Built-in oven reviews: FAQs
Is it worth paying more than £500 for an oven?
Look for pyrolytic self-cleaning on ovens over £800
If you pay around £500 for an oven, you should look for catalytic surfaces inside the oven – they line the sides, back and bottom of the oven and absorb spills and splashes and break them down and burn them off during cooking. This makes it easier to keep the oven clean. Self-cleaning pyrolytic cleaning programs are rare at this price, but you can find them. You should also find features that allow you to be more flexible when cooking, such as delay timers and flexible grill settings; rather than cooking with all of the grill, you should be able to set it to cook with only half of it.
If you pay over £750 for an oven you should expect to find multifunction cooking, stay-clean surfaces in both ovens and innovative design touches on most brands of oven. For £800, if your oven doesn’t come with catalytic self-cleaning surfaces, you should look for pyrolytic self-cleaning programs which super-heat the oven and incinerate food waste, leaving only ash.
Multi-function cooking in both ovens should be available at this end of the price range and look out for specialist programs such as slow-cooking and keep-warm. Automatic cooking programs should be standard and ovens are likely to be fully-programmable – so you can set the oven to turn-on, cook and then turn-off.
Read reviews for almost 100 ovens tested by Which?
For best results, get to know your oven
How do I get the best out of my oven?
When using your oven, make sure you read the cooking instructions, take note of how long to bake for, the correct heat setting, and the recommended shelf levels.
If you find that the results aren't perfect first time, change the cooking time or temperature slightly.
It’s hard to find a grill that will spread the heat perfectly evenly all the way across the grill pan so always make sure that the food you're grilling is in the right place to receive the right amount of heat.
Take a look at our reviews of grill and combination microwaves, which can compete with conventional ovens on grilling and browning food, and as our video guide demonstrates, can even be used to cook a Sunday roast in an hour.
What’s the best way to clean my oven?
Catalytic oven walls absorb grease and dirt, then burn it off at up to 275°C while cooking.
Pyrolytic liners burn off dirt and grease at about 500°C, which incinerates food scraps into ash that is swept out once the oven cools. The door is generally automatically locked for safety.
Some ovens have an additional steam-cleaning system, such as Neff’s Aquacleanse. Add water and washing-up liquid to the oven floor, select the programme, the bottom heat function steams off grease, and when it’s cooled you wipe it clean.
Even if you have an oven with self-cleaning walls, the shelves and door will need to be cleaned in the conventional way.
On stainless steel surfaces remove fingerprints as soon as possible or they will become harder to clean off. Wipe over with a clean damp cloth, then polish off all water with a soft dry cloth.
The E-cloth developed for stainless steel is a great buffer – you can buy it from some supermarkets, electrical retailers and environmentally-friendly product websites.
Remove stubborn marks using a stainless steel cleaner, or rub in a few drops of baby oil to restore stainless steel finishes.
Don't use cooking oils, as they contain salts, which can damage the metal, and avoid wiping down with wire wool or other scrubbing pads, which can scratch the surface.
If my oven breaks, is it worth repairing it?
Ovens are generally worth repairing. The only real exceptions are if your oven is more than 15 years old or an unusual make where parts may be hard to find or expensive as they're not mass produced.
Our reliability survey has found that the three most common problems for built-in ovens are element failure, problems with the door and fans breaking.
In March 2009 we surveyed 316 independent repairers on the costs of repairing ovens with these problems to see if it's better to repair or replace.
Element failure
This is the most frequent fault: the fan still works but the oven won't heat up. The average quote from independent repairers was £73. This is far cheaper than replacing your old model with a new Which? Best Buy oven.
VERDICT Repair
Door problems
Typical symptoms are that the door won't shut properly, usually because the hinges are faulty. The typical replacement costs are around £40 for new hinges plus £45 for labour.
VERDICT Repair
Fan breaks
If the oven works but the fan doesn't, you could be looking at hefty costs depending on the brand of your oven. Replacement fans cost anything from £40 to £200.
VERDICT Get a quote for repairs.
If you're looking for a good repairer, visit Which? Local to search for traders in your area that have been recommended by Which? members.
