Panasonic Bread Maker

I realise I'm a bit late to the forum but I would like to reinforce r765's observation to do with the 3uF motor start/run capacitor, I'm on with the fix right now, just awaiting the part. This should put to rest Panasonics insistence of poor ingredients being the sole cause, good breadmaker though. Don't throw it away when you can fix it.
 
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I'm sorry to hear your loaves aren't shaping up as they should, have you noticed the motor struggling as per r765's description? My SD255 started producing poor loaves every now and then, until now, the result is just a block of bin fodder. Capacitors of this type normally fail gradually, until in this case the motor doesn't function properly, externally the component looks brand new. The part I'm waiting for is coming from China (cheap), so should be with me by next month, until then I might start producing loaves by hand. I'll post the result of my fix as soon as I have some consistent proof.
 
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Only slight improvement was obtained using the "RAPID" setting, the motor was struggling then, after which it produced a brick, that was the last straw. I'll wait now for the part to arrive as the maker is in pieces anyway, plus the capacitor is 100% faulty. Look forward to fully risen loaves when it's back together, all costing less than a couple of shop bought Holvis, time will tell.
 
Capacitor arrived this morning, made sure it was correct value before fitting. Minutes later I had the SD255 back together, and placed a mixture inside to prove the fix. An hour into the "whole wheat" cycle, there was an encouraging noise of a motor that sounded unstressed, and kneading without letting up. The final loaf has yet to emerge but think the SD255 is back in business. Will update with the end result.
 
Perfect loaf, as expected, get soldering, no luck required, piece of cake. Thank you r765 for the inspiration, long live your Panasonic. Any questions on this item I will try to answer them. Looking forward to more excellent loaves.
 
I have a problem with bread having a wet doughy texture, which it didn't have before. The paddle is loose in the fitting and I wonder if it is not kneeling bread properly. Is it time for a new machine? I've had this one over 5 years. Any suggestions?
 
I believe the first thing to do is observe the actions of your bread maker when it first starts to knead a fresh mix. This is quickly done on a "Rapid" setting, as the machine starts kneading minutes into the cycle. If you observe (lid up) the paddle barely moving, and the motor sounding laboured with a slight buzzing, then I suspect your machine is suffering from the duff capacitor symptom. Please read above treads for a fix, and if you are good with a screwdriver, and soldering iron then order a 3uf 450volt capacitor from eBay for about £2, or Maplin for a bit more. Instead of wasting the mix, you can carry on with the failed mix by hand then pop the mix in your oven (or back into the bread maker) as per recipe on the packet of flour.
My bread maker is back to full health after this simple fix, and continues to produce excellent loaves, why buy a new one?
 
WOO HOO! :D:D

I took ProfessorMesser's advice and picked up a 3uF 450V motor run capacitor from my local Maplin last night (N40KG, £3.59) and soldered it in. It's a cylindrical one and it wouldn't fit in the plastic box with the PCB so I used a twisty tie to hold it to the motor leads and re-assembled the thing. I immeadiatly started a loaf and, when it was finished at 00:30, it was climbing out of the pan! No more flat loaves - they had been little more than half the pan, making a slice less than square.

I'll be baking again by the end of the week and will let you all know how it goes. If all is well, this is a really cheap fix, if somewhat fiddly.
 
Excellent work Eighty Two (were you ever in an episode of "The Prisoner":). The humble capacitor, much over looked, and over worked.
I recon that you have just doubled the life of your bread maker, and saved the cost of a new one. I hope your experience can inspire other folk to fix their failing Panasonic also.

Time to feed my SD255 bread maker, and a guaranteed good loaf in five hours.
 
I have done a month of baking and not a single failure, including the ones that the wife did without measuring anything properly (she seems to have lost the scoop and measuring cup). Too much yeast and water and taking the loaf out with 5 minutes to go makes a huge, soft, pale loaf that's is really hard to slice!! :confused: - Nice one Missus!

This is surely the fix for "flat loaf syndrome".
 
I've read this thread with great interest and thought I would add my recent finding with the trouble with my SD255 bread maker and may help others in years to come.
The problem was the motor run capacitor.
This component in my case did not fail overnight like an on/off switch. It was more gradual.(over years)
The size of the loaf started to shrink and like everyone else, assumed that it we were doing something wrong.
By changing the ingredients we could improve the results, whether that be Canadian Flour or adding Vitamin C but
the underlying problem was still there. I found that by using the rapid bake option the results were also better but again the problem
was still there...and getting worse. Until eventually we stopped baking altogether as the bread from the shops was simply better.
Like user R765 mentioned on here, I purchased a replacement capacitor (N40KG) from Maplin 3.59 pounds May2016.
You can get these cheaper from china but for the sake of a pound or two, do you really want to risk a fire from
an unattended bread maker? because not all of these capacitors are subjected to the necessary tests we expect here in the UK.
The Maplin component is better than that used originally by Panasonic. The original capacitor is rated up to 75degs C.
The Maplin component is rated up to 85 degs C. I've no idea how hot it gets at the capacitor but another 10 degrees can only help the overall reliability.
This component comes with two wires about 4 inches long. Simply remove the old capacitor block (grey in colour in my case)
and solder in the leads. It does not matter which lead is soldered into either circuit board hole.
In my case, the capacitor fitted very snugly into the white Panasonic plastic case. If the capacitor was 1mm taller then it might not have fitted.
The results are instant. No more being fussy with ingredients or adding vitamin C. Excellent results every time, which is just how I remembered years back.
In terms of the old capacitor, there are no visible clues of trouble, it’s not black or swollen in appearance.
It does not smell or make a sound. The only clue is ultimately a poorly mixed bread loaf, which is then cooked
and appears small and heavy in density.
I've read the entire email thread here and although just about all is true there are a few red herrings mentioned
such as stiff spindles in the bread pan.
So as a check, you may want to do this test.
With the bread pan out, start the bread maker with the program pizza making for example.
What we are trying to do is start the program by going straight into a mixing operation.
With your hand on the black spindle inside, try to determine if you can stop the spindle from rotating
with minimal effort. i.e. almost with one finger.
We are not trying to stop the spindle from completely turning, we are trying to feel/gauge the power.
So in my case, it was fairly strong for 0-20 degrees rotation, which is not a lot, and then the power dropped right off to zero before the next power pulse..
So I knew that it was not the bread pan causing the issue.
With a good capacitor, the revolutions would be considerably more than 0-20 degrees. perhaps as much as 2 complete revolutions between pulses.
Another point I can mention is that this bread maker will work fine with a 3amp fuse fitted in the plug.
So if yours has a 13 amp fitted and it might have as standard from the factory, then you might like to swap this for a 3 (three) amp.
All this means is that the fuse will blow quicker if a fault is detected and thus technically is a bit safer. The bread maker should not use more than 3 amps.

Wish I had found this thread ages ago....well done R765 for the initial post!


Hope this helps..........
 

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