Convection/Microwave Ovens

[Julia]

Does anyone have any experience with convection/microwaves?
Useful?
Can they genuinely be regarded as a replacement for the ordinary oven/grill plus the microwave?

 

[Prospector]

HI Julia
Yes, I think they are a true replacement, but you do need a dedicated line for them (Smurf will know what I mean) but perhaps if you already have an electric oven it can use the one this uses.

I looked at them about 12 months ago but they are much larger than the normal microwave, and I didn't have the space for it. So I just bought a normal microwave.

So if I had to replace both microwave and oven at the same time, the space, and the electricals I would definately look at getting one.

 

[Julia]

Thanks, Prospector. Wonder if we're talking about the same thing?
The ones I have seen wouldn't need anything other than just being plugged into a normal wall plug, just like an ordinary microwave, though somewhat larger.
Smurf????
Anyone else?

 

[123enen]

I think this is what prospector is referring to.

The basic rule is not to exceed the output that is coming out of the powerpoint, i.e. your powerpoint is 240V (volts). The safe limit you can draw off that is 10A (amperes) which is the equivalent of an output of 2400 watts (2.4kW). That’s why electronic appliances like clothes dryers and portable heaters don’t get any more powerful than a rating of 2.4kW. Beyond that you have to run bigger wiring direct to your home’s switchboard, as is the case with electric stoves and direct-wired heaters.

Therefore, it’s a simple maths equation. For example, a TV, VCR and stereo system are all fine to run off a one outlet because their combined rating is less than 2400 watts. The rating of these appliances are typically: 200, 80, and 80 watts respectively. So when switched on at the same time, the total rating is only around 360 watts.

However, you will run into trouble if you want to iron your clothes, boil the kettle and use a vacuum cleaner at the same time off the same outlet / powerboard. These are typically rated 1000, 1600 and 1000 watts respectively – a total of 3.6kW.

 

[Stan 101]

Julia,

My folks have a convection/microwave oven hybrid. Same size as a modern microwave (about 40 litre??).

Dad is a master pastry chef / chef and seems happy with the results considering it is a domestic oven. When they built their home about 5 years ago the decided to use a hybrid and they didn't install a convection oven. So technology would have improved in that time.

Roasts at christmas time turn out well from the hybrid oven. Commercial hybrid ovens have been around for some time and give excellent results.

I suppose you would need to be more vigilant in the cleaning department if you were roasting alot as the internal finishes aren't as robust and any residue would continue to bake on when using the oven in microwave mode.


cheers,

 

[GreatPig]

We also have a convection microwave, which is the same size as an ordinary microwave and just plugs into a power point. My wife uses it a fair bit. Her main complaint is that you can't easily cook anything large in a square dish, as the rotating base means the dish needs to be able to fit in diagonally. You can remove the base though so it doesn't have to rotate.

GP

 

[sails]

Hi Julia, I had one of the first Sharp's that came out a few years ago. It did everything (almost!) and I used it constantly. Liked the way it weighed everything and cooked most things to perfection. I found the ability to use the dual micro/convection mode handy and also used it quite often for roasts. However, I found it helpful to have a second small microwave to cook the straight microwavable parts of a meal. Otherwise, the roast veges would get cold while cooking some greens, gravy, etc.

 

[Smurf1976]

Electricals:

Short answer is it will probably be OK unless the wiring is dodgy (or old) or you already have more appliances than a typical household. Or you are using heaters or air-conditioners that aren't on their own circuit.

The limit for an ordinary household power point is 10 Amp. At 240V, that will be a maximum of 2400 Watts. Depending on the nature of the appliances being used, under some circumstances 10 Amp will be considerably less than 2400 Watts due to them having a power factor below 1 (that's getting more technical than you need to worry about though ).

Bottom line is most consumer type combination ovens draw about 8 amps and certainly no more than 10. So no problem with overloading the power point as long as you don't use a double adaptor or power board and plug other high usage appliances into the same power point.

The other issue relates to how your house is wired. You will typically have two (or more) power circuits, each rated at 16 or 20 Amp. Typically one for all the power points at one end of the house, the other for the other half of the house. Ideally (and it is good wiring procedure to do so) the kitchen should be split across both circuits since it is a location of high usage - some power points on one, some on others.

The potential issue is simply this. If the oven is drawing 8 amps (for example) then that only leaves 8 - 12 amps on that circuit for everything else. If you have a dryer (8 - 10 amps) also on that circuit and then decide to plug in the George Foreman grill (10 amps) all at the same time then you'll trip a circuit breaker or blow a fuse. No big deal but annoying if it happens all the time.

Easy way to check is just turn off the circuit you'll be plugging the oven into (at the switchboard - turn off the breaker or take the fuse out) and see what else is on the same circuit (that is, which power points don't have power). No problem unless there is more than one big appliance - dryers, heaters, air-conditioner etc on the same circuit AND you will be using them at the same time as the oven. Vacuums use quite a lot too.

Fridges and washing machines don't use much despite their physical size so don't worry about them (except washing machines that heat their own water - they use a lot of power). Also don't worry about TV's (including normal sized plasmas 42" etc), DVD's, computers etc as they don't use much. Likewise don't worry about amplifiers, sound equipment etc if it's normal household stuff.

Realistically though, the bottom line is that you shouldn't have any electrical issues with these ovens unless either (1) the house is more than 30 years old and has never had a wiring upgrade or (2) you are running plug-in heaters or air-conditioners that have not had a separate circuit installed. 9 times out of 10 if there's a problem of this sort then there's a portable heater involved - they are usually a full 10 amps.


Oven functionality:

Should be fine with the higher end ones (Sharp, Panasonic) etc as long as you're happy with the size and not having a separate oven and microwave.

I have a cheap combination oven. It's more useful than an ordinary microwave but not big enough as a replacement for a conventional oven. Cooks fine however.

For conventional non-microwave cookers, the dual fuel "Emilia" one that I have is tops. 4 gas burners on top, electric oven and grill with 5 cooking modes. Not huge, about the same size as a standard stove, but cooks very well.

 

[Julia]

Many thanks to everyone for helpful replies. Will now feel confident enough to look at them seriously.

Smurf: you really are the epitome of thoroughness - you never let us down when there's any question like this. Thanks so much.

 

[GreatPig]

turn off the breaker or take the fuse out) and see what else is on the same circuit (that is, which power points don't have power)

If you're doing that and also have those bathroom heat and light units, check them as well. They're not supposed to be on power point circuits (as far as I'm aware - wiring regs are not my strong point) but we had one wired on a power point circuit by an electrician who couldn't be bothered running a new circuit. A four lamp unit with 275W bulbs plus a 100W normal bulb will be 1200W with all bulbs on.

GP

 

[Prospector]

I have just had a kitchen rebuild recently, and went through all the stuff that Smurf is talking about. My house is an old tudor, 1928, but was refitted, supposedly, about 20 years ago.

I was converting from a gas oven to an electrical one, so the electrician had to go through all the checks that Smurf outlined. His explorations found out that out safety switch was not working (which explains a fire we had a couple of years ago) and that it had never been connected to the bedrooms anyway

He decided to give the oven (an Emilia Smurf!) its own line in (apparently we have three in the house) and the laundry and rest of the kitchen appliances their own line, and everything else had the third line. At the time I said, well, no way would I ever want to use the dishwasher (which heats its own water and is used once a day) and the washing machine, and the clothes dryer all at once!

Well, within a week I had blown a circuit because I did exactly that!

It is hardly an issue, as now I know not to do that, but you think I would have worked this out by now!

Smurf, the Emilia is great but the instruction book is dreadful - I only know how to use two settings for it!

Maybe we have different ovens here in SA coz all the convection ovens/microwaves here were huge! Although I do remember using a smaller one in a holiday apartment in Noosa. Which was what convinced me to try to get one when my old oven died. It did the most perfect glazed chicken wings ever - and had a stainless steel interior. I think.

 

[Julia]

Just one specific question:
if you want to just brown the top of something, does the Grill function work just like the usual Grill attached to the ordinary convection oven?
Does the food rotate while it is being grilled?

If it sounds like a silly question, one brand I have seen had a grill element top and bottom and according to the shop assistant, did not function independently.

Does anyone have particular recommendations re brands?

 

[GreatPig]

With our one, an LG, the grill only covers about half of the tray which rotates during grilling. Not as good as a full grill in my opinion, although you can use the grill and microwave at the same time (similar to the convection/microwave combo) but can't use the convection and grill at the same time. Also, because of the size of the microwave, you need to insert a high stand for grilling to get the food close to the grill. Two stands came with the oven, one for convection cooking and one for grilling. This means you have to find somewhere to put them when you're not using them in the microwave.

Don't know about brands, as we've only ever had this LG one and an old Panasonic microwave-only. The LG one is a few years old now and still works fine. The Panasonic is 10-15 years old and also still works fine.

GP