Attention Seeking Microwave (Panasonic NN-E255W)

Member Name: JohnCleese

Product:	Panasonic NN-E255W
Date:	06/02/09 (690 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: simple to use and clean, cheap, small

Disadvantages: slightly noisier alarm

There are quite a few appliances I want to review these days and I expect them all to start with the sentence: 'I have bought a new one because my old one died silently while on duty...'

The first one sent to the recycling site is microwave which lasted longer then expected as it was very simple and small one with no famous brand name on the front and with only two simple mechanical controls. Well, one of them decided to give up the hard work and made itself voluntarily redundant.

Our search for new one coincided with the pre Christmas period but we managed to get a new product quickly thanks to Amazon and their special delivery.

Our demands to Santa were that our new microwave should be:
- small as we only use it for reheating (milk, soups) and have limited space on the kitchen top
- simple for use as we don't need to make anything sophisticated (or soft-isticated)
- slightly stronger build than the previous one

I was surprised that there are not so many small microwaves (20 l) on the market. Among 3-4 models our choice was Panasonic NN-E255W.

We are now proud owners of small, simple, does-what-it-says-on-the-box microwave. There are few unnecessary buttons for our liking but overall control panel is simple and clear. That makes it very easy to use. It is not particularly silent when works but nothing unusual or noisy. The only small problem is the signal that it had finished. There are 5 high pitched sounds which you cannot stop unless you are next to the oven and press Cancel. That is a bit over the top alarm - like a baby which needs attention. Although I have to say that my boys (1 1/2 and 5) love that sound and run in anticipation of the hot milk.

Another small gripe would be an internal light. It stays on if the door is open and becomes hot after few minutes. So better keep door closed once dish is taken from the oven.

It has five power levels including defrosting and 6 preset programmes. It has digital display which shows time when not used for cooking. The power is 800W and dimensions are (WDH) mm - 455x315x260. It is easy to clean inside or take turning plate out and wash it (but pretend you didn't notice it is dirty and leave it to your OH to notice first, same advice applies for nappy changing - advice taken from my best seller "1001 great advices for avoiding chores and ruining your relationship"). The price is around £50 mark. Ours is white acrylic colour and I think it is the only colour they make it but don't be put off by that. You can paint it or put stickers on it if you think it is a clever and nice thing to do. Or you can switch it off turn upside down and use as a flower pot. But I can assure you it is best used as a simple microwave oven. It does exactly what it says on its control panel and announces that job is done quite loudly.

I would recommend for not so adventurous cooks/users of microwaves.

...and now for something completely different...
http://www.gift-ideas.org.uk/

Summary: Almost exactly what I want from a microwave oven

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