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Wall Ovens


scordelia

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I recently purchased a house with KitchenAid double wall ovens--electric. They are awful! They have a single element, in the top of the oven, which means they are lousy for baking. I have calibrated the damn things, put pans on the top rack and pan of water on the floor when I bake, etc, etc, and I have had it! My DH is getting a nice bonus and I asked for new ovens.

Which one is best? They have to fit in my existing space of 27". I need something bakes cakes and souffles really well, so I think I need a bottom baking element that is hidden. I do not care about Sabbath mode or anything else for that matter except cooking food well. It would be nice if it came in white or ivory. Budget is up to $3000 but I would rather be less spendy. I am not a brand snob.

Thanks!

S. Cue

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I just had to replace double electric wall ovens that were ~ 15 years old. Unless you are willing to remodel your cabinets, you must be very, very careful to make sure the ovens you buy will fit your space. 27" ovens are not all equal! It took me 6 months to find ovens that would (1) fit and (2) didn't cost a fortune. Most of the ovens I looked at would fit vertically, but not horizontally. Depth will also be an issue if you are going from non-convection to convection. You need to measure carefully and then look at the specs drawings. Don't trust the dimensions you see on the store descriptions online. They are often off by quite a bit.

I wound up going with low-end GE ovens. I don't love them, but they're better than no ovens, which is what I had for nearly a year. I finally just threw up my hands and bought what I could find that would fit. They fit. They work. I've not had any disasters from them.

Good luck to you!

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  • 3 years later...

I have a 15-year old Dacor electric convection wall oven, 27" wide. When it conked out in June--the week I was baking my daughter's wedding cake :shock:  --the repairman said that the walls and floor of the oven had corroded through, and that it would be dangerous to repair and use it. So, I need to replace it now. The Dacor was a good oven, but there were regular issues with the electronics. Disappointed that the box actually wore through. The repair guy said it was because of the self-cleaning function, but, believe me, I didn't use it very often. (Maybe that was the problem?)

 

Anyway, I'd love your recommendations on wall ovens.

 

Thanks!

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Is there a price beyond which you will absolutely not venture? Stainless, white, or black (or doesn't it matter)? Single oven only, or would you consider a double oven? Do I assume correctly that it's a 220/240V line?

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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founf a place w some prices for the Steam ovens

 

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/MES301H.html

 

lower down you can scroll to see pretty much what is available.

 

Her current space has a 27" oven. The ones at AJ Madison (and elsewhere, I imagine) are only 24" or 30", so there'd be some custom installation or a trim kit involved, which would increase the cost (although probably not significantly when compared to the cost of the oven itself :wacko: ).

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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Make sure you measure properly. My mom bought an oven without doing this and when it was installed, she discovered that a lot of her sheet pans and some of her roasting pans didn't fit in the new oven...it was too shallow. Lesson learned!

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“Peter: Oh my god, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits. It says, 'Oooooo.'

Brian: Peter, those are Cheerios.”

– From Fox TV’s “Family Guy”

 

Tim Oliver

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OK, so before I see your answers to my earlier questions, here are some more. :wacko:

 

As with many items, increasing cost tends to produce diminishing returns -- unless, of course, there's a feature you'd really, really like -- steam cooking, for example. It all depends on what your priorities are: Convection? (I assume yes, of course.) Built-in temperature probe? Wireless access from your phone? Good reliability? Proofing setting? (Don't understimate the value of that one.) Cachet?

 

Although undoubtedly there's certain value in anecdotal evidence (i.e., an individual's experience with a particular brand), I'm very much a fan of relying on bigger data. For example, I know that Consumer Reports is pooh-poohed by certain members of this community -- and admittedly it has its limitations -- but I think it's an excellent place to start. My library system gives me complete access to CR online -- does yours?

 

ETA: Your profile doesn't indicate where you live, but the availability of a good repair service -- especially one that can do warranty service -- for your chosen brand is essential.

Edited by Alex (log)
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"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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yep

 

and I agree its an excellent place to start.

 

its a shame Steam option is so expensive

 

and all the steam ovens are on the small side.  here is a rough cost / cubic foot

 

[ed.: I do understand how meaningless this is.  you can't add  0.4 cubic feet at this rate even if you wanted ]

 

thermador :   $ 2,857 / cf

 

Meile             $ 2,470 / cf

 

Wolf               $ 2,361 / cf

 

Gagga           $ 4,806 / cf

 

and that good old workhorse   the Cuisinat CSB  :  $ 500 / cf   ( using full $ 299 price  A Bargan ! )

Edited by rotuts (log)
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Wall Ovens, Part the Third: At the moment, assuming you'd like a single oven in stainless steel, with all the bells and whistles except steam, I'd recommend these two -- the Bosch HBN8451UC and the GE CK7000SHSS. They do a good job with baking and broiling and are at the top of CR's reliability rankings. If forced to pick, I'd probably go with the Bosch.

 

The Electrolux is a good oven, but I'd tend to shy away from it because it has one of the lowest reliability ratings for their electric stoves. (CR has no reliability info for their wall ovens, but I think it'd reasonable to generalize from the stove ratings.)

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"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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Thanks for all the very helpful responses, and sorry for my delay in getting back to you--I was up for reelection today, and therefore away from my computer. So now:

 

I will definitely look into a steam oven: great idea.

 

I have room for only a single wall oven. It's actually under a counter (I also have a range with an oven, so this is my second oven). Other appliances in the kitchen are stainless, so we'll stick with that. Yes, full juice.

 

I don't care about temperature probes, wireless access, or even proofing--although I make a lot of bread, I haven't had a problem with this. Reliability is very important to me. And although I was going to say that there was not "a price beyond which I would not venture"--when I see those steam oven prices, yikes!

 

Yes, I do have access to Consumer Reports through my library--what a godsend!--and it's useful but not always complete. I will look into the Bosch and the GE. Alex--have you had experience with these yourself?

 

I live in Connecticut and service is a consideration, but we have one nearby dealer who has a pretty good selection and service department.

 

Have any of you had experience with steam-clean ovens? If the heat-only self-cleaning cycles of ovens are as destructive as my repairman said--and there seems to be some confirmation of this in consumer comments on various models--is the steam clean function a good option?

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

 

 

 

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Catherine,  I think most user reports I have read suggest that steam clean is more of a gimmick than a benefit.  Many others are opposed to self clean, since there are frequent complaints by owners that the self clean cycle overheated the electronics and caused problems with the oven.  Since you are only looking at a second oven, a combi  (steam plus convection ) is an ideal choice. The oven cavity is usually pretty small, but that allows it to come to temperature very quickly -  5 to 10 minutes, and most of us that have them use them far more often than the full sized oven in the range  -  think of how rarely that is filled to capacity. 

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is there a review in CR on steam ovens ? can you add the ref.

 

I only have a CSB, so I can't comment on steam clean in these larger (  :huh: ) ovens

 

i have used that feature in the CSB several times.  works like a charm and then a quick wipe down w a lint free cloth and no fuss nor high temps.

 

if you have the funds, at least find a place to see the ovens.  the Miele was Talking to Me when I looked at it.  it comes w a non-plumbed version

 

I think that's all you need.   just add water to the reservoir from a Brita filtered water pitcher  ( to remove calcium )

 

steam cooking is very different than 'dry'    run through the Cuisinart Steam Oven thread to get the idea.

 

If the Miele came in an enclosure that could go on a heavy duty stand Id be in real trouble !

 

I don't really know much about the Miele    Its just a size / cost guess at this point for me.

 

the Wolf did not allow ' manual' use    i.e.  """   350 steam 30 minutes  '''''

 

it seems to only have program buttons so i didn't look into it much

 

the store I went to had   the Gagg, Miele, and Wolf.

Edited by rotuts (log)
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rotuts, I don't see a review in CR about steam ovens.

 

Catherine, we have a higher-end GE, but it's a gas slide-in stove/oven, so unfortunately I can't offer any useful personal information.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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  • 1 month later...

We finally got a new wall oven and range installed at the beginning of December, so I thought I would report back. We ended up replacing Dacor with Dacor, in large part because Dacor still seems to be the only brand--at least around Connecticut--that can come factory-fitted for propane. (Retrofitting for propane generally means a loss in BTUs, we are told.)

 

The installation of the wall oven was relatively seamless, although the new one is a little shorter than our old one. It seems to run low, but I haven't had a chance to recalibrate it yet. There are instructions for doing so. Also, possibly the heat distribution in the ovens is less even than in my old oven?

 

There are roll-out racks, which are helpful occasionally, but a bit of a pain to move from level to level.

 

One little detail: there are two choices of handle styles--a normal brackets-and-bar handle and an inset handle. Because of the tight corner where the oven is, I chose the inset handle, but I now regret that choice. You can't open it with a hand in an oven mitt, which, of course, I would do all the time.

 

We've got some big problems with the duel-fuel range, but that wasn't really on topic here. The oven in the range seems to be fine--same issues as the wall oven--but we have had an electrical fire under the cooktop. They replaced the innards today; we'll see if it's fixed.

 

 

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