Why don't ovens have temp gauges

I mean the average residential oven. I've never seen one with a temp gauge. Is it because the oven manufacturers don't want you to know how inaccurate their ovens are compared with the setting on the knob?

Reply to
Van
Loading thread data ...

Don't the newer digital readout stoves indicate oven temperature? I've never owned one but it only seems to be a logical feature to include.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

My Mom's electric stove has both a readout for the "set" temperature and the actual temperature, at least while the oven is heating up. In other words, you spin the knob to set the digital readout to 350 and you can watch a smaller number in the corner of the display climb towards 350.

To be honest, I don't recall if the "actual" temperature readout varies during the cooking and since she lives 300 miles away, I can't check tonight. :-)

My gas oven has a readout only for what it's set for. It reads "Pre" while it's warming up, but when it reaches the set point it beeps and displays the set point until the oven is turned off.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

You may trust your engineers, but I don't trust mine.

Even when monitoring the actual temperature with an internal "shelf" thermometer, and seeing it read exactly what the set-point says, everything - and I mean *everything* - takes longer to cook than the recipe - *any* recipe - says it should.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Yes, along with the digital set point, and often the clock and timer on the same indicator.

Reply to
krw

| Even when monitoring the actual temperature with an internal "shelf" | thermometer, and seeing it read exactly what the set-point says, | everything - and I mean *everything* - takes longer to cook than the | recipe - *any* recipe - says it should.

Interesting. I can't say for all recipes, but I've noticed that roasts take significantly longer to cook than the minutes/pound label indicates-- sometimes twice as long. I have also checked the temperature with a shelf thermometer and it is spot on. This led me to wonder just what assumptions are implicit in those numbers. In particular, what starting temperature do they assume? I keep my refrigerator at 36F so if they assume starting at an average room temperature I can see how the time could be way off.

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Reply to
Dan Lanciani

I often repair commercial conveyor ovens (pizza) which have heavy duty versions of the same type control. Those ovens put out a tad more heat than a home kitchen stove. :-)

formatting link
TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

My girlfriend long ago moved to a very small apartment in a very expensive n'hood, and her stove didn't have a temp setting on the oven, just a valve. I got her an oven thermometer and said I wanted to borrow it for a day or two to see if my oven temp matched my oven setting.

She didn't want to lend it to me, and sort of called me an Indian giver.

Earlier I had replaced the dial string on her radio and had her buy the package of dial string. I wanted to keep what was left, but she said it was hers and I couldn't have it.

But she was fun while it lasted.

Reply to
mm

I guess some of the new or more expensive ones do have a temp indicator. Mine is a simple GE XL44 gas stove with digital display, I think it's from circa 2002 maybe, I bought it used. Still even on a basic level stove I would think connecting the sensor to the digital display would be logical.

Reply to
Van

Given that some have 50 degrees swings during the cycles, it would drive a lot of people nuts just watching the thermometer.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

? "Dan Lanciani" wrote

I usually take a roast out of the fridge and hour or so before it goes into the oven so it warms a bit. I also roast at 400 minimum too, and get better results.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

the assumption is what each individual considers done.

me? rare is great. i have a friend who claims rare is any red at all showing, he is really medium well///////

Reply to
hallerb

Perhaps the most common error is cooking cold meat.

I know people convinced a steak on the counter for an hour turns to poison. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

I have a Kitchenaid electric which is about a year old. You set it digitally to the desired temp. The oven starts out by showing "low" until it gets to the minimum temp that it will display, which I think is 160 or so. Then it starts showing the actual temp, increasing until it reaches the set point. After that, I don't think it shows variation, at least I've never seen it do it. It justs shows the set point and continues to do so, even if you open the door.

Reply to
trader4

We had a fairly new GE wall oven with digital therm. It was about 25 degrees off....there is a calibration maneuver, but with frequent power outages it was a pain to reset the stupid thing. The engineers who design appliances nowadays are doofusses who have never used a home appliance. My Kenmore washer, when set to "hot", squirts hot on and off to "save" energy. We kept the hwh set to "very warm", so the hot that the washer was trying to control wasn't really hot, but luke-warm.

Current washer has "auto fill", and apparently weighs the load to determine water level. If you open the lid at any point during the cycle, it will automatically fill up to max level. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Reply to
norminn

Probably because consumers aren't interested in paying for it.

At the risk of sounding sexist, women don't want that much information.

Old recipes often refer just to a "slow" oven or a "fast" oven.

Cindy Hamilton

Reply to
Cindy Hamilton

Ah. That must be what has happened.

Reply to
mm

Gosh, don't they understand that the success or failure of a roast depends on sampling temperature to three significant figures every 30 seconds for two hours? Don't they understand that having more numbers in front of them validates their intellect?

Next you'll tell me that many of them don't know what power factor their fridge is running at or what perils await if the counter outlets are installed ground-pin-down. They sure are lucky they've got us around. Now excuse me, I see a switch plate that doesn't have its screw slots lined up. Hey, did you move my tools? I've been keeping them right here on the counter next to the sink.

For "fast" you opened the draught and threw in some coal. Even more if someone was drawing hot water.

Chip C Toronto

Reply to
Chip C

My guess is the don't want you to know how much it varies. My last oven was a Dacor piece of junk. It varied all over the place. When I contacted the factory, the person repeatedly read the line, "Industry standard for residential oven is that it can vary by 25 degrees" ... not saying if it + or - 25 or a range of 25. I later got the answer that it was a range of 25. I did extensive testing and found that its range was about 35 or 40 degrees. The authorized service people couldn't make it better. I gave up and lived with the stupid thing. 40 degrees is no problem for a big roast or something like that, but for a cookie or something that small, it is far to iffy. If you put it in at the top of the range, the cookie will likely be over crisp ... at the bottom of the range, it will not cook in the allotted time. About 8 years after that, I called the company and asked if they had ever fixed their problems. They offered a new control panel for free, but I would have to pay to have it installed and no, I couldn't do it myself. I bit, it was about 50% better. BTW, this oven had no temperature reading other than the set temp. A bit to their defense, it is hard to hold the temp tight, especially when one side of the cube keeps being opened and of course, you don't want overshoot for a red hot cal rod. But, I think they could do better. My present new Whirlpool has just as many dumb "features" designed in. For instance, when broiling, if you open the door, the upper cal rod shuts down. And then it takes forever to get cherry red again. It also shuts down at 500 degrees. How do you broil in an "oven" at 500 degrees? And you can't leave the door open. My old Dacor recommended broiling with the door open. For the few times I use the Whirlpool for top brown broiling ( use a gas grill for hunks of meat), I leave the door open and put a magnet on the latch to trick it into leaving the power on. That works for me. Sorry for the rant and partial hijack of the "Subject".

Reply to
Art Todesco

It's those doofus engineers who have a special degree from Doofus U. :-)

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.