Delonghi Microwave

Delonghi AM717CPT Stainless Steel

The Delonghi AM717CPT Microwave proved to be something of a bargain at a mere £50. I was surprised as Delonghi is somewhat prestigious, and this one’s black and silver (stainless steel) digital looks matched my kitchen ambience perfectly. I snapped it up with barely a second thought.

The box came with marvellously useful cut out handles and being quite light even my wife didn’t have any trouble lifting it (well, there was the struggle with the car door but that made for some mild entertainment). It’s not exactly complicated, just rip the box to shreds (for recycling purposes of course), plug it in and you’re away.

It slotted straight into spot vacated by the previous incumbent and looked rather similar too. It’s not massive, we’ve had no problems fitting things in it, but I suppose it depends on how much you need to chuck in there.

The manual seemed straightforward and clear enough but did nothing to help my wife’s insistence on learning by trial and error. I prefer logic however and have had no problems following the instructions as written.

It’s not a monster, 700 watts places the device firmly in category D but it meets all our requirements. Of course, I had to make sure we didn’t stray too far from our previous power settings as my better half would have lost her sense of timing completely.

Aesthetically it fits right in, although it does place some demands on cleaning – used daily that shiny surface and stainless steel surround do seems to be a magnet for fingerprints and grime. The interior is a dull but not battleship gray colour, and the bulb seems to be ensconsed deep within the bowels of the box. No doubt rendering it nearly impossible to replace, which I’ve heard is a problem with Delonghis.

The control panel consists of a rotating knob and a selection of 5 buttons, handling the power, modes, time and start/stop stuff.

Below are the specs are presented in the official product description:

• 5 Power Settings
• 1 Defrost Setting
• 8 Auto start/cook
• Auto weight/defrost
• Child Safety lock
• 24 hour clock
• 95 minute timer
• Weight 10.7kg

Not being the microwave gourmet (is there such a thing?) I rarely go beyond using the 30 second button, with a second or third jab of the finger being enough to get most things cooked. Being a man I have insisted on mastering all the microwave‘s functions, but I rarely use them. I find the digital clock quite handy, my oven one is usually displaying the temperature when it’s on which is when I actually need to know the time for cooking. I’m not sure which genius at Whirlpool is to thank for that one. The other main function I use is the defrost.

The main niggle is the rather insistent and annoying repeated loud beeping to tell you it’s done. A few beeps I can understand but this is completely OTT. Presumably Delonghi have tested this on a group of barely living Italians who’s hearing has degraded so much the only sounds they now hear are fog horns and finishing Delonghi microwaves. OK, it’s not quite that loud but it’s much more annoying than it needs to be.

To summarise, I got it for a good price, it does what we want (it microwaves food!) in an unfussy way and looks decent although can be a chore to keep clean. And beware the beeps! The beeps!

Originally I had a pathetically cheap Microwave from Asda that set me back the princely sum of £20. This fine piece of engineering exploded recently, so I decided an investment in a more refined piece of engineering would be well advised. My kitchen has a singularly ineffective grill and oven combination, which informed my decision to acquire a quick and small fan heating oven/grill/microwave combo in the shape of the Delonghi DMX65 Convection microwave and grill. And for only £80.

And I must say a month into this new life and it’s all coming up roses. The oven heats up in about a third of the time my big oven takes and even has the good grace to beep in my direction when it’s finished. The fan assistance combined with it’s smaller size means it cooks things up a lot of faster too. It hasn’t all been peaches and cream, I’ve burned a few pizzas due to this little gem’s puissance, but it’s all part of the adjustment period to a product that actually works well.

I’ve used the grill less often and although easy to use, it does take a little while to heat up again and is rather quick to cool down when turning food, a particular nuisance if you’re grilling something both sides.

The microwave action itself is as you would expect – 900w of raw irradiating power! Soups and jacket potatoes heated up in no time. However, on the subject of energy consumption one must consider that it’s got a 1400w rating for the oven function which frankly is quite a bit. One dreads to think of the electrcity it must be consuming.

Did I say it was all roses? Well it’s not quite, not really. The box can get excessively hot when cooking with it on the convection setting, to the point where one must be a little careful around it. Also the design of the grill leaves something to be desired, it has a tendency to let slip it’s cargo from the grill rack when serving due to it’s ill fitting with the frame of the cooker. A shame, but you have to use it when grilling which is the bigger shame.

Anyway, I consider it a good all round purchase for an affordable price. Straight forward enough to use, although the manual will be a constant companion for a couple of weeks but it’s well written. I haven’t had any problems big enough to make me regret anything, build quality is good and the old cooker barely gets a look in these days.

Instruction manuals for Delonghi microwaves can be very difficult to find on the web. What follows is a direct hyperlink to the English version of the instructional materials for the Delonghi MK4020

Instructions

Instructional materials for Delonghi microwaves are often very difficult to acquire on the net. Below is a direct link to the English edition of the instructions for the Delonghi MAK346

Instructions

Instructions

Instructions for Delonghi microwaves can be very difficult to find online. Below is a direct link to the English version of the instructions for the DLM1

Instructions

I purchased the Delonghi AM821AAN Microwave from Argos around 24 months ago. The first one survived all of around five months just before breaking, perhaps it was an interior fuse as it would not start? So I carried it back for substitution, that one lasted approximately 18 months just before burning out.

I often tried the microwave for around ten mins a day. It probably really should have lasted a lot longer. Its forerunner held up for quite some time and was still operating when it was finally replaced. It’s a shame as i liked the product, it turned out user friendly and looked smart in the kitchen.

Needless to say I’ll be avoiding Delonghi once more. I gave them an additional chance after switches in a espresso maker I possessed broke off after a 12 months usage. Delonghi products are nice but don’t seem to be robust enough for typical or every day use, from my very own personal experience

I picked a Delonghi DMX50 Microwave, since it was metal, looked good, and would be a fair price. It features a grill feature that is used separately, or while using microwave simultaneously. There’s two different configurations for ratio of microwave and grill.

The microwave can easily defrost meals, but this can be done by setting rather than a completely alternative feature. I only seriously take advantage of my microwave to warm up foods like soup, and also to cook baked spuds. The microwave functions efficiently for my tastes, and is a good size, and it should accomodate a full size plate, so is perfect for heating meals.

The environment vents are on the top, so make certain you have space to permit ventilation, my previous microwave had them on the rear.

You will find there’s timer function, involving setting the percent amount to 0. Once going this makes the turntable turn as well as the light come on, so it appears the microwave is in use though it isn’t – a bit strange. There is a reminder beep every couple of minutes once it’s got completed the task.

It really is not too difficult to keep clean. the turntable is dishwashing machine resistant, and I’ve discovered that if you utilize a damp cloth followed instantly by a dry cloth, you can keep your stainless steel exterior smear free.

Overall, a good machine which is aesthetically wonderful, and doesn’t occupy too much room.