Appliance Reviews

My first toaster didn't work at all! I sent it back to the
company for a replacement. The second one had a seriously
flawed finish and toasted only one side of the bread!

It's hard to know what to say. I ordered this, in spite of high price, because of the very favorable reviews. Mine arrived and simply didn't work. It didn't function poorly -- it didn't function at all! I'm returning it for a less expensive toaster that (I hope) will work.

My unit has worked fine since arrival. It doesn't get heavy use. I would have liked to see a hold button on the automatic loading cycle, and the heating wires could have been constructed and designed better---especially at this price. The finish was perfect and if you like the retro look you should like this. Easy cleaning for the crumb tray also. Like the defrost cycle and extra wide slots.

I bought this because my children love waffles. I used the recipe that came with the unit. The waffles came out soggy and tasted eggy (recipe calls for 3 eggs per cup of flour!) I tried other recipes, same result. This is a BAD BAD machine!

After 25 years our GE waffle iron started showing signs that we needed to replace it. Our compaison of the Toastmaster 218 is based on the years of excellent waffles we have been used to.

Although compact and easy to use, the heating was very uneven. The center of the waffle baker towards the handle was dark, and the corners very light. The waffles were on the soggy side, and not crisp on the outside like they were with the GE. If we let them cook longer, they became dried out. We used one of our favorite waffle recipies that worked great with the GE.

For someone new to waffles, this may be an okay waffle iron, but for someone that truely loves a good waffle, stay away from this one.

I like to make waffles, but I don't get as much use out of this as I hoped when I bought it.

IMPROVEMENT: Ability to switch out plates for waffles, sandwiches and pizelles. It may cost a little more, but it would have saved me the money of having to buy 3 separate kitchen items.

I bought the AR1070 oven back in May '03. Used it twice and noticed it took unusually long to cook a potato. Checked it with an oven thermometer and found that it never even got CLOSE to the temp. it was set for, nor is the indicator light accurate. Also the fan was unbelieveably loud. Told by DeLonghi to take it back. Exchanged it for another. Same thing. Slightly less noisy but took about 40 minutes to get to 390 (when I set it for 400)degrees. Also the exterior got SO hot I had to use a hot pad to open the door. Exchanged for a 3rd oven. SAME THING. Over the last few months I have been trying to get DeLonghi to listen to me and examine this product because it has an inferior, UNCALIBRATABLE thermostat and is poorly insulated, but they just blow me off and keep repeating "take it back." I did, and got my money back; but was so infuriated by the whole thing, ended up contacting the Office of Consumer Protection in NJ, who are currently trying to help me, as I am not the first to complain about DeLonghi's lack of customer service/quality. I urge anyone that owns this oven, get an oven thermometer and CHECK THE TEMPERATURE... if it is unusually off the mark, contact the Office of Consumer Protection in New Jersey, and file a complaint. This could not possibly have been 'coincidence' as the 3 ovens I used were from two separate lots of production. As far as their offer of 'repair or replace', there IS no repairing the thermostat, only replacing - with the same inferior one they install in the first place. Let the buyer BEWARE!!!!!!!

I too was a little dismayed to find a gap around the glass door with no gasket to seal it. But, since most of what I have cooked is on "Fan Bake", I've noticed little if any heat loss out that gap. If I ever use the regular "Bake" I guess heat will have to seek out that gap and escape.

As far as the temperture control is concerned, I have noticed that it does bake at a slightly higher temperture than what it is set on, but my $889.00 G.E. range oven does that also. Only once in the last month did I burn something, and that was when I set the time longer than specified and walked away.

With the "Fan Bake" on this little Convection oven cooks faster, and more evenly than my regular kitchen range, plus I can watch it brown through the full glass door,

I have mostly cooked various "TV" dinners and other frozen dishes that I used to cook in my microwave. If you wish tasty meat and browned potatoes this oven takes a bit longer than the microwave, but the meals come out twice to three times better with out the "rubber" texture and taste of meat cooked in the microwave.

Twice I have baked pastries in it, and one cake. All three times the bakery goods turned out well. Of course I kept checking them through the glass door until they were browned just right.

I've owned counter top toaster ovens, and for the price, this Convection Oven beats the heck out of them, and bakes small items faster and better than my regular oven.

For the low IQ person who said the temp didn't come close
to what it was set for: you have to set convection ovens 25 to 50 degrees lower.Every professional baker knows that.
The fan was not overly loud.
Comparable convection ovens sell for thousands of dollars!
Thanks delonghi!

My 14 yr. old son "cooks" for himself, and this is much more convenient than the oven. Especially for heating leftovers or frozen pizza, burritos, etc. The temp. guage seems fairly accurate, the option selector is not confusing, and the timer is built in. I don't have to worry that he's left the gas oven on, and heating up this little appliance takes much less time.

As far a toast goes, we're not much into that, but this is great for what need. Big plus, the pull out tray makes it very easy to clean.

The bottom rack is a little tight and doesn't slide as well as the top, and we had to play a little with the racks for positioning.

I have absolutely no complaints about this toaster oven. I was even surprised how nice it looks. The directions that were included were simple and easy to read.

Easy to use and very nice design. Love the double trays.

I got this to replace an old hitachi rice cooker (lasted 9 years). After trying it for a few times, I returned it. It takes too long to cook the rice, you have to soak the rice for 30 minutes before cooking, then turn it on, then it takes about another 30 minutes. (I can make rice quicker using the stove). I followed the manufacturer's instructions, rice browned on the bottom, and cooked uneven. I tried to adjust the water, either rice turned out uncooked or too soft. The only thing good it was easy to clean, but so was my old Hitachi rice cooker that did not had the nonstick surface.

This is an inexpensive rice cooker, and as such does not quite turn out the quality of rice that some of the more expensive models do. It IS, however, a terrific value for your money. I've owned mine for over 6 months now and it has consistantly turned out delicious rice and steamed veggies. Occasionally the rice gets a little over-cooked on the bottom, but in general it is a great inexpensive rice cooker, and I have no real complaints!

It is excellent one except for a little bit long cooking time.
Non-stick pot and some fun in steaming food. And I never burned the rice on the bottom.

I have used this oven pretty extensively over last year and a half, to the point that I am not using regural oven much anymore. It has taken over most of my cooking duties that are not served by microwave. Unlike some other people who had reviewed it, I have not experienced any mechanical problems. Oven is pretty easy to clean too.

For what I need it, the oven cooks pretty well. The food comes out well cooked, usually in less time than is recommended by the recipe. I wish it was a little bigger, like my previous convection oven from Sharp, but then it is only about $100 whereas the old one was about $300. I don't think I can get another oven in this price range that could be used for nearly the same variety of dishes as this one.

My parents own one of these as well and use it extensively too. They used to own a previous generation of this oven and when it finally broke after a long time, they got this one. And from what they tell me, they are pretty happy with it, so when this oven breaks, they are probably going to get another one.

I have an older version of this oven. I've used mine daily for over seven years, for everything from chocolate chip cookies to our Thanksgiving turkey. I haven't used my main oven in years.

It's large enough to accomodate a standard cookie sheet, but just barely, so you have to make sure the "handles" on the side of the sheet don't project out too far. It's better to use a smaller pan, so the fan-driven air can circulate freely.

On the down side, the oven exterior does get quite warm, and it can take a while to preheat (about 15-20 minutes to 400 degrees).

It's difficult for me to call out the features of an item that works so well and reliably that I've come to take it for granted. I'd have a hard time adjusting to cooking without it.

I've had mine for 6 months now and I think it's a terriffic product. No, it hasn't blown up, disintigrated or failed in any way. It works just like I thought it would. I have it in a home I lease in Florida where I'm usually cooking regularly for a small number of people. Using my full-sized oven does no better job, is much slower and very energy wasteful compared to using this little gem.

The sides do get hot like any spacesaving device does. I imagine you could pay more for an insulated one that would be a super caddy.... but, why? This works just fine.

I thought the final fit/finish wasn't of superior craftmanship but for the price, this large size convection oven has no peer.

I would recommend it to those on a budget or for those Scotch at heart like me.

Thanks toastmaster for a fine quality made oven that fit my budget.... cooks as advertised.... is free from defects.... and is an attractive addition to my kitchen.

Oh, I only wish it came with a cooking basket for frech-fries and veggies etc. This would be a handy addion or accessory that I've been searching for on the net.... but, have not been able to find one.

This purchase has settled in as an extremely expensive pizza oven and / or breadbox. As previously stated by another reviewer, no mention of oven size - now that the unit has been purchased, I find none of my bakeware - other than loaf pans and 9"x9" cake /pie pans will fit inside! Interior is approx 13"x13"x12" giving approx 1.1 cu ft. Cookie sheets, jelly roll pans, standard size sheet cake pans will not fit inside.

Cleaning the inside of the enamel surface is a challenge, and in many cases requires scouring powder - yuck. Cooking on the spitt can cause the item being cooked to spray the interior with juices as the cooked piece of meat heats up and expells moisture and steam, so interior cleaning will be routine.

The unit comes with a glass door - great for viewing what is happening inside - but poorly fitted / slightly warped window or unit case allowing a great deal of heat to escape during the cooking process - in addition, the exterior of the unit gets EXCEEDINGLY HOT as to present a fire hazzard to anything close which may be combustible - be extremely careful with this unit regarding this safety / lack of safety feature. Put absolutely nothing on top of this unit! The manufactured even suggest moving the unit three to four inches away from the back wall! I have solved this problem by putting the unit on a set of wire shelving - pretty much away from everything else. I was melting choclate chips in the closed cuboard a good foot above this unit, when it was on the countertop!

Cooking time using the convection feature is not deminished - if anything, I find I must add cooking time to whatever I am doing. Manufacturer suggests lowering cooking temp by 25 degrees - don't listen - cook at the receipe temp and adjust (add) time as necessary.

Controls are cumbersome to add baking time - you need to be a bit of a contorsionist - as two buttons must be pushed simutaniously - holding one button in, while "tapping" the time button +/- - extremely difficult to get your desired result as the "minutes" added is exceedingly quick - sometimes one minute is added, sometimes two minutes is added, sometimes 3 minutes is added per "tap" - can be very frustrating. Kind of like tapping your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time...

The solid state control logic is a bit wacky - this thing beeps intermitently, during cooking, for no apparent reason - I think the unit has completed its task, only to find as much as six minutes still on the clock, with the unit happily beeping away... then when the unit does finish - many time nothing - no beeps - the unit just shuts down. Very strange.

I am really trying to be objective here, and I really want to like this unit (who wants to admit a three hundred dollar buying error??) but try as I might, I cannot recommend this unit, based on my useage. But who knows - you may love it - many others here are gushing..

So, will this be the "Fiat" ("Fix it again, Tony") of toaster / convection ovens? Time will tell - will keep you posted.

Update - Mid June 2003 - The enamel interior surface is starting to chip away in several places. Though the manual indicates 2 level baking, the lower level must be moved up to the upper level when the upper level baked goods are done (per recipe baking time - this is the ONLY batch you can use suggested bake time). The items from the lower level then must continue to bake half again as much time as originally indicated in the recipe. The new baking sheet added to the lower level can then be moved up - sound confusing? Makes it hard to keep track of baking times causing the baked goods (in this case cookies) to continually be monitored. Forcing you to constantly rotate the pans - never to remove the 2 pans at the same time. With this small oven, you need to use 2 pans, as I can only get 6 cookies on a pan - if you were only to use the one pan it will take you forever to get through a batch of cookie dough!

Compact yet loaded with features, the oven does well without hot spots or burning. The oven is large enough to accomodate pies, cakes, and pizzas and consumes less energy than the kitchen stove.
On the other hand, the rotisserie motor strains under a full load such as a chicken, and an off-center load causes the motor gearing to move unevenly. It also takes some patience to get the digital controls on the time and temperature settings to respond to the input buttons. Otherwise, the oven is a welcome addition to a small kitchen, and is quite handy for small scale recipe experiments.

Have used convection ovens for years and this is absolutely the best I have ever used! Mine has the electronic controls and they are very user friendly. It is top of the line quality in every way. The fan is quiet, it browns evenly, has a signal for when the correct temp is reached, an end of cycle signal and is easy to clean. I have recommended this to my hard to please mother-in-law. (nuff sed) I LOVE IT!!!

Loved the slow cooker until the dial and handle cracked and fell off. It appeared the outside covering became too hot and caused the problem. I'm looking for something that will last a little longer.

Although I have no complaints about cooking in this crockpot - everything turns out just fine - both handles cracked and fell off. Makes it difficult to transport food to other locations.

I am a single man that loves to cook. The Crockpot is perfect for a dinner for two and left overs for lunch the next day.
The ceramic liner is sublime, my only regret is that the decoration design is totally hooky. Straight from the Fifties, I know there is a stainless steel one available but it defeats the perpose as it just generates heat.(And costs more!) Something like a simple band of green rather than the cute ivy please. It is 2002.

I ONLY gave this 4 stars because the buzzer is so loud. The person who said it could wake the dead wasn't kidding! Everyone in the family just about jumps out of their skin when it goes off. LOL Other than that, it's a great little device. It cooks the eggs perfectly if you measure the water correctly.

As insignificant as this seems, I like the fact that the lid doubles as a carrier (holds all 7 eggs). I use it to carry them right to the sink and run cold water over them. It has a hole so the water drains. Like I said, not a huge deal, but it was a nice-to-have feature.

Oh, this toastmaster egg cooker works great.. Easy clean up... I read the reviews and everyone say it has a loud buzzer... Well, mine is not loud... It does not startle me.... no way does the buzzer compare to a fire alarm... If you want perfect eggs, I suggest you buy this item... you won't be sorry....

Egg head is fantastic! On my first try, my eggs were the most perfectly boiled eggs I've ever seen. No cracking or discolored green yolks. It's easy. As far as it not turning itself off, I would think the eggs would continue to cook. That's why you run them under water, to stop the cooking process, not just to cool them for peeling! I've read some complaints about the poached eggs being shaped like eyes. I think it's a pretty cool shape. The buzzer is loud, but I found that useful too. I love mine and hope it lasts well. I would buy this for anyone who loves boiled eggs without the hassel.

I received this mixer as a present and immediately went to work making cookies for a holiday party. It blew out on the third batch. They don't make Hamilton Beach products like they used to. I'm sure for ordinary uses, it's fine. It just didn't live up to my needs or expectations.

I purchased this hand mixer a few months ago because of the incredible deal Amazon[.com] was offering on it. I have not regretted my purchase whatsoever. It is very powerful and mixes thoroughly. I did give it only 4 stars because it is simply a bit too powerful on the lowest setting, and if you are not careful you might lose a little bit of whatever you are mixing :)

I have used this mixer several times now, including some heavy duty dough mixing. I have been very pleasantly surprised with its power considering its size. The slow start is a tremendous feature to keep the mixes from shooting out of the mixing bowl. Its variable and higher than average high speed are really handy to use and control. If only they supplied a dough hook with it, it would then be the perfect hand mixer. But the power is very good in the thick cookie doughs. A former model #62005 included a storage container which would be appreciated by most users of this model. For the price, compared to other more impressionable brand names, this is a very good deal.