However, there are some dark sides to this shaver:
1) Documentation is weak of Panasonic ES8243A. You can figure out how to clean it, but it's not as simple as need be. For example, it says fill the tank to the 'fill line' but there are 2 lines on the tank and the manual doesn't specify which is which. If you overfill, it makes a major mess when it cleans, which leads to my biggest gripe...
2) There is a small hole in the base of the basin where you place the shaver to charge it or to clean it. It plugs up every time I try to clean the shaver. That means, instead of a dry, clean shaver at the end of the cycle, I have a shaver stewing in a pot of dirty, soapy, water filled with shavings. I have to then empty everything, clean the basin (see following) and then do the whole process again - which I end up doing manually since I no longer trust the system. The manual warns you that the drain hole can plug and that you need to use a toothpick to clean it when it does that. However, not only is that a pain, but it doesn't work, because if the "soap dish" that you install gets dirty, that too will plug up the hole. If that's not enough, all the shavings end up in one part of the soap dish so if that small section gets too many shavings, you end up with the aforementioned result also - plus you have to replace a soap dish that isn't really very dirty. Supposedly, there's a red light that shines when the soap dish needs to be replaced, but it only seems to do that AFTER I have the "shaving stew," in effect making it useless.
I have found the cleaning aspect of this shaver to be so negative that it negates the value of the shave, which like I said, was excellent. On shaving, I'd give it 5 stars. On cleaning, I give it 1. Hence, the rating of 3. For this Panasonic ES8243A. Read more →