price of the commercial MWs.

ILoveCookie - I think Hvtech's idea of a steam oven is great, and it's more versatile than a MW, no matter how powerful the MW. But if we are talking dollars, the steam oven and its installation will be more costly than a commercial MW. On the other hand, I read on this forum about people spending $14,000 on a fridge like it's all in a day's work, and it sounds like you will use this appliance (MW or steam oven) a lot, so go for it! :)

^I was thinking about a speed oven, not a steam oven, but steam is also great for reheating. The great thing about speed ovens is they can function as a microwave, but when you add a convection fan and other heat sources you get much better performance.

akchicago -- I cannot imagine having a $14K fridge in my life, LOL. Our current 10-month old fridge is a 36"W x 72"H Kitchen Aid with a bottom freezer. It was less than $3k, and I find it sufficient for daily use.

In our previous kitchen, there's a microwave with convection feature (the one on the right in the picture attached below). I might have seen the word "speed" somewhere, either in the user manual or on the microwave itself. Anyway, my husband used the convection feature exactly once. He found it too messy to use, so he took the metal rack out, and we used it as a regular microwave since then.

I feel like we don't need a steam oven or a speed oven, but I am going to read more about them.

This post was edited by ILoveCookie on Wed, Sep 10, 14 at 11:02

Speed ovens use a combination of convection, microwaves, and radiant heat to cook food faster than in a regular oven but with better results than just a microwave. Unlike a conventional convection microwave which only lets you pick only between convection OR microwave.

We have the Panasonic Commercial NE-1064F. Small, efficient and simple. No button to open the door that tends to break first; just pull the handle. Easy to clean, setup for food service. There is no tray or plate that rotates, its built in and not needed. We have been very pleased so far.