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My Worst Oven Ever Makes Me Consider Microwaved Burritos From 7-11 - Whirlpool SB160PEE Gas Single Oven

Whirlpool SB160PEE Gas Single Oven Product SB160PEE Key FeaturesOven Type SingleEnergy Source GasOven Functionality B...

Fed up - Whirlpool GMC305PD Electric Single Oven The Whirlpool oven/microwave combination was the type of appliance the builder used when we purchased our home. ...

Finding words to describe how frustrated I am with this oven may be difficult for me to achieve. This oven shares the distinction of being partners with the hot water heater in being the two appliances I would throw out tomorrow if I convinced myself to spend the money.

While saving the hot water heater for another day, I can honestly say that the oven has two decent characteristics: the cooking space is very deep, and the broiler works well. Those are the only two I can think of, and I just spent a long time staring at this ugly monster before I outlined this review.

So What’s Wrong?

Almost immediately after installation, the clock/timer stopped working. We noticed the numbers fading, chalked the issue up to a bad LCD and resigned ourselves to looking at the actual clock or a wristwatch to tell the time. As for using the timer, our microwave has a timer feature that does not activate the cooking mechanism so we really didn’t see an issue. Unless, of course, we wanted to use the microwave while it was timing something. Then we resorted to the old fashioned way of writing things down.

Beep.

That was the first sign we were in trouble. We looked at the oven, and the display was flashing. I pushed a button, and while the clock was still malfunctioning, the beeping stopped

Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppppp.

Those were the second signs we had trouble, but maybe not trouble to pay a repairman for a service call. In an intermittent time frame and without anything we might have done, the beeping would start again. We could be in another room; heck, we could be in another house, and the beeping would start before it gave way to a high pitched but relatively quiet whirring sound. By now, even our youngest child had learned to tromp over to the oven and mash a button.

Then one day the beeps stopped. Except for the extremely rare time when something goes haywire, but those times are now measured in months, not days.

Beeping. Gotcha. Anything Else?

A contractor properly installed the oven. The dimensions were almost the same as our old oven. Yet for some reason, the front door gets hotter than any other oven or grill I’ve ever worked with. Imagine baby oil poured on the front of a high indirect heat source to imagine what brushing up near this oven feels like. Even the cabinet above gets unbearably warm, and we had to move a number of things out of there.

The worst part was the wall.

Our kitchen is painted an off-white with a wallpaper border. The area adjacent to the oven is a discolored brown that no amount of scrubbing or cleaning solution removes. Yes, we could paint over the wall, but the oven will simply discolor the new paint job, so why bother?

Other issues with this oven are a very difficult to reach pilot light. Smelling gas one day, I realized the pilot light was out. I’ve cooked with gas most of my life. I did everything properly and attempted to relight the pilot light. Doing so required removing the racks and the bottom panel and maneuvering my hand in strange positions all while trying to flick a Bic.

The pilot light isn’t the only minor thing that causes problems. I never thought about this before a recent storm knocked out power, but without electricity, the glow bar doesn’t work. No glow bar, no heat. No heat, and you’re eating peanut butter or driving outside the blacked out area. While this must be true of every gas oven, I find myself just piling the problem on the list of things I don’t like about the oven.

The last part is the glass. Self cleaning ovens are wonderful when they work. In my experience, nothing beats a good cleaning by a human, but a self-cleaning feature is nice. That intense heat (and probably an exploding casserole or two) have left the glass almost impossible to see through. I’ve soaked, sprayed and scrubbed that glass to no avail. Not only does the problem now require the cook to open the door, but the yucky-browning color makes that whole area of the kitchen look horrible.

The Bottom Line

Simply writing this and studying the alternatives has caused me to realize that the oven has to go. I could have dealt with any one or two of the problems cropping up, but this is one appliance we simply hate.

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