Neptune 2000 Cooker

[theotter]

I am on my second new cooker in two seasons and both have suffered the same problem. Once the cooker gets hot i.e. with oven on and a couple of rings or grill or both, the on/off taps get very stiff, so much so that in the case of my first cooker one of the taps actually sheared off. The cooker was replaced willingly with the explaination that it is an occasional quirk of pressure testing during production and somehow the lubricant gets blown out. However the new one is showing the same symptoms. During a mega breakfast for 8 onboard recently and with all fires blazing the same was happening, I was surprised when two other owners of the same type of cooker said they suffered the same problem. Have others experienced this problems and what have they done about it? If this as common as I suspect it might be, shouldn't we all be taking this up with suppliers and Plastimo? These cookers are not cheap and there is a considerable safety issue at stake.

 

[MoodySabre]

I've not had that problem with mine but another issue with them (as recounted by the gas fitter that replaced mine) is that the top of the oven isn't stainless steel and rusts out before the rest of the cooker. My wife tried to clean the oven of the boat we bought this spring and ended up with a handful of rust and £380 later.....

You should report all faults so that they know it's not adequate. Hopefully they have a proper system for collating these things and don't take us for the mugs that we seem to be!

 

[Georgio]

This seems to be a common problem with this cooker. My parents fitted a Plastimo Neptune 2000 last winter and it has had to be returned for exactly the same reason. I believe it is being repaired rather than replaced. I gather that since having this problem my folks have found a number of other owners of this cooker have experienced problems.

I'm looking at the Spinflow Nelson as a replacement for my old Flavel Vanessa. Seems to have have a good reputation.

 

[oldestgit]

Well its not only the oven that rusts. I installed a Neptune 2500 this July and by November the Brushed Stainles Steel top facing by on / off knobs and the oven door is rusting. I have contacted Plastimo with photos and ID Numbers but a week or 2 in they are still silent.

.....Peter

 

[samwise]

Hate to be smug, but you should have bought a Nelson Spinflo. We've had two (on different boats) , reliable, durable and makes great toast!

 

[RJD393]

It is not only the Plastimo that has this type of problem. We have an Eno and find that the outside gets very hot when using the oven and the gas taps almost impossible to turn - have had to resort to grips on one occasion to turn the gas off!! The taps also have a tendancy to fall off though we don't appear to have any rust - (yet)

 

[Steve_Jones]

Oh bugger! I've just fitted a 2500, it's only been in a month or so, I'll keep an eye on it. If I suffer the same problem I'll let you know, perhaps two (or more?) unhappy customers will carry more weight??

 

[alf1]

I have the same problem sent it back still not much better.Plastimo first denied having this problem one of the large calor companies i spoke to said plastimo were well aware of this problem and the cooker would have to go back to them .Took 3 months to get back.What a pain to send a cooker back

 

[alienzdive]

having recently purchased a neptune, this is not good news, I would presume that they would all have this problem or is it only an ocasional batch?

 

[fluffc]

Sticking gas taps is inherent problem. As the gas taps are taper-cones, when the cones heat up they resize ever so slightly, causing them to become stiff. IMO apparantly disassembling and regreasing them will help with the situation.

A problem on small cookers (as on boats) as the compactness of them causes them to run hotter, compared with a domestic size one.

This will be a problem with all gas cookers to a lesser or greater degree - you may notice taps being 'stiffer' or 'freer' when the cooker is hot.

 

[kalessin]

[ QUOTE ]
Hate to be smug, but you should have bought a Nelson Spinflo.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dear Samwise

If you used our cooker more often you might have noticed that one of the knobs on the Spinflo is sticking a bit. However, nothing like at the shearing off stage.

I cooked on the Spinflo every day for four months and my only real complaint is that it's such a pig to clean.

Yrs sincerely

Mrs Samwise

 

[huldah]

Have just purchased an Eno on ebay. So hope I don't have the same problem. (One knob fell off).

However, it does sound as if the gas taps have been assembled with the wrong grease. In which case there will probably be a considerable number of problem taps about. Probably fitted to several different makes of cooker. Dismantle, clean and regrease is the correct proceedure. However, it may be worth lubricating them with silicon oil, thinned with white spirit, repeated several times, until the old, hard grease has been diluted. (I am assuming that there are no rubber seals in these taps, that may be damaged by white spirit. Silicon oil is safe on rubber).

I believe the thicker silicon oils withstand higher temperatures, and are quite grease like. Hence the need to thin them. The photocopier trade use these oils.

Philip

 

[huldah]

Just checked the top of the Eno Grill on my 4450. It is stainless steel. So won't rust like the Neptune 2000.

Philip