I cannot comment on Miele. SMEG warns keeping trays in will weaken them over time and dull the finish of the racks. The slides? Not had a comment but I suspect they could, not would, warp. It is all more confusing because some SMEG advice includes removing the oven top guard and some indicates it can be left in. I leave it in when it gets really dirty but can tell it is stressful on the metal.
All that being said, my 1990 US pyroletic oven did not need anything removed and never had a worry in 12 years when we parted ways with it.
Sorry I could not be more helpful but you asked the right question. The answer will depend on a member who does not follow the ârulesâ.
I would be asking Miele as they have a range of different finishes on their baking trays. It is possible that for some finishes, ultra high temperatures impact on the coatingâŠeither destroying it or making it unfit for future use with food (such as a standard non-stick finish). This is why it is best to ask Miele what can and canât be done with their oven accessories.
The last thing you also want to do is void a warranty through misuse of the ovenâŠby leaving things within the oven during cleaning cycle causing damage. Miele will also be able to advise on this as well.
It depends on the safety requirements of the cooktop. I suspect that it will stand higher temperatures much better than the induction stove which is full of electrical circuitry. Always check the manufacturerâs specifications before you make such decisions.
For both safety and temperature control I would rate ceramic well below the induction and it will be harder to clean as well. {edit} I forgot to say induction will be more energy efficient too.
As the preceding posts have said, have a look at installation instructions to answer your question. Also, when purchasing the cooktop, specify that you want a cooktop to go over a built-in oven. If the salesman gives one to you and it fails, you have the ACL to fall back on for remedy. If you just go in and specify you want XYZ cooktop and it fails, you have no comeback.
Checking reviews there has been no testing for a 70cm oven. If a 70cm oven has to be replaced it is financially impracticable to install a 60cm, 90cm oven.
I moved your post into this one about wall ovens. A related and very germane topic is
AFAIK the only 70cm oven on our market is the SMEG 70cm pyrolytic. Choice can confirm, but it has probably not been included because it is an outlier with a small customer base - eg it has a minor market share and Choice budgets dictate they are used wisely.
I have one now 4 1/2 years old. I did not want it but had a 74.5 cm (then called a 75cm) that needed a 75cm cutout, and todays 75cm models are actually 75cm needing a slightly larger cutout. I understand your pain since enlarging the cutout could not happen, and installing proud instead of flush does not suit the eyes. So the SMEG it was. We had 2 stainless bars made to fair in the sides - at first glance it looks like the way it was made and intended. Only on 2nd or 3rd glance are the differences in the stainless brushing evident.
Observations - the enamelling on the oven roof (removable part) reflects where it was hung. There are rough spots that do not seem to impact longevity but suggest basic approaches to firing. SMEG promised a better one but every one they got in was the same +/-. Another irritation is the telescoping frames have vertical wires and the bottoms are not rounded so removing them as required for a cleaning cycle makes scratching the interior too easy.
Operation: More programs than we could figure out what to do with and why anyone would need them. Some of them heat up ridiculously slowly; we use convection, fan forced, or fan grill 95% of the time. We do not bake or slow cook but the programs are there.
The control knob is a hostile design for a while but once one gets used to it (it is essentially a joy stick to navigate menus) it is not so bad. If one is cooking and wants the grill, the program has to be cancelled and the grill program selected. It always wants to heat up after that no matter that it is already at temperature so we cancel-select grill and cook away just fine.
The spacing of the racks is poor. The middle rack is perfect; the bottom one does not have much clearance to the middle limiting what can be cooked with the middle rack in place; the top is very close to the grill element. The previous version to ours had slide racks (not telescoping) that seemed much better spaced. Temperature consistency across the oven is not perfect but isnât bad. Most things come out better if rotated once every 15-30 minutes. Temperature accuracy is very good as compared to an oven thermometer.
The pyrolytic clean works well but the wire racks, telescoping rack, and roof need to be removed. Maybe the roof doesnât. Some docs say yes and some no. Writing of docs the descriptive text for the programs is a waste of ink. Back when SMEG had (and might still) have a local showroom including cooking demos and classes. They did a good job of trying to explain it all. I did less well of a job listening and understanding
Would I buy another? Yes. No choice (no pun). Could a 60cm be installed? Easier than you might think. It would require some easy to do framing to mount it, and some side panels made to fill out the sides.
Not necessarily. If you are talking about a built-in oven in your kitchen cabinets a 60 cm could be put in without a great deal of work and if done well it would look good. You could get your new smaller oven installed for much less than the cost of new kitchen cabinets unless strangely it was much taller than the 70 cm oven.
Depending on the details a 75cm might fit also. This work involves making a new mounting plate to go on the front of the cabinet and rearranging the internal support a little. It depends on there being room inside, including allowing for sufficient space for ventilation. I suggest checking before buying the replacement oven, given the plan for the cutout a competent carpenter should be able to tell you if it can be done and give a firm quote for the work.
There should be generic trim kits for ovens available (stainless and some colours such as black, white and grey). These cover the gaps around ovens of smaller sizes to the kitchen/wall cabinet size. There are a range of types available through appliance parts companies.
The oven sits in the existing cavity with the trim kit installed around the gaps. Simple installation and can be done by the oven installer rather than a separate tradie.
I have used them once installing a oven for the parentâs in-law. The oven gets mounted at the base of the cavity and connected by an electrician. The gaps on the left, right and top are covered using the trim kit. The trim kit attaches to the cabinet and fits under the edge of the ovens. It is sized depending on the gap. Ovens have a lip around them to allow them to sit flush with the cabinet surface, and the trim kit panels sit under this lip and extend across the gap.
Some manufacturers have their own trim kits, along with appliance spare parts businesses or specialist manufacturers like this one:
I imagine there would be a limit to when they could be usedâŠsuch as they possibly wouldnât be suitable for a 60cm oven in a 90cm oven cabinet, as the gap would be excessive (about 15cm on the L and R).
They are also available for microwave ovens, dishwashers and fridges. They are used to hide gaps and make the appliance look more built in than would otherwise be the case.
Obviously impractical to make the cavity wider noting a now standard 75cm would fit into the cavity with room to spare, but the facia would require a proud not flush installation since the framing could not safely be notched to account for the small deficit.
2 x custom quite solid stainless bars that are affixed with screws prior to sliding the oven in. $75 from memory. The height was virtually identical and required only a shim on the bottom of the SMEG, but no additional trim filler.
Hi,
I am replacing my old broken Smeg 60cm built in oven.
Naturally I go to the Choice reviews.
As Iâm on a budget (Max $950) the recommended ones are outside this.
I suppose anything above $2000 as listed in the Choice recommendations âshould be goodâ.
So, my question is, is it feasible to find a good oven under $1K?
cheers
Just because Choice does not give a product a ârecommendedâ tick does not necessarily mean it is a bad product. Look at the performance scores and manufacturer (reliability) reputation; ease of use can be a decider in the âexpert scoreâ. Keep in mind the best brand can have a terrible product, and the worst brand a great product.
Set the review slider to your max budget and keep in mind ovens are regularly on sale so you can expect to âbuy upâ a bit.
Yes. After the Choice reviews also check for anecdotal reviews that as unreliable as they can be can provide good information if there are clear trends (good or bad) in many reviews. There is also the issue of whether the manufacturer provides real service or lip service (eg responding to a break down in a month+ rather than days, as well as their overage if you are in a regional area - eg who and where is their service agent.).
âGoodâ and the Choice term ârecommendedâ are both arbitrary classifications. If you look at the Choice scores the cut off for recommended is about 87% whereas the ones in your price range are about 81%. If you look at the reasons why, it is that the scores for performance and ease of use gradually go down, but it a 6% drop that important, is that enough difference to say that 81% is not good enough? In part it depends of which features you find important to ease of use and how accurate it really needs to be in performance for the cooking that you do. You may find that it is good enough for you.
Another issue is that the prices listed are recommended retail, you can often get whitegoods for much less in the market. For example I recently bought a washer that was RRP about $1150 but got it for $780. So you may be able to afford one listed at (say) $1300.
If the price of installation has to be inside the $950 limit too I think you are out of luck as it is likely to be several hundred dollars.
I merged your post into this one regarding the review as it and responses would be interesting to a wide readership.
If you peruse the previous posts in the topic it might add further insights into possible costs and problems. My suspicion is your installation costs will be on the more modest side but be sure you do not blindly accept a quote that is based on a worst case scenario rather than actual time and materials. Some quotes will be âreplacement installationâ that assumes there is a plug-in installation and the new oven will screw into the existing cabinetry, but ask âwhat if it wonât?â
If your budget is less than $1000, there are many built-in ovens in the sub-$1000 range. They start around $400 if you do an internet search for âcheap built-in ovensâ.
While Choice may not have reviewed/recommended budget built-in ovens, they should work but not as well to meet the high standard required for Choice to recommend a product. It is worth looking online and read feedback from a range of different websites from users of the ovens when making a decision. If you have a shortlist, you are welcome to post these in the community to gain feedback before finalising your purchase.
