Convection Oven/Microwave Combo Above the Range

[tarheelmjfan]

A home we're considering buying has a Kitchenaid convection oven/microwave combo. There is no conventional over. There are oak cabinets underneath the cook top. Would I regret buying this home with a convection oven being the only option? I've never used one.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We love our convection oven for baking -- what it does well, It does very well. But my concern is for the oven being over the range. Are you tall? We considered getting a microwave/hood over our range, but the salesperson took one look at me (I'm short) and nixed the whole idea. He said that the idea of my handling piping hot liquids and such over my head was so unsafe that he refused to go along with it. Glad he spoke up.

 

[Christine]

I would not have a convection oven as my only oven. Nope, no way.

I have a similar configuration where I have a cooktop with cabinets underneath. But I do have two wall ovens. I've often considered pulling out my cooktop and getting one of those really nice ranges installed in the space (but I would lose some storage under the cooktop).

 

[mnrose]

My oven is convection, but it has the option of baking/roasting "conventionally" as well. It would be very odd to have an oven that is ONLY convection (i.e., doesn't have the ability to work as a regular oven if for some reason you wanted it that way). That being said, I can't remember the last time I used it as a regular oven. LOL. I love convection.

 

[NAB]

No I would miss my regular oven can you even put a cookie sheet in one? I see them in trailers, like that idea since you really don’t make turkeys or roasts while camping.

Convection ovens on a regular stove is nice you can use all three racks at a time while baking too. Don’t think you can fit much in a microwave.

 

[Searc]

My oven has the option of being convection and that is the only setting I use, but as my only option and above my head to boot? Nope. You also can't fit much in a microwave size oven compared to a normal, three rack oven.

 

[barkley]

the above my head and size limitations (big turkey immediately comes to mind) would nix it for me.

I have a similar configuration where I have a cooktop with cabinets underneath. But I do have two wall ovens. I've often considered pulling out my cooktop and getting one of those really nice ranges installed in the space (but I would lose some storage under the cooktop).

i've got a range w/a double oven. the smaller double oven is used SO MUCH more than the larger that as far as storage goes-all the cookie sheets, roasting pans...that would take up OTHER cabinet space ends up stored in the larger so it's kind of a wash on lost cabinets.

 

[Allison]

I wouldn't want something that high either.

 

[ronandannette]

We love our convection oven for baking -- what it does well, It does very well. But my concern is for the oven being over the range. Are you tall? We considered getting a microwave/hood over our range, but the salesperson took one look at me (I'm short) and nixed the whole idea. He said that the idea of my handling piping hot liquids and such over my head was so unsafe that he refused to go along with it. Glad he spoke up.

Over-the-range microwave/hood fan combos are pretty much the standard here for years as a design element, which totally ignores function. I'm short too, so is my DS and it's a precarious situation for sure. Not to mention the hood fan is way, way less efficient that an actual hood fan and doesn't protrude out far enough over the stovetop to be effective for anything cooking on the front burners. I hate it.

@tarheelmjfan if it can be changed I'd have the whole set up removed and replaced with a free-standing range (cooktop and oven) like a pp up-thread mentioned and a good quality hood fan. What you give up in cabinet space you will more than make up for in functionality. Good luck.

 

[wenrob]

I happen to have a Kitchen Aid combo like that. No way could I depend on that as my full time oven. My first thought was “What about Thanksgiving?” I’d miss a real oven in my day to day life as well. You don’t realize how much you’d miss something until it’s gone. And as others have mentioned there are safety issues as well.

 

[DLgal]

How big is the oven? That would be my deciding factor. Convection just means it has a fan to blow hot air. Many, many full sized ovens these days come with convection as a standard option. My house was built in 2015 and has a standard sized oven with convection. It works better than any oven I've had previously. So, that feature wouldn't be an issue, but the size would be. I need a full sized oven with at least 3 racks. Your needs may be different. If there is a cooktop with cabinets underneath, that means you can always pull out the cabinets and install an oven down the road if needed.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How big is the oven? That would be my deciding factor. Convection just means it has a fan to blow hot air. Many, many full sized ovens these days come with convection as a standard option. My house was built in 2015 and has a standard sized oven with convection. It works better than any oven I've had previously. So, that feature wouldn't be an issue, but the size would be. I need a full sized oven with at least 3 racks. Your needs may be different. If there is a cooktop with cabinets underneath, that means you can always pull out the cabinets and install an oven down the road if needed.

OP was asking about a microwave/convection combo. They aren't that big.

Also stated "no conventional oven"

 

[kaytieeldr]

(but I would lose some storage under the cooktop)

"Lose" the storage space now. See how easy or hard it is to relocate, and then get to, the items in that cabinet. Maybe weed through all the cabinets and rerelocate items you don't use much/at all.

Sorry, doesn't help the OP at all.

 

[Libbysmom2000]

We use our convection oven a lot but it isn't a substitute for a standard oven, in my opinion.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We love our convection oven for baking -- what it does well, It does very well. But my concern is for the oven being over the range. Are you tall? We considered getting a microwave/hood over our range, but the salesperson took one look at me (I'm short) and nixed the whole idea. He said that the idea of my handling piping hot liquids and such over my head was so unsafe that he refused to go along with it. Glad he spoke up.

Good point on the height. I'm short, but DH is tall. I have a bad back, so he has to get everything out of the oven anyway.

I would not have a convection oven as my only oven. Nope, no way.

I have a similar configuration where I have a cooktop with cabinets underneath. But I do have two wall ovens. I've often considered pulling out my cooktop and getting one of those really nice ranges installed in the space (but I would lose some storage under the cooktop).

We discussed the idea of removing the cabinets for a regular stove. That would be an option.

My oven is convection, but it has the option of baking/roasting "conventionally" as well. It would be very odd to have an oven that is ONLY convection (i.e., doesn't have the ability to work as a regular oven if for some reason you wanted it that way). That being said, I can't remember the last time I used it as a regular oven. LOL. I love convection.

Can you think of any situation where a convection wouldn't work? As I noted, I know nothing about them.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

No I would miss my regular oven can you even put a cookie sheet in one? I see them in trailers, like that idea since you really don’t make turkeys or roasts while camping.

Convection ovens on a regular stove is nice you can use all three racks at a time while baking too. Don’t think you can fit much in a microwave.

My oven has the option of being convection and that is the only setting I use, but as my only option and above my head to boot? Nope. You also can't fit much in a microwave size oven compared to a normal, three rack oven.

the above my head and size limitations (big turkey immediately comes to mind) would nix it for me.



i've got a range w/a double oven. the smaller double oven is used SO MUCH more than the larger that as far as storage goes-all the cookie sheets, roasting pans...that would take up OTHER cabinet space ends up stored in the larger so it's kind of a wash on lost cabinets.

It isn't as big as my current oven, but is quite a bit bigger than any microwave I've ever seen. I've seen smaller conventional ovens. It would easily hold a large turkey. Not having multiple racks (at least, I didn't see any there) would be a negative, but I could probably deal with that. I use more than one rack maybe once or twice a year. There was also a built in toaster oven. I would imagine that would help with not having multiple racks, but I've never used a toaster oven either. I'm sure I could quickly learn.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Over-the-range microwave/hood fan combos are pretty much the standard here for years as a design element, which totally ignores function. I'm short too, so is my DS and it's a precarious situation for sure. Not to mention the hood fan is way, way less efficient that an actual hood fan and doesn't protrude out far enough over the stovetop to be effective for anything cooking on the front burners. I hate it.

@tarheelmjfan if it can be changed I'd have the whole set up removed and replaced with a free-standing range (cooktop and oven) like a pp up-thread mentioned and a good quality hood fan. What you give up in cabinet space you will more than make up for in functionality. Good luck.

Thanks. We could definitely remove cabinets to put in a conventional stove, if we feel we need it. I'm a cabinet hog, so I hate to do that. It is possible though.

I happen to have a Kitchen Aid combo like that. No way could I depend on that as my full time oven. My first thought was “What about Thanksgiving?” I’d miss a real oven in my day to day life as well. You don’t realize how much you’d miss something until it’s gone. And as others have mentioned there are safety issues as well.

Definitely, something to consider. Due to health, I don't do a lot of major cooking anymore, but I prefer cooking big meals for holidays. That said, we've eaten out for holidays for the past 4 or 5 years, because our current kitchen isn't the most functional for preparing & laying out a big spread of food. A lot of counter space is one thing I'm really focusing on in a new home, because I miss holiday meals at home.

How big is the oven? That would be my deciding factor. Convection just means it has a fan to blow hot air. Many, many full sized ovens these days come with convection as a standard option. My house was built in 2015 and has a standard sized oven with convection. It works better than any oven I've had previously. So, that feature wouldn't be an issue, but the size would be. I need a full sized oven with at least 3 racks. Your needs may be different. If there is a cooktop with cabinets underneath, that means you can always pull out the cabinets and install an oven down the road if needed.

I've never used all 3 racks in any oven I've owned, but not having two would be a negative. Not knowing anything about a convection/microwave combo, I don't really know how big of a negative it is.

OP was asking about a microwave/convection combo. They aren't that big.

Also stated "no conventional oven"

I think it's probably bigger than some people are imagining. Like I said, a large turkey or roast would easily fit. It's definitely bigger than the biggest microwave I've ever seen. When I first saw it, I was wondering where they found a microwave that big. Not being able to bake a couple things at the same time would be a negative. Like I said, I don't know enough about the oven to know, if that's possible or not. I'm pretty sure two large casserole dishes would easily fit in there at the same time.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

"Lose" the storage space now. See how easy or hard it is to relocate, and then get to, the items in that cabinet. Maybe weed through all the cabinets and rerelocate items you don't use much/at all.

Sorry, doesn't help the OP at all.

Good idea.

We use our convection oven a lot but it isn't a substitute for a standard oven, in my opinion.

Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

...


I think it's probably bigger than some people are imagining. Like I said, a large turkey or roast would easily fit. It's definitely bigger than the biggest microwave I've ever seen. When I first saw it, I was wondering where they found a microwave that big. Not being able to bake a couple things at the same time would be a negative. Like I said, I don't know enough about the oven to know, if that's possible or not. I'm pretty sure two large casserole dishes would easily fit in there at the same time.

I have a microwave/convection combo in my fifth wheel. It's basically the same size as a large microwave. Couldn't put a turkey in there.

I would think, since OP says it's over the cooktop, it wouldn't be all that big.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I have a microwave/convection combo in my fifth wheel. It's basically the same size as a large microwave. Couldn't put a turkey in there.

I would think, since OP says it's over the cooktop, it wouldn't be all that big.

I am the OP. It's definitely bigger than a large microwave. It's also bigger than the conventional oven in the RV we had years ago. I was looking online for more info last night & saw they come in a variety of sizes.