I think the magnetron is failing. Its only heating cups of water etc intermittently and its making a buzzing sound periodically when operating. Everything else, i.e. the convection and grill functions, turntable, light, switches and LCD display seem OK.

 

Its got a stainless steel cooking compartment and is in good condition for 6 years old. Seems a shame to bin the whole unit, so I am going to try to repair it.

 

There seems to be a ready supply of suitable Panasonic labelled magnetrons on E-Bay @ £40.

 

I've read that sometimes the magnetron and the inverter  (£30) need replacing. How do you tell, or is it just best to replace both on a preacutionary basis ? Also, would it be wise to replace the mains filter/choke unit ? And are the replacements as long-lived ?

 

Also, anyone know whether the magnetron's advertised on E-Bay are genuine bedouin ?

 

- the cost of doing all of that would be @ £100, still cheaper than a minimum of £150-250 for an equivalent new unit.

 

Edit

 

Shoud have said that occasionally, when the thing stops cooking mid-cycle, it displays "H97", which i understand is the error code for a failed magnetron.

 

Cheers.

 

 

Nick

Edited 8 January, 20179 yr by Clunkclick

We had one of them. It did the same thing, but then went bang rather spectacularly.

Didn't try repairing it.

Apparently, according to the advertising blurb, we're now in the third generation of inverter based microwave's. Whether that means buying a new one is to be preferred to repairing an existing model, who knows ?

 

The marketeers have yet to convince me that that the trend of decline in the durability and quality of electronic  products has been halted or reversed.

 

All I know, is that imprime "PRC" under country of manufacture, over the last 10 years, leads some, perhaps unfairly, to give an alternative expansion of the term PRC, involving a fish.

 

N

Edited 8 January, 20179 yr by Clunkclick

Apparently, according to the advertising blurb, we're now in the third generation of inverter based microwave's. Whether that means buying a new one is to be preferred to repairing an existing model, who knows ?

The marketeers have yet to convince me that that the trend of decline in the durability and quality of electronic products has been halted or reversed.

All I know, is that imprime "PRC" under country of manufacture, over the last 10 years, leads some, perhaps unfairly, to give an alternative expansion of the term PRC, involving a fish.

N

I think that probably means they have made differently so they won't fit in older machines...

The reviews for the one I have aren't good... though maybe people only post when things are bad.

http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/home-appliances/microwaves/combination-microwaves/nn-ct555wbpq.reviews.html

As with so many of them, Panasonic ain't what they used to be, with regard to product quality/durability and customer service.

 

The only thing any of 'em do well nowadays is extract the money.

 

Nick