The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Avantco CO32

RedPentacleB's picture
RedPentacleB

Avantco CO32

Hello. Has anyone had experience with the Avantco CO32 oven? The specs say it has steam injection, convection, bake and broil. For the price, I wouldn't expect it to be comparable to ovens costing thousands of dollars, but looks pretty nice for the price.

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/avantco-co32-half-size-convection-oven-with-steam-injection-2-3-cu-ft-208-240v-2800w/177CO32.html

Thanks,

Red

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

I have not seen it in person, but did see the listing a while back.  Two things -  one, at that price,  I doubt it has a boiler, so when it says steam injection, it probably means when you push a button, water goes into the oven -  the heat in the oven is used to convert the water into steam.  So it would be similar to having water added to the oven while the door is closed.   Second,  I did not see a bake element.  So you have to cook using convection or a broil element, neither of which are ideal for baking bread , IMO.  The convection fan may tend to dry out the crust, even with the water injection, though it may depend on how powerful the fan is.   

RedPentacleB's picture
RedPentacleB

I'll check the manual. There is also a parts diagram which may shed some light on how the steam injection works.

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

I just checked, and while the parts listing has a legend, the numbers don't match the parts that are shown.  Either way, it does not list, or appear to show, a boiler.  It may still work for you, but I would be more interested in something with a bake element. 

RedPentacleB's picture
RedPentacleB

I emailed the seller. They did not seem certain very certain in their reply. I think the "steam injection" sprays water into the fan area which probably distributes it in the oven. When set to broil, the fan goes off. From the parts diagram, it does not appear to have a bottom heating element. My guess is the bake setting means fan on, top element on. Broil means fan off, top element on. There is also a CO28 model for less money with no steam and no broil function.

I'm new to this and don't live anywhere near a good bakery. Slowly building a house myself and currently live in a garage with no real kitchen.I bought FWSY and Tartine and have been making surprisingly good bread using the lodge combo-cooker inside an Oster countertop oven. Not ready to spend $2K on a Rofco or similar and I'm looking for something inexpensive that is a bit bigger and hotter than the Oster (Max 450°F).

Cheers,
Red

 

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Is there room in your garage for the regular kitchen oven that will eventually go in your house?

The CO32 is 208/240, so some minor wiring might need to be done anyway.  

Is this garage an attached or detached garage to the house that you are building?

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Red,  you might want to check ebay, craigslist, letgo,  etc for a used Cadco.  I have the quarter size, it is convection only, but mine gets up over 500 and runs off 120 volts.   They are commonly used in quick marts, etc, so they are not too hard to find used.  They do not have a bake element, but they have an exhaust tube, and it is pretty easy to hook up a copper pipe if you want to inject some steam from a hand held steamer, though again, the convection sort of reduces the benefits of steaming.