Breville Toaster Oven

[Gail]

I'm ordering the smaller of their two ovens and noticed there are several vents on the top. I'm placing it on the counter with a paper towel dispenser directly over it. Am I asking for trouble? Would appreciate thoughts from anyone who has this oven, BOV650XL.

[dijon]

I have the bigger one, I do use the top of the oven as a place to put lids and pans temporarily, generally something that wouldnt' be harmed by heat. I don't think it gets hotter than any other toaster oven. Apparently the small one is not convection, be aware of that, if you were looking for that.

[Gail]

Thanks, dijon, the convection function is unimportant to me. I was just concerned about the amount of heat generated through the top. BTW, how so you like yours?

[dijon]

well it has been a fabulous toaster convection oven, great for keeping food warm and finishing cooking of chicken etc while you prepare the sauce, so much nicer than turning on the oven, great for garlic bread, which is almost a food group to some family members. Nice for toasting a sandwhich whole. As a toaster it is so so, fairly slow to toast, the smaller one should work a little better for that. I was worried about losing the counter space, but using the top of the toaster oven to hold hot lids, the wok dome etc has kept the counter space loss to a minimum.

[Gail]

Glad to hear you like it. I ordered the small one last night. I have really used my old one for all sorts of things. Just two of us, so I actually cook in it, meatloaf, etc. Recently the door not completely closing brought me to the new one.

[BobB]

I also have the large one (and love it!), and as I recall the manual specifically suggests using the top as a plate warmer. But it has no top vents. I would not put anything paper above either version without at least a foot or so of clearance - especially not a paper towel dispenser where towels may accidentally be left unrolled down to where they could actually touch the oven.

[monopod]

I don't have that oven, but in general, paper towels over a toaster oven = bad idea. Any toaster gets hot on top, and there are myriad ways a paper towel could end up dangling in the wrong place and catch fire. I wouldn't put any toaster oven underneath a paper towel dispenser.

[Gail]

You are probably right, but my old one has been there for 15 years. My concern, was not the oven itself, but the vents creating too much heat.