Here's a list of wall ovens sorted by cutout depththat meet the following criteria:

• Single wall oven
• Electric oven
• 24" or 30: wide
• Cutout depth of 23-1/2" or less
• Stainless steel
• Cost less than $3000

Be sure and read the spec sheets.

These 30" models were recommended by CR:

• LG LWS3063ST
• Samsung NV51K6650SS
• Samsung NV51K7770SS

thank you for your comment. do you have any input on the part about if its safe to have the back butt up against the back cabinet/drywall wall ?

The LG installation instructions simply say (repeatedly), "Kitchen cabinets in contact with the oven must be heat resistant up to 194°F (90°C), and fronts of nearby units up to at least 158°F (70°C)."

Certainly manufacturers of cabinets made for ovens (e.g., IKEA SEKTION Base cabinet for oven) know that the ovens will reach high temperatures.

hmm well dang.....that contradicts what some local installer places are telling me (where they say its perfectly fine to be in contact for just the back. (this is for a frigidaire if that matters

Well, the oven is going to be in contact with at least the front, sides, and back of the cabinet plus the shelf that supports it. (The IKEA oven cabinet linked above doesn't have a back.) But if you're just replacing an old oven that sat in an old cabinet for years, why not just buy an oven that will fit (i.e., from the list above) that will otherwise fit in the old cutout (check its spec sheet), and stick it in?

What are the height and width of the cutout that contained the old oven?

the biggest issue is actually being able to get one right now it seems. most of the places i've been talking to say they have nothing in stock and getting one ordered has been taking anywhere from 3 weeks to a few months . the one we found depth dimensions is 24 3/4 " and the min cabinet depth requirement it shows is 24" so it would seem that they are ok with having as little as 3/4 " gap in the back . our cabinet is 23 3/8" from back to front but if we cut a hole in the back of the cabinet it would be 24" requirement

Did you click the link to the LG wall oven I linked earlier? The reseller has 10 in stock and can ship right away.

Also, are you measuring from the cabinet FACE to the back? If not, you're measuring wrong. Look at the installation instruction's diagram for the dimensions.

ya know what i was measuring from the face to the back which is 23 3/8" from face to back. we did end up buying the Frigidaire one last night and if we did nothing to the cabinet it looks like it would be about 1/8" out further than it should be. so our thoughts are we could either cut the hole in the back of the cabinet like i mentioned to gain that extra 1/2-3/4 inch or pull it out a tiny bit more and build a little wood bumper onto the front of the cabinet (i prefer the first option so far). hopefully either of those would be alright. also thank you for your help here!

Sheet rock in the back will have at least as much heat resistance as the cabinet wood being removed (for any likely cabinet wood assuming redwood and ipe are not in use), so the only issue with rear panel removal will be whether it is providing structural strength to the cabinet.

I think you should not have the oven in contact with the wood back, but rather spaced from it. With the wood removed and a bit of space behind, I don't think you have a greater problem than you had with the previous oven.

In general, I think it best to build these wall oven cabinets a bit oversized for internal circulation.

Yeah, if it was the Frigidaire FFEW3026T then it requires a 24" deep cutout which is why it doesn't fit.

yup i agree....they push it too close w/ most depth standards of these ovens it seems. so this cabinet the backing is actually just thin board it feels like so i cant imagine its doing anything structural i cant imagine.

are you familiar w/ the wiring part of the ovens much by chance? calling around to some electricians but the wiring i have a question.....so here's a diagram showing the wiring of the oven cable and then what i have in my box in the cabinet and connecting lines to where i believe they should connect together (following the guide in the install manual ). then below that is the screenshot of that wiring diagram in the manual but read the above part......says to only do that if your house is part of the 1996 code deal......normally i'd just go w/ the diagram but the old oven wiring they had the white/neutral and copper ground wire from the oven tied together and then wirenutted w/ the white/neutral w/ the wall wiring....and then the copper wire from the wall wiring just tied into the green ground screw in the box and thats it so not sure which is the proper way

"the old oven wiring they had the white/neutral and copper ground wire from the oven tied together and then wirenutted w/ the white/neutral"

As I read it, you should separate the ground and neutral, and follow the Figure 4 wiring diagram because you have a four-wire circuit (not a three-wire circuit) as described here.

cool yup thats how i understood it too.....so the diagram i added above w/ the arrows would be correct then, right? (just being extra cautious). thats the way logically i would have done it anyways and this diagram helps confirm things for me

Yup, separate ground and neutral.

awesome thanks again! sounds like the last owners (or whomever put in the old oven) did not have things to code. and did not properly wire nut the reds together as the whole wire nut was melted through

oh and this is the one i bought FGEW3069UF

also requires a 24" deep cutout. and like I said w/ the back on the cabinet its 23 1/2 about from back of the cabinet to the face of the cabinet (outter part that the oven border would sit flush against which i know you said isnt where you'd measure). If i cut the back off of the cabinet so it can go more towards the drywall it looks like i'd have about 1/2" gap between the wall and the back of oven and it can fit flush against the cabinet (and of course i'd have about 2-3" on both left/right sides and 3-4" top and bottom for airgap

Ah. that was a CR-recommended (but discontinued) oven.

oh cool i didnt know the CR report on this one! and yup we found one place that just got a few of them late last year and then went discontinued in December. sounds like mostly since Frigidaire went through a design change. we got it in tonight after cutting the back of the cabinet space off in there so it has about 1/2 " gap in the back. of course there was also an outlet (w/out a cover) behind there so i put a cap plate over the top of it for now. wish they had removed that outlet all together