I have had the Kitchen Aid KEMS308S for 5 years. I had not noticed that the microwave power was low. I doubt that power will be an issue. I assume that many ovens have cool down features. They are not running when the door is open. It is ture that the fan makes some noise, but it isn't that noticable. When I originally purchased this oven I had been intending to get individual ovens, but it turned out that the individual ovens had been discontinued. I see no difference between your choices because they are all double ovens and when one fails, they both fail wheras individual ovens could be replaced individually. I have not heard of the microwave section showing a high rate of failure. You didn't even mention the advantage of the micro/convection. It is not just a microwave, but a real convection oven with a broiling (sort of) element. It is not a speed oven because it does not microwave and heat at the same time. Actually it CAN microwave and crisp via the broil element. Anyway it is a small second oven that can bake a pie or bread (or a small trey of cookies I suppose). It heats far faster than the regular large convection oven because it is small. I find it very useful. The only problem is it is occasionally in use when I would want to reheat a cup of coffee etc. I keep an old microwave in the garage for those cases. While I hope I have relieved your concerns, I believe that there IS an issue. I have had no problem with my oven, and it has been several years since the Main contingent of problems: similar models have encountered a higher than normal thermal fuse blowing during the large oven self cleaning cycle. Unfortunately, the fuse is located on the back of the oven and is a $50 item and shuts everything down. Of course, most people see no problem (myself included) and the problem is certainly due to excessive heat behind the cabinet that could probably relieved by making sure that there is a little more open space back there since you are still installing cabinets? In any case, this is probably a general issue. Other ovens have failed on self clean cycles. At this point, many people concider the self clean to be a marketing ploy and don't use it. Perhaps we just don't make enough spattering roasts, but I have easily wiped down the main oven. It wasn't stuck on hard. Perhaps the surface has anti stick coating? My self cleans have been done mainly to test the thermal fuse problem. By the way, the microwave interior is stainless steel and IS much harder to clean. In fact, that last sentence is probably my most important piece of information. I imagine it would apply to other convection microwaves.

This is very interesting as I was thinking of a single wall oven plus a convection microwave as a second oven. We have a regular microwave as well. I really want the second oven for pies, keeping things warm etc but don't need 2 full size ovens as in a double wall oven. Consumer reports didn't seem to think much of the convection microwaves so that put me off. The microwave ovens would be on opposite sides of the kitchen which has some advantage. Any comments?

I did that exactly, ellessebee. I have the 240V OTR Advantium mounted above the counter. I also have 15" wall cabinets so it fits and works like a charm. I don't think there are any differences in the cooking features between the wall oven and OTR models. The oven cavity is pretty big, because I can fit a half sheet. There are two considerations you need to keep in mind. 1. The OTR does need to vent, because it performs a cooling function after using the non-MW functions. I have mine blow out the front, above the door. In hindsight, I would have run some duct up and over to the adjacent rangehood. 2. The door needs and extra inch of clearance on the hinge side (left) to open. When the contractor first installed it, the whole unit was flush with the cabinet and looked awesome. He was so proud of himself, as was I. I went to use it later and couldn't open the door. It also blocked the exhaust in the front. He had to come back and reinstall it by tacking 2x4s (actually measured 1.5x3.5) to the back wall and then installing it. Now it all works beautifully, while taking a slight hit in the aesthetics. Another benefit to mounting the OTR model OTC is that the underside is heat and moisture resistant. So my coffee maker has a permanent home under there where I don't have to worry about the steam damaging the undersides of the cabinet. Oh, and the built in light of the OTR serves as task lighting for the area underneath. So I also saved money on lighting there. This post was edited by jscout on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 13:26

I bought a small convection oven made by Breville. It works like a toaster oven with heating elements at both the bottom and top. The main difference is the fan at one side that blows the heated air around the interior. This ensures even temperature throughout the oven. Not every setting uses the convection fan. Toast, Bagel, and Broil do not use convection. Full size convection ovens are essentially the same; they use a fan to circulate the heated air around the oven. Some reviews warn that times and temperatures for convection cooking should be shortened and/or lowered. I've not noticed a problem with recipes, but if my frozen pizza thaws out before I start cooking it will be done sooner. The pizza does need to be rotated 1/4 turn half way through the cooking time. I've used the oven to make brownies, and to reheat fast-food fries that got soggy on the way home. Convection is great for crisping; the microwave is better for keeping food moist when heating. My particular model is about 0.8 cubic foot. The interior rack is 11.5 x 13 inches, but the outside measures 15.75 x 18.5 inches. There is a larger model with 1.0 cubic foot cooking space, and its outside dimensions are 17.2 x 21.4 inches.