KitchenAid 24" Electric Double Ovens

[Canthespam]

My 30 year old (1981) G.E. ovens finally had to be replaced - basically only the top one, as the bottom oven was used mainly for storing cookie sheets, broiler pan etc...

My new KitchenAid was just installed, and I've been standing in front of it for about a half an hour, saying OMG what have I done. I'm not crazy about stainless steele appliances - my Meile stainless dishwasher is a pain to keep clean. I decided to go with white ovens. Actually the stainless steele is just a thin layer over the oven door - it isn't solid as we would have thought.

Now KitchenAid certainly isn't cheap, but it came with glowing recommendations from people in the business that I respect and their products have a fine reputation.

I looked at the two white doors laying on my kitchen floor, prior to installation, and thought that the piece of plastic on the front, was to protect the door during shipping .... WRONG... it IS the front of the door and it is plexiglass!!! Apparently that is common on a lot of new ovens. It is already full of fingerprints.

Due to the existing space, we had to replace our old 24" ovens with new 24" ovens, or we would have had more of a selection in various brands. I think that G.E. was one of or the only other one that made 24" double ovens and we preferred the features of the KitchenAid.

Bottom line, like most new appliances, this looks soooo cheap on the outside - including the top panel with the control panel and the clock. It all looks so plastic -icky. You have to stand practically on top of it to hear the timer go off. The inside looks fine as do the cooking features. Absolutely no store in the San Francisco area had the 24" ovens, single or double on display, in either the white or the stainless, so we went by catalog and online pictures and of course KitchenAid reputation.

Adding insult to injury .... there was a a piece of paper with the instructions, telling us that we could BUY a broiler pan and rack, at a special price, regularly $26.99, but only $18.99 for us!!!!!!! That's when I realized that it wasn't included. How cheap can you get. Fortunately my old G.E. broiler pan looks like new as I use a water broiler pan and love it.

I will be broiling dinner in a few minutes ... if I can get past the cheesy looking facade. For that amount of $$$$, I don't like the idea that I 'have' to get used to it. :-(

Have any of you had the same visual problems with the quality of a new major appliance?

[wattacetti]

No, I like the CleanTouch stainless steel of the Miele double ovens.

Anyway, apart from the visual onslaught, how did the oven perform?

[Canthespam]

I was spoiled by the simplicity of my old GE ovens. Turn one dial and the broiler was on. I am so far behind with the new appliances, so it took a bit of doing to get the broiler going.. really no big deal, just what seems to be a lot of extra steps, but after a few more uses I'll be OK. Can you tell that I don't adapt well to new technology :-)

Each time I opened the door to check the broiling meat or to turn it over, a small little notice told me shut the door.

I can't complain about the broiler element. The meat came out cooked perfectly, thanks to the perfect timing by my husband, and there was a nice crust on the top. I have yet to bake in it, but I'm sure that that will be fine too ------ but the ovens still looks looks like plastic, or as my husband said, a refrigerator.

If we had the space, I would have purchased the 27" stainless Thermador ovens. They were absolutely gorgeous and I loved the roll out shelves.

If I can get over the facade, and learn how to operate the controls with ease, then I am sure that I will be more than satisfied with my new ovens. I'm just going through buyer's remorse. I will never buy anything again that I haven't seen in person.

[wattacetti]

Well, Miele does have dials on their Classic oven, but it's a single. The MasterChef is all touch panel, but given that it's a bunch of German engineering overachievers, there's documentation up the wazoo. And lots of beeping.

I haven't had a white oven for a long time, but I remember it was white paint on a metal surface.

Pretty cheap of them to charge you for the basic accessories though; the pan costs them what, a dollar?

[Canthespam]

My dishwasher is a stainless Miele and I love it, especially the silverware tray (instead of a basket), on the top. My old GE ovens were white as is my fridge. You get used to something and it becomes the norm. The white oven doors were very easy to keep clean. The stainless Miele is a bit more trouble than just wiping off. Last year it replaced a G.E. dishwasher that I bought in 1971. It still worked fine, but the insides were rusting so it was time to replace it :-(

I love your line about 'German engineering overachievers".... my husband is German (1st generation) and fits right into that catagory :-) - sometimes good and sometimes too good.

My Amana microwave (1981) finally went last year too - so I replaced it with a Panosonic and love it. My G.E. dryer (1971) is still going strong and is used several times a week.

I guess I have to stop living in the past,