What to Consider When Buying a Polymer Clay Oven?

Yes, I haven't moved on yet. Below you will see a lot of my self answered questions.


1. Is the warranty worth it?
Start worrying on warranty if your oven is expensive, but if it's cheap, why bother? It could be a hassle if you will spend more in processing the warranty than buying a new one. Ask for the length of replacement when buying. Start testing the oven you bought to detect damages early. Check if the warranty is included or you have to buy it separately.

Ask where the service center is located. Remember that due to some advancement in technology, some appliances are harder to fix.

I find a good article to read:
6 things to know about warranties [Link Here]


2. Toaster Temperature
Since toaster oven is smaller, it heats up faster. The warming temperature of toaster oven is 130F while the regular oven starts with 200F. Both reach at 500F or 260 in celcius


3. Why do I have to preheat?
You need to preheat to get the desired outcome of the clay. The clay may start to cook outside which you would not like to happen. We are baking the clay, not toasting it. But sometimes I wonder, it's only a clay, you'll not really going to eat it. What you want to achieve is that every part of the clay is balance cooked.

Different oven takes a different time to heat up. Different temperature comes with different chemical reaction.


4. Does watts matter in buying an oven?
Toaster oven range from 800 to 1200 watts. It is said that “higher wattage ovens cook faster than lower wattage ovens” but hardly did I find an explanation over this.

Watts means more heat. If you're toaster oven is smaller, chances is it has a lower watts. If the watts is higher, the energy consumption is bigger. So decide whether you really need a big oven for your project or the smaller one.

When you use a convection oven, you will have a lesser baking time. But there are different kinds of oven. How would you take advantage in this lesser time capability when the label on your polymer clays says that you cook it in 30 minutes and maybe referring to a regular oven. If it's a food, just taste it, but if its polymer clay would you dare eat it to know? Just kidding. Polymer is not something to eat.

Perhaps you have to know how to estimate or the equivalent time for convection oven.

You have to find a better insulated oven.

Technically, it's really hard to predict which is the most efficient. We have different brands in the market and each has different features and level of quality and architecture.

Toaster Oven has a lesser watts and enough lesser heat that compliments its small size but might have a poorer insulation and has slower speed in cooking.
Convention Oven has bigger watts but has better insulation and faster to cook yet consumes higher electricity.

So you'll end up choosing whether what's important to you, the initial purchase price or the speed of cooking. Or maybe just the size right?

Another good article to read:
Which is more efficient, a toaster oven or a regular oven? [Link Here]


5. Why higher wattage cook faster?
It's hard to find an article about this but perhaps it's due to heat. But remember, it still depends on the architecture of the oven. Are you planning to cook big time that you need a lot of heat? Or just bake a few?