Swift Microwave BMSW20
In February the microwave in our 2015 Swift Challenger Sport failed.
We wanted to replace the unit with the same model so that we could use the existing brackets that hold the microwave securely in place.
I tried a couple of dealers and was offered a replacement Cata BMSW20 at £272.78 including VAT and delivery. I thought this was an unreasonably high price and looked around to see if the model was available elsewhere.
Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone else selling a Cata BMSW20 at any price, not even Cata themselves, but after some Internet searching, found what appeared to be an identical model sold as a Cookology BIM20LWG by The Wright Buy for £107.00, including VAT and delivery. Interestingly, this also included a grill function. This was available at https://www.thewrightbuy.co.uk/cookology-bim20lwg-stainless-steel-20l-800w-60-x-38cm-built-in-microwave-grill.
The same machine appeared to be available at https://www.myappliances.co.uk/prod/integrated-microwaves/myappliances-art28604-microwave-800w-20l-b-in-s-steel.htm for £107.99 plus delivery.
Both of these models are sold as integrated kitchen models.
We decided to opt for the Cookology BIM20LWG from The Wright Buy as they had good customer service reviews on Trust pilot, and the unit arrived on schedule.
After removing the stainless steel surround and swapping the manufacturer screw-in legs for from the original Swift model, we ended up with an identically sized unit that went straight back into the securing brackets fitted by Swift. See the photo for pictures of the two units.
We found that the manuals for the “Cata” BMSW20 and the Cookology BIM20LWG are substantially the same and both show the unit as a built-in 600mm unit complete with surround.
If your BMSW20 microwave in a Swift caravan fails and you want something that fits straight back into the fittings that secure the unit and costs rather less than the Swift alternative, the Cookology BIM20LWG might be worth a look.
Apart from the additional grill feature, you'll be left with a stainless steel surround that might make an attractive picture frame!!
PS: If you want to see the full sized versions of the images below, try right clicking and selecting "Open image in new tab" or similar.
Comments
-
@alan Thanks for this detailed post. I am currently in the same position, and have spent many an hour trying to source a model that will fit into the space without too much alteration, but so far my search hasn't yielded many results, but thankfully found your link, and have now purchased the cookology version.
0 -
The factory fitted microwave in our 2015 Sterling Continental 570, a Cata as above, packed up last year
When I communicated with Cata technical department, they don't repair them. It's a combination of things, putting it above the oven/hob where steam is generated is not the best of things to do. Current year models now have the microwave positioned not above the hob. The way Swift has fitted them does not give sufficient venting. To put a domestic microwave in a wobbly box hurtling around is not the best of ideas.
I replaced the Cata with a £38 Sainsburys Home Microwave. As I removed the Cata, the side vents were a tight fit against the cabinet space. The new unit is smaller all round and now has sufficient air gap at both sides, below and above. Given the replacement cost, can get 4 or so of these cheap ones for 1 Cata from a caravan dealer.
Image showing the new microwave installed. Went for white as it suits the cupboard doors. Ive used the fixings that held the Cata in, but in different positions. We generally use a MW for making hot chocolate, prepacked curry for daughter; nothing too onerous. Been working well enough for the last year.
0 -
Hello Everyone, just to echo Petelac's comment, B&Q do indeed stock the Cata BMSW20 microwave with product code 8422248606417. It can be purchased from the following stores only:
Hull West Warehouse
Warrington Warehouse
Stockport Warehouse
It is currently priced at just £60, so a fraction of the cost from Swift.
0 -
Alan thank you for the post. We have just ordered are new microwave from cookology. We struggled finding a replacement.
0 -
Really helpful post. Just received our new microwave from Myappliances. Did you have to drill new holes to attach original feet?
0 -
Just replaced our caravan microwave with the https://www.thewrightbuy.co.uk/cookology-bim20lwg-stainless-steel-20l-800w-60-x-38cm-built-in-microwave-grill and an exact fit once the surround removed and feet swapped over. A very easy swap over. Would recommend. Thank you all for the info above more helpful than swift.
0 -
Hi Alan.
Just to let you know your post, in April 2019, is still good.
The microwave in our Challenger packed up last week. I spent ages looking for a replacement before spotting your message.
Our new BM20LWG arrived at 11.05 this morning and it was fitted, tested and my tools put away before 12.00 noon. How good is that?
Thank you for doing all the hard work.
0 -
Hello.
We have a 2013 Swift Kontiki 669 and the microwave needs replacing as the magnatron is buzzing away.
We seem to have the same model as you, a BMSW20. I have read your post and checked out the model that was a direct replacement for yours but the dimensions of the Cookology oven seem much bigger.
Our current microwave, with the surround, is 540mm wide, 350mm high and 330mm deep. The dimensions of just the oven, without the surround are 470mn wide, 280mm high and 330 deep. Does the Cookology oven match these dimensions? It would be great if it did.
Many thanks for your help.
Sandra
0 -
We’ve just received the Cookology IM20LSS from The Wright Buy Ltd for £129.99. The stainless steel surround is too big and is for a domestic cupboard but we used our existing trim and took the feet off the old microwave and put them on the new one as the ones on the new model were too big. The steel brackets holding the feet needed moving up in the housing to centralise the microwave within the trim.
it’s a perfect match. I ordered yesterday morning and it arrived this afternoon and even though it’s taken a while it is now fitted.0 -
A very interesting post - thank you - and I say that because the Cookology one seems to be identical to the microwave fitted in our Knaus. The only difference being that our buttons are labelled in German rather than English which results in us having to reach for the manual if we ever want to do anything other than simply heat something!
0 -
Brilliant post - thank you.
As a follow-up - if you are looking to replace the original Cata microwave with just a microwave (and not the combi microwave and grill as above) then the Cookology IM20LSS is perfect for this.
it looks near identical - and is the exact same size. It comes supplied with it's own fasica, base and feet fitted. To replace the Cata:
- unscrew the fascia and base from the Cookology microwave
- swap the feet of the Cookology microwave with those from the Cata (the bolt holes for the feet are the exact same size and locations on both ovens)
... and that's it. The Cookology then fits exactly where the Cata did - and you simply replace the caravan fitting and fasica around it.But I'd never have found the Cookology microwave without the original post here - so thanks.
Robert
0 -
I too have a swift alpine caravan and the microwave went faulty on me. On contacting my swift dealer I was quoted £350 for supply only . My wife done some searching and we found a microwave that is a direct replacement , the existing model is an integrated microwave because it’s fitted in a cupboard , it was suggested to me to fit a basic model but this would involve carpentry work which was something I did not want to do.
The microwave we bought was a Russell Hobbs , the only work we had to was take of the flat plat on the bottom of the microwave covering the rubber feet and change the rubber feet for the ones on the old one.
link to the replacement
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IJZZF12/ref=ppx_od_tab_ap_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
hope this helps
0 -
Many thanks for all the comments & suggestions. Same problem, i.e. trying to find a replacement for the BMSW20. Followed the thread here & decided to purchase the Cookology IM20LSS. On the new microwave simply removed the stainless steel front surround (4 screws), removed the plastic feet on the new one, replaced these with those on the old microwave, (the new feet are too long), removed the casing around the base of the new one and slotted the new microwave in place in the caravan (Swift 570). No problem at all. It is an identical product in terms of size, power & looks as the broken one. I have the frame & bottom case if anybody wants it, no use to me!
Purchased the IM20LSS from Wright Buy. Good service from here, delivered in a day.
Thanks for the support.
0 -
May 2022
We have just fitted the Cookology IM20 LSS in our 2013 Challenger. Purchased from thewrightbuy.co.uk. at £129.99. (Much less than Swift at £350. )
We are so grateful for post’s and advice here helping us find a replacement which fits exactly.
As already said, just swap the feet and stainless steel trim from your old one on to your new one, and you then have an exact replacement.0 -
When I purchased my 2010 Rambler 19/4SE (Elddis Avante 540) IN 2018 from my brothers widow, the microwave did not work (no display or power visible.
After carrying out the normal checks for power to the plug was ok, I took the unit out and removed the cover. It seems that the vibration over the years has caused a wire to the chassis to break off, Once re-soldered, the microwave has worked perfectly ever since.
It is wither checking out things like this before throwing away non working appliences.
1 -
'twice bitten'
nevber again!Having replaced the original Swift Cata Microwave just over two years ago with the cookology identical microwave we are bitterly disappointed that this has also now failed. Considering we have had the covid non-use period in-between we’ve hardly used it, we estimate 6-8 times. This is very poor quality and we wouldn’t recommend anyone replacing theirs with similar.
Has anyone recently found an alternative you could supply details for please?
I’m going to see what’s available as a built in and thanks to those who have already suggested a couple of alternatives.
0 -
Just noted what Peterh44 has commented. Please see below for some info on why I think they keep failing.
I've just replaced our Swift Challenger microwave with the identical machine from Cookology. You have to dig on their website, but it is possible to buy the one without the grill. it was £139.99. its product number is IM20LSS, as opposed to the one with the grill, IMS20LSG.
As in the original post on this conversation, this comes with a stainless steel surround, which is easily removed but beware, have the correct size of screwdriver as the screws holding the surround are very tight and they can easily tear, leaving you with an un-unscrewable screw! You also have to swop out the tall feet for short ones on the old microwave.
The above microwave (IM20LSS) does not come with the grill and I chose it for the following reason: on removing the busted microwave from its slot in the caravan, it really does seem as if there is not enough room to ventilate and cool the machine. If a grill was added to the felony, then I think this would add to the risk of overheating. Indeed, when I removed the microwave, there were signs of soot on the top of it, possibly from a hot spot inside, but that is certainly a bit too spooky for comfort.
There are so many failures with these microwaves that, considering the lack of air-space around them, I am fairly convinced that it must be due to overheating with, probably, the power supply failing altogether - I say this because in my dud microwave, there is no life whatsoever, no lights on, nothing - no power to anything. The fact that the microwaves are retained above with a sheet of plywood, albeit with holes in it, and feet that are substantially shorter than the ones delivered with the new microwave would seem to be more-than halving the air space around the microwave,
So, I do believe that Peterh44 above is right and that we all need to find an alternative because sooner or later we'll get fed up replacing these microwaves and sooner or later, Cookology will cease production of this model and we'll all be left with a new cupboard above the sink and a standard microwave out in the awning - not necessarily a bad alternative.
0 -
I apologise for the length and detail here but feel it might help someone like me who's not a great DIYer but a tryer !! We have a Swift Sundance 636L 2013 and the microwave failed as it kept turning off after 3 seconds and would not reset for 10 minutes so we felt it was time for a replacement but wanted to keep the nice fitted look. Having seen all the chat on here and after a full week of research we couldn't find anything. I rang Cookology about the BIM20LWG mentioned on here and even they did not have the actual microwave size without the surround. Like Sandra on here my microwave on it's own was 47W x 28H x 33D - with the surround it was 54 wide. Well I am glad to say I decided to buy direct from Cookology as they offered free next day delivery and product return if it did not fit for the same price as B&Q and Amazon and they were very helpful. So the BIM20LWG states 595 wide, but that's with their surround and you are using your surround. To remove the old microwave you simple remove the screws from the surround and a bit of gentle teasing will remove it. Then there's a slide in ventilated wood shelf above your microwave - remove that and then unplug and gently lift and tease out microwave. Carefully remove the feet from your old microwave, then on the new microwave it has a metal cage on the base covering the feet - you remove the 3 screws and take that off, then you replace the new big feet with your old smaller feet and that's it - it fits into the raised metal plates with holes in perfectly - we didn't need to drill anything, it just slotted in (not forgetting to put your plug through first) - then replace the ventilated wooden shelf . Then you use your old surround not the new one and clip that back and screw in (you can get new ones on Ebay) - how simple it was but only because of helpful people on here. I really hope this helps someone else as I was at my wits end - my husband uses the van for work and needs the microwave. No divorce, no arguing, simple. We did choose to add extra neatly drilled 1cm holes for air circulation through the cupboard next door which look neat and original and he keeps that cupboard door open when microwaving. A huge thank you to everyone on here.
0 -
Our 2015 Swift Escape’s microwave packed in, so browsing I found these posts. I did look at the Cookology BIM20LWG and the best current deal now seems to be around £190 including delivery. So quite an increase in price since the original post.
I’ve finished up buying the electriQ 20L 800W Built-In Digital Microwave with Grill - Stainless S EIQMOGBI20 on eBay for £136 including delivery.
it’s has slightly different controls to the Cookology unit and the original one fitted, but it fits perfectly into the space in our van once you remove and discard the bottom sheet metal cover and the bright trim surround and you swap the upper cover and the large plastic feet it comes with for the ones smaller feet from your old oven. The electicQ oven, like the Cookology oven, comes with a grill which the original oven doesn’t have. All in all a great alternative which I estimated saves around £54 and is it was easy to install.
0 -
Our 15 year old microwave gave up, and I found a similar sized replacement but with a grill which we don’t intend to use. After the first couple of uses we were convinced it was faulty as it “ran on” after switching off.
Reading the accompanying multi language booklet I found on about page 52 after the “do not immerse in water etc” safety instructions the basic note that this was an additional safety feature.Problem Solved
0 -
Did your Russell Hobbs microwave come with the surround the same as in your link? Was it easy to remove? Looking for a replacement for ours but after researching that specific model, I have read that the surround can’t be removed from the microwave, Hoping you are going to tell me this is wrong & it’s a real simple fix 😀👍🏻
0 -
We took our microwave to a specialist microwave repair engineer after it failed. He replaced a capacitor and a fuse for £69, which has worked well ever since. No carpentry required, no I’ll fitting replacement and no excessive cost for a new unit.
0 -
Hi Alan, just like to thank you about your microwave information on swift caravans also the links you attached.
I have just had the same problem with mine, the magnetron had gone down. after online searching I came across your discussion and followed your link to purchase a new identical one from Cookology link, many thanks mate.
0
