Well, the 240 has more power, so it can cook stuff faster, in the same way that you can drive faster on an uncrowded freeway than on a dirt road. This may or might not impact "performance and quality of cooking", depending on what you look for by way of performance and quality.

You'll be more likely to miss a second full oven if you commonly roast two big turkeys in two ovens at the same time. If you bake larger stuff in a larger oven with smaller stuff in a second oven, then it seems more likely you'll be fine with Advantium (or another speed oven) as a second oven. Of course, this depends on how many mouths you're feeding, and the sorts of vittles ya'll eat there.

I suppose the sales person was meaning that its be easier to replace a 120v version of this oven because it just unplugs; but -- from reviews I read (a while back, now) -- the 120v Advantium seemed more likely to need replacing than the 240v version. Reliability can be construed as a measure of quality...

As speed ovens go, of course, there are other options. For example, Miele makes several speed ovens, all smaller than the Advantium (24" vs. 30", outside width); they might be worth considering.

Get the 240.

The 240v Advantium just unplugs too. The plug is the same as an electric dryer plug, and the oven itself fits into the same size cabinet cutouts as the 120v version.

The 120v speed oven function is vastly inferior, because it relies heavily on microwaves to cook and only has enough power available for 500 watts from its halogen light element vs. 2400 watts for the 240v model. So not only is the 120v slower, but food cooked in it will have more of the soggy "microwaved" taste and texture, since it's the halogen bulbs that provide the crispiness. That's because the 240v not only runs on twice the voltage, but also twice the amperage (30a instead of 15a). Since watts = volts x amps, the 240 has 7200w available to it rather than 1800w.

Both are quite roomy inside, enough for second-oven duty IMO.

Thanks, Lee, for this solid information.

So why would a sales person say that the 120v is easier to replace? Unplugging the 120v was a way to make sense of this comment, which I haven't heard before.

Thanks Chac and Lee. I think the sales person meant that if at some point in the future the desire arose to swap out the advantium with a regular microwave or some other oven then the 120v would be compatible whereas the 240 wouldn't be.

Do either of you have the advantium? Are you happy with it?

I wanted to get a 240v Advantium, but in the end it was too big (at 30") to fit comfortably in my little island; I ended up with Miele's speed oven (~24"), which I'm happy with.

> So why would a sales person say that the 120v is easier to replace? Unplugging the 120v was a way to make sense of this comment, which I haven't heard before.

Probably because some appliance stores stock the cheaper 120 but not the 240.

Unplugging it a non-issue - when was the last time you unplugged your wall oven or built-in microwave?

As for future replacement, 240v is the norm for built-in high speed ovens; all high-speed ovens from Miele, Electrolux, and Jenn-Air run on 240v. The Miele even uses the same plug and outlet as the Advantium 240. (Electrolux uses a smaller, lower-voltage plug; the Jenn-Air is hardwired to an electrical box and doesn't use a plug or outlet).

If you were getting an over-the-cooktop Advantium, the "easier to replace" argument might hold some creedence, as most OTC convection/microwaves run on 120v. But if you're replacing a range hood or a plain microwave with an Advantium 240, you already have a 120v outlet there as well as a 240v outlet you'll need to install the Advantium, so it's easy to go back if you ever needed to. In any case, whether 240v or 120v, I much prefer the wall-oven Advantiums to the over-the-cooktop versions, because (a) the exhaust ventilation function on the over-the-cooktop Advantiums is poor due to limited capture area and a weak fan compared to a real exhaust hood, and (b) the interior of the over-the-cooktop Advantium is shallow front-to-back since its depth is constrained by the need to fit between 12" deep wall cabinets, whereas the wall-oven Advantiums fit into a 24" deep oven cabinet and take advantage of the additional space for a much deeper interior. A pizza box won't fit into an over-the-cooktop microwave or Advantium, which rules it out for me.

Chac_mool, good thing you didn't get the Advantium 240, as it isn't rated for installation under a countertop (the Advantium 120, which puts out less heat, is). Miele's 240v speed ovens though are designed for installation under a countertop (which I assume is where it would be in an island), or even under some cooktops.

I've never had my own Advantium, although I've specified or installed them about 5 times for other people. I'm planning to get one for my new kitchen though.