Flavorwave Oven ® Platinum Halogen Oven

I loved having this and frankly, never bothered with my conventional oven once I had it. I bought it in June 2009 and last week (July) put a spatchcock chicken in, looking forwards to the results. I heard the fan or whatever it was whirring but it took about 20 minutes for me to realise that 1. there was no heat. There was no light coming on either, which I hadn't noticed as it was day time. I rang Thane customer services who were friendly enough, but as soon as they realised I'd had it for over a year, the onus was on me to see if I could get it repaired or accept their discount to buy a replacement - and with said discount, it comes to more than it would cost me to buy another here on Amazon. Thanedirect also do not have the replacement bulbs for this so they clearly expect one to replace the whole unit everytime the bulb blows. I'd probably have felt a bit better about it if I could just buy the main unit without having to buy (again) the glass bowl and the accessories

My conclusion was to see if I could find someone local to me to repair it. But I'm not holding my breath as to what this would cost, even if I could find the spare bulb myself.

After a lot of googling, I find that the bulb is a repeated issue with halogen oven users, and that with models like the Flavorwave (and I have the platinum one) it seems virtually irreplacable. A JML model owner says that the JML one does have a replacable bulb, even if it is a bit fidly, and that JML will provide instructions to repair it. I'd dismissed the JML model as being inferior to Flavorwave, but heck, if I can only look forward to a year of use (and being single and juicing a lot, I'd say my oven gets used maybe three times a week), then I'd be better off with the JML. At least, I'll be in a position to write a comparative review of the JML versus Flavorwave!

I'm also a little piqued to read that Idealworld refunded a customer his money in full after 18 months because they couldn't offer him a replacement bulb.

This reminds me of my experience with the Tefal Actifry, a great product until the plastic clips that hold the lid down crack, no matter how carefully you use it), and you find that the whole unit needs to be replaced.

I have been using this oven for 7 months now and love it. The digital controls are easy to use, you don't have to find extra space to stand the lid and it's easy to clean. I may have been lucky, but everything i've cooked in this oven has turned out beautifully, roast chicken and roast potatoes mmmmmm..I love the jacket potatoes although I do put them in the microwave for 4 minutes on high to start them off, then in the halogen for 40 mins. Have cooked frozen pizzas, joints of lamb and pork (lovely crispy crackling),sausages and sausage rolls, fish, grilled gammon and steaks.Haven't made a big cake yet that's my next project. I would recommend the flavourwave it's brilliant.

I am a single guy now and therefore find this appliance fantastic, It's so compact, quick in cooking and therefore economical to run. I am a big meat eater (chops, steaks, chicken, fish etc) I find this oven cooks to perfection (although I don't cook steaks in it as I eat my steaks blu and not sure this could be achieved that well in the oven) there's no nasty lingering smells in the kitchen after cooking. It cooks roast potatoes and veg well too!! Really crispy pots. For me though there has been a significant down side in relation to the life of this product. I have purchased 4 ovens in 6 years, so now I'm on my 4th oven. The heat element has burnt out on each oven. The first flavour-wave ovens used an inferred heat element and the new a halogen bulb. Both heat sources have so far had a very short life span (approximately 14 months) based on usage of 4/5 times a week at a maximum of 1 hour per cooking session. The flavour-wave ovens have come right down in price. My first oven cost £145.00 and the price has dropped for each oven I have purchased since. The current oven purchased cost just £64.00. It has cost me a lot of money for the privilege so not so good really but for me personally the expense has been worth it. I much prefer this way of cooking as to the conventional oven. I just hope my recent purchase lasts a little longer!!!!