Microwaves - with o...
 

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[Closed] Microwaves - with ovens and grills in them ?

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Looking to get a microwave. No main cooker available.

Wondering if its best to get
- standard microwave
- microwave with a grill in it
- one that includes a grill and mini oven

I have only ever used a standard one before, so not sure if the complicated ones are worth the extra money or indeed, if the complex ones are a bit on the rubbish side.

Have to go out now so logging off, thanks for any responses though.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:05 am
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We have a built in microwave/fan oven/grill (as well as a conventional oven/grill).

It's pretty good and no bigger than a microwave. If it were just me I'd be happy to have it as my only oven.

It's a 1000w microwave so powerful (which is what we mostly use it for other than complex/large meals needing more oven space) but works well in all three modes.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:08 am
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We have a Microwave with Oven & Grill here at work. The oven feature is pretty much only used, it cooks better than my home oven!


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:16 am
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I have a combi one myself, although I do have a normal oven as well it comes in handy for pizzas and things (as I don't have a split oven so it takes a while + probably costs more getting it up to temp). Grilling is less hassle in a normal oven (quicker + I can never find the tall stands to go into the microwave to use it in grill mode). I would say def worth the extra if you don't have a normal oven (one with a grill and oven that is).


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:20 am
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I've got one. I think I've used the not-a-microwave side of it about three times.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:21 am
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Parents have had a few combi units over the years.
They like them, i've never been impressed.

However if you don't actually have an oven, then yes, go for a combi.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:23 am
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Granny had one as her only oven for some years. She used to do full roasts in it and spoke highly of it.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:32 am
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Can anyone recommend any brands they have found good for combination ovens?


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:40 am
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I had one which I tried to use once to roast a chicken and one more time to make cheese on toast. The results were shit. As a microwave it was good enough. I'd guess if your choice is one of them or no oven/grill, it's better than nothing


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:41 am
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Ours is a Neff built in job so not cheap but it's been problem free and still looks new inside and out despite heavy family use.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:52 am
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We had one for years as our main oven. Worked fine cooking for 2, only real limitations are (a) a bit on the small size for a christmas turkey and all the trimmings! and (b) power/max temp was slightly weak especially for things like trying to do pizza (which is difficult enough in a proper oven), due to the low thermal capacity and loss of heat on opening the door. Running off 13A it's always going to be a bit limited.

But other than that it basically worked well for about 20 years. Can't remember the brand, sorry, but over that time they will have changed a lot anyway. Running the combi oven/microwave is great for things like baked potatoes when you want both types of heating, also re-heating when you want a bit of external heat to stop the soggy microwaved effect.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 8:56 am
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Mine is a siemens, had it over ten years and it gets a fair bit of use as a microwave and a grill and a bit less as a conventional oven but only because It sits above a bigger oven which gets up to temperature a bit quicker than the combi so that gets used by default. If I had to have one device I'd have the combi.

The best thing about it are fluffy jacket potatoes with crispy skins in 15 minutes, if I only ever used it for that it would be worthwhile.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 9:22 am
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Got a Panasonic combi.
It's as good a microwave as any and the oven and grill are great options to have, especially as we've only got a single oven.

The combi (convection & microwave) function is also great for JPs etc.

It wasn't much more than a decent microwave either.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 10:18 am
 jwt
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Panasonic combi - use it a lot, great for quick crispy jacket spuds or sweet potatoes.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 11:11 am
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wwaswas - Member
Ours is a Neff built in job so not cheap but it's been problem free and still looks new inside and out despite heavy family use.

ours is a neff built in job and has failed twice. first time the magnetron, second time the controller. eye-wateringly expensive to fix


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 11:24 am
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The Panasonic ones seem to get mixed reviews on reliability these days _ I nearly bought one to keep me going during my recent refurb. Seems to be due to them being made in China now rather than Japan...

I have a Miele M6100BM but it a integrated unit and bloody heavy.


 
Posted : 16/05/2017 11:49 am
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Thanks for all the helpful info.


 
Posted : 17/05/2017 12:51 pm
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I have one of these in the *tiny* flat in France.
We only had space for a small "oven" in the kitchenette
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/4008259

It's surprisingly good. Take time to balance microwave power and oven/grill power to cook evenly and I've had no problems with anything from pasta bakes to pizzas, casseroles and tartiflettes.

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 17/05/2017 12:58 pm
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I have a DeLonghi one myself (must be at least 5 years old), been faultless apart from the timer dial doesn't 'bite' properly now so gets annoying spinning it around trying to get it to register another minute or something.

I bought the GF a Samsung one a year ago (I'm so romantic...), mostly as it was a reasonable size but it's been good since (although she rarely uses the oven/grill part).


 
Posted : 17/05/2017 1:38 pm
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I've got a samsung one and it works very well. Grill is good and oven does work well.
On mine, it's a fair bit deeper than a normal microwave and it won't fit easily into a unit as it needs quite a bit of heat escape space around it, certainly wouldn't do the job stoners is doing above.


 
Posted : 17/05/2017 1:42 pm
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that one has got a fair bit of space behind it for heat to escape up and out the top (normally things arent stored on top of it while its running) It rarely gets v hot around it though


 
Posted : 17/05/2017 1:46 pm