Amana AER5523XAW 30-Inch Electric Range Review

Introduction

A serious contender

Design & Usability

Nothing to see here...

There’s one word that comes to mind when we think of the Amana AER5523XAW: nondescript. From the simple profile to the classic coiled burners, it’s pretty much the archetypal oven. We leave it up to you to determine if this is necessarily a bad thing. One thing is certain the Amana AER5523XAW is guaranteed to blend into any kitchen, so much so that you may even forget it’s there.

You can knock it for its simplistic design, but from the two large burners placement at the front of the oven, to the intuitive oven controls, the Amana AER5523XAW does a lot of things right. We were less impressed by the tiny oven window and the actual burner controls, which are placed on the backsplash. This may prevent children from reaching the controls, however it requires the user to reach over the burners in order to adjust any settings. This is less of a concern with an electric oven, but nevertheless it could be avoided entirely.

{{photo_gallery "Vanity", "Front", "Rangetop Controls", "Oven Controls", "Burners 1", "Burners 2", "Burners Cleaning", "Upper Oven", "Upper Oven Detail", "Oven Detail", "Lower Oven Detail", "Lower Oven", "Drawer", "Broiler",}}

Rangetop

This Amana punches above its weight in rangetop performance.

When we tested the Amana AER5823XAW and the AER5830XAW we noted the extremely high burner temperatures, and of course the AER5523XAW continues that trend. Two out of four burners reached a top temperature of 801ºF. To put that into perspective: lead melts at 621.5ºF. So just in case you were wondering: yes, it will sear a steak.

The AER5523XAW matches its strength with speed, bringing water to the boil in no time. In fact the only disappointing thing about this range is its low temperatures, or lack thereof. This is not a subtle range; it will pummel steaks into submission and bring water to the boil before the first round has even started. It’s the Clubber Lang of ranges. And you wouldn’t expect him to gentle simmer a sauce now, would you?

Oven, Broiler, & Convection

Down but not out

Sadly, the AER5523XAW’s oven does not echo the excellent rangetop. The oven's preheat was particularly sluggish, taking a total of 12 minutes to reach 350ºF.

The oven's keep warm (170ºF) and 350ºF settings where equally disappointing. While the AER5523XAW was able to reach 170ºF and 350ºF respectively, the temperatures fluctuated wildly in the process. What does this mean for you? It means the potential for unevenly cooked food, that’s what. The maximum setting expressed its individuality by underwhelming us in a completely different manner: despite an amazingly steady and consistent rise in temperature the AER5523XAW was unable to even reach its target of 550ºF.

Oven boilers are often underwhelming and the four pass broiler found in this Amana is no exception. While not the worst broiler we have seen, it took longer to reach 604ºF than we would have liked.

Conclusion

Not quite the heavyweight we hoped for.

Let’s be clear: there is a lot to like about the Amana AER5523XAW. If its oven was half as good as its excellent rangetop we would recommend this Amana wholeheartedly. So if you are able to look past the deficiencies in the temperature regulation, and are looking for an affordable, no frills oven, the AER5523XAW would be a fine choice. While it may not have been the decisive knock-out we hoped for, The Amana AER5523XAW packs a solid punch, and for $499, you could do way worse.

From the Lab

A blow by blow account of the AER5523XAW.

We don’t pull any punches when we test our ovens, read on for a full breakdown of the Amana AER5523XAW’s performance.

Oven Performance

Substandard oven performance leaves the AER5523XAW on the ropes.

If there is one thing the AER5523XAW’s oven has going for it, it’s accuracy. We were impressed with the keep warm (170ºF) settings average of 179.75ºF, but this was nothing compared with the staggering 350ºF setting average of 350.51ºF. It goes without saying that this oven is incredibly accurate. Every Amana we have tested thus far has had terrible temperature regulation and the AER5523XAW is no exception with a total temperature variance of 36ºF and -58.26ºF from the target temperature of 350ºF.

Naturally one would expect the maximum setting to echo these results, however this was not the case. Accuracy dropped considerably at this setting, with the AER5523XAW failing to reach the ovens maximum temperature of 525ºF–which is 25ºF below the industry standard of 550ºF. The Amana only managed to reach 497ºF, but temperature variance was kept to a minimum.

The AER5523XAW rounded out its disappointing oven results with the preheat and broiler performance. The oven took 12 minutes to reach 350ºF which is certain to frustrate those on a tight schedule. The broiler was equally mediocre, taking 7 minutes to reach the maximum temperature of 614ºF.

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

Rangetop Performance

We were floored by this rangetop’s high temperatures and boiling performance

The AER5523XAW’s rangetop almost makes up for the shoddy oven. The two large burners where able to boil 48oz of water in 4.90 and 5.04 minutes respectively, while the two simmer burners took a respectable 8.17 and 9.85 minutes. An average high burner temperature of 801ºF matches the stellar boiling performance. One thing is certain: this rangetop is powerful. To offset the extremely high heats, the AER5523XAW was unable to provide a low temperature below 123ºF. This does not rule out simmering on this range, but you might want to keep a close eye on those sauces regardless.

{{photo_gallery "Waterboil", "Simmer"}}