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kts1952

Does ANYone like their Kitchen Aid double wall ovens?

kts1952
9 years ago

I was all set to buy the KA 27" highest end convection wall ovens, (small kitchen needs a small oven) but have been terrified by all the posts on this forum and elsewhere furious about the fan noise.

Is it really as bad as all that? I can't find a live KA oven to listen to. But I did find a live, newly redesigned Bosch 800 series, and the choice is driving me nuts:

KA is much bigger inside, and and both ovens are convection. Bosch is gorgeous and silent, but small inside and only top oven has convection.

Help!!!

Comments (17)

  • joygreenwald
    9 years ago

    Doubt this is helpful, but I had a 24" KA single convention wall oven that I didn't love but didn't hate. I didn't feel temperature accuracy was especially good. But everything came out really well, and it never needed service (aside from the oven light that wouldn't work even after replacing the bulb, so we just lived without.). Sold it when we switched to a range in the new kitchen design.

  • KayakCove
    9 years ago

    I had KA double ovens with the upper a convection for over 10+ years at my last house. I did like them. They baked things really well. Soon after we installed them there was a short in the control panel. It was under warranty but no problems after that.

  • Liesl123
    9 years ago

    I had KitchenAid double wall ovens in my previous home and plan to get them again in my new home! I thought they worked great and didn't notice any loud fan noise.

  • Lisa
    9 years ago

    I've had a KA pro line double oven (both convection) for about a year now. Prior to this I had a GE Profile convection wall oven for 10 years. While I like the way the KA looks as it matches my other appliances, I must say that I did prefer my GE over my KA. The KA is horribly loud, at least compared to my GE was. I had not expected this. I assumed it would be similar or better because it's newer. Also, I don't think it cooks as evenly as my GE. It's not a terrible oven and if I didn't have anything to compare it to, I might not have any complaints. But if I had it to do over, I would possibly make a different decision.

  • kts1952
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks everyone, for your input. I have found an appliance store a tad far afield, but it will be having a cooking demo using its KA wall oven, so I can hear for myself. Evenness seems to be a mixed bag, as well, with everyone with all different ovens complaining.

  • redjmartin
    9 years ago

    We have the KA combo double (convection lower, micro/combo upper). We had a (warranty) service call a couple of months after install due to noise in the lower oven. The convection fan would get very loud once the temp went over 350. The service tech tightened the bolts securing the fan and all was well, though he warned the noise may come back in time.

    Despite this, we've been happy with the oven. It preheats relatively fast, holds temperature well and cooks evenly. No complaints really, but I wanted to share with the GA community.

    Ed

  • Aamich
    9 years ago

    Kts1952, please report back on your oven demo. I am getting a KA double wall oven, with convection in both ovens and I too have read many horror stories about KA and other convection ovens. We still have a long time before appliances go in, we are waiting for the cabinets to arrive and the linoleum to be installed. I'm very interested in hearing about your impressions as I have no experience yet with convection ovens.

  • kts1952
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The oven demo isn't until Saturday, 11:30 AM-2 PM Pacific Standard Time. But I promise to report back. I did talk to the store manager today at length, comparing the new Bosch to the KA, which he says was redesigned about two years ago. He sells both, but still advised me that the KA is a better choice until enough time has passed to be sure that Bosch got it right in their redesign. He encouraged me to listen for myself, but stressed that he is often next to the KA during demos, and he doesn't think it is noisy at all.

  • kts1952
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is my report as promised:

    I made my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and brought a batch of cookie dough balls to the store. The KA demo lady never did show up, so I just experimented on my own.

    First I turned the oven on regular bake at 350ú to see if I could hear the fan. The air conditioner fan in the store was very loud, and I could hear no oven fan at all on regular bake. I got impatient waiting for preheat, so turned the oven to convection bake. I could hear the convection fan, but it was very quiet, especially given the air conditioning noise. Convection bake preheat went much faster. Maybe ten to fifteen minutes.

    I proceeded to cook the two cookie sheets in the oven, on the 2nd and 4th racks. The recipe is normally 375ú for ten minutes, so I did 350ú for 9 minutes. I should also say that I used my regular flat, air insulated cookie sheets, which some say not to use with convection, as they keep the bottoms from browning as much as they would with a regular cookie sheet, which is supposedly not necessary with convection.

    The cookies came out perfectly, rose well, crunchy outside, chewy inside.

    The cool down fan continued after I turned the oven off. Still very quiet.

    However, the salesman told me that the demo oven is over four years old and that it was the oven that came out after that which had all the noise complaints. He also said that they had all been corrected in the factory for all new ovens, not by a complete redesign, but by whatever running corrections they are able to do as they go along.

    So I am still not 100% confident that I have heard the real thing. However, I am going to go ahead and order the oven, as the fan on this one was completely unobjectionable, at least so far as I could tell, and the cookies were excellent.

    Two other things the salesman suggested: Use the bottom oven preferentially when using only one oven, as it is further from the electronics and will improve the control board life span away from the heat. also, Never use the self clean, no matter what the oven, because the extreme heat is so bad for the electronics. He recommended instead heating a shallow, jelly roll type pan of water with baking soda on the bottom of the oven for an hour at 300ú, then wiping down the whole with a cloth. Not as effective as self-cleaning, but safer.

    That's all folks!

  • sonny_h
    9 years ago

    I have the whirlpool 30" gold series convection double ovens. I have heard all he horror stories about whirlpool ovens, but I haven't had any issues with them and they work great as far as I am concerned. Some people say they are too loud (cooling fan noise when operational), but I don't find it too loud, perhaps it would be more annoying if my kitchen was laid out differently. the actual oven performance is great. Only compliant is that I wish the broiler element was hidden, but not sure if that's even possible in an electric oven.

  • redjmartin
    9 years ago

    One thing our service tech admonished us NEVER to do for our KA oven is to leave the oven door open to cool off the inside of the oven. He said that the cooling fans for the electronics cannot work effectively if the oven door is open for an extended period of time. The ovens are made to cool down slowly with the door closed.

    It's perfectly fine to leave the door open for a short period of time when placing or removing something from the oven ... Just don't leave it sit open for minutes at a time.

    Ed

  • Aamich
    9 years ago

    @kts1952
    Thanks so much for your report, you have relieved my mind about the noise levels of the fan. I think I can live with it. I too have the insulated baking sheets, but usually use a Silpat which adds even a bit more insulation, so I'll have to conduct a lot of baking experiments with convection vs conventional baking. Lots of baking experiments--yum!

    I have already decided I won't use the self cleaning feature because of the problems with cooking the electronics, but didn't think about using the bottom oven vs the top oven. I'll have to give that some thought since the top oven will be oh so conveniently placed at eye level.

    Ed, thanks for your tip. I have always left the oven door cracked open to help it cool faster and would never have considered not doing it. Guess I have a lot to learn about modern appliances. The cook top and wall oven we got rid of when the kitchen was gutted were probably at least 30-35 years old and were nothing fancy. Of course now we have been living without a real kitchen since last Thanksgiving, so at this point, I have mixed feelings about cooking again. On one hand, prepared meals are just so darned convenient especially after a long day at work. But it was so nice to have a real kitchen to use when we went to our vacation rental last month that I'm starting to dream about having water and a sink close by and more than a 2ft by 2ft "counter" to work on.

  • kts1952
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Regarding oven placement, aamichz5, it might be too late to place them differently, and you may not need to, anyway, but I experimented with different heights by looking at where the shelves in top and bottom oven fell with regard to my shoulder/arm height. There are five rack placement choices. Having the top oven at eye level did not make it the best height for use; I am almost 5'6", and I found the top couple of shelves in the top oven were too high for me to use comfortably. In the oven where I actually baked the cookies, the bottom of the bottom oven was at 22.5". At that height, the bottom half of the top oven and the whole bottom oven were easier to use. In another store, the bottom was 14.5 inches from the ground, which is the manufacturer's recommended height. That was way too low to use the bottom oven comfortably, especially as my lower back is unreliable. I am planning to split the difference, and have the bottom oven end at 18", which makes the bottom half of the top and the top half of the bottom both convenient to use, though for visuals it is still easier to see into the top oven.

  • Aamich
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the insight. DH and I really looked at height levels, even thinking at one point that we'd like the microwave in the same cabinet. But that idea fizzled out since it put the microwave too high. When I looked at the ovens in the store, i remember thinking how great it would be to cook a turkey in the bottom oven as it would be easier to lift my roasting pan up rather than pulling it out from a chest high rack as I used to do in my old oven. DH and I played around with placement of the new ovens but had some limitations in how high from the floor we could place them, and still have a usable cabinet above. I think the top oven will end up being my "go-to" baking oven and the bottom one will get more use with the heavy roasting pan and my cast iron Dutch oven and things that take a longer time to cook. Just having an oven again will be a treat. We have lived without a real kitchen since last thanksgiving! I hope to have my new kitchen by this thanksgiving!

  • Kt
    8 years ago

    Final report: I have been living with my ovens now for about a year and a half. The fan on the top was unobtrusive. The fan on the bottom was very loud, but we had a repairman come out on warranty and replace it. Both are fine now. The temperature doesn't seem significantly more even than my old gas oven, but i do love that you can put cookies on any rack during convection and they all cook the same. The fan makes cookies on one side of the oven browner than the other side. Repairman also told us to leave ovens shut for cool down, so we don't shorten the life of the electronic brains by extra heat. Since this oven has been discontinued, this may all be moot. But perhaps some of it will apply to the next gen. Cheers!

  • rodi53
    5 years ago

    KA wall ovens are junk. I paid thousands for an upgraded “gourmet kitchen” in my new home. I have yet to be able to use the oven portion. The fan is incredibly loud. I had a tech here twice. First time was to diagnose the problem- bad fan. Second time was to replace the fan. Still makes noise. Since the Obama administration decided we can’t use much power or water anymore, all appliances are junk now, not just Kitchenaid. Washers, dryers, refrigerators, you name it. All junk. It’s like back in the 70’s when the EPA imposed fuel economy and emissions standards and all US cars were junk for the next 10 years. Sad.