March 16, 2016
Over the years we have worked with numerous customers to help them with their kitchen appliances, design and style of kitchen. Everyone has their own requirements as you do with your kitchen.
We have found the following 10 questions to be the starting point for someone when they are looking to buy their appliances. Once they have answered these questions they then can move on confidently with their appliances.
Here is our top 10 questions for buying appliances.
1. Gas or Electric - which is best?
This will be a personal choice as both have their good and bad points. We have found that if you have always cooked with a gas oven you will stay with a gas oven and conversely if you have cooked with an electric oven you will remain with electric.
If you decide to move from gas to electric oven then it will take you time to learn to control the temperature to make sure your food is cooked to your usual standards.
Gas ovens will generally be hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom so you need to ensure that your oven has a fan. If there is no fan then you will need to rotate your food.
Remember that if you choose a gas oven then you will need both an electric and gas connection to your oven. The electricity will be for the light and runnning of the fan.
With cooktops then it will depend on what you cook. If you cook Oriental food then you will prefer gas especially a gas cooktop with a wok burner.
If energy efficiency is important to you then the choice is induction, electric and then gas. Gas cooktops lose heat from the side as all the flame is not directly applied to the bottom of the pan.
2. I Hate Cleaning My Oven
There are 3 types of categories when it comes to cleaning an oven:
Pyrolitic - this is where the oven heats up to 500 degrees. At this temperature all the residue in the oven is burnt to ash.
Once the pyrolitic cleaning function is finished and the oven has cooled down, then the ash needs to be wiped out of the oven. With such high temperatures your cabinet needs to be fitted with special heat deflectors to protect your cabinets.
Steam Clean - this function allows the oven to be cleaned using water.
Your oven baking tray is filled with approximately 1 litre of water and placed in the oven. You then heat the oven to 90 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
Once finished and the oven has cooled down then you wipe the inside of the oven with a damp cloth.
Standard - here is when the oven needs to be cleaned using a cleaning product. A variety of different oven cleaners are available from supermarkets.
To help with cleaning most ovens allow the removal of the front door to make access easier.
3. How Big is my Oven?
Always check the internal size of your oven or take your baking dish to the store to check if your trays can fit in the oven.
Look at the height so that you are certain that your roast ie chicken, turkey, beef or pork can fit inside the oven.
Check how many shelf positions you have in the oven. If you are using fan forced then you want to be able to have a number of dishes cooking at the same time. The number of shelf positions will give you an idea on how many levels you can have at the one time.
If the floor of the oven has an element then you will lose some cooking space.
Never ever put foil on the bottom of your oven. If you do this then you will end up burning your cabinetry as the foil will reflect the heat down.
4. Is an Induction cooktop really faster?
Induction cooking is the most efficient form of cooking. It is faster, safer then other forms of cooking.
Induction operates by magnetic forces which will heat the contents inside of the pan. Not like other forms which have to heat the pan first before heating the contents.
To learn more about Induction Cooking read this article: Why You Should Choose Induction Cooking
5. What is MJ/h for gas cooktops
This rating tells you the amount of energy each burner uses on its maximum setting.
Four burner cooktops should have a good range of heat ratings from slow (low heat around 3.5 - 5 Mj/h) to fast (high heat 10 or 11 MJ/h) with wok burners around 12 -15 MJ/h.
Gas cooktops are generaly set up to operate on Natural Gas. If you are using LPG then your cooktop will need to be converted. Most manufacturers include injectors for LPG. Your plumber or gas fitter will need to change the injectors for you.
A number of gas cooktops are fitted with flame failure. This is a safety feature that shuts the gas off if the flame goes out.
6. What is the meaning of dish settings for a dishwasher?
If you have a 12 place setting then your dishwasher can handle all the plates from a 12 place dinner setting.
Collapsible shelves in a dishwasher are a handy feature that allows you to place large oven baking dishes in the dishwasher.
Check if the shelves are height adjustable. Then you can move the shelves up or down to handle larger pots and dishes.
7. What Do All the Cooking Functions Do?
Ovens can come with 3 to 11 cooking functions. Here is a brief explanation of the various functions.
8. What is airflow for a cooker hood.
Airflow is about moving the air from your cooking away and replacing it with clean air.
The airflow you require will depend upon the size of your kitchen and the type of cooking you do.
To work out the airflow required for your kitchen you simply take the volume size of your kitchen and multiply this value by 10.
As an example say your kitchen was 3m x 4m x 2.7m = 32.4m3 x 10 = 324 m3/h.
So any product that provides an airflow over 324 m3/hr will suit your kitchen and give you efficient ventilation of your kitchen.
As a general guide we use the following:
9. Do I duct or recirculate my hood?
This depends on where your kitchen is located in your home.
If your hood is where you can access the roof cavity or outside then you are best to duct the air away.
If the hood is located in a kitchen that is central to the home and has no external access then you will need to recirculate. When you recirculate it is recommended that you use carbon filters to help with the cleaning of the air.
10. What is my warranty?
The warranty period will be between 2 - 5 years. In most cases it is 2 years.
You can buy extended warranty if you so desire. We don't recommend it.
Warranty should cover the costs of labour and parts. The warranty will start from when you purchase the goods.
For any warranty it is important that you keep a proof of purchase either from your kitchen manufacturer or retailer.
That is it our top 10.
Have a great week. If there are any extra questions that you have then drop us a line and we will answer them for you.
Love Your Cooking
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