A powerful, compact countertop convection oven.

It isn't often that a producer of commercial products will agree to allow a review of one of their products. But for those who have never visited the realm of commercial equipment, come on in and take a look inside.

The package

The oven came to me, packaged in a box within a box. It has to be this way, due to the nature of UPS and the abuse rendered during shipment. None the less, it all came fully intact and well cushioned by styrofoam inserts. Even the inner box was packed in the larger box with inserts, to keep everything suspended so as to avoid damage during shipment. The inner box contained the oven, with styrofoam inserts for the racks, and to cushion the door and oven its self. The exterior of the oven had a film coating over the stainless steel that must be peeled off before use. In the box is a 10 page instruction manual that explains the use, care, and maintenance of the oven, as well as removal of the door for cleaning.

Cleaning and unpacking

After taking the oven out of its boxes and unpacking it, I removed the film coating and cleaned all interior and exterior surfaces. Inside the oven, I noticed a retaining screw on each side of the guides that the racks slide on. Removing these retaining screws will allow for the disassembly of these parts so that the oven walls can be cleaned, and then replaced with a simple hand tightening. The oven is very serviceable in this regard. The three racks slide in their respective position, and have detents for easier positioning when partially sliding the racks out. The door is removable, as is the rubber gasket that the door rests on to seal the interior.

One impressive component of this oven is the double-glassed door. I have never seen a home convection oven that had a double glass door, but this commercial oven has just that. What's better, is that a towel can be passed between the double window when cleaning. There is no worry about moisture getting stuck in the window of this oven, as there is nothing to prevent condensation from escaping. The oven door stays new, with easy viewing inside for the life of the oven! But wait, there's more: The window has an added benefit of remaining cool to the touch while the oven is in operation.

The controls of the oven consists of two rather large, beefy, heavy-duty knobs. A green indicator light is between the two knobs, which lights when the oven is heating. The light turns off when the oven is up to the set temperature. The knob on the left is the timer control, the knob on the right controls the temperature. To set for timed baking, you turn the left knob clockwise to the amount of time a recipe calls for. Due to the industrial quality of this knob, a good grip may help, as it's designed to last. The oven shuts off automatically when the time limit is reached. If running the oven continuously is desired, turn the left knob counterclockwise until it stops, and the oven will remain on until the timer knob is set to "off". To set the oven's temperature, you turn the temperature control knob on the right clockwise to increase the temperature, and counterclockwise to decrease it. Like the timer knob, it, too, is of industrial quality but doesn't require quite as much grip as the timing knob. So far, me and this oven are a good match.

I plugged the unit in, and heard the quiet hum of the fan as I set the timer to 30 minutes and temp control to 400 degrees to "burn it in" as per the instructions. About 5 minutes into the cycle, it began to rattle due to the heat changing the metallurgy of the components (my theory, for what it's worth). I have come to believe that this is normal for a small convection oven with a powerful fan, as I have had the same experience with just about every convection oven I've owned or operated, with the most recent being a Krups FBC2.

Baking Experience

Having "burned in" the oven, I proceeded to find something to test the oven with. It was not hard, as I had a Digiorno's 11 1/4" rising crust pepperoni pizza in the freezer. Convection ovens like this are fast, and will cook a pizza that normally takes 22 minutes in less than 16 minutes, with a temperature that calls for 400 degrees needing to be reduced down to 375! I set this pizza on 375 degrees, and set the time for 18 minutes, resulting in an overdone pizza and some slight smoking. After some experimentation, I finally got the timing and temperature right for a frozen pizza, and have turned up very desirable, if not perfect results consisting of a crispy outer crust. The temp control and timing are very precise with the OV-250, and results are consistent. I have also found that a frozen pizza needs to be directly on the rack, and not on a sheet pan like Digiorno's recommends.

I then proceeded to test the oven with a batch of cookies. At first, they came out with a crisp outside while tender inside, a desirable result for most folks. I inquired with Cadco about this, and they said a reduced baking time will yield more chewy results, which I was looking for. Indeed, they were right. Now I'm able to turn out two dozen chocolate chip oatmeal cookies in 8 minutes at 325 degrees. The results so far have been very good with this oven, but some rotation of the sheet pans may be necessary if perfectly even results are desired. For most baking, however, I didn't see the need to bother, as each item was done to reasonably close tolerances. Cakes will tend to rise higher on one side when baking in a convection oven, as I have found out when baking a bundt cake. I think one solution would be to rotate the cake often, to insure better even rising. Don't quote me on that, as I haven't really tried it yet. My bundt cake took 32 minutes at 325 degrees, with the package recommending 37 to 41 minutes at 350. I have baked frozen dinners in this oven, which recommend a cookie sheet. However, baking them directly on the rack is best, again reducing the time and temperature for desirable results (refer to the above).

Cleaning

The interior surface of the oven is all stainless steel. I disassemble the insides as described above, and remove the door and rubber gasket. Then I scrub it with a blue scrubbing sponge (non-abrasive) and dish soap similar to Dawn or Palmolive. The racks and guides are also hand washed separately. There is a commercial stainless cleaner that can be sprayed on to remove any tough buildup that Cadco recommends. However, I have never tried this product. Should I obtain it, I will update this review. Disassembly and cleaning have proven to be easy for me so far.

Customer Support

My order was processed by Instawares the next day after placing it, and I was emailed a tracking notice from UPS by Cadco. The oven arrived within 7 days. The first package turned out an oven that would not turn on, and I called Cadco to describe my experience. They immediately shipped me out a new oven, and paid to have the defective oven shipped back. All of this was free of charge, of course. Their service staff have proven to be very helpful, and accommodative to my questions regarding their products.

Update

I have obtained the oven cleaner recommended by Cadco. By the time it came in, the oven was greasy and in need of a thorough cleaning. I disassembled the interior of the oven, and cleaned each removable part with the Foam Plus spray, according to the directions. Then, I cleaned out the oven cavity with the same product. The results were outstanding, making my oven look nearly new. I will use Foam Plus for other applications such as a charcoal grill when I get the chance, and do a full report.