What's a "Microwave"?

I say this with only a little bit of a jest.

Speaking to a few residents who have been here at this camp for longer than I have, they explained that we who may be passing through once had access to microwaves in the dorm wings.
However, the microwaves were being replaced almost daily for some reason.

I theorize there were a few possible reasons:

Residents like making "bricks"

There's a prison food item called a brick, where people take a bag of potato chips (most of our bags are foil lined -- remember this!), a ramen noodle soup, a mini sausage or a pack of fish, and anything else they want to cram into it, and cook these together. These tend to be then rolled together in that chip bag, packed tightly to form a dry, brick-like structure.
I suspect someone stuck one of these in the microwave, foil bag and all, then wonder why it exploded in a shower of sparks!

96 men, 1 cup

You have one microwave, ninety-six possible people... The unit basically overheated and sagged, unable to cook things after a while. It's just begging to stop. Repeat this in every non-confinement wing, and of course, you're going to go through a lot of consumer grade microwave ovens.
Maybe commercial grade equipment would stand up better to that kind of use -- after all, 7-Eleven and Circle K don't replace microwaves on a daily basis, and they see more Hot Pockets than a toilet seat sees butts!

What do you mean, there's no bloody kettle?

Sometimes, all a guy wants is hot water. Maybe he's making coffee. Maybe he wants to soak a washcloth in water as hot as he can stand it to put on a strained muscle. Maybe he doesn't believe in eating food that's been microwaved, and needs the hot water to transfer heat to something else. Who knows? A person has wants and reasons to have hot water.
Right now, we make do with a hot water tap that is, frankly, not very hot -- it's how we make our tepid instant ramen and other foods. But people got used to the microwave and being able to get actually boiling hot water: they learned they couldn't microwave the pouches the lasagna or beef stew came in, but in the interest of not staining the hell out of their plastic bowl, they heated up water to soak the pouch... taking us back to 96 men, 1 cup.

Contraband Search reason #4,284,903

With no microwave, folks get creative in solutions to heat up water. If there's a power outlet, people will find a way to build a device called a stinger. I don't know much about them, honestly, other than it's comprised of wires that people bodge together carefully, then stick one end into a bowl or bucket of water. The other end is then jammed into the outlet, creating a short of some kind in the water. Water will boil this way, definitely.
Problem is, that stinger is contraband. Possession means trouble, and trouble can cost you your Gain Time if the officer who finds it in your possession decides to write a disciplinary against you. While this negatively impacts only one of three groups of prisoners at its fullest -- Those who have EOS dates and earn Gain Time -- it does have some effect on Lifers and Mandatory Timers in the form of blocking Good Adjustment and Incentive Camp transfers.

Bring back the microwaves, or something similar.

Despite the troubles, if a class on how to use a microwave were taught, and if a commercial grade microwave were used in the place of the tiny 500 watt consumer grade units, I suspect this would ameliorate part of the issue. Knowing how to use one and what doesn't go in one is half the battle, after all.

Another option would be access to a countertop convection oven.
Yes, they take longer than a microwave to heat things up, but the foil issue goes away. Again, a class teaching how to use one would be welcome -- imagine how much it would do for people who are going home soon, and have never used one to learn how much they can cook with a convection oven.
... also, frankly, we could make toast in the convection oven with all the damn bread the diabetics get served. :')