Panasonic Microwave bites the dust

[sudsmaster]

The other day I was trying to reheat some leftovers and suddenly the Panasonic Genius Prestige microwave stopped working. The keypad works normally, and the interior light goes on when start is pressed, but the turntable won't turn and there's no microwave action.

 

The shocker, for me, is that this thing is only about seven years old. Doing some research, the scuttle seems to be that modern microwaves last 5-10 years.

 

It's a shame, because this was a nice unit. Raised buttons, stainless front, and all the bells and whistles: sensor cooking, beverage reheat, keep warm, etc etc etc.

 

So tonight I stopped by Costco and picked up the only microwave they are currently stocking in store: a lower end Panasonic without the sensor cooking or other bells and whistles. It's a 1.2 cu ft 1200 watt inverter unit, and only $99, so I figure it will do for the next seven years, lol.

 

I wondered if I could take the control panel for the Prestige unit and put it on the new one... but... probably not a good idea and dangerous as well.

 

Meanwhile the even older Kenmore microwave still works fine. I don't use it as much as the Panasonic, but it does an excellent job on popcorn, and seems to cook more evenly than the Panasonic ever did. It will be interesting to see if the newer Panasonic cooks more evenly.

 

RIP Genius Prestige!

 

 

[dartman]

If you feel safe opening it up it might have a few old school fuses on the circuit boards that control the dead functions.
Also my old Emerson I garage saled years ago stopped working on the microwave functions and it turned out a circuit solder joint on the board had cracked open, I resoldered it and the oven has worked as before for quite a few years since.
A few things to check for free that may resurrect it for many more years of service if you're lucky.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

My Magic Chef microwave from 1985 still works. It actually has a door that opens down like an oven door. Made in USA thats why its still kicking LOL

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, I'll put opening up the defunct Panasonic microwave on the bucket list.

 

Meanwhile, today I installed the new one in the busted one's place. Ran a noodle bowl in it. Performed much the same as the older one, maybe a little less power.

 

Also used the turbo defrost to reheat a frozen pizza slice. It did great on that, as I remember the old one doing. The Kenmore's defrost function doesn't seem as uniform as the Panasonic.

 

[sudsmaster]

More good news.

 

I thought the Kenmore did best on popcorn, because the Genius Prestige Panasonic did so poorly with it.

 

But this afternoon I ran the same size popcorn pack I've been running for years, in the new Panasonic, and it came out damn near perfect. I adjusted the setting down from 3.5 oz to 3.0 oz (the bag is 3.3 oz) and I loved the result. Very few unpopped kernels and none of that bitter acrid overcooked popcorn taste or odor.

 

I'm not really missing the lack of sensor cooking either. Microwave sensors are fairly unpredictable and dependent on having consisten room temps/humidity as well as food containers and covers. It's much more predictable just to specify a serving size and power level, IMHO.

 

[sudsmaster]

Almost forgot: I also have a small Magic Chef 950 watt microwave I keep in the enclosed patio. Had it for at least seven years also. I hardly ever use it, but today I looked at it and realized it has sensor cooking. So I tried it out on a Marie Callender "Herb Roasted Chicken" frozen entree. The results were OK, with the chicken cooked well enough, but the center of the mashed potatoes was still a bit on the cool side. Probably because I didn't bother to halt the cooking halfway, peel back the plastic film, and stir the potatoes as the directions say. And that's the problem with sensor cooking. You just can't halt it and do stuff like that, because it would throw off the sensor.

 

Also saw an all-stainless Danby (inside and out) 1,000 unit 1.1 cu ft unit at Costco Business Center the other day. Of course, no sensor on that either, but I sort of liked the idiot buttons with various common settings. Sometimes one doesn't want to think much... And of course the gleaming stainless interior. This Danby microwave line seems to get generally good reviews, as well.