probably nobody will care, but I’m sad at the passing of my microwave. It was born in July of 1983, and died march 24th, 2026. I had bought it used in 1992 and it faithfully served me and my family for many years until today, when the keypad decided to partially quit working. Rest in peace Zappy, you will be missed.
I’m looking for a new keypad but unsurprisingly the parts for this ancient thing are no longer in stock so I doubt I’ll be able to resurrect it without some sort of miracle. I know it’s just an appliance but it still makes me sad to see it go.
that’s like, 10 confederacies. you should put up a statue dedicated to your microwave
Except this thing was actually useful and did some good for all those years lol!
There’s probably a ribbon cable from the membrane. You could try buzzing out the keys and making one or adapting an ordered standard part
unless the magnetron died, it’s not dead.
It seems to be the membrane switch (keypad). Still a perfectly good microwave if I can end up finding the right parts. I’m going to try and fix the membrane and see what happens from there, maybe I’ll get lucky and be able to salvage it.
The membrane buttons on my also Panasonic bread machine are dying after ten years. No more up, but at least it will cycle around through menus, so down button will suffice. I feel your pain and fear that soon too I will be in the same situation.
If you are able to fix the membrane switches please share!
I will be sure to update when I can. I’m hoping I’ll have time this weekend to mess with it but I still have to install hand rails for my neighbor and some other stuff, so we’ll see.
I’ve decided either way I’m not going to get rid of this thing just yet, even if I have to pick up another microwave in the meantime while I try to get it running again.
Really glad to hear that, invested at this point. Often just a good clean/little graphite will sort those membrane keys out, it’s just a graphite pad on a little rubber dome that bridges contacts on a pcb when you push it down
e: even if it’s goofy and hard to get apart, just swishing it in iso and letting it dry has a decent chance of working
I also have a microwave from the 80s, got it from my dad and he bought it when he was young.
I hope it never dies. I love the Star Trek-like touchpad and the beautiful CCFL display. 😍
It’s a Panasonic as well, I even have the ridiculous microwave cookbook somewhere, which contains a lot of really bad meal photos.
we had one from the early 90s or 80s also panasonic, it last 30+years, then we bought a newish one few years ago, and it died in 2 years. it was the famous overheating one, that looks likes it catching onfire it was 100$, and then it suddenly stopped working lol. the current one we spent a little more and it was working fine.
My mom still uses the Panasonic microwave that she bought in the '80s.
Meanwhile, I’ve been through four microwaves since 2000.
Nooooo rip, Zappy did a good job
remember PYREX, they went cheap and using soda lime glass laminated instead of borosilicate. pyrex vs PYREX, its still being sold in the EU. there are borosilicate glassware from other brands, but none of them seem to match Pyrex, just better than the soda lime variants.
OXO is just very overpriced borosilicate, if you are interested probably the closest to PYREX. i did seem some pyrex lunch containers are borosilicate?
You should get a 4-in-1 microwave/airfryer/convection-oven/broiler. I have one and I have not looked back.
Made in Japan! RIP Zappy.
The furnace in my house dates to 1987. It just survived another cold winter. My plumber says a new one would use about half as much gas and that parts are no longer available for the old one. I wish I knew whether to believe him or not.
Gas furnaces from 1987 when new could convert 75-80% of the chemical energy in gas into heat within your house. They lose some efficiency over time, but not that much - I would expect it’s still getting 70-75% of the chemical energy converted into heat within your house.
The maximum efficiency available today is around 96% on the same metric. If you need 100 units of heat today, you are burning 133-143 units of gas. With the best possible furnace efficiency today, you would only need to burn 104 units of gas, which is 22-28% less - certainly not “about half”.
There are multiple special requirements for the best possible efficiency, and they are more expensive, both to purchase and to install. You might be able to save money on bills, depending on gas rates in your area, and the total cost to purchase and install a high efficiency furnace. I can’t really answer that without a lot more information.
As for parts availability, there should be a model number and a manufacturer indicated on it somewhere. These days, most things service professionals have access to are also listed on the internet for sale. That one is easier to convincingly check.
Yeah, I’m inclined to think parts are available but my plumber would never bother looking for them. The guy I was going to rent the house to said he had tons of spare parts for my kind of furnaces and I was prepared to give him a break on rent if he kept it going. Unfortunately I didn’t get the house renovated in time for him to move in (and I’m still not done) so I can’t really expect him to do anything for me.
Newer ones can be a lot more efficient, but the high efficiency ones aren’t just drop-in replacements either because they require additional piping to the outdoors which can be a big issue depending on where in your house the furnace is located.
Is the heat exchanger still intact? No cracks? If it’s cracked get rid of it before the carbon monoxide gets you. We went with a heat pump and will not return to a gas furnace.
No cracks in the heat exchanger. I have a CO detector mounted right by it in the basement (for whatever that’s worth).
Ask another HVAC company about your options and benefits… See if they say similar things… Most likely given that it’s almost 40 years old vs The efficiency improvements are probably across the board on new models… And see if the numbers match
Don’t trust the HVAC guy, you know, who wants to sell more HVAC
But do trust another random HVAC guy who wants to, in fact, sell more HVAC
???
Bruh everyone wants to make money selling you shit. They only person who will want you to buy nothing is you.
I get where you’re coming from, but it’s kinda isolationist and sad. Distrust profit motive, but try to trust people when you can. I don’t want to make money selling this guy shit, for one :)
I can see how it could come off like that. I mean I generally trust the HVAC man’s opinion on everything except whether I should buy HVAC services.
It Is Difficult to Get a Man to Understand Something When His Salary Depends Upon His Not Understanding It
Personally I advocate for self-education. It might have been difficult to discover the refrigeration cycle, and invent the furnace but it won’t take you more than a few hours to learn enough to check your own equipment. Or how to check the brakes on your car. How to find a leak.
It’s quite liberating to be able to tell that they’re full of shit. That isn’t your Car’s Air filter, or that your AC needs a capacitor not a $15,000 full replacement but that you’ll be buying it from someone else.
Knowledge is power ✊
43 years is legendary—Zappy lived a full, honorable life 🫡
Sadly your next one will be but a child when it dies.
I am barely older than this microwave and am now worried.
For that microwave to last that long is the testament to its durability. Actually, up until the 90s most appliances were built like tanks and so why some people hold onto them, partly they were IMHO easier to repair than supposedly “smart” appliances.
I also remember how Sony TVs during the 80s that were sold included detailed electronic schematic diagrams helpful to technicians.
My microwave has the schematics included too, it’s printed inside underneath the cover after you take it off. Handy to have.
If I don’t find this story dull, what does it say about me?
You’re an enlightened individual?
Let’s go with that.
You work in shed 4 hours a night.
I care. My condolences for your loss.
