Built in Oven - Question Pre Purchase

[DampCat]

I need to replace the manky old oven that came with the house, just with something cheap as we'll renovate completely next year.

At the moment I think it's a 60x60cm fitting, is that a universal/standard size?

There's a panel under it, is there any chance that could be removed to give an extra 10cm allowing possibly a separate grill?

Im sure this is a "how are we supposed to know" question but I have never removed an oven, no idea what goes on back there

 

[glitch]

Most single ovens like that fit a 60x56cm gap, although it ends up being 60x60cm once you account for the extra width of the front.

What you’re looking for is called a double built-under oven, which gives you two ovens and needs an aperture size of around 60x72cm - so you might just get away with it, but removing the plinth below your current oven might not give the new one the support it needs.

Do you really need a double oven? How often do you cook two things at different temperatures or need to use the oven and grill at the same time? I’m currently going through that debate myself and can’t really come up with a good answer!

 

[bremen1874]

If you open the door there should be some screws that fasten in back into the cabinet. Undo those and it should slide out.

The shelf it's sitting on should be removable but may require some violence depending on how the cabinet is assembled. With it out of the way you should have room for a built under double oven (electrical connection capacity allowing).

 

[Hedge]

Whats wrong with keeping it until you renovate? looks similar to most of the ones on the market anyway

 

[jpaul]

Do you really need a double oven? How often do you cook two things at different temperatures or need to use the oven and grill at the same time? I’m currently going through that debate myself and can’t really come up with a good answer!

agree - I'm increasingly unconvinced by under the counter double ovens, my top one is generally too small. also not convection, so slow in comparison to main one,
does not consume much less electricity, and then, the big one is sometimes not big enough for main/roast + pudding say.
If you have a combo microwave as well, can always use that for warming plates or another dish.

 

[divuk83]

I had that oven, it was a good oven. Is it just beyond saving in terms of crap inside it?

I'm not sure you will fit a bigger oven under the counter, they are usually quite a bit taller.

Also how is it wired up? I picked that oven for a previous house where it was just plugged into a plug socket. That oven only draws 3kw so it was OK to run from a socket. Many of the other ovens I looked at drew more than 3kw so really would have needed connecting on it's own circuit/fuse to the consumer unit. I'm sure technically it still should have been hooked up on it's own circuit, but it was just done to replace and existing faulty oven wired up in the same way!

Dave

 

[paintguy]

Also how is it wired up? I picked that oven for a previous house where it was just plugged into a plug socket. That oven only draws 3kw so it was OK to run from a socket. Many of the other ovens I looked at drew more than 3kw so really would have needed connecting on it's own circuit/fuse to the consumer unit. I'm sure technically it still should have been hooked up on it's own circuit, but it was just done to replace and existing faulty oven wired up in the same way!

That's a good point, a double oven will almost certainly need hard wiring into a dedicated circuit so if the original one isn't it'll be a much bigger job than just swapping out the appliance itself.

Double built-under units are available, but you tend to end up with two small ovens instead of the decent sized one you have now. We find our double oven very handy but it is built into a tall unit so there is space available for a full sized oven and a smaller grill/oven which we use when just cooking a pizza for example.

 

[Mark M]

Get an oven cleaning company in and it will look like new. Thought mine was beyond saving when I moved in and for £80 for a range cooker it looked almost as good as new. For yours in the OP I would estimate the cost will be about £50.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

I would think you can fit a double in there, but as said its a larger main than second. Most people rarely use the second, they are normally convection not fan and hence you need higher heat and they often cook less well.

It can't hurt to investigate
1) turn off power
2) find securing screws, probably only 2 or 4
3) pull out oven, looks like its sitting on a shelf, but that could be its up on legs so it wont move and you will need to remove that white filler somehow
4) assuming it was on a shelf, can you remove the shelf? Its structural for the current oven, but unnecessary for a full height one as long as its not structural to the cupboards either side somehow
5) you need to be able to remove the bottom (grey?) to slide a new oven in, they have height adjustable feet so you need to check the drawings and see if it could fit for you
6) if all the above works out you may need to trim down the grey, sometimes it sits a little high for the oven door to open fully. So you cut like a slot at the top for it.

If you look at sites such as AO they normally have pictures with the minimum and maximum dimensions on them

 

[DampCat]

Thanks all.

The fans are going in it, it's starting to get super loud and sending vibrations through the floor. The inside lights are gone, and it's starting to inch out of the cabinet every time the door is opened or closed. Now that I've typed that out they don't seem like that big of a deal, but the Mrs is angling for something with more useful space.

I was thinking about 1 large oven Vs 2 small in the double units, and I think the single units are more efficient use of a small space. She does bake a lot though, so I suspect that's why she wants a double.

They had some pretty good deals on AO at the moment, which is the only reason I'm looking now. I'm going to see how much it'll cost to get it back to new and then see if it's worth the hassle of getting something else in and screwing with the cabinet/potential wiring.

 

[jpaul]

She does bake a lot though, so I suspect that's why she wants a double.

you will be disappointed by baking performance in a small non-convectionfan top oven - scones/sausage-rolls/mince-pies/cakes take ages.

I don't think convectionfan oven technology has improved much over last few years (cool fronts maybe/pyrolotic clean/multi-segment grill), investigate getting fan fixed ?

edit wrong terminology - I mean non-fan oven not non-convection

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

you will be disappointed by baking performance in a small non-convection top oven - scones/sausage-rolls/mince-pies/cakes take ages.

I don't think convection oven technology has improved much over last few years (cool fronts maybe/pyrolotic clean/multi-segment grill), investigate getting fan fixed ?

Yeah the second ovens are generally pretty poor in performance even going quite expensive. They are ok but things that you want crispy etc tend to come out worse than in the main oven
And assuming OP is going cheap as they looking to replace soon anyway then they aren't going to get any special features

If however OP is planning to use second for slow cooking, casseroles etc then it makes little diff

 

[planty]

Wouldn't recommend a built-under double oven, you'll just end up with 2 small ovens instead of a decent sized one. If you're looking to redo your kitchen soon then I'd try and eek the existing one out a bit longer - could look at getting the fan replaced if that's a cheap job.

 

[tom_nieto]

Get an oven cleaning company in and it will look like new. Thought mine was beyond saving when I moved in and for £80 for a range cooker it looked almost as good as new. For yours in the OP I would estimate the cost will be about £50.

Do this if you're planning to completely renovate next year anyway. It'll be much cheaper and much less hassle!

Changing the interior oven light is much simpler than ripping out and replacing the whole oven! Also you could see if the cabinet screws can be replaced.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

My under worktop oven is almost identical, and it sits on the floor. The wood around it it just for aesthetics. Should be pretty easy to pull of the plinth to be sure.

If you remove the spacer, you've got room for a double under worktop oven. I moved from a standard standing oven to a double under worktop oven. There's not really any difference in size. The top oven is a small oven / grill - no fan assisted. The bottom oven is fan assisted and big enough for anything our family of 4 needs.