Combination microwave ovens?

Shadowlands · 14-08-2014, 21:36

Hi,

There are only two of us in the house, and using the main oven is a bit of a waste, our microwave is on it's last legs and I was thinking of replacing it with a combination microwave oven (With convection oven, grill and microwave), has anyone got any experience of them? Are they any good? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks very much.

evil c · 15-08-2014, 02:18

I've had a look at the Which? reviews for combi microwaves and if you could tell me how much you want to pay that would be a help. All the good combis are well over £100 and some nearly £300, although this high price is no guarantee of a better performance. Which? also tests the microwaves on their ability to do certain things, specifically speed and evenness of heating, continuous use, manual defrost, auto defrost, grilling toast, baking cakes, ease of use, cleaning, noise and energy use. If any of these is particularly important that would be useful to know too.

Here are three of the most reasonably prices combis reviewed by Which?

All the top scoring models got 76% and the cheapest of these is the 2012 Panasonic NN-CT552W. In summary Which? said - This model blew us away in our microwave heating tests, setting a standard which other microwaves will struggle to follow. Food is heated quickly and evenly, and loses little weight during cooking, so it's unlikely to end up dry or shrivelled. And the jacket potatoes we cooked were good.

Pros: Excellent heating in microwave mode, defrosting and convection, good multi-function cooking. Cons: Poor grilling.

It's cheapest at PRC Direct for £139: http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/details.p...FfOhtAodYioAzA

Coming in at 72% and the cheapest of all the Best Buys is the 2014 Samsung MC28H5013AK. Which? said - This is a really good combi microwave. It does well at the basic microwave functions of heating and defrosting, it's excellent at baking, and the grill does a very good job of browning toast. It joins our top-ranking microwaves to become a worthy Best Buy.

Pros: Excellent at baking, great at heating food evenly, very good at grilling. Cons: Minor niggles only.

John Lewis at £129 is £5 more than the cheapest price, but you get a free 2 year guarantee: http://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-mc2...c_pr_200_40000

One factor of concern is the very poor Which? customer reviews of all the Panasonic combis, although this wasn't shared on other review sites.

Not a Best Buy but a good all-rounder except very poor for grilling is the 2013 DeLonghi's D90D25ESLRIII. Which? said - Pros: Excellent heating and defrosting, solid baking performance. Cons: The grill is dreadful, not that intuitive to use.

Available now half price at Argos for £100: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/4008558.htm

SherbetLemon · 15-08-2014, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowlands

has anyone got any experience of them? Are they any good? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Every so often a thread like this comes up in the advice forum, and almost everyone who replies recommends Panasonic. Our last two have been Panasonic, and given us years of good service.

As a family, we use the combi microwave more than the main oven. Everything from heating soup to making perfect brown-all-over toast. They're excellent appliances, and I wouldn't be without one. Get one.

Welsh-lad · 15-08-2014, 17:53

Mine is called Panasonic inverter slimline combi - had it a good many years and it's great.

mac2708 · 15-08-2014, 18:00

There are two of us and I (as I do all the cooking) have a Sharp combi-microwave.
The main oven has not been used for over 2 years as the combi is used for everything as well as the usual microwave tasks.
Cakes, pies, casseroles. meat/chicken, pastries etc. are all cooked in the combi.
In addtion to being more convenient I'm sure it's more economical (electricity-wise) even though it's a big oven

degsyhufc · 15-08-2014, 18:11

I can't recommend one as mine is several years old and won't be available any more.

I use it mostly for when I can't be arsed to pre-heat the oven.

I use it most for reheating things that are best off reheating in an oven and not a microwave.

e.g. oven + 10% microwave for 6 to 8 minutes to reheat pasties, pies, pizza etc.

There's also the presets. The one I use most is for jacket potatoes. It does a pretty good job in 14 minutes instead of 1h+ in the oven.
I also use the same preset for frozen chicken wings.

You will have to test the presets on your combi yourself and also have a bit of trial and error for using the oven as an alternative to your conventional oven.

For instance, I once tried to cook a part baked baguette in the combi and used the same settings as I would in my normal oven.
200c for 10 minutes.

I stupidly left it and when I came back the combi was smoking and the baguette was black.
I had to grab it with tongs and throw it out the back door. It was like charcoal and the kitchen stunk for days.

Shadowlands · 15-08-2014, 21:38

Thanks to everyone for the helpful answers, I'm looking at spending up to about £250 I guess, but I'll spend some time looking at Panasonic and Sharp.

ChoccyCarole · 15-08-2014, 23:55

I have a PANASONIC Inverter - Slimline Combi
Silver outside and stainless steel interior [ ideal for keeping like new ]
the window area is black and see through when in use
I think I have had it Since 2010 = maybe 4 years
I am very pleased with it
I have used it daily since I got it
It is great for everything !!!!

The control panel on the right hand side of mine is
** completely flat - with no protruding buttons **

brangdon · 18-08-2014, 15:04

I use one much more than a normal oven. I doubt mine's especially good, though. The timer is limited to 99 minutes and you can't set a start time, so it's no good for slow cooking. It is good for fast cooking, though. I will sometimes stick in a lump of meat on auto and it's done in half an hour rather than an hour and a half.

kampffenhoff · 20-08-2014, 17:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac2708

There are two of us and I (as I do all the cooking) have a Sharp combi-microwave.
The main oven has not been used for over 2 years as the combi is used for everything as well as the usual microwave tasks.
Cakes, pies, casseroles. meat/chicken, pastries etc. are all cooked in the combi.
In addtion to being more convenient I'm sure it's more economical (electricity-wise) even though it's a big oven

Yours sounds just like ours. We use it all the time.

14-08-2014, 21:36	#1
Shadowlands Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The England Posts: 1,322	Combination microwave ovens? Hi, There are only two of us in the house, and using the main oven is a bit of a waste, our microwave is on it's last legs and I was thinking of replacing it with a combination microwave oven (With convection oven, grill and microwave), has anyone got any experience of them? Are they any good? Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks very much.

15-08-2014, 02:18	#2
evil c Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wirral Peninsula Posts: 4,777	I've had a look at the Which? reviews for combi microwaves and if you could tell me how much you want to pay that would be a help. All the good combis are well over £100 and some nearly £300, although this high price is no guarantee of a better performance. Which? also tests the microwaves on their ability to do certain things, specifically speed and evenness of heating, continuous use, manual defrost, auto defrost, grilling toast, baking cakes, ease of use, cleaning, noise and energy use. If any of these is particularly important that would be useful to know too. Here are three of the most reasonably prices combis reviewed by Which? All the top scoring models got 76% and the cheapest of these is the 2012 Panasonic NN-CT552W. In summary Which? said - This model blew us away in our microwave heating tests, setting a standard which other microwaves will struggle to follow. Food is heated quickly and evenly, and loses little weight during cooking, so it's unlikely to end up dry or shrivelled. And the jacket potatoes we cooked were good. Pros: Excellent heating in microwave mode, defrosting and convection, good multi-function cooking. Cons: Poor grilling. It's cheapest at PRC Direct for £139: http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/details.p...FfOhtAodYioAzA Coming in at 72% and the cheapest of all the Best Buys is the 2014 Samsung MC28H5013AK. Which? said - This is a really good combi microwave. It does well at the basic microwave functions of heating and defrosting, it's excellent at baking, and the grill does a very good job of browning toast. It joins our top-ranking microwaves to become a worthy Best Buy. Pros: Excellent at baking, great at heating food evenly, very good at grilling. Cons: Minor niggles only. John Lewis at £129 is £5 more than the cheapest price, but you get a free 2 year guarantee: http://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-mc2...c_pr_200_40000 One factor of concern is the very poor Which? customer reviews of all the Panasonic combis, although this wasn't shared on other review sites. Not a Best Buy but a good all-rounder except very poor for grilling is the 2013 DeLonghi's D90D25ESLRIII. Which? said - Pros: Excellent heating and defrosting, solid baking performance. Cons: The grill is dreadful, not that intuitive to use. Available now half price at Argos for £100: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/4008558.htm

15-08-2014, 17:01	#3
SherbetLemon Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Central Scotland Posts: 3,888	Quote: Originally Posted by Shadowlands has anyone got any experience of them? Are they any good? Does anyone have any recommendations? Every so often a thread like this comes up in the advice forum, and almost everyone who replies recommends Panasonic. Our last two have been Panasonic, and given us years of good service. As a family, we use the combi microwave more than the main oven. Everything from heating soup to making perfect brown-all-over toast. They're excellent appliances, and I wouldn't be without one. Get one.

15-08-2014, 17:53	#4
Welsh-lad Inactive Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mid Wales / Canolbarth Cymru Posts: 37,555	Mine is called Panasonic inverter slimline combi - had it a good many years and it's great.

15-08-2014, 18:00	#5
mac2708 Forum Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 3,196	There are two of us and I (as I do all the cooking) have a Sharp combi-microwave. The main oven has not been used for over 2 years as the combi is used for everything as well as the usual microwave tasks. Cakes, pies, casseroles. meat/chicken, pastries etc. are all cooked in the combi. In addtion to being more convenient I'm sure it's more economical (electricity-wise) even though it's a big oven

15-08-2014, 18:11	#6
degsyhufc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Up North Posts: 58,791	I can't recommend one as mine is several years old and won't be available any more. I use it mostly for when I can't be arsed to pre-heat the oven. I use it most for reheating things that are best off reheating in an oven and not a microwave. e.g. oven + 10% microwave for 6 to 8 minutes to reheat pasties, pies, pizza etc. There's also the presets. The one I use most is for jacket potatoes. It does a pretty good job in 14 minutes instead of 1h+ in the oven. I also use the same preset for frozen chicken wings. You will have to test the presets on your combi yourself and also have a bit of trial and error for using the oven as an alternative to your conventional oven. For instance, I once tried to cook a part baked baguette in the combi and used the same settings as I would in my normal oven. 200c for 10 minutes. I stupidly left it and when I came back the combi was smoking and the baguette was black. I had to grab it with tongs and throw it out the back door. It was like charcoal and the kitchen stunk for days.

15-08-2014, 21:38	#7
Shadowlands Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The England Posts: 1,322	Thanks to everyone for the helpful answers, I'm looking at spending up to about £250 I guess, but I'll spend some time looking at Panasonic and Sharp.

15-08-2014, 23:55	#8
ChoccyCarole Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NZ♥Sydney-UK-CYBERDAZZLE Posts: 5,686	I have a PANASONIC Inverter - Slimline Combi Silver outside and stainless steel interior [ ideal for keeping like new ] the window area is black and see through when in use I think I have had it Since 2010 = maybe 4 years I am very pleased with it I have used it daily since I got it It is great for everything !!!! The control panel on the right hand side of mine is completely flat - with no protruding buttons

18-08-2014, 15:04	#9
brangdon Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 11,885	I use one much more than a normal oven. I doubt mine's especially good, though. The timer is limited to 99 minutes and you can't set a start time, so it's no good for slow cooking. It is good for fast cooking, though. I will sometimes stick in a lump of meat on auto and it's done in half an hour rather than an hour and a half.

20-08-2014, 17:08	#10
kampffenhoff Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,180	Quote: Originally Posted by mac2708 There are two of us and I (as I do all the cooking) have a Sharp combi-microwave. The main oven has not been used for over 2 years as the combi is used for everything as well as the usual microwave tasks. Cakes, pies, casseroles. meat/chicken, pastries etc. are all cooked in the combi. In addtion to being more convenient I'm sure it's more economical (electricity-wise) even though it's a big oven Yours sounds just like ours. We use it all the time.

DS Forums

Combination microwave ovens?