My Beautiful Ancient Microwave Oven

andy111

In  1984 I purchased a Panasonic microwave oven for £260/£280, approx. £800 today.
 It was used daily for 30 years with a new magnetron fitted in 1990.
Since 2014 2 new microwaves have come and gone, and I have  now retrieved the old one from storage and now use it daily.

It is a big old beast, weighing in at 53lbs as opposed to 28lbs of the later ones.
The dimensions are obviously larger, every component is substantial, it is very solid and quieter than the later ones, and consumes identical power according to my IHD. With its ventilation fans it produces zero water inside, the downfall of my later ones.

I  fully expect it to serenely waft along like a classic old Rolls Royce for another 40 years, unlike myself.

Gerry1

Get it checked for leakage !

wild666

My first microwave was a Toshiba and was bought in 1983, it cost £310, it finally gave up in August 2014 after 31 years of service. Now a microwave will not last as long before it breaks as they are built in their masses with little checking on reliability. I tried to live without one for a few months but bit the bullet and bought a Panasonic 1000W microwave in November 2014 and it's still going strong today nearly 9 years later.

victor2

Our Sharp microwave lasted 25 years before finally giving up. But as @Gerry1 says, get it checked - it might be microwaving more than you want.

Swipe

wild666 said:

My first microwave was a Toshiba and was bought in 1983, it cost £310, it finally gave up in August 2014 after 31 years of service. Now a microwave will not last as long before it breaks as they are built in their masses with little checking on reliability. I tried to live without one for a few months but bit the bullet and bought a Panasonic 1000W microwave in November 2014 and it's still going strong today nearly 9 years later.

I'm ok if they only last 10 years when they cost just £30 or £40

jimjames

Swipe said:

wild666 said:

My first microwave was a Toshiba and was bought in 1983, it cost £310, it finally gave up in August 2014 after 31 years of service. Now a microwave will not last as long before it breaks as they are built in their masses with little checking on reliability. I tried to live without one for a few months but bit the bullet and bought a Panasonic 1000W microwave in November 2014 and it's still going strong today nearly 9 years later.

I'm ok if they only last 10 years when they cost just £30 or £40

Lucky that comment isn't on the Green Moneysaving board

jrawle

andy111 said:

In  1984 I purchased a Panasonic microwave oven for £260/£280, approx. £800 today.
 It was used daily for 30 years with a new magnetron fitted in 1990.
Since 2014 2 new microwaves have come and gone, and I have  now retrieved the old one from storage and now use it daily.

If you spent £800 on one today, it might be better built and last longer!

EssexHebridean

jimjames said:

Swipe said:

wild666 said:

My first microwave was a Toshiba and was bought in 1983, it cost £310, it finally gave up in August 2014 after 31 years of service. Now a microwave will not last as long before it breaks as they are built in their masses with little checking on reliability. I tried to live without one for a few months but bit the bullet and bought a Panasonic 1000W microwave in November 2014 and it's still going strong today nearly 9 years later.

I'm ok if they only last 10 years when they cost just £30 or £40

Lucky that comment isn't on the Green Moneysaving board

In the Western Isles, the standard use for a microwave no longer functioning as it should is to mount it onto a sturdy post and turn it into a mailbox.  Although the best repurposing of that type I've seen is the chap who lives along the road from somewhere we used to stay regularly, who is frequently away from home and gets lots of parcels - he has an old dishwasher by the top of his drive with a clearly worded note "Parcels" on it - we've seen the Royal Mail man use it, too! 

andy111

Gerry1 said:

Get it checked for leakage !

Good point.

andy111

  jrawle said:

andy111 said:

In  1984 I purchased a Panasonic microwave oven for £260/£280, approx. £800 today.
 It was used daily for 30 years with a new magnetron fitted in 1990.
Since 2014 2 new microwaves have come and gone, and I have  now retrieved the old one from storage and now use it daily.

If you spent £800 on one today, it might be better built and last longer!

    There are some very decent looking ones at the £60 mark. General opinion states average life at seven years, so for £800 14 could be purchased to neatly  last a century.

magickmagpie

My first microwave was a Zanussi I bought in a sale in 1984 for around 170 quid. It lasted for 25 years and 2 house moves before finally giving up the ghost. It was large (very useful as big pyrex dishes fitted inside) and came with an internal (removable) shelf to make it easier to do more than one thing at a time. Since then I don't think I've had one that lasted for more than 5 years - and it's seemingly irrelevant whether I pay 35 quid or nearly 100 quid for them, the expensive ones don't last any longer than the cheap ones. None of the modern ones are as large as that first one (consequently the large pyrex dish won't fit inside) and none have shelves! It's all very well to have cheap microwaves, but not very environmentally friendly if they don't last very long. I find electric kettles similar. The old ones lasted for years and you could get replacement parts (elements, switches etc) - the modern ones do well if they last a couple of years before they start leaking!!!