Kitchen - single or double oven?

moneysavingvixen

Having mentioned on another thread that I'm having building work done in my kitchen, I'm now thinking about a detailed plan for my kitchen. A tall double oven isn't an option because of space constraints - so a single or a double built-under? I can see the benefits of both, but it would be good to hear from those more experienced than I am.

Thanks
msv

Steve_the_fitter

Id go with a double but make sure you have the correct cabling there for it. In all honesty a lot of single ovens now need a 6mm cable and own 32 amp fuse at the fuse board. This shouldnt be to much of a problem seeing as your having building work but make sure you tell the electrician what kw the oven is so he knows what cables to run

Steve

GarryJ68

moneysavingvixen wrote: »

Having mentioned on another thread that I'm having building work done in my kitchen, I'm now thinking about a detailed plan for my kitchen. A tall double oven isn't an option because of space constraints - so a single or a double built-under? I can see the benefits of both, but it would be good to hear from those more experienced than I am.

Thanks
msv

Go with a double - they are so useful especially if you do a lot of cooking for family or friends

Slinky_Malinky

I`d have a double too. I made the mistake of fitting a single oven in my kitchen and the space inside is very large to heat as I am only cooking for two. I ended up so paranoid about wasting leccy that i no longer us it and instead use a Remoska or table top halogen oven. Oh and in 6 years I have never used the grill inside my single oven, but if I had a seperate double oven grill combo I would have used it lots.

mose_2

I'm going for the double oven, just so much more handy. But picking one is like a minefield, any suggestions?

puddy

a word of caution, we have an eye level double oven and wehen we had a kitchen fitter round to give us ideas on our kitchen, i told him that i wanted a built under oven to give me more worktop space. he said thats fine but did i know that a built under double oven will be smaller per section than a single built under oven,,,, how are you going to fit a christmas dinner, roast type of thing in it? so we are working round the eye level double.

if you do cooking for people and need height in the oven, go for the single oven, if you never need to put a big turkey or roast in it, then go for the double

CKdesigner

Hi

On the otherside - I wouldn't touch a built under double oven! They are only built by manufacturers for the English market so are very much an after thought. Quality makes like Miele do not make doubles, that must tell you something.

Manufacturers put all their development expertise and money into single ovens, they will cook much better and be more economical.

A built under double is just 2 small ovens - no thanks. A decent single everytime!

I could give you a list of benefits of a single oven over a built under double as long as your arm but it would just get boring!

If you asked true experts on the subject they would completely agree.

Anyway good luck with whatever you choose.

CK

majjie

Built under double ovens may be poorer quality than single ovens - but most serious home cooks, that I talk to, hate single ovens.

Unless you're a compulsive oven cleaner, the grill in a single oven is always going to smoke when you use it ... because it has splashes on it from the food you've cooked in the oven.

But Jenner is right, you're not going to get your huge Xmas turkey into a built under double.

I'd always recommend a tall, built-in double - if you have the room - or two single ovens - or a single oven and a true combi-oven with a microwave.

If you haven't got the space for any of those - then it isn't an easy decision to make!

TomsMom

I had a single oven/grill in our last house. Hated it. As Majji mentioned there can be smoke from the grill when you use the oven but what I found was that I could always always smell the bacon fat that had found it's way to the element. OH grills bacon but I don't eat meat so I found the smell particularly horrible.

In our present property, when planning our kitchen I wanted to go back to a double oven and we, too, couldn't have the tall housing unit. Neither did I want a built-under as I'm used to a tall unit and the older I get the less I want to bend down to use the oven. We managed to fit in a "euro housing" which takes a proper double oven. It is 145cm high rather than a normal floor unit which is 90cm high including worktop. Ours is on the end of the run. Could you possibly fit one of those in?

I also looked at built under double ovens and have to agree that the oven is quite small, the sales advisor informed us that you wouldn't fit a turkey in at Christmas.

CKdesigner

I think you will find if the grill inside a single oven is used properly it won't smoke. When you have used the grill to cook fatty things, leave the grill on for 5 mins after you have taken the food out, then this will burn of any of the residual fat on the element. When you think about it most people do the same, they finish cooking then turn the grill off straight away, then wonder why the oven smokes!

Alternatively buy a single Pyrolytic oven that will burn of any residues of fat/dirt in the oven, this is the only true way of having a self clean oven. You get what you pay for.

skylight

I have just bought a double oven (with a combo grill in the smaller oven) and a wide one.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4771500/Trail/searchtext%3EC367GWH.htm Paid £330 from Argos 2 weeks ago when they had 20% all cookers.

I have a family of 6 and they all eat different things so a larger/wider double oven is perfect for me. The one thing I noticed is that "double ovens" are not really double ovens. They are single ovens with a seperate grill, and its difficult to find a reasonably priced 60cm true double oven with a combo grill.