You may be in a situation whereby you just have no space left on your kitchen counter top to fit in another appliance. But still, you need it to toast your bread every morning and prepare your meals in the evenings. So, what can you do? Well, buy an under cabinet toaster oven then. It saves you space and helps you with your meals.
Black and Decker SpaceMaker Toaster Oven Review
The Black and Decker SpaceMaker is perhaps the only one on the market that is an under cabinet mount toaster oven. So, if you are in need of such an appliance, you are really left with little choice but to take this up. The features of this model is as follows:
- LCD display
- Touch button control panel
- 30-minute timer
- One-touch convenience
- 3 cooking functions
- 7 toast shade settings
- Drop down crumb tray
- Cord storage
- Save-a-plug outlet
- Size (approximate): 17″ (W) x 13.5″ (D) x 9″ (H)
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The Black & Decker TROS1000 SpaceMaker Digital Toaster Oven is a 4-slice unit. It will fit a 9″ pizza with interior dimensions of about 10.5″ (W) x 9.5″ (D).
It is a digital toaster oven using a touch button control panel with a LCD display screen. On the panel, there is a Bake, Toast and Keep Warm button for one-touch convenience. The Bake function takes into account the preheat time which averages about 7 minutes. The timer for Bake will not count down until the preheat is over. The minimum and maximum temperature for the oven is 200°F and 450°F respectively.
There is a preset temperature and time for the Bake and Keep Warm functions which allow you to take advantage of the one-touch feature. Otherwise, it is pretty easy to change the settings by tapping and/or holding down the the up and down arrow keys on the control panel. The toast shade has 7 settings to choose from and you can change it using the same arrow keys.
There will be an audible signal when a cycle is completed. The oven and light will turn off thereafter. Your last selected toast shade will also be stored in the oven’s memory. You can also cancel a cooking cycle at any time if you wish.
There are additional 2 features of the Black & Decker TROS1000 that are unique. One, it can be used as a timer. If you press the Timer button and do not select any cooking function, the oven will become a kitchen timer. Two, it also has a save-a-plug outlet. This means you can connect a smaller appliance like a can opener to this outlet for convenience.
A mounting kit is included with the toaster oven. You will need an electric drill to get it installed under your cabinet and 2 people are recommended to get the job done.
Should You Buy The Black & Decker SpaceMaker?
Pros
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Saves space – As mentioned, you can’t find an under the cabinet toaster oven easily. This is probably the only one available that comes with a mounting kit to boot. Otherwise, you will need to contend with a small toaster oven like the Panasonic Flash Xpress on your already crowded counter top.
- Easy to operate – The one-touch convenience makes this Black and Decker under cabinet toaster oven easy to operate. The keys are self-explanatory and the automatic shut-off ensures safety. In fact, there are not many digital 4-slice toaster ovens on the market. The Cuisinart TOB-100 is one of the few but the majority are dial-operated unless you are willing to invest in a bigger unit.
- Easy installation – From online customer reviews, most find that the installation is not that difficult with the mounting kit provided. There are buyers who failed to get it properly installed but by and large, most are able to do it without any problems. You may have to buy longer bolts though if you have a thick cabinet but apart from that, most buyers find the installation smooth-going.
Cons
- No baking sheet – Only a rack is provided. You will have to buy your own baking sheet while for most toaster ovens, it is included as part of the package. Even a cheap toaster oven like the Hamilton Beach Easy Reach has a baking pan provided.
- Low interior – A common complaint from online reviewers is the lack of slots to adjust the rack height. As it is, there is only one rack height and you have only about 1.25″ of head room to work with before you touch the top heating element. So, you might find it a problem for thicker foods like muffins.
- No broil feature – While the temperature can go up to 450°F, there is no specific broil feature available. Even the Black & Decker TO1303SB has a broil function and you can get it for less than $30 at times.
- Toast shade issue – While the toast shade setting runs from 1 to 7, some users have complained that the setting at 4 results in charred toasts while 3 is too light. Although not everyone has the same issue, this unit is certainly not one of the best toaster ovens out there. It works as expected for the Bake and Keep Warm functions but falls short for the Toast settings.
- Short timer – This is another common dissatifaction with the Black and Decker TROS1000 SpaceMaker Digital Toaster Oven. The 30-minute timer can certainly be extended to 60 minutes at the minimum. At the other extreme, the DeLonghi Digital Convection Toaster Oven DO2058 has a 3-hour timer.
Looking at all the cons, it may put you off into buying this Black & Decker under cabinet toaster oven. However, the weaknesses do not mean that the oven is unworkable. It is just missing a few desirable features like a broil function and longer timer.
Moreover, if you want an under cabinet mounted toaster oven, you really do not have any other choice. The Black & Decker TROS100 is the one to get if you want a mounted unit at the time of review. So, the question is whether you can live with the shortcomings of this toaster oven to get the benefit of an off the counter appliance.
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