gwynne Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Our 10 year old Bosch stove, which never worked right, has finally delivered the last straw. The oven thermostat is shot and whatever controls the gas getting to the oven in the first place has quit working. Repair men just look at it and say "all of those do that". In my shopping expeditions, I've discovered that you can actually buy stoves here that have ovens without thermostats. How in the world does this work?!?! It appeals to me in that it's one less thing to go bad, but I like to bake and I wonder if it's possible to do anything other than heat pizzas in an oven like this. One stove I looked at was a Mabe: $11,000.00 pesos with thermostat / $8,000.00 without. That's quite a difference. Does anyone out there actually bake with one of these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natasha Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Yes. Me. In our first rented house here there was a thermostat in the oven. Took me quite a few failed cakes and longer-than-expected roasted things to realize something was amiss. Bought a thermometer you hang over the rack (SuperLake) and found the oven was at least 25º cooler than I thought! Next house had stove with thermostat. Never reliable. Ended up going back to the hang-it-on-the rack one as well as trying to set thermomstat. So when we moved to this house, and I elected to buy a new stove (old one was horrible) I bought one that shows ranges of temperatures, but does not have actual settings. Yes, I still use the hanging thermometer, and by keeping an eye on the thermometer, I can adjust the "temperature range" settings and keep the temperature where I want it. And you're right -- saves a bundle on purchase price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CG2U Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 In our experience with several of those ovens they didn't regulate the temperature making baking a very sad event, we also were using the hanging thermometer. Mabe brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 My Mabe--with an oven temperature dial--works like a charm. I'm sort of like the man who wears a belt and suspenders--I use a hanging thermomenter, too. I've had my Mabe for nearly 8 years and it has been reliably wonderful from day one. Two huge burners, two smaller ones, a big oval in the center, and a glass top, 30" oven that I roasted a 28-lb turkey in last Thanksgiving with room to spare, and moveable racks. What more could a person want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Mabe's with thermostats usually work like a charm...at least the one we bought for our own house did for the six years we were there and the one in the rental house here is the exact same stove and also works... but I still use the hanging thermometer to check. I can also tell you that the oven that we had in San Miguel and used for nine years was also a Mabe but did NOT have a thermostat at all. The oven just got hotter and hotter and hotter. There was NO way to bake properly. Banana bread was hard as a rock on the outside and raw on the inside...I joked that it would make a great doorstop. It certainly gives me a greater respect for my great aunties who cooked using a wood stove. That's talent. Get one with a thermostat. It doesn't have to be the most expensive model in the world but, imho, a thermostat is a must. My big beef about ovens here is that there is usually no broiler...or if there is one it's at the bottom of the oven where you have to crab down on your hands and knees to see what's happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 We rent. Our oven doesn't have a thermostat. If I owned that oven I would take it out back and shoot it. No. Better. I would take a sledge-hammer to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 We rent. Our oven doesn't have a thermostat. If I owned that oven I would take it out back and shoot it. No. Better. I would take a sledge-hammer to it. Lived in a house where the oven had a picture of a chicken, a pie and a flame. None of those had any reliable connection to reality. Sledge hammer good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 If I was buying a stove in Mexico today this would be a compilation of my wish list... 1) There would be NO pilot lights on the burners...they tend to blow out easily in a breeze. 2) The oven would have to have a thermostat 3) The oven (and the burners) would all HAVE to be lit by piezo ignition. I am tired to death of having to light the oven with a BBQ lighter...whooooosh! 4) The top (under the surface burners) would be stainless steel (like the first house we rented here in Ajijic). It was a breeze to keep clean...just a quick wipe every night. 5) It would be free standing so that I could move it and clean behind and under it easily. 6) I no longer want a broiler...the BBQ can take care of broiling then it's my hubby's responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyfull Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 If I was buying a stove in Mexico today this would be a compilation of my wish list... 1) There would be NO pilot lights on the burners...they tend to blow out easily in a breeze. 2) The oven would have to have a thermostat 3) The oven (and the burners) would all HAVE to be lit by piezo ignition. I am tired to death of having to light the oven with a BBQ lighter...whooooosh! 4) The top (under the surface burners) would be stainless steel (like the first house we rented here in Ajijic). It was a breeze to keep clean...just a quick wipe every night. 5) It would be free standing so that I could move it and clean behind and under it easily. 6) I no longer want a broiler...the BBQ can take care of broiling then it's my hubby's responsibility. Gwynne...we have everything on this list. Stove is a Whirlpool Harmony/Super Flame. Got it at Tio SAMs about 4 years ago. It was about 7200 pesos. You are welcome to come check it out. You know where we live. Call or email me. Joni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Stainless steel surface good. Except when the maid tries to get off some dripping with steel wool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 We have an Acros 30 inch free standing stove with thermostat, piezo on 6 top burners, child safety cut-off, two racks, heavy griddle and a bottom broiler. It works just fine and was bought at the new Walmart on Lopez Mateos Sur some 10 years ago at their grand opening. It bakes well and has given us no trouble at all. Such stoves can be found, but clerks do like to tell you what you want to hear, rather than the correct details. Investigate carefully and read the manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomames Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 I always put an oven thermostate in any oven no matter if it has one built in or not. They are only a few bucks and much more reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Thermostat: Controls and maintains temperature Thermometer: Hangs in oven and simply indicates the temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Stainless steel surface good. Except when the maid tries to get off some dripping with steel wool... I'm groaning, remembering and understanding your pain. I had a maid who took the finish off brand new talavera tiles in the kitchen by scrubbing them with Ajax powder. I hide the muriatic acid, the steel wool, the ajax and any other cleaning product that I don't want to be used by anyone but myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 I have one of those ovens without a thermostat so have one of the hanging oven thermometers. I made a "cheat sheet" that tells me more or less what temperature the numbers on the dial heal to. Definitely a more or less type of thing as it does not seem to be very consistent. My know has numbers from 1-5. I have found that the 2 is somewhere around 400 degrees. I do have to wonder what 3, 4 and 5 are for---high-fire ceramics maybe? Is there anybody who can calibrate such ovens so you consistently get a certain temperature when set at a certain number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 I've had a Mabe for 4 years with a thermostat and an oven thermometer (actually 2) & I cannot bake anything with baking powder in it. Just doesn't work. I can bake bread or any flourless chocolate cakes but not traditional cakes or cupcakes, not even Madeleines. I solved one problem with determining if bread was done by getting a Thermapen in London & can't wait to try it. Can't figure out why cakes don't work though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyHomeSweetHome Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 High altitude adjustments? I'm sure you've tried these no? I increase baking temps by 20 degrees unless using a convection oven. http://www.highaltitudebaking.com/adj_recipes.htm http://www.bettycrocker.com/how-to/tipslibrary/baking-tips/baking-cooking-high-altitudes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 Didn't work. I had a repairman out & he couldn't find anything wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solajijic Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 I have always wondered about the high altitude adjustments and have never made the effort. I have a thermometer inside the oven which works well enough. Just about everything is at 350 anyway so I marked the knob there for my husbands benefit. We do his favorite, angel food cake, without a problem and without altitude adjustments. I did do a jelly pan test to see where the hot spots were because my last oven was HOT right in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CG2U Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 We're at 5000 ft correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 People have baked for centuries without thermostats or thermometers. Just get the oven hot and keep the door closed for the appropriate amount of time. If you have a hanging thermometer in the oven and open the door to check the temperature, the oven cools down and you have defeated or degraded your baking process. Find out what dial position gives you about 200C or 350F and mark that spot on the dial for general baking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 Well, when you can see the floor through an opening in the bottom of the oven & it came that way, it won't give me the initial oompf needed for things with leavening other than yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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