Convection Microwave Ovens

Edit: New readers to the topic can join at post 18 on 5 April 2022

We re looking to purchase a built in convection microwave oven, mainly as a second oven and grill…any advise please? It’s a new kitchen. We prefer a flat bed one for ease of cleaning.

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I have two LARGE convection microwave ovens and use them all the time. One is sitting on bench top and other is sitting on a shelf above bench top height. I find the one on the bench top is much easier to lift things into and out of - would prefer than its door was hinged on the side rather than hinged on the bottom.
Hardly ever use the conventional oven because it won’t fit the big dishes that the large convection microwaves will fit on their circular ‘shelves’
With respect to cleaning it is much better to have one with a carousel bottom tray - the food cooks more evenly; and the tray is easily removed to be cleaned - the tray (which catches any spills) goes to the sink for cleaning and underneath the tray is smooth stainless steel that is easy to wipe over. Then a scrub of the sides and ceiling of the oven interior and all is good.
Summary - put the convection microwave at a height so that you don’t have to bend down to it or reach up to it, so that the is little/no height difference between its floor and the bench; and consider how its door is hinged.

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Thanks for the useful info. I’m looking for a built in one to go either above my oven or below it so it looks streamline like a double oven. Good point re the turntable.

Practice how you would lift a several kilogram roast or a large heavy casserole to a height above your oven, or how you would lift it out of a convection microwave when bending down to a position below your conventional oven. Remember hot things and dishes that contain liquids are harder to handle than cold solid objects.
practicality and convenience out-trump “looks” in the kitchen every time.

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For reference, here is our microwave review (member content) for readers that find their way to this thread.

PORTABLE CONVECTION MICROWAVE OVENS. Well, Choice obliged with a review in July 2020. Great. Three recommended models, and some coming close behind, with a range of prices. None of them noted a review, but wait, there were reviews. Seven reviews for the recommended model I preferred, all labelled the product a lemon, with faulty functioning and multiple repairs still leaving them with malfunctioning duds. Oh. So, I laboriously checked all the products for reviews. All reviews by purchasers noted faulty functioning, within or just out of warranty.

Please Choice @BrendanMays. Indicate there are purchaser reviews on the item’s information, and make a note of this significant failure to draw out one positive review from a user of combination convection and microwave ovens. Is this a record failure of a type of product? I hope you’ve passed your units on for longer term trials to see if these functional problems emerge with your units. Disappointingly, at this point in time I don’t think it’s wise to take a risk with purchasing one. Your intro needs to address this significant issue. Thanks to the Choice community who took the time to share their bitter experience, and save others from a nightmare of repeated repairs or replacement costs.

Is there anyone out there with a successful experince with a model still current over several years, particularly with a convection microwave that can successfully bake bread?

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Hi @Hillsgal, I moved your post about convection microwave ovens from gas HWS and heating issues to this older topic since it is about cooking appliances and specifically focusing on convection microwaves so the comments do not get lost in gas HW and heating issues.

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  1. The review is quite incomplete - I couldn’t find either of the ovens I was interested in buying. This makes the review of no use at all to many of us.
  2. Reviews need to take note of door opening direction so you can filter on, for example, downward opening doors for those of us who need that.
  3. Am I correct in believing that we no longer have the ability to comment under an article or review, or have I missed something?

Thanks

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Hi Julian

To answer your questions in order:

  1. What were you considering that was not included? I too have found products I was interested in buying, only to find out there was no review. Unfortunately Choice does not have an unllimited budget, and can not review every available product. (I wish they could). Typically, they select the products which are the most widely available and which sell the most a the time they are going to do their testing.
  2. For a work-around to the lack of a filter - If you click on the ‘compare all’ box (located under ‘read more’), all the reviewed products will be listed. On my Chrome browser, I press <CTL +F> (Control & the F key at the same time) to get the search or Find panel. I put in “pull down door”. Four occurrences were highlit, being four ovens with downward opening doors.
  3. You are correct in this instance that the comments section is missing. Perhaps @jhook from Choice might be able to answer why that might be?
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Thanks @meltam. I previously more-or-less used your method to look for pull down door (i.e. manually perused the spreadsheet) but the listings don’t appear to be correct so I gave up. At least the SAMSUNG MC455THRCBB is stated to be pull down, but in fact it quite clearly is a side-opening door.

I was looking particularly for the current Whirlpool pull-down, and the LG NeoChef 39L (and also whistfully hoping there might be some coverage of the Aldi convection microwave). Of course I take the point that Choice doesn’t have unlimited funds but contend that surveying less than half the market is misleading, doesn’t help consumers, and disadvantages some manufacturers. Given Choice’s affiliation with much larger overseas consumer organisations you might expect their combined resources sufficient to test most current models. Alternatively Choice could move to a different model, where they solicit free supply from manufacturers but via some sort of voucher system, so that Choice chooses the particular shop and device they purchase to avoid special product preparation and selection. At least by that means, a manufacturer can ensure they are included rather than leaving it to chance selection by Choice.

I get the feeling that all under-article comments have disappeared, but maybe that is just chance of the articles I’ve looked at. An announcement one way or the other would help.

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The comment section is still there, often it is ad and other data blocking that causes the issue. To see it in my case I had to disable the Firefox security (selecting Custom and unticking all the boxes), turn off NoScript, Privacy Badger, Blur, uBlock Origin for the site. Too much effort normally so I don’t bother commenting.

In Edge, Chrome and Opera it appeared with no issues (however they aren’t hardened like my Firefox is).

Privacy Badger on it’s own also killed the ability to see the comment/review section.

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Thanks @grahroll, that will explain it as I use Firefox. Will have to think about a solution, but I’ll probably end up doing what you do … not comment and use this forum.

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Review Comments include recent and relevant to old and glib with many reviewed products never having any user commentary +/-. Choice is aware there are a few deficiencies with the ‘comments to reviews’ section, but it seems a longer term resolution and not a priority. It requires staff moderation but more importantly more user engagement; the community seems to have been more successful at the latter than the product reviews comments, possibly because the reviews are linked to the member area while the community is open to all, resulting in differing visibility.

A few of the historical topics on the user reviews section:

I for one have long opined to @BrendanMays that not focusing on user review comments to Choice tested products is missing an important aspect since in some cases a highly reviewed product has turned out to be rubbish in a users hands, and vice versa. Yet it is for Choice to decide their priorities with the resources available,

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I completely agree.

The other factor with member’s comments is that they are specifically relevant to the model(s) in that report. Consequently, I always look at members’ comments, and have skipped over some highly rated products due to multiple members’ negative feedback.

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Absolutely, and it is for us to lobby and suggest to Choice what those priorities might be. Of course it is easy to criticise from outside, but that doesn’t make criticism and suggestions less relevant or even useful.

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(Combination ovens + microwave function)

built in, without turn table

Welcome to the Community @kjell,

Presuming you mean ‘convection microwaves’ I merged your post into this older topic that doesn’t add a lot, but reflects what members have offered to date. There are also some other topics where convection microwaves are referenced, discoverable by using the Community Search function.

There is also a Choice Buying Guide with links to Choice tests.

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I found the buying guide very informative.

The latest reviews Aug21 offered insight on the details to look for in store. Good Points v Bad Points.

Looking for the actual models reviewed vs models now in store or listed on line. Only one of the 2 LG models reviewed is now available. One large retailer TGG lists 6 different LG models in 3 different sizes. All except one have a left hinged door. Choice only reviewed drop down door models.

Appliances Online offers only one model from LG, reviewed by Choice.

With LG consistently rating well for it’s microwave products is it worth purchasing a model not reviewed? Note a drop down door vs a hinged door may make a big difference to usability depending on kitchen set out.

P.S.
We seem to have a second similar topic open.
Convection microwave ovens review - #4 by PhilT

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Now merged…

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