oven door open sideways - less clearance required

Factual Questions
1

Assume someone wants to place an oven range in a certain area of the kitchen, but is stumped because, even though it’d be convenient to place the oven there, yet there’s an island directly opposite, & therefore there wouldn’t be enough clearance available to stand in front of the open oven door (since the island would be in the way).

If appliance manufacturer’s offered oven-range doors that opened sideways (like a microwave & dryer), then there would be more room, because the door wouldn’t be in the way.

So is there any LOGICAL reason why oven range doors are not designed like microwave & dryer doors, thus affording more clearance?

2

The oven racks still have to remain horizontal. They are hot, too, as is the door. All and all it remains a practical outlook to consider the space directly in front of a 350 degree appliance to be less than optimal for other uses.

Tris

3

I’m imagining opening an oven door that’s on the side. I’m imagining myself then bending over to pull a rack out. I’m imagining my elbow bumping the 400° door of the oven in the process.

I’m imagining opening such a door in a narrow area like you describe. Either I have to walk around the island or I have to open the door while standing on the hot inside of it.

4

And, boy, why didn’t I think of that? Stupid of me. :wink: But maybe there’s a way to rubberize the inner part of the door (like pot handles), so it shouldn’t get so hot?

Or, if that isn’t viable, can anyone think of a solution to this problem for people whose spaces are cramped?

5

Jally, man you must have the World’s Smallest Apartment.
Sorry buddy.
Maybe you should trade in your fridge and oven for a small ice box and a toaster-over. That would make more room for the tv and the bed.

6

Well, if you can locate a cooktop somewhere else in the kitchen, you could go for a built-in oven - they are generally smaller than the normal range/oven combo. The links I looked at didn’t specify the door clearance, but I’m sure they’d be glad to tell you if you email. (Don’t want to post commercial links - easy to find with a search).

7

About ten years ago I had an oven with two compartments; one was the standard size with the door opening down and the other was about one-third the size with the door opening on the side. I loved that stove because the size and design were very practical. I mainly used the side oven where I could bake a large chicken and potatoes in a smaller place. The stovetop had the four burners but also a plate warmer area where I could leave done pots in a warm area and continue to cook on the burners. Many a small family meal was prepared on that wonderful stove along with several humungous sit-down dinners.

I think that manufacturers need to be more in touch with their users for consumer-friendly appliances.

8

My grandmother has an oven that hangs over the stove range (from the above cabinets, like a lot of microwaves) and has a sideways-opening door. This oven dates from the late sixties or early seventies.

The door doesn’t close right, and it hasn’t since I’ve been able to remember it. Gravity (I guess) has pulled the handle end of the door downward, so to shut it you have to push upward and inward.

Every time a repairman or appliance-installer enters her house, he/she feels compelled to tell her that it is dangerous for her to have that oven. Whether that is because of the model or because of the ill-closing door I don’t know. Every time, though, she asks the repairman if he knows of any oven made today that has a side-opening door that can fit in that space, and no one ever knows of one. Since there’s no other place for an oven, she keeps that one.

Some friends have a small, tabletop convection oven that is like a microwave. Could one of those help you out? I don’t know if it could be installed.

9

Slight hijack, but somewhat related…
Why do microwave doors all open from the right? I also have a really small kitchen and where I have my microwave, it would be more convenient for it to open from the left. I have never even seen one open the other way. I get the regular oven door needing to open from the top, but would it make a difference in a micorwave which side it opened from?

10

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a left-opening microwave either. Could it be that right-handed people usually carry what they’re going to put in the microwave in their right hand, so they open the door with their left, so it’s easier for most to have it set up that way? Not that it’s fair to lefties… :wink:

11

Re: the original OP, here’s another thought:

Cooks often will open the oven door and yank out one of the wire racks to fiddle with the food that’s cooking inside. Often this fiddling will involve some (potentially) sloppy process like basting. The down-folding door acts as a shield against spills and splatters that would otherwise land on the floor.

(But hey, what do I know. I haven’t used my oven in about 10 years. I keep my dish drainer in there.)

12

Before anything else allow me to veer off-topic. Does anyone know whether chickens cook much tastier & tenderer in a smaller size oven? Because I know that I (and someone else) cook chickens the exact same way as my sister, i.e. we just smear the top with duck sauce, sprinkle seasoning & pop 'em in. Yet my sister (who has a built-in oven) has her chickens tasting much better than mine, even tho we do the same exact thing. But, then, I’ve been using an ancient inherited 50-year old “Estate” oven.

Bear, very funny :wink:
I was actually just thinking of renovating (an addition to the house); but the kitchen would be quite small due to zoning restrictions. However not that small. And I got to thinking, why do appliance makers limit people by not taking into account those with cramped spaces? (i.e. I’d have preferred to design the range opposite the island, but given the limitations, it’s not feasible.)

Aseymo (and D.Marie), No, I like the idea of a 30" freestanding gas range.

Kiffa (and D.Marie) you took the words out of my mouth, because just today I saw at Sears a Kenmore steel deluxe oven (over $2000!) just like Kiffa described. With the left third of the oven designated as a separate oven with a SIDE-OPENING door… SO… I take back what I said to Water about rubberizing the door (since that Kenmore deluxe’s side-hinged door was NOT rubberized.)

Kinsey, I also had the same thought as you (because while considering my kitchen layout, I got to thinking, "hey, what if my microwave would have to be put in a RIGHT corner-counter (instead of left-corner - BTW, I hate over-the-range microwaves. I like my microwave to be no higher than counter-height or even lower, to be able to see the food & slide it out easily direct onto the counter.

SO, INDEED (quoting Kiffa):
“MANUFACTURERS NEED TO BE MORE IN TOUCH WITH THEIR USERS FOR CONSUMER FRIENDLY APPLIANCES.” And I’ll add to that:

They ought to provide switchable microwave doors similar to fridge doors (to open either way).

Stuy, I thought of what you said too (except in my case, I was thinking of a ledge to rest the pans on.) Maybe as you open the door, a NARROW ledge can slide out or pop down? But, in any case, this topic is re: providing a solution for cramped areas. I guess you can’t always have your cake & eat it too, huh? :wink:

13

They can’t do it that way. Residual microwaves are positively charged which means they rotate in a clockwise direction. Microwave ovens are designed so that any loose waves bounce into and are caught in the little holes in the open door and can’t harm anyone. If the door opened the other way you could open an oven hours after use and the residual microwaves could shoot out and cook whoever is in the kitchen.

14

I know that I don’t know whatever tc just posted. Nevertheless, as I read this thread it occurs to me that we have a left-opening (which I read to mean having the door hinged on the left) microwave at work. I’ll try to remember to inspect it tomorrow.

15

Beatle, re: microwaves: We all have hinges on the left & opening of door on the right: You, Kinsey, me & everyone.

tc, I appreciate your info. about the clockwise waves being blocked by right-opening door only; but is there no way to engineer around that situation, I wonder?

16

Yes, but it’s more expensive. You can replace the Magnetron (the thing that generates microwave energy) with a Klystron tube and place it at the bottom of the oven instead of the top. Then the door would have to open with the hinge on the right. Klystrons operate on the basis of linear wave refraction, so it would work fine.

17

…hmm tc, so I take it there cannot be switchable doors, just “take-it-or-leave-it” right door or left-door. Thanks.

Now, if only the above [conventional-oven] thread could somehow get back on-track :wink: and the microwave discussion be continued at the below thread which I started, for that reason:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=31836

18

  1. Microwaves are are type of photon. Photons are chargeless particles.

  2. “Clockwise” and “counterclockwise” are, in a three dimenisonal space, relative to the observer. There would be no way for microwaves to “know” which direction to go in.

  3. I could be wrong, but I rather doubt that microwaves could exist for more than a few nanoseconds before being absorbed. Remember, they are going at the speed of light. It doesn’t take them very long to hit something. If you have evidence to the contrary, I would very much like to see it.

[note to jally re: other thread: the edit function has been dsisabled.]

19

Good heavens! You read my post and actually felt it necessary to contest it point-by-point? I won’t tell you the punchline here, but someone will eventually. ROFL.

20

the O.P. of this thread did not begin with the discussion of microwaves, but rather conventional oven doors.

A few posts up I mentioned re: the thread about microwaves. Can we please get back off-tangent & back on track? Is it so hard to click above link for the discussion of microwaves?

P.S. Ryan, I was aware that edit is disabled. I was just griping by way of explanation for post’s appearance. Question is, why did they disable edit, when so many others enable it? But PLEASE don’t answer this last question, or we’ll be off-track again :wink: