Asko OT8636S

Second fault for a technician – Have used the the pyro function twice. Doesn't clean all the stuff out but most. About to get the tech out again to replace the mother board because the clock has disappeared again. 1 mth old the first time. Expected better reliability for the thousands spent. Took ages to get last repair done. Only one tech available to attend apparently and run off his feet.

The best oven I've had in years in fact! – Oven heats quickly on rapid preheat function. I am very satisfied with the features, design of this oven. I have no hesitation recommending this series ASKO oven. FRUIT CAKE SHELF 2 Setting 130 degrees C Fan forced; 2 kg rich fruit cake takes 4 hours to cook. "TIP"Turn cake very hour 1/4 turn to prevent "patch" in middle of bottom of cake;( last part to cook).

SHORT/BREADS SHELF 2 Setting 135 degrees C Fan Forced using 2 trays SHELF 3 Setting 135 degrees C Fan Forced using 1 tray. Rotate shelves every 16 minutes; 32/36 minutes total time to cook. Have baked hundreds and every time come out perfect.

LASAGNA SHELF 2 Setting 180 degrees C Fan Forced using Pyrex baking dish covered top with al/foil took 45 minutes to bake ; even all round and cooked well!

Very good electric oven with good features, good strong heat and circulation – This is my review of the ASKO Pro Series Oven model OT8636S, Series 3 Multifunctional Oven. I will do a comprehensive review of this appliance because buying and using a contemporary electric oven has many aspects to it. Functions I like about this oven: My preference was for some dial/knob selection controls. However this oven had both dial knobs with use of a sensor touch control panel. The Aqua Clean surface was in my price budget because I could not afford the other very expensive pyrolytic clean oven models. The OT8636S came with 2 large shallow Asko baking trays and 1 deep Asko baking tray and 1 wire grid. The 3 Asko baking trays were of good solid quality and not flimsy. This oven also has telescopic arms on one level only which can accommodate any of the 3 Asko baking trays and/or the wire grid. I prepared a huge tray of meat lasagne using the deep Asko baking tray and I had placed it in the telescopic arms. As it was a huge meal it was a heavy tray of food and the telescopic arms supported this heavy tray well and they extended easily. It was better or safer than using slide out wire grid racks in my opinion. (Although I wish that all oven manufacturers listen and create matching oven baking trays with big side handles because none of the brands offer side handles. We need side handles to lift such large heavy trays of food. They’re all difficult to hold or grab).

Other features I liked about this oven: 73-75 litre oven volume capacity, a large upper heater grill with adjustment for small or large heating, the bottom heater, the fan heater, the soft closing door, the big long handle on the door. Good interior visibility with the 2 interior lights with automatic switch off as well as separate ON/OFF selection for the light switch. The automatic switch off for the heaters while the oven door is open. The heaters come on automatically after the oven door is closed. The oven is marked on the side with 5 levels for wire grid/trays. The OT8636S does not have a visible Vaulted cavity ceiling as the Asko Australia web site states but I’m happy with that anyway (although I wish they get their information correct).

Asko say, cooking with this OT8636S oven on at least 2 levels can be done simultaneously using their baking trays so thats good and efficient.

Using and setting this OT8636S oven was easy. Select the mode or function using the the large left dial knob and press START/STOP on the sensor touch. I can add the cooking time or timer or adjust the oven temperature using the right dial knob. The knobs had a good grip and good visibility including easy to read settings with good brightness and contrast. The sensor touch electronic control panel displays the temperature, clock and cooking time etc.

Another thing I like about this oven is the Rapid Preheat function. This oven boasts that it does not need preheating but I tried the Rapid Preheat anyway and it heats fast, in 6 minutes it will reach 170ºC. This oven has acoustic ‘Beep’ sounds. It also comes with the electronic meat probe for meat roasts temperature but I have not tried this probe yet. The highest oven temperature can be set to 275ºC.

The actual cooking: So I’ve stated previously my first cooking attempt with this oven is preparing a large meal of meat lasagne with the deep Asko baking tray provided. It took me 36 minutes to cook using the fan and top large heater at 210ºC. I over cooked the meal a little because I should’ve covered the meal entirely and more carefully and from the start of the cooking cycle as the manufacturer suggested. So cover the meals well all the way around the baking tray or they will burn, brown or overcook too quickly from the start of the cooking cycle. If you need to brown them towards the end of the cooking cycle after removing the cover for several minutes.

I've also cooked mixed vegetables including fresh potatoes and wedges in the Asko shallow baking tray. They cooked within 30 minutes on a 250ºC. I used the Upper & Bottom heater setting. The food cooked evenly on this setting and I'm happy with this. (I over cooked them though). I think I will use this setting more for such. There was a lot of burnt on grease and splatter etc in the tray and in oven cavity.

I'm happy that this oven gets so hot and cooks food quickly because thats the main function I was looking for. This oven does get hot so stand well back or to the side while opening the door. The glass on the outside of the oven door did get warm. I think this oven door has 2 layers of glass but thats ok.

After switching off this oven remains hot for another 10 minutes, the manufacturer suggests to include these last 10 minutes as part of the cooking cycle time to save energy. So I’ve done that and that was good advise. So using the Asko deep baking tray to cook lasagne in will easily serve 8 people (so it's huge which is a bonus). To give you an idea of the Asko baking tray size, the opening of this tray is approximately 42cm x 32 cm and 5cm deep.

Other good advise, the manufacturer recommends not to use stainless steel trays as they are unsuitable because they strongly reflect the infrared heat. Use enamel coated, tempered glass, clay or cast iron pan or tray. Use the baking trays the provided with this oven. They also say use dark, black silicon-layered or enamel-coated baking sheets and trays as they conduct heat well.

I let the Asko trays cool, filled with water and soak overnight before I began washing up. There was a lot of burnt on grease spills and splatter on the Asko baking trays so I removed that using a plastic kitchen/dish scrubbing brush with a soapy water and they came off and finishing with a sponge and it washed off very easily and dried to a shiny finish so that was good.

In the oven cavity there was a lot of burnt on splatter because i didn't cover the potatoes so the next day, when cool, I tried washing and cleaning it. The burnt on splatter mostly did not remove even when I used an electric steam cleaner, not even a plastic scrubbing brush will remove this kind of stains from the cavity. All I could do is wipe it clean and leave the burns in there. I have to use Mr Muscle spray oven cleaner later for such stains. I would've preferred if this oven had liners (it didn't which was disappointing for the purchase price).

Another feature of the OT8636S is the Aqua Clean. The manufacturer recommends placing 600ml of water in the shallow Asko baking tray and setting the oven to clean with steam. After the clean cycle finishes they say you can wipe the oven clean. I've tried that but that too but that did not remove the baked on grease, so not a helpful feature after all. Other helpful features with this oven is that the upper grill heater can be removed or lowered slightly to gain a little more access to clean the top oven cavity ceiling. The interior oven door glass pane can also be removed from the oven door for cleaning. The 3 Asko baking trays and the interior cavity surface appear to be coated with a matched gloss grey coloured finish.

The printed operation instruction manual is large A4 size and easy to read and follow and understand with large size text and diagrams.

So far so good, no regrets and relief as I believe I made a good choice that was within my spending budget. I felt at ease with the 5 year warranty and not spending anymore money. So considering the amount I spent on the OT8636S oven I would give it 4 stars !

Where to buy:

The Asko Australia web site suggested Harvey Norman, Ballarat, was one of the dealers or agent. So I personally went into Harvey Norman store but the sales person who looked on their computer system could not have access to this particular model so I could not purchase this model from Harvey Norman, Ballarat after all. So that was disappointing and a waste of my time and theirs. So next I tried another agent which was Bi-Rite Electrical (Mitre 10) in Daylesford. Bi-Rite Electrical were very good in accessing this model for me. Bi-Rite staff had communicated and made a request to Asko Australia in regards to this particular model because it wasn’t so accessible or available to every store.

Installation: This is a 60cm built in oven. I was replacing another 60cm electric oven of another brand. The installation of replacing and fitting was done easily. It fitted into the existing cabinet perfectly. This model OT8636S has feet which can be adjusted to level or raise it slightly. This Asko oven needs to be connected by a licensed electrician as it requires to be hardwired. I needed proof of Certificate of Electrical Safety for this oven’s warranty to be valid in Victoria. So you will need to arrange your own licensed electrician to come and install this oven which is an extra cost. The installation cost an extra $126.50 although there was already suitable existing power supply in the oven cabinet (from my previous older electric oven).

My decision to purchase this brand and oven model OT8636S was guided and influenced by information on Asko Australia web site and online reviews, such as other reviews of other european brands, their reliability or lack of, easiness of cleaning and other factors. This OT8636S oven was not available for me to inspect physically in an electrical store before purchasing. I paid $1,799 for it and came with a 5 year Warranty. (Other european brands come with a 2 year warranty). The other cost was $40 to be delivered as I'm not too far from the electrical store. This oven was made in Slovenia as Asko is no longer located in Sweden. Others have stated that the move from Sweden into a better factory in Slovenia improved the quality of the Asko appliances.

I am in no way affiliated with Asko. I’m just a consumer living in Victoria who purchased this product. I can’t answer any technical questions. If you need need further information on this product you will need to contact Asko Australia or refer to their Australian web site because I personally wouldn’t know.