Microwave now ..........

[Crankarm]

....dead. It resides next to the fridge freezer. Given the big strop the fridge freezer has been in recently I wouldn't be surprised if things between them have become a bit heated, as the microwave is the senior appliance and has performed faultlessly in 16 years.

The last couple of evenings I have put stuff in to defrost or cook, it's either remained frozen or if food been semi cooked or of as tonight, it was still raw after 25 mins cooking time on full power. Had to cook on the gas hob.

So my question is once a microwave stops errr..... microwaving, is it only good for the scrap heap?

Two replace both FF and microwave will prove to be very costly .

 

[lazyfatgit]

I would suggest that like bikes, you get a lot more for your money these days. You'll be able to pick up a cheap microwave for less than the cost of a tyre. A bit more gets a bunch of whistles and bells.

 

[Speck]

....dead. It resides next to the fridge freezer. Given the big strop the fridge freezer has been in recently I wouldn't be surprised if things between them have become a bit heated, as the microwave is the senior appliance and has performed faultlessly in 16 years.

The last couple of evenings I have put stuff in to defrost or cook, it's either remained frozen or if food been semi cooked or of as tonight, it was still raw after 25 mins cooking time on full power. Had to cook on the gas hob.

So my question is once a microwave stops errr..... microwaving, is it only good for the scrap heap?

Two replace both FF and microwave will prove to be very costly .

I'd hang on for a week as things normally happen in threes

 

[gavintc]

We are deciding to go microwave free as we use the thing so infrequently. Same with the freezer. I have just bought a large larder fridge to replace the fridge freezer. Buying fresh more frequently is the penalty, but you get better food in return.

 

[beanzontoast]

My father gave us a microwave a couple of years ago - brand new, he just didn't get on with its complexity and went and got a simpler one instead. We already had one. Since then, we tried giving it to both our daughter and son while at Uni, but both already had one in their lodges, so it sat in a cupboard. At the start of the year, I said to Mrs B that we might as well sell it / give it away as it was taking up space, our existing Panasonic had never let us down and showed no signs of doing so.

Later that week, Mrs B called upstairs to the study to say that evening meal would be a bit late as the baked potatoes she had put in the microwave had emerged stone cold after 10 mins happily going round and round. 20 mins later, the 'reserve' microwave had been promoted straight from the bench to the first team, where it still resides. Only problem was, it didn't match the toaster any more - silver microwave, white toaster.

3 days later, toaster stops working. So we go and buy a silver one to match the microwave.

They must know, these kitchen objects, when we're talking about them!

 

[rh100]

our microwave packed up about 3 months ago - not heating things up but all looked ok otherwise. the only thing I've missed is not being able to heat a pasty quickly or something. shan't bother with a new one for a while.

 

[gavintc]

Only problem was, it didn't match the toaster any more - silver microwave, white toaster.

3 days later, toaster stops working. So we go and buy a silver one to match the microwave.

They must know, these kitchen objects, when we're talking about them!

What colour is the fridge ?

 

[Crankarm]

My father gave us a microwave a couple of years ago - brand new, he just didn't get on with its complexity and went and got a simpler one instead. We already had one. Since then, we tried giving it to both our daughter and son while at Uni, but both already had one in their lodges, so it sat in a cupboard. At the start of the year, I said to Mrs B that we might as well sell it / give it away as it was taking up space, our existing Panasonic had never let us down and showed no signs of doing so.

Later that week, Mrs B called upstairs to the study to say that evening meal would be a bit late as the baked potatoes she had put in the microwave had emerged stone cold after 10 mins happily going round and round. 20 mins later, the 'reserve' microwave had been promoted straight from the bench to the first team, where it still resides. Only problem was, it didn't match the toaster any more - silver microwave, white toaster.

3 days later, toaster stops working. So we go and buy a silver one to match the microwave.

They must know, these kitchen objects, when we're talking about them!

They're canny buggers ...............

Here's the naughty corner of appliances. Toaster is not currently naughtie although might move it in case the others have influence on it. It's only a youngster at about 6/7 years old IIRC.

Microwave (SHARP) now confirmed as no longer microwaving. The grill (never used apart from jacket spud programme - automatic and good), clock and timer still works. It just doesn't microwave any more. In the process of waiving goodbye it would seem. It's almost 16 years old so guess I can cut it some slack. It has done well. Still should have lasted longer though.

Freezer (on the right) back up to -4C. It's a bugger ......... and probably the source of the current bad vibe in the kitchen. Don't know why it has suddenly gone off the rails.

 

[Davidc]

Get the microwave checked. Mine some years ago and one where I once worked failed owing to a failed fuse, and both did several years service following replacement of same.

The fridge freezer, if it's more than 3 or 4 years old will be less efficient than a current one, mainly because of less effective insulation, so although a pain in the .... at lest the new one will pay for itself over some extended period.

Don't you know that all appliances, domestic and commercial, are fitted with a critical need detector. They will always fail wen they're needed the most!

 

[Crankarm]

Just spoken with an Electrolux appliance engineer who says if temp drops to 10C or less fridge freezers with single compressors will not work properly. Explained to him the new freezer on it's own is fine. He tells me freezers on their own are fine, but those appliances with fridge and freezer combined with single a compressor can be very temperamental if ambient temp drops near or below 10C. You have to keep the room warm where they are situated. He said even fridge freezers with separate temp regulators one inside fridge and one for freezer also share the same compressor so potentially have the same problem although he wasn't sure as temp for each is electronically controlled.

So brilliant! We have to spend a fortune on heating just so the freezer will stay frozen.

 

[beanzontoast]

What colour is the fridge ?

The fridge freezer is white and has already had its drama...

Soon after we bought it and several times over the next 2 years it went through phases of icing up in the freezer and not keeping the food cold in the fridge (like 10C quite often). Chucked lots of food away and came within an ace of rejecting the thing completely and asking for our money back. Eventually, just as the 2-year guarantee was about to run out, the repair guy (who was excellent) replaced the control board that ran the thing with a redesigned one. Apparently the manufacturer's boffins had finally worked out that the computerised bit was what was causing the problems all along. We also got a new 2-year guarantee as reassurance, and it's been absolutely fine since then.

Does make me wonder how a unit can be sold with such a problem 'built in' though. I thought that was what product testing was for?

 

[lazyfatgit]

We had a super douper frost free number which kept icing up. Telephoned for repair under warranty and the guy came and modified it - he cut about 2 Inches of insulation away from the panel where the fan was and it worked fine thereafter. Apparently it was a known issue.

 

[beanzontoast]

We had a super douper frost free number which kept icing up. Telephoned for repair under warranty and the guy came and modified it - he cut about 2 Inches of insulation away from the panel where the fan was and it worked fine thereafter. Apparently it was a known issue.

I just wonder how many people still have the unit we have and haven't had it sorted? Surely, where there is a 'known issue' like ours and yours the companies should contact all the owners and arrange to fix it - not wait for the customer to complain or claim under guarantee before they do something about it?

 

[lazyfatgit]

Unfortunately I dont think these companies really care about the customer. Its all about the cost of the failures. If only a small percentage are going to fail they just wait and see who complains before the warranty is up. Look at the stuff that sometimes reported on watchdog. Also people seem to change white goods much more often to fit with kitchen decor etc. How many people have a fridge for 17yrs these days? -my mum ditched hers because she wanted a new one in her new flat. Still functioned OK.

 

[beanzontoast]

Unfortunately I dont think these companies really care about the customer. Its all about the cost of the failures. If only a small percentage are going to fail they just wait and see who complains before the warranty is up. Look at the stuff that sometimes reported on watchdog. Also people seem to change white goods much more often to fit with kitchen decor etc. How many people have a fridge for 17yrs these days? -my mum ditched hers because she wanted a new one in her new flat. Still functioned OK.

I agree about the failure cost thing.

Certainly not looking forward to the next time we have to buy one, based on this experience. Think we will go for a model that's been out for a while and that has plenty of feedback on the internet to go by.