Height of oven/micro combo?

8 years ago

We have a wall oven and a speed oven that we are stacking (pic below). The total two appliance unit would be 50" high, including the assumed 2" cabinet strip between the appliances. We want it as high as it can go without sacrificing functionality of the speed oven, as it opens downward. Thinking to put the top of the speed oven at 70" off the ground, which would put the bottom oven at an acceptable height. We are 5'8" and 6'. I tested a similar setup at 65" and the speed oven height was great but the regular oven too low. Hoping 5" higher makes bottom oven more functional without being too high for speed oven. The door to the speed oven doesn't get scorching hot - won't burn but would be uncomfortable if forearms lay on it for any amount of time.
Anyone with the same setup have any input? How high is your top appliance? Problems with forearms hitting top appliance door?

Featured Answer

javiwa

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

We have the same setup (Bosch series), with speed oven door open towards you (like a regular oven) -- seemed like a good/novel idea at the time. :) Unfortunately, I didn't take into consideration the door clearance, but only the bottom of the micro/speed oven, when pulling hot food out. Yes, it's a major consideration for me every time, having to essentially go up and over the speed oven door, making sure my arms clear the door. For reference, the lower edge of the speed oven is 48-3/4" up from the floor. When the door's open, taking into account the thickness of the door, the top surface of the door measures 52-1/2" from the floor.

For reference, I'm 5-6 and DH is 5-9. He 'claims' not to have any issues. :)

Oh, AND trying to wipe down the back of the speed oven is almost impossible without circus-contortion maneuvers while standing on a chair/stool.

ETA: I thought the measurement from floor to the bottom of the speed oven might be more relevant than floor-to-top of speed oven. In case it helps, the top of our speed oven is 68" up from the floor.

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Comments (7)

sherri1058
8 years ago
That seems awfully high to me, but I'm 4 inches shorter than you. Which oven do you anticipate using most? When I was deciding on height, I decided that the top oven had to be the most comfortable to use for a couple of reasons. First, I expected that it would be my go-to oven, so it made sense to have it the most advantageous height. I also think it is more dangerous to bring something hot down from a higher rack than to lift it from a lower rack, so I was willing to compromise on the bottom oven more than the top. I went around to a lot of showrooms and tried a lot of ovens at various heights. I finally made my determination based on the distance from the floor to the oven rack, not the top of the oven. Measuring to the floor of the oven would work just the same imo. Were you looking at a setup of the ovens you are considering,? The reason that I ask is there can be quite a bit of difference between various brands (My oven stack is only 44.5").
I don't have a speed oven, so I may be wrong here, but isn't the speed oven a combination of microwave and convection, in which case the oven door is going to be very hot unless you're only using it in microwave mode.
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javiwa
8 years ago
isn't the speed oven a combination of microwave and convection, in which case the oven door is going to be very hot unless you're only using it in microwave mode. Yes. I lost track of which mode we'd used a couple of times, and I learned that lesson the hard way!
User
8 years ago
The bottom of the speed oven should be no higher than 54” from the floor.

The manufacturers have clearance requirements in their specifications that your building inspector will check, as they are incorporated into the building codes.

Look at the specs.
Jen Hans
Original Author
8 years ago
The setup I tested was of my two appliances, but older models - so can't comment on how close they are in measurements.

javiwa - thank you for your measurements! Very helpful.

Speed ovens are combos - yes. But my neighbor has one, which I use all the time, and her door does not get hot like an oven door. It looks just like a microwave door. So...not sure?

I did not think about building codes. The inspectors here would NEVER catch such a thing. Never. But the bottom wouldn't be higher than 54" anyway.

I will be using the speed oven/micro much more, so I think i'm going to make that the appropriate height - you're right. I shouldn't sacrifice them both, I'll maximize the most used.

Thank you!
Jen Hans
Original Author
8 years ago
We decided to do 45.5" to bottom of oven, which would be about 65" to top of oven. Bottom oven will be low but ideal placement of top oven is priority. Thanks everyone!
DrB477
8 years ago
I think that's the right decision.