Double ovens: Kitchen aid vs. Dacor Heritage

5 years ago

Our 20 year old Kitchen aid double ovens have finally bit the dust and we need to replace them. I don't want to cut into our cabinets, so although we looked at Bosch, Dacor and Kitchen Aid, the Bosch will not fit so that's out.

I've heard great things about the Dacor, that it bakes incredibly well and evenly, which has always been an issue with our old Kitchen aids. We also installed a single Kitchen Aid oven 3 years ago in a vacation home we have, and have been disappointed with how loud the fan is in it, and how long it runs. I understand from the salesman we are working with that KA has fixed the fan issue, so not sure what to do.

So the question is, is the Dacor really as great as they say, and is it worth getting over the KA? And yes, I know that Dacor was bought by Samsung (who I'm not thrilled with), but my experience with Whirlpool isn't great either.

Thoughts? comments? Advice?

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Comments (3)

wdccruise
5 years ago
The LG LG LWD3063ST is Consumer Reports's top-rated double-wall oven and is well-liked by reviewers on Home Depot and Best Buy. About $2500.
Ariadne Monfalcone
Original Author
5 years ago
Yea, I saw the ranking too. Consumer reports loves LG and Samsung, and Samsung is the worst when it comes to longevity (salesmen at 3 different appliance stores have told me that). I don’t completely trust their testing anymore. I would buy LG washing machines, but worried about their ovens. And the Dacor ovens are not in CR ranking, so no way to judge between them. Although Dacor has been bought by Samsung, my understanding is the the Heritage oven is still made in the same California factory as always. Just not sure about service going forward.
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wekick
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First off I would be very careful buying anything with blue enamel. KA and others have had issues with it chipping. I don’t think all KA has blue enamel though.

“i’ve heard great things about the Dacor, that it bakes incredibly well and evenly”

Did you hear this from someone that actually has one? I had one several years ago and it was awful. It also worked in a really odd way. I looked at the user manual to see if that might still be the case and there are a couple of things that would give pause.

First you can’t put any food in for the preheat.

From the manual.

https://www.dacor.com/uploads/Dacor/28/28c87a3d-647c-4b59-8d02-2975ce154f3c.pdf

If you turn it up by 50°F, you have to take the food out because the intense preheat comes back on.

When they talk about a delayed start, they talk about not using the preheat.

My oven I had worked a lot like that. It had a hard time maintaining temperature. Mine had a different temperature difference (about 150°F) before it triggered the preheat which was much worse. Now it is 50°F. The problem with mine was if you open the door and the temp drops 35°F or even 100°F, it had no way to bring the temperature back up in a timely manner. They market this type of oven as keeping a very narrow temperature because you get the strong preheat and then a quicker on and off of the element which in theory would keep the temperature in a narrow range but doesn’t account for closing or opening the door or a load of cold food. Note the comment of not using the preheat for delayed start but they don’t tell you how long it takes to heat the oven not using the preheat. Some ovens have an optional fast preheat. When I got some oven thermometers because things weren’t cooking right, I could not believe what was happening. They also tell you not to use an oven thermometer in the manual because the door opening and closing will throw the temperature off. I have read a few other manuals that say that too and it makes me wonder what is going on in there.

That was my experience back then, but I am fearful that this oven still works that way because a poster here recently bought a Dacor Heritage oven and returned it because it couldn’t maintain a temperature. I actually was able to return mine too but only after they attempted to repair for 9 mos. I had a DF range and wall oven. I have an Electrolux oven now and it works the way I expected. If you open the door, it triggers the element to come on and quickly heats the oven back up @ the rate of about 50°F in about 60 seconds. You can put a casserole in during preheat if you want to and it won’t burn, yet it can go to 350°F in about 7 minutes. I love it but I can’t recommend it because the blue enamel has chipped in mine and others, although no reports lately. It can also have issues with the computer boards. I still might get another one when this goes out.

Some people might be able to make Dacor’s way of heating the oven work but I bake cookies, appetizers and open the door too much for it to work for me. They also tell you to keep the door closed as much as possible in the manual. Reading the manual for any oven is important these days. New ovens are not like the old. Dacor is not the only oven to work that way.

Double ovens: Kitchen aid vs. Dacor Heritage

Comments (3)

wdccruise

Ariadne Monfalcone
Original Author

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Double ovens: Kitchen aid vs. Dacor Heritage

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wdccruise

Ariadne MonfalconeOriginal Author

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wekick

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Ariadne Monfalcone
Original Author