The old Sharp micro is shuffling off its mortal coil.Any suggestions for a replacement ? Bog standard digital display no grill or infra red capability required. Don't say Miele ! A biking buddy works for Sharp and Miele are re-badged Sharps (the built in ones are still made in the UK)
This Sharp was a top flight one in 2004 - it hasn't worn well with an iffy finish, difficult to clean inside and out and now the display has failed on it.
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Having hacked into the Which site looks like Panasonic NNT545W1 FBPQ was one of their Best Buys....does the W1 on the end mean you've only got one ?
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I can only report on Panasonic as a Manufacturer. No major problems in 5 years. I should add that, having bought it from the chain named after Indian food, the internal light packed up. I took it back for a fix and they said "Too Difficult" and gave me a new one and a £50 rebate as the price had gone down since I had bought it! Well pleased! Are you sure you don't need the convection facilty? I find it useful and it doesn't add much to the price. What does the LHG say?
This link will get you a keen price via Quidco
www.hotukdeals.com/deals/panasonic-27-litre-microwave-nnt545w1-53766
Last edited by: Meldrew on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 11:41
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Another recommendation for Panasonic here. Mine's been faultless.
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My dad is still on his original Sharp microwave he got in 1981.
I will get you the model number......
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Something to be said for an own-label basic one from Argos or one of the supermarkets.
No display to break or reset after a power cut.
A twist knob is more intuitive for timing - think a clock face over digital - and faster to use.
In the one I have in the caravan you can leave the door ajar without the light coming on - handy if some steam has built up in the cavity during cooking.
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We bought a cheapy from Lidl's, most of their stuff seems to last quit well.
It gave up the ghost quite spectacularly popping and banging much like Clarksons chat show experiments, won't be doing that again.
Like Iffy, i'm much happier with an analogue dial and clear simple labelling, that goes for everything, Dualit should make them.
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More Panasonic from me, we have an inverter model, it works.
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We noticed that many microwaves live up to their name MICRO.
Many are very small so we took one of our regular dinner plates to showrroms to ensure it did fit on the turntable.
We bought a microwave / grill from Tesco but with no plans to use the grill.
The downside is that if the grill is selected in error a minor panic sets in re the burning smell. :-(
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We bought a microwave and an little fan assisted oven/grill from LIDL in Spain.
The cost was less than 100€ for both and they are still working OK.
The oven lives in our shed, along with a cheap deep fat fryer, so that intensive grilling - think cauliflower cheese bubbling nicely - and frying, keeps the stench out of the house!
Last edited by: Roger on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 13:06
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...The oven lives in our shed, along with a cheap deep fat fryer...
And it's easier for the fire brigade to stop the blaze from spreading to your house.
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The deep-fat fryer is a recent purchase after nearly 10 years without one!
Used it t'other night for REAL chips - delish - but the shed, even with the door open whilst cooking them, smelt awful for a couple of days.
Completely vindicated our decision not to use it in the house. Phew!
Last edited by: Roger on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 13:26
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The oven lives in our shed, along with a cheap deep fat fryer, so that intensive grilling - think cauliflower cheese bubbling nicely - and frying, keeps the stench out of the house!
You paint a delightful picture of sophisticated up-market dining. Have you thought about entering Masterchef ?
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>> You paint a delightful picture of sophisticated up-market dining. Have you thought about entering Masterchef
>> ?
Funnily enough, I did think (in my salad days) of becoming a chef!
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Funnily enough, I did think (in my salad days) of becoming a chef!
Perhaps you made the right decision! Mind you the outfit that sells buckets of deep fried chicken makes a fortune. You might have had a chain of cauliflower cheese drive-ins by now.
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>> You might have had a chain of cauliflower cheese drive-ins
>> by now.
That's a thought!
Cauliflower cheese is a very economical dish though. 59p for the cauli, 25p for half a litre of UHT skimmed milk, 75p for 125gm of LIDL grated cheese, a copper or two for the marge and plain flour, and you have a cracking meal for two hearty eaters for not a lot.
Nursery food - I love it!
I also make our curries from scratch using my own ground spices and cook our Chinese food, as well as doing a good deal of day to day cooking.
SWMBO does the home made bread, cakes and fancy stuff as "ordinary" cooking is, to her - a trained Home Economist and former Gas Board Home Service Advisor/Cookery Demonstrator - a chore.
Last edited by: Roger on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 22:40
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I cook most of my swill from scratch.... and very nourishing it is too.... but i draw the line at cauliflower . i would rather eat my own hair
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Our Sanyo is still going strong after more than ten years. tinyurl.com/d2ogzgy
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Another vote for Panasonic here - the pana crunch setting works well with baked spuds
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Which? says for basic microwaves:-
Whirlpool Max35/B £106
Kenwood K20MSS10 £103
Swan SM2090W £50
Panasonic NN-SD271S £120
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Our current 5 months old Panasonic replaced a Kenwood that was taken to the tip after only two and a half years.
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Going against the Panasonic trend, I can really recommend a Breville. Not sure what model it is, but it was a Which best buy a year or so ago. It was exclusive to Argos, and less than £70. Does everything I want from a microwave, and is particularly good a defrosting.
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Thumbs down for Sharp. First model ended up with button and display faults. It's replacement ended up with display faults. Still usable to a point, but then the display eventually becomes totally unreadable.
Gone for a Panasonic now. Although a lot lighter and flimsier than the Sharp, the overall quality of it seems a lot better. Got it cheaper in the sales at the start of Jan. And thanks to a phone App called Idealo, Curry's had to price match it with the identical model I found cheaper in Argos.
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Mircrowaves are almost disposable devices these days.
Any one that is big enough and cheap enough.
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my moulinex quickshef brownie has been working for over 20 years now, its not one of those new fangled digital ones , proper dials
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Prefer digital dials for accurate timings, especially sub 1 minutes
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>>First model ended up with button and display faults
Had that problem with a Panasonic, then realised SWMBO was cleaning the panel with a wet cloth. It finally died (as a result, I suspect). It was a great model, Genius range, cost a fortune back in the '70s, IIRC.
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The GF bought one of those multi ovens, grill, microwave, convection , terrible idea the convection oven dries everything out. the grill tends to turn toast into stiff cardboard
wouldnt reccomend one
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I bought a multi - microwave, grill, convection oven, kitchen sink things
Only the microwave bit has ever been used.
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Our Panasonic has all those features. Don't need the grill because we have two better ones and a good toaster (as some will remember };---) ); the microwave is strictly for frozen peas and warming the teapot, but the oven is a respectable alternative to firing up the Lacanche for something small, or when we want to time something for when we get in. (Fancy French cooker has three ovens but no timer.)
Best feature, though, is the Jacket Potato program, which produces a result miles better than the paper bag-effect microwaved potato in about 20 minutes for four. It's worth its space on the counter for that trick alone.
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>> I bought a multi - microwave, grill, convection oven, kitchen sink things
>> Only the microwave bit has ever been used.
Likewise, the two previous Sharps we had.
Er, the Panasonic is all singing and dancing too. But at only £20 more than a standard microwave it was foolish not to buy it. You never know when your main over will go wrong and want a back up.
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>> The GF bought one of those multi ovens, grill, microwave, convection , terrible idea the
>> convection oven dries everything out. the grill tends to turn toast into stiff cardboard
>> wouldnt reccomend one
>>
Should have got a Panny one, ours works well in all modes. :-)
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Only the microwave bit has ever been used
As I said in the OP - the one we've got is an all singing and dancing one, only ever tap-danced
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>> Only the microwave bit has ever been used
We have a Sharp that is all singing all dancing, 12 years old and the grill function has only ever been used in the first month for novelty and once about 2 years ago by accident and it stunk.
For the little use it gets if it ever packs up I will replace it with a cheapo supermarket one.
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When microwave ovens first came out they were hailed as some sort of miracle device which would transform cooking. Hardly ever use ours - last minute heating of plates is probably the main use. If we ever needed to replace would simply buy the cheapest from John Lewis.
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Our Panasonic Genius is now 16 years old .. or more. Brilliant.
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>>Hardly ever use ours - last minute heating of plates is probably the main use.
>>
We use these in the microwave to heat plates. Heats the middle but not the rim.
Heat a stack in seconds
www.lakeland.co.uk/13008/Microwave-Plate-Warmers
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Just sprinkle each plate with water. Does the job.
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When we lived in Hastings back in 87 - 92, I (and MFI) converted an upstairs bedroom into a kitchen and sold orf half the house to my brother.
We only had a ceramic hob plus a top-notch Panasonic combination microwave oven which I (as in me) used to cook meat chicken etc. in about 20 min IIRC.
Even the baked tats in jacks were cooked in no time = part convection and part microwave.
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>> Just sprinkle each plate with water. Does the job.
>>
You ought to tell that tip to the managers of Vintage Inns and other eateries that serve hot food on cold plates. It's a béte noire of mine.
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"You ought to tell that tip to the managers of Vintage Inns "
I wouldn't dare! - Send your own feedback!
www.guestfeedback.co.uk/nationalsearch/vintageinns/
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>> "You ought to tell that tip to the managers of Vintage Inns "
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>> I wouldn't dare! - Send your own feedback!
>>
>> www.guestfeedback.co.uk/nationalsearch/vintageinns/
>>
Been there, done that and had free offers. However it doesn't change company policy. However there are many establishments guilty of this silly practice.
Ironically, a very basic, friendly pub I go to often, serve all their hot food on plates that are delivered to you, held with cloths as they are too hot to hold with bare hands!
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>> Just sprinkle each plate with water. Does the job.
>>
I am trying to save water :-)
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>> I am trying to save water :-)
Spit on them then. Just like they do in certain restaurants to remove stubborn stains ;)
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>>Spit on them then. Just like they do in certain restaurants to remove stubborn stains<<
You'd have to be down and out in Paris and London to do that.
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Microwave ovens are excellent for cooking certain vegetables i.e. Peas, Carrots, Brocolli, Cauliflower and Asparagus to name a few, providing you have the right cooking utensils. Certainly wouldn't boil these in a saucepan on a stove.
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Finally got round to it today - ended up with a Panasonic NN-ST479SBPQ microwave (no extra features) Which's Best Buy....Amazon were the cheapest - by far. Ordered just before 5 and despatched at 8.17pm
Last edited by: R.P. on Mon 23 Jul 12 at 20:32
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>>ended up with a Panasonic NN-ST479SBPQ microwave (no extra features) >>
A Panasonic. Probably the best microwave, TV, landline phone etc you can buy...:-)))
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>> Microwave ovens are excellent for cooking certain vegetables i.e. Peas, Carrots, Brocolli, Cauliflower and Asparagus
>> to name a few, providing you have the right cooking utensils.
I tend to place the veggies in a bowl with just enough water to cover the bottom of the bowl, then cover with cling-film. A couple of minutes and they're perfect. Watch for steam burns when removing the cling-film though. :)
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Which Microwave... - Dog
