Space-saving multi function appliances.

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toggleswitch

toggleswitch

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This thread was inspired by the roaster oven thread, specifcally the issue of saving space and "where does one put such a big appliance".

I bought myself the appliance in the link when I had to use a gas stove-- way too hot for summertime.

This appliance, which looks like a m-wave is:

1) Oven
2) Broiler (grill)
3) Toaster
4) Breadmaker

I love multi-function equipment when space is limited!

I would have preferred no computer, but the bread-maker's need for one kinda killed that.

The only other deficiency I can find is that there is no crumb tray making removing crumbs awkward (but do-able).

It has aged nicely and must be nearly 7 or 8 years old by now. The plastic parts have not yellowed (much), except maybe a tiny bit on the door realease button. [Exactly like a m-wave.]

BTW= > Toastmaster appears to be under Salton now.


 
multi-use

I just bought a new Toastmaster Convection oven for the same reason. I cook with gas, and the oven makes the kitchen way too hot for summer use. The Toastmaster I just bought holds a 13x9 baking pan, which makes it able to do about anything the big gas oven can do, except roast a big turkey or ham. The Toastmaster bakes, convection bakes, toasts, and broils. It also gives the convenience of two ovens during the holidays and other big cooking events.
 
Was just wondering if there are any ovens in the USA that don't heat the kitchen? I know you can get well insulated electric ovens, but gas ovens obviously have to exhaust to somewhere.

Can you duct them out?

Our electric oven (De Deitrich) doesn't put out much heat at all but in this climate it makes no difference anyway :)
 
extractors

Gas ovens normally exhaust into the room. I have yet to see one that is actually vented/ducted out.

Normally a separate exhaust hood or exhaust fan or microwave/hood combination would suck out the heat and fumes,similar to those red-bladed extractor fans seen in windows or through-the-wall across the pond.

 
Some info on indoor air pollution.

In my city gas cooking reigns supreme despite its drawbacks.

Apparently the visual nature/fedback, the instant-on and off and the inexpensive cost are appealing.

Electric: Faster, cleaner cooler, safer (we have more of them in the country and as a class electric cooking reports fewer accidents.)

Gas: cheap and easy.

But there comes a point past one's 20s that being cheap and easy is no longer all that appealing. LOL LOL LOL

Environmental Health Sciences - Academic Divisions - School of Public Health - University of Minnesota

enhs.umn.edu enhs.umn.edu
 
stats

We may have touched upon this before-

when cooking on top of the stove (oooker):

30% of a gas flame's heat goes into the food, therefore 70% goes into the room.

Electric fares better with a 50/50 split for coil-type (American style) elements.

Smooth-tops/Glass-tops/ vitro-ceran probably do even better than 50/50 in that they transfer heat by conduction and radiation, but not by convection.
 
vented gas stoves

I could swear I saw on Frigi-lux gas wall-ovens ("fitted" ==> UK) a quick and wasy way to divert the by-products of combusiton out of the house via ducting. Either via 3" x 10" rectangular or 4" 102cm) round.

of course now that I am looking for it.. LOL can't find.
 
vented gas ranges

Oh yes, I agree. Granny's "Royal Rose" from the late 1800 had an available connection for an oval flue pipe. [It was in service until 1990.] Scarier even was that her really old tenement apartment in NYC had a flue conneciton available with separate chmneys behind each stove for just such venting. It was not connected, and the chimney was sealed-over

I imagine the switch-over to electric lighting from gas lighting was such a huge reduction in carbon and poisonous
gasses that the idea of an unvented (poison producing) stove was thought of as relatively negligible.

I wrote about this in the past within this forum, that I have seen the room-heater side (left) of older and larger stoves (36 to 42 inches wide) was vented, but the oven (right) side was not!
 
venting

"I wrote about this in the past within this forum, that I have seen the room-heater side (left) of older and larger stoves (36 to 42 inches wide) was vented, but the oven (right) side was not! "

I suspect the reasoning is that an oven is on for a limited time and is attended to, where as heaters can be left on for hours without being thought about.
 
limited space/mulitfunction devices

If I lived in a tiny space that had no room for a range, the things I would have would be:

electric pressure cooker (doubles as electric saucepan)
electric skillet
convection microwave
toaster oven
electric teakettle

That would pretty much cover anything that would require a range. Plus, I'd throw in a portable combo washer-dryer and a countertop dishwasher
 
Compact kitchen/laundry

Here's my compact kitchen:

30" micro-convection over
30" cooktop over
24 or 27" washer dryer.

18" bar sink
18" dishwasher

or instesd of the two 18" sink/Dw

The GE specialty DW 24" wide that fits under a sink. But you'd still need 12" next to it to have plumbing connections.
Same 36". With the GE dishwasher the lower rack is full size and fits pots. And you get half an upper rack.

 
micro kitchens

I've designed a floorplan for a "micro house" that's approx. 144 square feet on the ground floor, with kitchen approx 6' x 8', bathroom with shower, and bedroom approx. 7' x 8'. (All of these dimensions are from memory, I should go look up the plans.) Laundry in the basement; and an attic for storage or as a sleeping area (if the attic is turned into a finished sleeping area, the ground floor micro-bedroom can be used as a micro-livingroom.

The kitchen would have a two-burner electric stove on the counter, a convection and/or microwave oven above the fridge, and the fridge itself would be of compact size & height to allow mounting the oven above it. A half-circle table for two folds out from the wall, and seating is via folding chairs normally stored behind the door.

This was originally designed as "emergency housing" for evacuation destinations. The exterior dimensions are 8' x 18'. A friend said it looked like it would fit in about the same space as a motor-home.

I've also designed one that's 4' longer in each dimension, 12 x 22, similar floorplan but larger dimensions in each room. One of these days I might get around to building an architectural model just to get a better sense of the ergonomics of the layout.

BTW, re ventilation fans: Yes, and above the shower whilst we're at it. Ever since I lived in a house with that setup I've been hooked. Stepping out of the shower into a soggy-humid bathroom is thankfully a thing of the past.
 
About 20 years ago there was program here that never did take off and therefore disappeared. They were called "granny suites" which were more or less modular mini "houses" that were to be setup in your backyard allowing mom or whomever to be able to live with the family yet still have their own place and avoid the old folks home till absolutely necessary. I believe there were tax benefits and easements on building restrictions to facilitate them as they were not seen as permanent structures. I did go thru one of the exhibit models and they were quite nice, having all the facilities of a tiny apartment and micro kitchen
 
DesignGeek:

Should you ever feel exhibitionistic or otherwise motivated i'd love to see your floor-plans.

I generally love to look at what is done with motor-homes (due to size constraints) space-wise.

My father is a retired architect and I used to love space-solving with him. Talk about specializing? He used to design laboratories for research scientists.

..and guess what they all needed washers and dryers.....
UH of GLASSWARE. These things were SO COOL, because the glassware had to be 100% pure. You could not have a molecule of detergent on them or it would be seen under the research microscope. (The glassware washer and dryer are separate machines IIRC.)

 

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