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Does your cabinets next to oven get warm when the oven is in use?

15 years ago

We made our FIRST meal in the new kitchen with our new oven!!! After dinner I went to put things away in the drawers to the left and right of the oven and noticed the sides closest to the oven were warm. Is that normal? Will that damage my new wood cabinets? Does that happen to anyone else???

Featured Answer

brickeyee

14 years ago

"Many manufacturers will require a heat shield between a range and cabinets or ovens and cabinets."

Residential kitchen equipment is zero clearance to the sides and back.

The sides and back can be directly against flammable surfaces without any fire hazard.

This is one of the problems that show up when commercial equipment is used in a residential setting.

Most commercial gear is NOT zero clearance, and does not even have to follow rules about oven door temperatures.
In a commercial kitchen you are expected to know the doors (and even the door handles if the equipment has been on all day) are hot enough to burn.

Insulation only slows the movement of heat, it does not stop it.
Turn the oven on high enough for long enough and the cabinets will get warm.
Run a self clean cycle and they will get warm even quicker.

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Comments (9)

jan_jan
15 years ago
Mine gets a little warm. I wanted to put a built in wine rack in the little spot next to the oven it because it's such a small space but I didn't because of the warmth. I think your find.
lascatx
15 years ago
It may depend on your ovens. My next cabinet doesn't get warm at all, but I bought Wolf ovens and they are very well insulated and vent out the front. I'm glad, because I have some baking supplies in that cabinet and would have had to move them if it did.
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This topic has kept me up at nights. Like you, I hate using a big oven when a smaller one will do. So, I have decided on a speed oven--likely Miele, although GE and Electrolux makes them also--which is a microwave, convection oven, and I think/hope it toasts as well. They are a little less than a half-oven. I would go for the wall oven, warming drawer, and toaster oven/speed oven for you, and skip the double ovens. I think double ovens are great if you bake in large quantities where the food needs to be precisely cooked at different temperatures, but for meats and potatoes and such, the temperature differential is not really a big deal. It is easy to reduce/increase both the temperature and time and still have everything come out fine. A warming drawer is fantastic. Remember, with a convection oven, things cook faster, so for that occasional large meal, it is easy to cook many things and as they finish, put them in the warming drawer while you go onto the next item. Also, with 6 people in your house, you will have kids coming and going at all hours of the day. Rather than say, "Honey, let me heat up dinner for you," you can relax on the couch with a glass of wine and say, "Honey, your dinner is in the warming oven."
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I don't have enough experience with the actuality of it to answer your question accurately, but I suspect it's that the surface temperature would have been 140 rather than the interior temperature. Pork is a lot denser than mayonaise. Roccocogurl is right that cooked is cooked--if it was cooked through you wouldn't have had any undercooked pork problems. Also, reheating it to good and hot would have killed anything that might have been growing. But there is a whole different set of food safety temperatures for storage, which is what warming for 4 hours is. I'm sure Wolf know what they're talking about if they say 160 for pork (they have a**-covering to do with their insurance companies and wouldn't publish it if it didn't come from a reliable source like NIH). It's actually probably the surface temperature that's important for holding, anyway, because the item has just been cooked. I remember reading that Miele ovens were true (on average) to +/-7 degrees, which is very accurate for ovens. But it also means that if yours is right on the mean, set at 140 it might only be 133 degrees in the oven. In addition, there may be some inefficiencies with warming in an oven rather than a warming drawer, though I would think that 4 hours would be long enough for the temperature to stabilize. OTOH, your own oven might have more like 15 degrees of variability. Or might even need to be calibrated. Miele have a great customer service reputation. You might try calling them. You might want to check if NIH or FDA have guidelines on the internet, and use those and your Wolf chart to learn the ins and outs of using your new oven for warming.
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Thanks crl for the link! The cabinets are standard depth frameless. I don't doubt that moving the stove forward would help, but the stove installation specs said zero clearance. It's already set forward the thickness of the backsplash. It's odd that others are have the same installation (crcollins) with the cabinet door overlapping the edge of the stove, and they don't have this issue. I'm amazed deb's cabinet maker replaced the door. I guess I won't keep my hopes up and contact them as well as Bluestar next.
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Buehl
15 years ago
I've never noticed the cabinets next to my ovens getting warm...I have GE Profile ovens (Trivection + Convection) that also vent out the front. What I have noticed, though, is that the drawer above my warming drawer gets warm....but just warm, not hot.
megradek
14 years ago
just finished baking some delicious strawberry yogurt muffins (mmmm). nope, no warmth at all. I've got Kitchenaid ovens.
User
14 years ago
Many manufacturers will require a heat shield between a range and cabinets or ovens and cabinets. Heat shields are thin plexi or metal strips that absorb and release heat faster than wood does, and theoretically keep that heat from building up in the cabinets. Cabinets doors and drawers adjacent to an oven or range that is being placed in a self cleaning cycle should always be opened to allow heat dissappation during that very high heat cycle. Additionally, you should check the specs from your cabinet manufacturer to see if a heat shield is required, and check with your KD to make sure one was ordered and installed if your manufacturer requires one.
msgreatdeals
14 years ago
Buehl, that's the oven I ordered for my remodel. I'm glad to hear it vents in the front. Mine will be next to the fridge and I was a little concerned but the KD said it's ok. In addition to that, do you have a separate microwave? I didn't think I would need a micro but my DH is having a fit!
Buehl
14 years ago
I do have a separate MW. Trivection ovens do not function as a standalone MW. Yes, they use MW energy, but that's in addition to Convection cooking.

We have the GE Profile double ovens plus a Sharp MW drawer. I could never function w/o a MW!

BTW...I love my Trivection oven!!
rbkess
2 years ago
Experiencing this right now with my LG induction range. Had to have the cabinet drawer fronts next to the oven replaced due to the heat coming from the unit. LG can't find any issue. Anyone else experiencing this?

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