Calphalon XL Digital Convection Oven

I have had this oven for a little over a year now and wanted to submit a quick review. This oven is bigger than my smaller previous B&D toaster oven and this one has convection, so after looking at a ton of reviews and sites, I l chose this one because of size, price, great reviews, and the materials (Stainless outside). It does very well with most things. We haven't cooked a whole chicken in it or a frozen pizza as we just don't use it for those kinds of things. We do use it to toast bread, bake small items like potatoes, and broil grapefruits (don't knock it until you've tried them).This oven is excellent in all respects except for one item. This oven's display is extremely dim and we can barely see it in the natural kitchen light. I don't have tons of lighting in my kitchen so I was hoping it would be brighter than it is. Sometimes we have to get up real close to the display and cover the top with our hands just to see where the oven is in its program or time left to cook. Another small item that is an inconvenience is the oven won't go below 150 degrees which I was hoping it would. I have times when I just want to keep something warm and 150 is a little high for that lower level temp. 120 would have been perfect, but that's OK.The good things about this oven are:1. The stainless steel cabinet, which makes it sturdy and professional looking on the counter2. The heating is even and accurate3. The controls are well laid out and work well (once you get the hang of it)4. The interior is spacious and doesn't get very dirty easily5. The racks slide in and out easily and the crumb tray is easy to remove and cleanSo, I am happy with this Caphalon and would buy it again if the display were brighter, but I don't think there is an adjustment for that. :(Otherwise, everything else makes it a 5 star product.

For nearly two years, I anguished between several brands of countertop convection ovens before deciding upon the Calphalon XL Digital Convection Oven. (This is my first convection oven. I have had only inexpensive toaster ovens throughout the years.) Dimensions were a concern, as well as reliability, ease of use and customer service. I have had the oven for approximately 6 weeks, and so far, am extremely pleased with my purchase. I read the manual from cover to cover and realized that the controls are much less complicated than I originally thought. In fact, they are a breeze to use. I learned about the different rack positions and other do's and don't. Due to some reviews, I was concerned about the initial burn-off that should be performed before using the oven. But, everything went fine....nothing bad happened. I had read to never use aluminum foil in the oven. This confused me, so I called customer service. After a brief hold time, the rep explained that a short could occur should the foil touch the heating rods. Since my concern is that occasionally I cover a baking dish with foil for some minutes, and then remove it for final heating, I am not in danger of touching the heating elements. (I have no intention on lining the tray or the rack.) Which brings me to the crumb tray. It is very easy to remove and clean. Compared to the toaster ovens I've used, this impressed me a lot. Then again, one gets what one pays for. I like that it beeps when the preheat cycle is completed, and I like that it beeps when the cooking cycle is over. So far, I have used the bake, toast, bagel and cookie modes. Everything has turned out perfectly. I have baked potatoes, cut-up chicken and a few casseroles. I experimented with baking Nestle Tollhouse refrigerator cookies and was pleasantly surprised that my first attempt made perfect cookies. I do wish that the baking tray that comes with the oven was a bit longer, but I like its quality and ease of cleaning. Upon noticing that the upper heating elements burn more red-hot than the lower set, I once again called customer service. Again, I had a very brief hold time until a rep answered my call. I asked her whether both the upper and lower elements were suppose to burn a bright red or if one set was a bit duller. She said that she didn't know, but that she would check the unit that was in her office. She put me on hold while the oven heated up to temperature, and when she returned, she said that the upper rods were bright, bright red while the lower ones were less so. I was pleased to hear that since that is how my oven operates. Both times that I called, the customer reps were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

I bought the Calphalon XL Digital Convection Oven at Christmas. I did this despite complaints about the how cumbersome and counter intuitive the controls were reported to be in some reviews. I regret this. The controls are weird and frustrating to the extreme. How it went this badly in this day and age is beyond me. Now the door is does not close smoothly and hangs up at about an inch from full closure. This is a real problem if I don't catch it. It does cook nicely when everything is done correctly and the door is closed. Expensive for such a user-unfriendly appliance.

I have bought two of these ovens from Amazon Warehouse Deals, and both have been returned. The first one was described as having cosmetic damage to the inside of the oven only, which I can live with in order to save a lot of money over new. But it also had a defective display, where the display would sometimes light entirely, and sometimes not. I did bake a batch of cornbread and it worked great, but it's pretty annoying to press buttons and turn dials and not know the effect of those actions.The second oven was listed as Like New. It looked great but turned out to be dangerously defective: the upper heating element would not ever turn off. The oven had to be unplugged to shut it down.Aside from these two operational defects, what I really don't like is the fact there is no on/off power button. If you want to cancel an action, you have to press the Start/Cancel button and wait three minutes for the thing to shut itself down. I want an off button. Turn it on, turn it off. This whole three-minute thing seems dangerous to me.