September 20, 2009 – 7:07 pm
Low Price Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven With Element IQ
I love this product – it is a pleasure to use, functions beautifully, and is beautifully designed.
The other reviewers have already said much of what I would have written. The ‘Out of Box Experience’ is superb. As another reviewer noted, the packaging is quite a bit like Apple’s (see photos) – attractive graphics on an inner box protected in an outer, recyclable box. The oven itself, when compared to the Cuisinart TOB-165 that we have been using (or even the stainless steel TOB-195 model), is like comparing an Apple Mac to a Dell: visually more stylish and appealing, better engineered ‘guts’, and once operated, functionally very well thought out.
A few years ago, our old toaster oven died and we migrated to the Cuisinart which, like this Breville BOV800XL, is a convection oven / toaster / broiler. We liked it so much, that we gifted several more to friends and family. Ah, if only this Breville had ben available then…
The Breville is so vastly superior in every way – function, capacity, ease of use, and ease of cleaning. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The timer on the Breville turns the oven off at the end of any kind of cycle as you would expect – toast, bagel, bake, broil, pizza, etc.This is hugely wonderful compared to the Cuisinart unit which only turns itself off after toasting – you have to remember to turn it off when in any other mode. (The Cuisinart’s timer is ‘dumb’ – just a beeper.) Also, each Breville cycle has smart default settings, and can remember your own settings for temperature and time, or slices (toast) and darkness, etc.
The BOV800XL accomodates a 13″ pizza pan (included). We made two pizzas tonight to test the oven, one fresh (deli) the other frozen. I dialed the ‘pizza’ setting, dropped the default 450 temperature to 425, accepted convection mode, and accepted the default 12″ size for the fresh pizza and pressed the on button. Once preheated, the oven beeped for the pizza to be inserted. At the end of the timed cycle, the oven turned off and beeped again: perfect pizza!
I then did a 9″ frozen Amy’s pizza. Similar procedure as above, but dialed the size knob down to 9″ and pressed the ‘frozen food’ button. Again, perfect at the end of the cycle.
Toast setting works great – up to 6 pieces of toast, as does the bagel setting, which toasts the top at a higher temp then the bottom to make the top crispy and the bottom warm but still soft. Frozen waffles come out great – crunchy outside and moist inside, instead of all dried out.
For baking, a 13″ x 9″ baking pan easily fits inside as does, of course, the larger pan that comes with the unit, loaf pans and small muffin pans.
The glass door conveniently labels the three rack positions for broil, toast/cookie/bagel/pizza, and bake/roast/reheat/warm.
The crystalline-looking heating elements (three on top, two on the bottom) seem to heat faster, and more evenly, than the metallic elements in other counter-top ovens. Depending on the mode/cycle, the oven enables or disables certain elements, and changes the wattage of others.
The crumb tray in the front answer another of my big complaints about the Cuininart. No effort to pull the tray out at any time to brush off crumbs, or wash off accidental spills. (The Cuinsart’s crumb tray slides out of the rear of that unit, requiring minor gymnastics – enough to put it off until it is really gross.)
The stainless finish and assembly is of high quality, and the oversized handle and control knobs give a feel of quality as well (and match current upper to high end major appliances).
No doubt I’ll have more comments after we use the Breville BOV800XL for a few months, but for now, I can only sing its praises.
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Boring details:
Dimension Comparison to Cuisinart TOB-165/195:
The Breville being slightly larger permits it to be used for items that otherwise would have to go into a regular oven. The interior of the Breville is 13 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ x 5″ high (to clear the elements), with a curved recess in the back so that a nearly 13″ pizza pan fits. The Cuisinart is 11 1/2″ x 9 3/4″ x 5″ which cannot accommodate pizza, nor a 13 x 9 pan and toasts only 4 pieces of bread.
The small increase in interior space which results in so much greater versatility is at the expense of only an inch of counter space required. The Breville exterior is roughly 18 1/2″ wide x 16″ deep x 10 3/4″ high compared to the Cuisinart 17 1/2″ wide x 14″ deep x 10″ high.
Electrical Notes:
As others note, the oven uses a maximum of 1800 watts, which is basically all that a 15 amp circuit has to offer (most home kitchens will have either 15 or 20 amp circuits). So, you shouldn’t use other power hungry appliances on the same circuit as the BOV800XL. As noted in the owner’s manual, you must have a grounded 3-prong outlet, which any modern home will have. Even though my kitchen is 20 years old, I’m fortunate that the electrician had included three circuits for appliances so no problems here.
With regard to those concerned about the short cord: do note that electrical codes require that outlets on kitchen counters be serviced by a minimum of two separate circuits and be no more than 2 feet from one another (4 feet at a corner). Even under older codes that permit outlets up to 6′ apart, the 3′ cord is adequate.
Installation note:
This is a countertop oven. When operating, nothing should be within 4″ of any side. Because some people are accustomed to GE/Black and Decker toaster ovens that mount under cabinets, do note that that is NOT an option here because of the high heat and clearances required. You really do need to have enough counter space to accommodate the unit.
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