[dadu]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

I am in need of a microwave oven, which I am thinking of presenting to my wife on our first anniversary. 2 years back, IFB was the best, but now heard from this thread Samsung tops the chart. I browsed through their website and came to know there are 3 category of Ovens. Convection, grill and solo. I can leave out the grill, now confused whether to go for the convection or the solo. We are 3 a family and dont experiment much with the oven. We do the normal re-heating, defrosting, some microwave dishes and popcorn.

We already have a Induction stove too. Now based on my requirement, which oven should I choose? Convection or Solo? I believe, 20L would be sufficient with 600-800 Watts. Please help.

You have the answer in your requirements, Solo.(but if price difference is not much go for Solo+Conv)

[dre@ms]

@RaguHolla
I have seen one Samsung convection oven with 20L capacity for around 8400/- yesterday in Croma. 5 years of warranty but not sure whether its ceramic coated interior.

@dadu
The solo ranges around 4-5K. Spending 3K more for a convection is wise? Future proof? Not sure if my wife can bake a cake. Never did till date

[vina]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

@RaguHolla
I have seen one Samsung convection oven with 20L capacity for around 8400/- yesterday in Croma. 5 years of warranty but not sure whether its ceramic coated interior.

@dadu
The solo ranges around 4-5K. Spending 3K more for a convection is wise? Future proof? Not sure if my wife can bake a cake. Never did till date

IMHO (as a combination oven owner of 6years) the convection oven of the microwave is absolutely useless. Grill can be useful to very limited extent (very small grilling jobs).

You'll merely be wasting 3k-4k more.

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by vina

IMHO (as a combination oven owner of 6years) the convection oven of the microwave is absolutely useless. Grill can be useful to very limited extent (very small grilling jobs).

You'll merely be wasting 3k-4k more.

Point noted. But for my understanding, can you also let me know what can and cannot be done using both convection and solo?

[vina]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Point noted. But for my understanding, can you also let me know what can and cannot be done using both convection and solo?

If you absolutely want grill, then you probably need a combination oven anyway - putting a grill requires the thermal design and it doesn't make sense to not do a combination oven.

With a solo you can do everything you had written in an earlier post - defrosting, re-heating, even some cooking.

With a combination oven you can pretty much do nothing with the convection function - temperatures are not even across the oven and usually there is not enough space to work (unlike in a gas oven) either. Heat comes from the grill element on top and one or more elements on the sides - usually a fan transports the heat by forced convection.


Grill is usefull for very small grill jobs - a couple of cheese toasts for example. Large grilling jobs are also not done very well by combination ovens.

My suggestion would be to buy a good gas oven plus a (relatively small) microwave. Also a true-to-profession electronics designer I'll advice you to chuck all fancy displays and go for knob based controls - this advice you may not like and in that case don't take it. Mechanical knob based controls should have high wear and teat in theory but last very long in practice. Electronic controls should be more resilient in theory, but the keypads (also known as touchpads) as invariably mechanical, go bad with use or via corrosion in the kitchen environment and are insanely expensive to replace - if you can find replacements.

The touchpad on my Samsung combination oven started giving way within a year, in three years it was totally unusable. When I called them they said the model was obsolete and I'll have to replace the whole microwave . Eventually I found another model using a similar touchpad, tricked their service engineer to bring it to my house and then forced him to sell it to me (the guy was giving bullshit reasons for why he couldn't sell me a part) - and then installed it myself. My in-laws' Whirlpool oven had the same story, and since their technology savvy is in-existent they actually had to buy a new unit.

[dre@ms]

Advice taken pal. Will go for the Solo. Preferably Samsung!!!

I understand your logic behind the knob and touchpad. Let me see if a knob model is available.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

@dadu
The solo ranges around 4-5K. Spending 3K more for a convection is wise? Future proof? Not sure if my wife can bake a cake. Never did till date

What you and vina and dadu etc are saying is the logical answer. Listen to everyone then obey SWMBO!

/who bought a 10k microwave only for reheating
//some solo ones even have buttons or dials. highly recommended over the slightly non-feely touch panels which are easy to clean but not as much natural to use
/// in the 10k range, only LG 7687ABcomes with buttons. else the IFB ones come for 10800 or more for the same features but with buttons!

[omishra]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Advice taken pal. Will go for the Solo. Preferably Samsung!!!

I understand your logic behind the knob and touchpad. Let me see if a knob model is available.

You can look into Samsung or Electrolux (knob based cotrols) under 5-6K range here STAR CJ Internet Shopping Mall

I am not associated with these sellers. Just saw on TV.

[fordday]

Which brand of gas ovens would the folks here recommend? Currents users please update.

[condor]

Our old faithful BPL, while mechanically clean is now showing signs of wear. Trays broken, & stuff. No problems with the cooling or any other function.

Wondering if I should replace this 240 litre with a couple of 180's ? Keep regular food in one, other stuff in the other.

Advantages:
* Separation of duties
* Can opt for two diff units - say a Samsung & a Whirlpool or a Godrej.
* Space. The main one can remain in the Kitchen. The other can move to the dining area. If I get a 300+ litre unit, we will have to re-do some cabinets.

What say ? And which units are good ?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Guys, a quick (mini) poll. I have a gift offer (the point redemption thingie - some points need to be redeemed this month) on my credit card, and only useful things I find are a watch and microwave.

Given a choice between a citizen's watch and this Microwave, which would you guys prefer:-

Whirlpool India > Products > Microwave Ovens > Convection > Magicook ^TM20C

For me, the choice is between twdeeledum and twedledee, and am feeling like the proverbial Buridan's a55.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by condor

Our old faithful BPL, while mechanically clean is now showing signs of wear. Trays broken, & stuff. No problems with the cooling or any other function.

Wondering if I should replace this 240 litre with a couple of 180's ? Keep regular food in one, other stuff in the other.

Advantages:
* Separation of duties
* Can opt for two diff units - say a Samsung & a Whirlpool or a Godrej.
* Space. The main one can remain in the Kitchen. The other can move to the dining area. If I get a 300+ litre unit, we will have to re-do some cabinets.

What say ? And which units are good ?

Two is better than one. We have two, one for daily use and another for long term storage. Get two 200-250 liters, they have better facilities compared to < 200L, and are not much larger on the outside.

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by condor

Our old faithful BPL, while mechanically clean is now showing signs of wear. Trays broken, & stuff. No problems with the cooling or any other function.

Wondering if I should replace this 240 litre with a couple of 180's ? Keep regular food in one, other stuff in the other.

Advantages:
* Separation of duties
* Can opt for two diff units - say a Samsung & a Whirlpool or a Godrej.
* Space. The main one can remain in the Kitchen. The other can move to the dining area. If I get a 300+ litre unit, we will have to re-do some cabinets.

What say ? And which units are good ?

I would go for one big one. Reasons are many:

1. Cheaper to buy (than 2 units)

2. Cheaper to run (I recently replaced by 220ltr BPL no frost with Samsung French door 530 ltr and my power consumption remains same).

3. More usable space (When fridge says 220 ltrs it's net usable space is quiet lower than that) and more shelf space (more your partition the available space the less you can store).

4. You will get more advanced options in the bigger capacity fridge - automatic ice making, accurate temperature control with visible temperature, Deep freezer which can go upto -20deg C (or more), LED lights, odour transfer prevention, etc etc.

5. Better utilization of floor space at home - two fridges will take more space than the internal volume they will offer

6. More bling factor

7. Today with so much variety available I am sure you can find a large fridge to fit in the small space you have with minimal alterations. (I waited for few years for this fridge to be launched by Samsung, as most big double door fridges would not fit in the clearence I had), but today I see plenty of options available which are not wide but tall / deep.

PS: you really do not need separation of duties for a fridge (fridge and refrigerator are already separated), unless you want a veg and a non-veg fridge. Also fridges are pretty robust that you really do not need to plan for a back up

[ST7677]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Two is better than one. We have two, one for daily use and another for long term storage. Get two 200-250 liters, they have better facilities compared to < 200L, and are not much larger on the outside.

I Disagree, most 200-250 ltrs fridges do not provide
1. Deep freezer (temperatures of at least -18 deg C) which is required for long term storage
2. Low power consumption features like - Vacation mode / economy mode

With a big fridge you are likely to get both of these and more storage space at price of two 200 ltrs fridge with lower electricity bills.

[condor]

On a slightly different note:

Guys, can you measure the main tray in your fridge & let me know the model of your fridge (make & capacity) - if the tray measures 45.5 cm long x approx 26 cm deep.

This should be poossibly with the 220 - 250 litre units.

Thanks !