Double oven? Love it or hate it?

[Lady Florida.]

We are putting money aside to buy a new stove and over the range microwave. The one we have was manufactured in 1992 and came with the house when we moved in 11 years ago. It's a combination stove/oven and over the range microwave. The crazy thing is, the stove controls are on the microwave. Twice in the past year, the microwave quit working, but we were able to fix it. We decided it's a warning though, and decided we would save so we can buy a stove on our terms and not because we suddenly need one.

 

We already know what kind of stovetop and microwave we want, but are still exploring oven options. The new (new to me) steam cleaning option looks good. I'm also considering a double oven. There have been many times I could have used two ovens, but I have back problems and worry about the lower big oven. So far my pros/cons list looks like this:

 

Pros -

*Smaller oven uses less energy; heats up kitchen less

*Ability to cook more than one oven dish at once

*Can make more than one pizza at a time

 

Cons -

*Might be difficult to get things out of the bottom oven because it's lower than normal

*Loss of storage space (no storage drawer)

 

So if you have a double oven, is my list realistic? If you love yours, what do you love about it? If you hate it, what do you hate?

 

***EDIT*** Thank you for the replies, everyone. I have a lot to think about and we have time, so I'll take your responses into consideration as we look at options.

Edited August 21, 2011 by floridamom

[ma23peas]

HA!

 

Have to laugh at your lack of storage space b/c that is what my lower double oven is for 363 days of the year, I have 8 cookie sheets in there, my broiler pan, etc...:) I use my double oven on Thanksgiving and probably one other occasion, usually baking Christmas cookies.

 

I do love my double oven, but I would not have bought it if I didn't get a GREAT deal on it and got it for less than I could have bought the single oven..it's stainless, both are self-cleaning and the top one is a convection oven, absolutely love cooking meats in convection, turkey is the best ever!!

HTH!

Tara

[kathkath]

Love ours.

It's nice to not have to bend over when using the top. We don't use the bottom that much but it's great when we need it. Most of the time it is an art drying rack.

[Matryoshka]

Love it. I don't bake that much, but when I do it's usually in volume and then I need both ovens.

[Jennifer in MI]

We had one in our old house and I miss it terribly! I used the top oven 99% of the time. It heated up VERY fast and was just so much more efficient. I loved having the second oven the couple times a year I entertained. I didn't miss the storage space as I had plenty of other places to put those items. Think about where you'd store those things in the storage area.

 

So, for you, I don't see the fact that the bigger over is lower as being a huge issue unless you cook LOTS of food a lot.

 

We are definitely getting another double oven when our current 20 year old oven dies!!

[musicmommy]

I love, love, love, love, love my double oven! I even told hubby that if there isn't one when we buy a new house, then there needs to be a space so I can put one in. I use it quite regularly.

 

Every Saturday is pizza night...I use both ovens for that as we have at least 3 pizzas and I'm to impatient to wait.

 

It's also nice when I'm doing a big baking day. While the bread is rising and baking, I have another oven to work with.

 

Holidays are when I fall in love with my ovens all over again. I always host Thanksgiving and we have a huge turkey. It sure is nice to have a free oven! At Christmas, I have a huge cookie baking weekend with a couple of teenage girls. Etc....

[redsquirrel]

Do you mean like a Gemini oven? I own one and adore it. I loooove it. I would be lost without it.

 

I love that little oven on top. It isn't a matter of how often I use both ovens. It is a matter of how often I only need that tiny oven up top. It heats up in no time. it costs much less to heat up that small oven than to heat up a big oven. I can cook a lasgana in there, a single batch of muffins, broil fish etc. I use that about 90% of the time. It is also handy to have it up so high. I don't have a great back either and I don't have to bend over as often because I hardly use that big oven.

 

I do like having the convection option for the lower oven and use it when I bake something more than muffins, lol.

[RahRah]

Our double oven is in the wall, at adult height, so the lower oven isn't near the floor.....I like it for when I'm cooking just for us, or small get togethers....we do entertain a few times a year for large numbers and the two smaller ovens are challenging, but can also work okay.....forget making a big turkey at Thanksgiving though - it simply won't fit!

[Lisa in Jax]

LOVE it.

 

The lower oven is not lower than a typical slide-in range, so to me, it's not "lower" than typical. I use the upper oven 99% of the time, and because I'm tall it's the perfect height for taking things out of the oven.

 

If you can, plan to have cookie sheets and baking pans stored above the double oven. This saves a ton of space, and you don't have to nest the shallow pans and hunt for them. Ours is similar to this: http://media.photobucket.com/image/wall%20oven%20with%20vertical%20storage%20above/LaniKaye221/Kitchen%20remodel/complete/27.jpg

 

I use the shallow drawer below the ovens to store parchment paper and flat things like place mats and napkins.

 

If I have a choice, I will never go back to single ovens. :)

Edited August 20, 2011 by Lisa in Jax

[Lady Florida.]

Thank you and keep the replies coming! I do use my oven for baking and broiling, but there are only 3 of us. As my IL's age, we've become the hosts of family gatherings, so I would probably use both ovens a few times a year. My main concern is if I have to use the lower oven often, and if it would hurt my back. So far that seems to be a non-issue.

[Vida Winter]

Love our double oven. I use the top oven for most things but keep a pizza stone permanently in the lower oven for bread baking. The stone weighs a ton so I'm glad to not have to move it around all the time. I don't bake in both ovens at once very often but when I have to it's a time saver. The lower oven is also used as a warming oven frequently.

[heartosunshine]

Our house came with a double oven & I love them! The lower one is maybe 2" higher than a normal oven would be, so it's not bad getting stuff in & out. The upper oven is comfortable for me to use, but the kids (11 & 13) are a little nervous because of their shorter height.

 

I bake and cook a LOT, so I use both quite frequently. Also, I have plenty of cabinet space, so that's not really an issue for me.

[happypamama]

I have the stove where the second oven is a drawer oven at the bottom. The main oven is a regular-sized (fairly large, actually) oven at the regular height -- yes, I have to bend over to put things in it. 99% of the time, I use the main oven. A few times a year, I use the lower oven, but it's indispensable then. I can't do anything too tall in it, but when I need a second oven for something at a different temperature, I'm sure glad to have that lower oven! I wouldn't necessarily have bought the stove for that feature, but we were looking at the Sears outlet store, and that's what they had that met our other requirements (and it was on a HUGE sale), and I'm glad to have the lower oven.

[jenangelcat]

I'd love to have a double oven because I do a lot of baking. I just wanted to note that if you get a convection oven you can easily cook more than one pizza in there or anything else you can fit. The air is circulated so you can more than one dish at a time (if they are the same temp of course).

[GailV]

We had a double oven when we moved into our house, one of the wall units with both ovens up at a nice height. Getting rid of it was one of the reasons we remodeled our kitchen -- it sucked up too much space for how little we used the lower oven (precisely once a year -- and we have a family of 4 that bakes homemade pizzas once a week, but I find it pretty easy to bake multiple pizzas in a single small oven because I'd been doing it my entire life up until we moved here).

 

We got a single, large oven. Plenty of room to stick loads of stuff in it. I never, ever miss the second oven. If I did, I'd get a swanky toaster oven. And I LOVE the extra storage space I have now.

 

However, THIS is what I really wanted if price had been no object:

 

I have the stove where the second oven is a drawer oven at the bottom. The main oven is a regular-sized (fairly large, actually) oven at the regular height -- yes, I have to bend over to put things in it. 99% of the time, I use the main oven. A few times a year, I use the lower oven, but it's indispensable then. I can't do anything too tall in it, but when I need a second oven for something at a different temperature, I'm sure glad to have that lower oven! I wouldn't necessarily have bought the stove for that feature, but we were looking at the Sears outlet store, and that's what they had that met our other requirements (and it was on a HUGE sale), and I'm glad to have the lower oven.

[Kim in Appalachia]

I do not like the smaller size. I can not fit a large turkey in there, or extra large cookie trays, or even a sheet cake pan. That may not be a big deal for you, if it's not then you may like it. It is nice to be able to cook 2 different things at once. But I would prefer a full size oven.

[kathkath]

I do not like the smaller size. I can not fit a large turkey in there, or extra large cookie trays, or even a sheet cake pan. That may not be a big deal for you, if it's not then you may like it. It is nice to be able to cook 2 different things at once. But I would prefer a full size oven.

 

We have had no trouble with this.

[Mrs Twain]

I love my double ovens. It makes having company and especially parties, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with a crowd sooooooo much easier. I would really miss having two if I went back to only having one.

[sassyscrapperinid]

We built a house with double ovens and we loved it!!!!! I miss it SOOOO much. But when I think about it, I mostly miss it around the holidays obviously. However, if I had the chance to have them again, I would jump on it! :001_smile:

[Serenade]

I love our double oven! It was something I insisted on when we built our new house. We have found that we can use the smaller oven for most things that we cook, and only use the big oven if we're doing a roast or baking something in a 9 x 13. Our ovens are side by side, so we don't have one on top and one on the bottom -- I guess they're both on the bottom, LOL, but I haven't had a problem with it, and I have RA. I'm not sure if all new ovens are like this, but escaping heat is not a problem with either of our ovens -- they do not make the kitchen hot at all. One side note -- I'm thinking of not even having a toaster oven in our new house, because I can use the regular small oven for most anything I'd use the toaster oven for -- so that's one less thing on the counter.

[justamouse]

hated it. They were smaller, so even having two didn't mean I could make enough for a holiday.

[Mama Geek]

I loved my double oven in my old house. I used it all the time.

 

When we bought our new appliances for our new house though we decided on a convection microwave and a convection oven both instead. When we left FL for my dh's current contract job in Denver, the microwave wasn't installed yet so I don't have an opinion of it.

[justamouse]

I loved my double oven in my old house. I used it all the time.

 

When we bought our new appliances for our new house though we decided on a convection microwave and a convection oven both instead. When we left FL for my dh's current contract job in Denver, the microwave wasn't installed yet so I don't have an opinion of it.

 

I think Mama Geek has a point here in that if it's a small family, they WOULD be wonderful.

 

But I have a huge family and when extended family comes over we top 50. So a double oven is totally impractical for me. Heck, I even need six burners on the stove.

 

If anything, I would take my convection now, and then add a smaller oven.

[Beach Mom]

When we bought our new appliances for our new house though we decided on a convection microwave and a convection oven both instead.

 

:iagree:This is the set up I have now (with a warming drawer at the bottom of the oven) and I love it. The double ovens are small and I could never fit as much as I do in my large single oven. My biggest cake pans didn't fit, and if I put a turkey in one, nothing else would fit in there.

 

Plus with the convection/micro combo I can just use the convection on the microwave for small things like a pizza for lunch or a pan of brownies. It gives off much less heat than the big oven. While I am uncomfortable letting my oldest use the gas stove, she can use the convection on the micro with no issues.

[Lisa in Jax]

To be clear: we have two full-size convection and conventional ovens. If the double ovens had to be smaller or weren't convection, I would not be in love with them. ;-)

 

Lisa

[Ewe Mama]

We've had a Maytag Gemini for about 2 1/2 years. It's ok. I'm not in love with it. If I had the space to do two full-sized wall ovens, that would be my preference.

 

The upper oven is so short that I can't fit anything taller than a 13x9 inch pan inside, so it's ok for cooking small casseroles and "short" stuff.

 

The lower "larger" oven is barely big enough for a turkey.

 

We are a family of seven, but the dc haven't sterted eating us out of house and home...yet. I dread that day. :glare:

 

The other problem is that when the lower oven needs a higher cooking temp than the upper oven, the food in the upper oven tends to cook faster and burn sometimes. It's not insulated well enough.

 

If I could, I would go back to my regular, full-sized oven.

[OrganicAnn]

I love our double oven.

[JFSinIL]

I grew up in a 60's ranch house with the exact same double oven Betty Draper has in Mad Men! I so miss having two ovens - baking cookies or biscuits or ? in the top oven while a roast cooks below! I would LOVE to have a double oven again!

[Lady Florida.]

 

The upper oven is so short that I can't fit anything taller than a 13x9 inch pan inside, so it's ok for cooking small casseroles and "short" stuff.

 

The lower "larger" oven is barely big enough for a turkey.

 

 

 

This is something I was worried about. However, most of what we looked at say the big oven is a standard size oven. Maybe it's something to watch out for and make sure you're not getting one that's too small.

[MamaJo]

My mother has one and I have oven envy.

[Mama Geek]

I think Mama Geek has a point here in that if it's a small family, they WOULD be wonderful.

 

But I have a huge family and when extended family comes over we top 50. So a double oven is totally impractical for me. Heck, I even need six burners on the stove.

 

If anything, I would take my convection now, and then add a smaller oven.

 

:iagree:This is the set up I have now (with a warming drawer at the bottom of the oven) and I love it. The double ovens are small and I could never fit as much as I do in my large single oven. My biggest cake pans didn't fit, and if I put a turkey in one, nothing else would fit in there.

 

Plus with the convection/micro combo I can just use the convection on the microwave for small things like a pizza for lunch or a pan of brownies. It gives off much less heat than the big oven. While I am uncomfortable letting my oldest use the gas stove, she can use the convection on the micro with no issues.

 

 

I had a much older double oven and could cook a turkey in the top one or use 9X13 pans in either without a problem. I didn't have a problem with space when we had extended family in town or had friends over.

[Rhonda in TX]

Love my double oven. I can't think of anything I hate about it. We have a microwave that can also be used as an oven, so that could be an option for you. It's not as big as a regular oven, of course, but it can fit a casserole dish. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen as much as a full-size oven.