Beko DVC6531 Double over electric cooker with ceramic hob
We bought this cooker back in august 2004 when we moved in to our new flat in Edinburgh.
There was no specific reason we bought this one, we just went in to our local Currys store and picked this product along with a new fridge, ... Read review
Beko DVC6531 Double over electric cooker with ceramic hob
We bought this cooker back in august 2004 when we moved in to our new flat in Edinburgh.
There was no specific reason we bought this one, we just went in to our local Currys store and picked this product along with a new fridge, freezer, washing machine and dryer.
The look in the show room
The cooker is mostly white in colour with ... ...safety devices; I think that Beko could have easily placed a heat resistant rim around the perimeter of the ceramic hob. The dangerous thing about this hob is that when you are boiling something and the waters spills over the pot and lands on the hob, not only do you get a terrible noise but you are likely to get a pot that will move around your hob without you touching it. My wife also experienced an occasion where the pot came right off the cooker ... more
Beko DVC6531 Double over electric cooker with ceramic hob
We bought this cooker back in august 2004 when we moved in to our new flat in Edinburgh.
There was no specific reason we bought this one, we just went in to our local Currys store and picked this product along with a new fridge, freezer, washing machine and dryer.
The look in the show room
The cooker is mostly white in colour with a dark ceramic hotplate on top. The oven door has a frosted glass on it as does the grill. The controls are nice too; they match the colour of the cooker. Over all this cooker looks nice when sitting in the show room.
Got it home
When first delivered to my home, the cooker is well wrapped in polythene and has enough cardboard within it to last a lifetime. When I unwrapped the cooker I was then greeted with cardboard within the oven and the grill. Once taken off you then have to unwrap the polythene bag that the pans are in. You will find the instruction in beside the oven. ________________________________________________
You are provided with
• Installation and operating instructions • Cooking guidelines • 2 Shelves for bottom oven • 1 Shelf for the top oven (grill) • 1 oven tray • 1 grill tray with 2 removable handles for grill • 1 Kick Plate • Guarantee Card ________________________________________________
Installing the cooker
As I am no electrician, I had to get a qualified electrician to install the cooker for me. It taken less than five minutes to install from start to finish. The electrician says it's a simple connection from the cooker to a power supply via a spur socket. Note that you are not supplied with the electricity cable required to complete the installation. I bought this from Homebase for £5.00, in total including the fee for the electrician was £45.00 for installation. Make sure that you give the electrician the kick plate to put on for you; this is a simple plate that goes at the bottom of the cooker to help with ventilation
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Now we are ready to cook or should I say read the instruction guide. The instruction guide is very straight forward; it gives you details on every aspect of the cooker from cleaning right through to trouble shooting.
I personally do not use the clock or timer, as to use the clock you need to leave the cooker switched on all the time which I will not do. As far as the timer goes I have never needed to use it.
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The Hob
The hob has a total of 4 plates which you can use to cook your food on. Exact measurement of each plate below. The hob is black in colour and is made of ceramic.
Top Right: Diameter is 180mm Max Wattage is 1700w Top Left: Diameter is 140mm Max Wattage is 1200w Bottom right: Diameter is 140mm Max wattage is 1200w Bottom Left: Diameter is 180mm Max Wattage is 1800w Rapid
The bottom left zone is the rapid plate; this means that as soon as you switch the dial on for this particular plate it will heat up instantly. We use this zone the most often as it is the hottest and the quickest.
There are four red lights that are near the front of the cooker just between the two plates, these lights are the indicators that alert you when the plates are hot. These lights will remain on until the cooker plates are cool. I have noticed that when the light does go out the plates still do have some heat coming from them. I would say that when the lights go out just still treat it as a dangerous appliance.
The control knobs that you rotate to operate the plates are all marked very clearly. Each control is numbered from 1 through to 6 apart from the rapid plate which is numbered from 1 through to 3
Quick breakdown of what the numbers mean to you and me
Rapid Zone knob
Number 1 warming Number 2 simmering Number 3 cooking, frying and boiling
The other three plates
Number 1 warming Number 2 Simmering Number 3 Simmering Number 4 Cooking, Frying and Boiling Number 5 Cooking, Frying and Boiling Number 6 Cooking, Frying and Boiling
Cleaning the hob is very easy, when the cooker is cool enough all you need to do is take a soapy cloth to the hob and then dry it, I have used several cleaners on the cooker but to be honest the best solution yet is soapy water.
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My opinion on the hob:
The hob lacks safety devices; I think that Beko could have easily placed a heat resistant rim around the perimeter of the ceramic hob. The dangerous thing about this hob is that when you are boiling something and the waters spills over the pot and lands on the hob, not only do you get a terrible noise but you are likely to get a pot that will move around your hob without you touching it. My wife also experienced an occasion where the pot came right off the cooker hob, luckily she was not injured. So I would advise anyone who has one of these cookers or is thinking about getting one to think serious about this hob. On cooking this hob is great and I feel that it fits the job required very well.
Overall 5 out of 10
________________________________________________The Top Oven/Grill
The top oven/grill has 4 shelves slots within it; this allows you to move your tray up and down deepening on how close you want it to the grill. The maximum wattage of this part of the cooker is 1800 watts. When you use the grill to cook toast for example you must leave the door open as if you close the door your grill will turn in to an oven. Once again there is a red light which will come on when the grill switch is on. The light will go out as soon as you turn the grill knob to the off position.
Control Knob for the top grill has different temperatures ranging from 80c to 230c.
Cleaning is not as easy as I would like it but there again we would all say that, I tend to spray mr muscle oven cleaner in to it and leave it for a while.
Overall 7 out of 10 ________________________________________________
My opinion on the top oven/ grill
This part of the cooker I tend not to use very often, but any time I have used it I have always been happy with the performance of this. The top oven is not self clean therefore I have to spend time cleaning.
Wife adds this part:
The top oven/grill is not designed very well at all, when I am using the grill I feel that I cannot get things at the correct height. It's either too close or not close enough. When you first switch the grill on it takes a while to heat up before you can use it.
Overall 6 out of 10 ________________________________________________
The Fan Oven
The fan assisted oven has 5 shelves with it which you can place your baking trays on to suit your needs. Both sides of the oven are lined with self cleaning material which does actually work, so no cleaning there. The base of the oven along with the roof of the oven is not self cleaning. There is a light within the oven which will illuminate when the oven is switched on. Max wattage in the oven is 1800w. The oven heats up very quickly and can be used within minutes of turning on. There is a light on the front of the cooker just below the control knob that indicates when the oven is on. The fan is concealed at the rear of the oven.
Control knob for the oven
The temapetuers that you can use range from 70c up to 250c which are
Cleaning:
Self cleaning both sides and then you has to scrub the bottom and top of the oven.
Overall 7 out of 10
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My opinion on the oven
The oven is a good size and can always accommodate my needs. I have seen me having 2 or 3 dishes in here at the same time and they all cook well. I think it's good that there are so many shelves slots available in this oven as I am often moving the trays up and down. It would have been better if Beko had made the entire oven self cleaning.
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Specification of cooker
Energy Class: Main Oven B Top Oven B
Sizes: Height 900mm x 500mm Width x 600mm Depth
Weight: 56.5kg
Grill Capacity: 24ltr (0.8 cu ft) Oven capacity: 53 ltr (1.7 cu ft)
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Beko contact details:
UK Mainland and Northern Ireland Only
0870 241 0638
You can see the full range of Beko products at most good electrical retailers including Currys, comet and Argos
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My Overall Opinion and conclusion on this cooker
I don't think it is worth the £349.00 that I paid for it back in august 2004. The overall appearance is good, the size is good and I think the style of it is ok. I would strongly have a serious think about buying another Beko cooker as I feel this one is not the safest on the market. The main oven is a good size and it's ideal for my family. I think I would have given this cooker a better rating if Beko made a few changes including, Safety features, adding a splash back, and making the top oven/grill a little bigger. I will stick with this cooker until I move house later this year at that point I will invest in a new one.
