Electric Slide-In Oven/Stove Recommendations?
March 5, 2022 10:34 AM Subscribe
Our oven is dying and it's time for a new one. Have you bought one recently that you love (or despise)?
Our current one is a standard 30" American electric slide-in oven/stove combo made by Frigidaire. It was installed when this house was built in 2007 and as far as I can tell it's been complete garbage from day one. It's finally beginning to die, so I'm ready to buy a new one, and given how much I cook and bake I want it to be nice as hell.
Things I care about:
- Useability. Is there good graduation between heat settings on the stove? Is it annoying to try to set timers? How inaccurate is the oven thermostat? Etc.
- Build quality (the storage drawer on the current oven is made with stamped steel drawer rails that bend out of shape literally every time you open it, and the dials are connected with cheap plastic inserts that occasionally allow the dials to spin freely without actually doing anything. The computer control/clock unit up front has a 1/8 gap separating it from the cooktop, ensuring that it is constantly filled with greasy crumbs that are nearly impossible to remove. It is a maddeningly shitty appliance)
- Materials feel. I want dials that feel nice to turn, push buttons that aren't coming unstuck from their cheap vinyl covers, etc.
- Needs to be stainless to match other appliances
- Ideally under $3k.
Things I don't care that much about:
- Induction burners (I have a standalone induction hot plate I can use if the mood ever strikes)
- Integrated air fryers (which, correct me if I'm wrong, just means it's a convection oven, right?)
- A lot of other bells and whistles like bread proofing modes in the oven or what have you
With those parameters in mind, is there one you'd recommend I check out (or avoid)? I'm aware of the Wirecutter and Popular Mechanics recommendations, and I've definitely got my eye on that Bosch 800 series, but this is a ton of money to spend on an appliance I might be using 2-3 times a day for the next 20 years so I really want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence here. Also, I'm aware of the controversy surrounding whether or not big-box stores sell shittier versions of name brand appliances so they can cut costs; unfortunately the only legit appliance store here in town is... very bad, so this will probably end up being a Lowes or HD purchase regardless.
Thanks!
Our current one is a standard 30" American electric slide-in oven/stove combo made by Frigidaire. It was installed when this house was built in 2007 and as far as I can tell it's been complete garbage from day one. It's finally beginning to die, so I'm ready to buy a new one, and given how much I cook and bake I want it to be nice as hell.
Things I care about:
- Useability. Is there good graduation between heat settings on the stove? Is it annoying to try to set timers? How inaccurate is the oven thermostat? Etc.
- Build quality (the storage drawer on the current oven is made with stamped steel drawer rails that bend out of shape literally every time you open it, and the dials are connected with cheap plastic inserts that occasionally allow the dials to spin freely without actually doing anything. The computer control/clock unit up front has a 1/8 gap separating it from the cooktop, ensuring that it is constantly filled with greasy crumbs that are nearly impossible to remove. It is a maddeningly shitty appliance)
- Materials feel. I want dials that feel nice to turn, push buttons that aren't coming unstuck from their cheap vinyl covers, etc.
- Needs to be stainless to match other appliances
- Ideally under $3k.
Things I don't care that much about:
- Induction burners (I have a standalone induction hot plate I can use if the mood ever strikes)
- Integrated air fryers (which, correct me if I'm wrong, just means it's a convection oven, right?)
- A lot of other bells and whistles like bread proofing modes in the oven or what have you
With those parameters in mind, is there one you'd recommend I check out (or avoid)? I'm aware of the Wirecutter and Popular Mechanics recommendations, and I've definitely got my eye on that Bosch 800 series, but this is a ton of money to spend on an appliance I might be using 2-3 times a day for the next 20 years so I really want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence here. Also, I'm aware of the controversy surrounding whether or not big-box stores sell shittier versions of name brand appliances so they can cut costs; unfortunately the only legit appliance store here in town is... very bad, so this will probably end up being a Lowes or HD purchase regardless.
Thanks!
Can you explain your stance against induction? They have all the pros of a regular electric range and none of the cons. Only potentialy issue is that some of your pans may not work with it but the vast majority of pots and pans are induction-friendly.
posted by sid at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by sid at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2022
Response by poster: To be clear, I'm not anti induction. It's just not important enough to me to be something I'm specifically shopping for.
posted by saladin at 2:17 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by saladin at 2:17 PM on March 5, 2022
A few years ago, we bought a GE with a glass cooktop. I wouldn't do it again. The glass prevents quick temperature changes, and worse than that, the programming has some frustrating features. For instance, if you notice the pan is too hot while the burner is visibly red, and turn down the heat, it may stay red for another 30 or 45 seconds while the pot is threatening to boil over.
I would have liked induction , but I have a pacemaker and the two wouldn't play well together.
The ovens are mostly fine. Like all ovens they don't hold a constant temp especially well. We got a model with two ovens, a smallish one one top, and a big one beneath. This means no drawer for pots and pans. We use the little one all the time. I didnt anticipate how low the big oven is, and what that means when taking out a roast turkey. The big one is convection.
I think "air fryer" is more like "convection grill/broiler" than conventional over.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:05 PM on March 5, 2022
I would have liked induction , but I have a pacemaker and the two wouldn't play well together.
The ovens are mostly fine. Like all ovens they don't hold a constant temp especially well. We got a model with two ovens, a smallish one one top, and a big one beneath. This means no drawer for pots and pans. We use the little one all the time. I didnt anticipate how low the big oven is, and what that means when taking out a roast turkey. The big one is convection.
I think "air fryer" is more like "convection grill/broiler" than conventional over.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:05 PM on March 5, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
The 30" model I was eyeing that I ended up not getting was this Samsung range. It's right about exactly at your price point, and from what I've read, it's a fantastic oven. I know you don't need it to be an induction stove, but I love the flexibility and power this model offers.
posted by yellowcandy at 12:34 PM on March 5, 2022