KitchenAid KEBS109BSS 30-Inch Electric Wall Oven Review

Introduction

Design & Usability

Business up front, party in the back.

There is nothing wrong with the KEBS109BSS's exterior appearance. Like a millionaire who drives the same car for a decade, this oven is unassuming, and likely won't look out of place in most kitchens. However, opening the oven reveals a bit of a surprise, as the cavity's striking blue interior does a great Zoolander impression. Like a staid suit with a colorful lining, it's quite eye-catching if you notice it.

Appearances aren’t everything, and fortunately the KEBS109BSS has a few more tricks up its sleeve. The SatinGlide rack is true to its name, and slides easily in and out. That makes dealing with heavy baking trays less of a hassle. The KEBS109BSS also makes use of KitchenAid's FIT system, which allows users to install a wall oven in an existing kitchen cutout regardless of the size.

{{photo_gallery "Front", "Oven Controls", "Oven", "Oven Detail", "Broiler"}}

Oven, Broiler, & Convection

Peaks are more prevalent than valleys here

The KEBS109BSS features an eight-pass broiler element; this allows for a greater surface area and—ideally—even heat distribution. In our tests the aforementioned broiler burnt the competition to a crisp. It reached the target temperature of 605ºF in a staggering four minutes.

The Keep Warm setting of 150ºF—the standard is 170ºF—was the most accurate and precise of the bunch with an average temperature of 162ºF. The 350ºF setting—arguably the most important oven setting—did not do so well. We didn't mind that temperatures varied as much as 26ºF above and -14ºF below our target temperature, as that kind of flux falls within an acceptable window. But we weren't thrilled that the oven only reached 326ºF when we told it to go 24ºF higher than that.

Often the Convection setting results in improved accuracy and precision. In this case, recorded average temperatures shot up to 367ºF, but variance tightened up to ±13ºF. Oh well, one out of two ain't bad. The Maximum setting was equally disappointing. It failed to reach the target temperature of 550ºF, averaging 525ºF.

Finally the preheat struck the final blow, taking an abysmal 15 minutes to reach 350ºF. The Convection setting shaved off only a minute.

{{photo_gallery "Primary Oven Keep-Warm", "Primary Oven 350F", "Primary Oven Max", "Convection", "Oven Variance"}}

Conclusion

Not so much caveat emptor as caveat esse conscius minor defectus.

We have spoken at length about the lack of correlation between price and performance where ovens are concerned. Yet despite this knowledge, we still find ourselves expecting great things from expensive appliances. So we can't help but be disappointed by the KitchenAid KEBS109BSS. Yes, it'll fit in a high-end kitchen. But despite some impressive broiler performance, decent temperature control, and a nifty blue interior, the KEBS109BSS is a remarkably average wall oven.

Meet the tester

James Aitchison

Editor

@revieweddotcom

Aside from covering all things sleep, James moonlights as an educational theatre practitioner, amateur home chef, and weekend hiker.

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