<VV> Heating Grease with a Microwave

[JVHRoberts@aol.com]

Never tried it, but microwave ovens will heat things other than water 
containing materials. Put a melamine plate in there and watch it char!

I would guess than any of the lithium soap based greases will warm up just 
fine, since the soap is a fairly polar molecule, and will oscillate in a 
microwave field. 
If you want to protect the microwave, stick a cup of water in there with the 
grease. That way, if the grease doesn't absorb any energy, the cup of water 
will. 


In a message dated 5/20/2004 10:26:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
pottsf@msn.com writes:
Page 40 of Corvair Basics contains the suggestion to heat steering-gear
lubricant (while mixing it) in a microwave oven.
     It was my understanding that microwaves were tuned to heat WATER (an
ingredient of most foods), and would not heat something molecularly
different from water, like chassis grease and/or differential lube. Not only
would the grease not heat, but the oven would be running "unloaded" if
otherwise empty, and would be subject to burnout after a few minutes.
     Can anyone report actually having heated these lubricants in a
microwave, without burning the oven out?