You cannot assume that all 27" or all 30" ovens are equal; you have to measure the INSIDE width, depth, & height. I found an amazing variation of capacities when oven shopping, & even the same cubic volume does not translate to the same useful capacity. Convection is wonderful but often comes at a cost of reduced depth in an oven. The only way to be sure is to either personally try your desired pan size or ask the manufacturer for the dimensions on the racks that come with the oven & verify the useful depth.

I can fit a half sheet pan in our Gaggenau 27" oven with room to spare. I probably would have purchased a 30" but Gagg didn't offer it 2 years ago, and now I can see that a 30" would not have given us much more useful space using our baking & roasting pans. (Gagg offers its own trays in addition to conventional racks, & the tray would supply more area for cookies in a 30" oven.) Plus, our 27" oven preheats very quickly. Using convection, you are not limited to a single rack, so you can fit more in.

I have a 27" Bosch as my only oven. I felt the 30" was overkill and a waste of electricity. The interior space is excellent, and like gizmonike, I can't see that a 30" would have added anything useful, just expense. I agree with everything she said.

Good points above about real dimensions inside and convection.

I find it strange that no manufacturer ever talks about the heat transfer insulation in their oven. Isn't it as important as all the other components? If one oven is smaller inside, it may be better insulated, so shouldn't they get moral credit for this too?

You can fit big things in a 24" convection oven too, so my guess is there is not much gained by going with 30" over 27".

-david

Thank you everyone. I had not considered the vastly differing dimensions of different manufacturers. I am particularly interested in hearing from anyone who is using the Miele 27" oven as that's creeping to the top of my list.

Unfortunately I haven't found a 27" oven I can look at in person. The 30" seem to be the standard here.

as stated, you need to measure it. I've seen plenty of designs where 30" was shallower, so the total cubic size was the same. Or the oven door width was 30" but the cavity was much less (big door overhang).

My criteria included fitting two 9x14 pans on one rack for my maximum cooking times. I found that they fit in the 30" Bosch but not the 27". They fit in other 27" ovens - DCS, Dacor - but those were larger cu ft than the 30" Bosch. I preferred smaller cu ft for day-to-day use.

Long way of saying bring your pans to the showroom. Even looking at interior measurements doesn't give you the bottom line on usable space.

We currently have a 24 inch Kitchenaid double oven. I was very concerned about this initially and found I was fretting over nothing. All pans fit just fine so I think I am saving money by the smaller size. My one concern is that if replacement is needed in the future there are maybe 2 companies that make a 24 inch. This oven is surrounded by brick. I know that Gaggenau has a 24 inch steam oven. Now that is room for more discussion....

I've had a 27" Miele (4780BP) for almost 2 years. It's plenty big enough for our family of 4. The 36" Wolf range oven hardly ever gets used except for multiple courses or for the gas broiler for meats.

Here are the approximate interior dimensions of usable space:
9 3/4 H x 17 3/4 W x 14 1/2 D

I have 27" double wall ovens and completely regret not spending a little more and getting 30" ovens. Yes, I have 2 ovens which gives me space, but cannot fit a regular sized cookie sheet in them and not all pans etc fit. They are builder grade GE profile ovens. We are planning a major kitchen reno, hopefully within the next year and you better believe I will be getting 30" doiuble wall ovens. If you can afford it I would go for the 30" (IMHO).

I've had 27" Dacor double ovens for four years - no problem fitting anything in. And I LOVE the Dacor cookie sheets. I got one convection and one without - so one is deeper. That has been a plus for Costco pizza which fits better in the one without convection. Width isn't the issue though - it's depth with the convection fan in the back.

The question for our family was, "Will the turkey fit?" One year Mom's turkey was 32 lbs. She had to have a big oven. God bless you Mama.

Take your cookie sheets and roasting pans to the showroom. I did.

What I do like about my little 24" oven is that it heats up really fast, and seems to cook faster too. I previously had a Whirlpool Gold gas range which boasted the largest oven in it's class. It took FOREVER to bake anything in that monster. In replacing y 24", I want a 30", and I want one that heats and bakes fast!
My need is to fit 2 9x13" casseroles side by side.

Does anyone have interior dimensions of any 30" wall oven? I'm just trying to get a feel for the difference.

Thanks!

If you look up any unit on something like AJMadison or the manufacturer's website, you can find the interior dimensions. They are not entirely accurate - they overstate what actually would fit in there - but they give you an idea for comparison. The best way is to take a big pan, go to a store, and see how it fits in various models, as debs3 suggested.

The real usable space in my Elux non-icon wall oven is about 22w x14.5d x12h, but the actual dimensions are larger than that.