by Barry and Cindy 1997 U270 36′ 1/13/14
We replaced our original Sharp 1996 convection microwave model R-1830B with a new Sharp convection microwave model # R1875-T, ordered from Lowe’s at $589 less 10% military discount plus tax.
Lowe’s item #352553. It is available for a lower price on the Internet, but since the packaging is the original cardboard box, we did not want to deal with any damaged online shipment problems.
Remove the original microwave by removing back bottom small “locking” bolts with round plastic trim around the screw head. These bolts keep the wall-mount latch from accidental release. After lock bolt removal, pulling down two back bottom levers will release rear wall mount latch, allowing microwave to tip forward and be removed by lifting off the wall mount.
Foretravel usually installs a couple of ‘safety’ screws through the front top case. Remove plastic top microwave vent, remove any wood screws, manually hold microwave to the wall, pull two levers down a couple of inches, tip microwave forward, pull power cord through shelf above the microwave and with four hands lift 60 pounds + microwave off wall mount bottom edge.
The original wall mount was in two steel pieces and held in place with dozens of screws.
Old Wall Latch
Bare wall after removing wall mount
The new wall mount is easier to install as it is all one-piece. We tried to reuse original screw holes but decided on drilling dozens of new holes in two horizontal rows. The new wall mount is positioned with about 1/8” between the top of the wall mount and bottom of the cabinet.
It seems that Foretravel has two horizontal metal supports in the wall to which the microwave wall bracket can be fastened. New wall mount bottom edge still carries ALL of the weight, but now uses two very long bolts that angle up from mid-bottom to top rear that are fastened to wall mount bracket. Drilling a couple of holes in case forward top for ‘safety’ wood screws is a good idea. The new plastic vent is now screwed in place but has a center tab that we had to remove.
Protecting the sidewall and stovetop is a good idea as the microwave is very heavy and awkward to lift and lower. New Sharp oven still has inset hinge, available in black and push-button door opener, which makes a good fit and finish. Almost all other brands have edge hinges and large pull handles and many have chrome / white finish. Edge hinges and pulls handle can prevent the door from fully opening.
New Sharp convection microwave ovens have many new useful features including moisture measurement timed cooking. We like the new oven very much and it is very securely mounted. by Barry and Cindy 1997 U270 36′ 1/13/14
One last screw, through the wall of the cabinet over the sink and into the side of the microwave, the screw head was hidden behind a light switch cover!
Thanks to the instructions from Barry & Cindy and the help from Patricia/George & John – we now have our new Sharp R-1871T in place and working!
Here are a few photos. However, other than the one hard-to-find screw we can’t add anything to the instructions Barry & Cindy posted earlier.
