American Harvest Jet Stream Oven

[prasantrin]

I have the opportunity to buy a rarely used American Harvest Jet Stream Oven (made by Nesco) for a bargain price. I know they're large and cumbersome, but I'm guessing it would allow me to have baked goods without heating up our large oven (and thereby heating up our unairconditioned house). And I'm hoping it does a better job of roasting than our toaster oven does.

Does anyone have any experience with them? The one I'd be getting is a rather old model, but as I said, rarely used. I'm going to ask to take a look at it before buying (if I buy it), but I'd like to get an idea of what to expect. My grandparents used to have a Turbo Broiler and we used to like it a lot, especially for roast chicken. Is the Jet Stream similar in terms of results?

[Anna N]

I am not sure if that is the same oven I had years and years ago but it certainly looks similar. I found it to be extremely noisy so it did not last long in my house. However, I recently bought (for a mere $10) a halogen oven and I am much more impressed. I don't bake but find it great for such things as roasted or baked potatoes, bacon, and a few other things. I have not had it long enough to put it through its paces fully but my sister has a similar oven and thinks it is just great. They are bulky and it can be an issue if you are short on space but for the price I paid I am very happy with the thing.

[budrichard]

The Jet Stream is listed at 1500watts which is almost the capacity of a normal 15amp household circuit. What type of oven do you have? If its electric, its a simple matter to compare wattage to get an idea of how much heat is generated. In any event the 1500 watts of energy has to go somewhere and that somewhere is your unairconditioned house.-Dick

[lemniscate]

I've had one for years, the OLD infomercial one with the dials as controls. I think a roasted chicken, spatchcocked, cooked in the Jet Stream is the best chicken I've ever had, bar none. However, if it's the newer digital control Jet Stream, piece of junk, pass on it. If it's the older model, there's a thin drive belt that falls apart over time and renders the oven useless. The belts can be bought (ebay I think) for a few bucks online, and are a little tricky to replace. Cleaning the oven is problematic. If you cook chicken, the fat and juices tend to be blown on every inch of the inside of the oven, meaning the whole oven will need to be disassembled and washed. So this is not a low maintenance appliance.

I think the Jet Stream is a love-it or leave-it item.

edit: I just saw that you mentioned it was a Nesco. Those are the junky ones. If it was an original American Harvest built model, I'd be more positive on acquiring it.

Edited August 25, 2010 by lemniscate (log)

[prasantrin]

I'm not actually sure it's a Nesco, I just assumed so. It's a 1996 model and this is it. It has two dials, but it looks like it has a digitial readout, too.

I'm a little concerned about the age, but the woman who owns it says she rarely used it. I was directed to some reviews on Amazon, and there were some not-so-good ones regarding broken arms (the part on the oven, not people's).

About the generation of heat--We have an electric oven, but with this oven you don't have to preheat and cooking time is reduced by 1/3, they say, so there should be less heat generated overall, I would think.

I wish I could find a cheap halogen-type one. If I decide to look at it (and after reading the amazon reviews, I am inclined not to), I'll check out the noise level.