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  • Design & Usability

  • Performance

  • Why We Love It

  • Design & Usability
  • Performance
  • Why We Love It

We found it on sale for $1,051, which makes it one of the least expensive 30-inch, stainless steel wall ovens on the market. But despite its relatively low price point, the WOS51EC0AS's single 5.0-cubic-foot oven features a fast preheat and an excellent broiler. When we baked with it, it we got superb results. The only thing missing from this potent package is a convection mode, but with performance this good, we imagine users will barely notice its absence.

Design & Usability

Surprisingly specced

The WOS51EC0AS isn't exactly stuffed to the gills with features. However, it offers enough to make installation and cooking a little easier. One of the challenges with built-in appliances is installation, and the WOS51EC0AS comes with a flexible installation system that Whirlpool says guarantees the unit will fit, regardless of what it's replacing, or Whirlpool will pay $250 towards modifying your cabinets.

The controls are bare bones at best.

The controls are bare bones at best.

The 5.0-cubic-foot capacity isn't the largest available, but it should suffice for most dishes and, more importantly, it will comfortably fit a turkey come Thanksgiving.

Whirlpool seems particularly proud of the WOS51EC0AS's oven window, and with good reason: It's absolutely massive, functional, and adds to the WOS51EC0AS's clean transitional aesthetic.

That design language carries over to the WOS51EC0AS's controls, which are about as basic as you can find on a digital panel. Cooking modes are limited to Bake, Broil, and Warm Hold, and there isn't any convection setting to speak of.

On the plus side, the WOS51EC0AS does feature a steam cleaning option, which is faster, better-smelling, and more energy efficient than a traditional self clean. If you do decide to blast off grime with a high-heat self clean, the WOS51EC0AS tracks how long it's been since the last time you cleaned your oven, so the self-clean cycle only lasts as long as is necessary.

Performance

Stellar baking, on a budget

Whirlpool certainly hasn't cut any corners where cooking performance is concerned. Right away, the WOS51EC0AS reached preheat in just under 11 minutes. That's not the fastest preheat we've seen, but it should give you enough time to prepare your dishes. The broiler kept pace with a speedy six minute preheat, which should have you searing steaks in no time.

The oven cavity is 5.0 cubic feet.

The oven cavity is 5.0 cubic feet.

To test oven performance, we bake a batch of cookies, followed by some cakes. We then examine the resulting baked goods for any noticeable dark or light spots, and compare their doneness using a photospectrometer. This data gives us a clear idea of various hot and cold spots in the oven cavity, as well as an indication of the general air circulation and temperature precision of the oven.

Overall, we noticed very little difference in doneness between our individual cookies, which indicates good airflow. That's the most important measure of an oven's abilities, as baking requires consistent results from an oven. The bottoms were slightly overdone, but this can be remedied somewhat by avoiding dark bakeware.

The test cakes were also in excellent shape. Aside from the bottom-rear of both cakes, which were overdone, cakes were mostly evenly cooked.

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Why We Love It

Budget in price only

We're extremely impressed with the Whirlpool WOS51EC0AS. If it weren't for the lack of a convection mode, we'd recommend it to pretty much anyone. If you're on a budget and—like many Americans—you couldn't care less about convection cooking, the WOS51EC0AS should be at the top of your list.

Best of all, the WOS51EC0AS looks just as fancy as pricier wall ovens, and can be found for as little as as $1,051 online. At that price, it's an absolute steal.

Meet the tester

James Aitchison

James Aitchison

Editor

@revieweddotcom

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

See all of James Aitchison's reviews

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