What's the best TOASTER OVEN for general use and ocasional pizza.

[petef]

I've been very happy with my Black & Decker 14" wide by 9" deep interior toaster oven. Unfortunately I just blew mine out making Tortilla pizza. I'm looking for advise on a more rugged unit to buy.

The problems I've had with Black & Decker Toaster Ovens, is that over time it does not toast evenly, where the top browns faster than then bottom. Unfortunately there is no electrical adjustment to compensate for this and the rack height is also not adjustable. The other problem is that eventually one of the heating elements burns out and there's no way to replace it because they are welded in place.

I use my Toaster oven mainly for making toast, reheating food, and baking an occasional pizza on flour tortillas or english muffins. 14" wide by 9" deep interior is a perfect size for my needs. I think that's considered a "6 slice" model. I would like one that can handle more rugged use such as pizza making. It would be a plus if the heating elements were user serviceable.

No need for fancy electronic controls or any automatic features. Good & accurate temperature control is most important.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. There's so many models and brands to choose from, I was hoping people here could advise me based upon their experience with specific units. Do you have  a favorite brand or model?

Pic below is the one I just blew out.

---pete---

[pizzaneer]

Breville BOV800XL, after reading through a bunch of reviews.
1800W, top and bottom quartz elements. Convection. Big enough. Nice features. 500+ happy user reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L5TVGW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=shinykitchen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001L5TVGW

[deb415611]

Breville BOV800XL, after reading through a bunch of reviews.
1800W, top and bottom quartz elements. Convection. Big enough. Nice features. 500+ happy user reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L5TVGW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=shinykitchen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001L5TVGW

that's the one I have.  I like it, it's by far the best toaster oven I have had (also the most expensive).  It hold 1/4 sheet pans.  Has regular & convection settings.  I have never made pizza in it. 

[petef]

Breville BOV800XL, after reading through a bunch of reviews.
1800W, top and bottom quartz elements. Convection. Big enough. Nice features. 500+ happy user reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L5TVGW/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=shinykitchen-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001L5TVGW

No doubt that the above oven is a good one, but it looks like overkill for my needs of mainly reheating food and making toast. I appreciate your efforts and suggestion and thank you.

What I don't like about above oven is it has electronic controls and it's overly complex. To me this means reduced reliability due to the added complexity and an added number of parts that have potential to go bad.

My simple $80 Black & Decker toaster oven (this is my second one in 20 years) does what I need and would serve me for 50 years if I could only change out a broken heating element myself. So I'm just looking for a similar toaster oven that would be a bit more rugged or have user serviceable heating elements. I'm also thinking in the $80 to $175 price range.

---pete---

[buceriasdon]

Pete, You won't find such features as replaceable elements in that midprice area, the manufacturers don't want to be  saddled with huge inventories just for repairs.You just buy a new one.
Don

[petef]

Pete, You won't find such features as replaceable elements in that midprice area, the manufacturers don't want to be  saddled with huge inventories just for repairs.You just buy a new one.
Don

Can you direct me towards a brand or model that does have replaceable elements?
If I know the unit can be easily repaired, it might justify spending the extra money.

---pete---

[buceriasdon]

Ok, Let me put it another way. The manufacturer doesn't want to sell such parts to the public because it's just not profitable for them.

[pizzaneer]

Product lineup, varying levels of use / complexity / price ranging 150, 180, 250:
http://www.brevilleusa.com/cooking/ovens.html

Apparently, the company warranty is pretty good, but it's still recommended you buy from a store and keep your receipt.

You get what you pay for, caveat emptor, blah blah.

Why not ask Robyn about the complicated controls?  It looks like one-button stuff to me.

[petef]

Guys, I think I found what i was looking for...
Newegg has the best site with the best photo presentations and the most details.
With Newegg, you can zoom in on the controls and see them clearly as if you had the
unit in front of you. No other site i know of can do that! Newegg is the best!!!

Cuisinart TOB-60N Stainless Steel Toaster Oven Broiler with Convection  $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16896110726

It has the mechanical controls I was looking for. To me, mechanical means higher reliability. And that's coming from me, a computer and electronics type guy. I know that excess heat kills electronics and I don't believe any digital controls will last for a long time in a toaster oven. The box is just too small to isolate the electronics from the heat source.

This oven also is rated to reach 500 deg F./1500 Watts.
Most other ovens only go to 450 deg F.
It's also convection.

I found that once you go past the $130 price point, most toaster ovens are digitally controlled.
Honestly I don't think a "smart" oven or one with all sorts of electronic features is needed.
I'd rather be in control.

Unless someone can beat this model toaster oven, I'll probably buy it.
I'll post back a review here after I use it for a while.

Thanks again, everybody, for the help and advise!
Much appreciated!


Edit:
After doing more research, I found the TOB-40 which seems to get better reviews. $79
It's a bit smaller and does not have Convection mode, but it's 1800 watts (instead of 1500).
This is closer to my old Black & Decker model in both size and power. Seems good enough,
but will I miss having the convection feature? I honestly don't know. Do I need it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16896110656&Tpk=TOB-40

BTW: Amazon has the best product reviews.


---pete---