Zanussi sh!tshow

[Adsibob]

So we have been living in our newly renovated, partly newly built, house for almost 8 months and are starting to relax into it and all its benefits. There is still a lot to be done, but it feels more finished than unfinished, which is good.

 

One disappointment however is the set of zanussi integrated cooking appliances. We have three: an oven, a combination oven/microwave and a warming drawer.

 

The microwave is ridiculous. Unlike most microwaves that have a quick start button that gets the thing going for 20 or 30 seconds, and can then be incrementally increased by 30 sec, all with the same button, this one has a default duration of 4 minutes (and even that requires turning a knob two clicks and pressing a button) which needs to be manually changed each time to the required time. It also heats unevenly, probably on account of the lack of turntable. 
 

The oven cooks unevenly and takes ages to preheat. By ages, I mean about 15min to get to 160C and almost 20min to get to 200C. That may sound like I’m being impatient but our last oven, a basic (but quite new) model Bosch could preheat to 200C in 8 minutes.

 

The warming drawer doesn’t really heat plates unless it is on the maximum setting (one setting higher than the actual “plate heating” setting). It’s not really a big problem, but just adds to the picture of general crappiness.

 

I reckon the three appliances came to about £1200 in total. Although we’ve only used them since moving in in May, the oven and warming drawer were delivered in November 2021 and the microwave in Jan 2022. They all came with at least 1 year warranty. I didn’t register with the manufacturer within the required 28 days, so it’s possible I don’t even qualify for the longer warranty anyway. That probably means only the microwave is technically still within warranty (and only for another 3 weeks). 
 

My question is though, are these issues likely to be covered by the warranty? The language in the warranty talks about “faults”. But these don’t seem like faults in that sense. These just seem like it’s crap.
 

 

[ProDave]

I too was disappointed with the offerings for built in microwaves.  We also settled for a combination oven and bemoan the lack of a turntable (a cheaper brand than yours) and we found in our case things heat better if much nearer the back of the oven.

 

The choice the consumer has is get a combination oven that properly matches the main oven in styling but has the compromises and is a poor microwave, or get a proper microwave that so obviously is a free standing microwave with a front plate stuck on that tries to make it look ever so slightly like the normal oven but fails miserably and still looks like a free standing microwave with an extra bit stuck around it to fill the hole.

[Kelvin]

They aren’t warranty issues.

 

Integrated combination micro-wave ovens seem a poor compromise going by my research so we aren’t fitting one. Instead we’ll have a free standing one in the utility room. 

[Adsibob]

43 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

They aren’t warranty issues.

 

Integrated combination micro-wave ovens seem a poor compromise going by my research so we aren’t fitting one. Instead we’ll have a free standing one in the utility room. 

We should have done this. Our utility room door is literally NEXT TO the tower of integrated appliances.

[johnhenstock83]

unfortunately anything that's not miele, bosch or siemens will be of average quality, at best. sounds like the only option is to have these appliances replaced. good ones don't need to cost a fortune, though I can imagine you'd rather spend that money on something else.

[joe90]

Well I had a zanussi washing machine for about 20 years and it was second hand then, never went wrong. Luck perhaps.

[SteamyTea]

Oh.

Don't think I mentioned zanussi when you were first discussing this.

We left my Mother's Bosch built in ovens and microwaves when we sold the house.

 

I am still happy with my Russel Hobbs induction hob and my Panasonic combination oven (which has got quieter over the years).

[Adsibob]

In our previous place we had zannussi oven, washing machine and dryer. All worked fine. Hence considered and stuck with them for these purchases. They were competitively priced for the regular oven and warning drawer, and okay priced for the combi oven microwave, but Ghosh how I wish we had bought something else. The microwave controls are simply infuriating, and after living in a rental place that has an entry level Bosch oven which pre-heated in a fraction of the time our zanussi one does, I wish we had just gone with Bosch.

Stupidly, the reason we avoided Bosch on this occasion was that couldn’t find an affordable range that was all black, and for aesthetic reasons we wanted that.

[Kelvin]

Siemens, Bosch, Neff and Gaggenau are all part of BSH (Bosch and Siemens house appliances) Miele has a single brand I think. Zanussi is part of the Swedish brand Electrolux which also owns AEG. Our ovens are AEG, the hob is Neff and everything else Siemens. Modern appliances tend to be reliable no matter the brand. 

[twice round the block]

I purchased a Zanussi dishwasher and the so called stainless steel drum corroded through within 6 months and flooded the kitchen. 

[Bramco]

On 21/08/2023 at 16:13, Adsibob said:

couldn’t find an affordable range that was all black

 

IKEA - we had the same problem, wanting all black. The IKEA  ones are all black except for the control knob. Very pleased with them - they are actually Electrolux, so the parent company of Zanussi. I'm guessing that internally they are all the same and it's only the external appearance which is tailored to the different brands.

 

Simon

[Adsibob]

2 hours ago, Bramco said:

 

IKEA - we had the same problem, wanting all black. The IKEA  ones are all black except for the control knob. Very pleased with them - they are actually Electrolux, so the parent company of Zanussi. I'm guessing that internally they are all the same and it's only the external appearance which is tailored to the different brands.

 

Simon

What is the sequence of steps you need to take to microwave something on, say, 800W for 15 seconds?

[SteamyTea]

32 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

What is the sequence of steps you need to take to microwave something on, say, 800W for 15 seconds?

Mine is open door, remove grill, place food inside, shut door, press 'Microwave' button, twiddle dial to set time, press dial to start cooking.

There may be an eight step if the microwave tray is no inside.

More than one thinks really.

The ones at work are:

Open Door, insert food, press preset button once, so 3 steps.

Commercial microwaves are brilliant and easy to keep clean.

[S2D2]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

What is the sequence of steps you need to take to microwave something on, say, 800W for 15 seconds?

It drives me mad when microwaves make this sort of thing difficult. AEG for reference, though not all black:

 

1000W, 30 seconds: Hit OK button once. Each press increases time by 30s. User experience gold medal.

 

800W 20 seconds (can't actually do 15): Hit microwave button 3 times (wake at 1000, 900, 800), hit timer button, hit increase button twice (10s, 20s), hit OK

 

I never use the timer button, just set the power then hammer okay for 30s intervals. Anything less than 30s I just open the door. Timer button is just too many extra taps, especially with the major design fail that tapping the timer button starts you off at 0s. This is useful to nobody, and hilariously turns the microwave off if you click okay at this point in the workflow.

[Adsibob]

@S2D2 I’m jealous. The controls on the zanussi are just so stupid. First you select the microwave function, then you select the microwave power with a dial, then you press another button so that the same dial will adjust a timer, then you turn that dial to choose your time, then you press start. Five steps when most microwaves just have a single button which will give you a quick start and go up in sensible increments.

 

Oh, and there is no turntable.

[dpmiller]

am I the only person that downloads and reads manuals while doing due diligence prior to purchase?

[JohnMo]

17 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

am I the only person that downloads and reads manuals while doing due diligence prior to purchase?

Nope, I do it all the time also.

[SteamyTea]

34 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Oh, and there is no turntable

Not needed in modern microwaves, the 'wave stirrer' is either hidden, or it is done electronically.

You can get ovens now that sense what is on the plate and power the waves to get a perfect supper.

 

Then there is this from 30 years ago.

 

Smart microwave is a touch easier

22 October 1994

 

A MICROWAVE oven that uses a neural network to decide when reheated food or

drink is ready will go on sale in Britain next year. It works by detecting the

humidity of the air inside the oven, and deducing from that how “done” the

contents are.

 

The user only has to press a button to indicate whether the contents are

solid or liquid. As the food heats up, the oven continually decides what power

level to use and when to stop.

 

The oven is the result of three years’ research at the European

laboratories of the Japanese electronics company Sharp and the University of

Oxford’s department of engineering science.

 

The aim was to build a “one-touch” system that would cook foods according

to their type. But according to Toshio Nomura, research manager at Sharp, the

researchers soon realised that there are too many variables. “There are thin

soups, thick lumpy soups, thin meats, vegetables,” he says. “There were just

too many types.”

[Iceverge]

11 hours ago, S2D2 said:

difficult. AEG for reference, though not all black:

 

1000W, 30 seconds: Hit OK button once. Each press increases time by 30s. User experience gold medal.

 

We have the all black version from Electrolux the sister brand. That +30 second button is all I ever use. It's excellent. 

 

It has a touch button for the door too. So simple our 2 year old has managed to master warming her milk. 

 

 

 

 

[Kelvin]

8 hours ago, dpmiller said:

am I the only person that downloads and reads manuals while doing due diligence prior to purchase?

I do too but I’ve never owned a microwave.

[Adsibob]

9 hours ago, dpmiller said:

am I the only person that downloads and reads manuals while doing due diligence prior to purchase?

Yeah, I should have done this. I just assumed all microwaves would have a quick start button. The three I’ve used in the 25 years prior to this one all did.

oh well.