Advice on buying used combi oven

[fixbear]

Combi ovens are a delicate mix of heat and moisture. They require a lot or precision and control. They also need continuous maintenance.  Often from factory trained professionals.   So my first suggestion is to buy new with warranty and maintenance agreement.  If that is not possible, make sure you have a reasonable service center and parts availabilty for what ever you buy.  The maintenance over the life span may far exceed the cost of the oven.  And you may need a back up way to cook if it is down for a period.

Once you find who you want to use for service, involve them in inspecting the oven you are looking at. They know what to look for to protect you.

[olivero]

Do you speak Danish?

[ectofix]

I noticed you’d said you live in a co-housing community.  So, is that a commercial building?

Here in the U.S., anything not in a commercial building generally doesn’t receive three phase of AC.  Therefore a combi-oven like you described (if it’s heated with heating elements) can’t be used in a residential setting because there’s no three phase supplied there.

I don’t know what an OPS 10.10 is since that’s not a viable model number.  I don’t know what P stands for.

An OES 10.10 probably wouldn’t work for you if your supply isn’t three phase.

An OGS 10.10 is gas heated, so THAT would be plausible for residential use so long as you have adequate gas service to run it from.

[bullygravel]

I can only comment about my experience:

 For my restaurant I bought a used Henny Penny Combi Oven for $3400USD + crossborder shipping $400 (I’m in Canada). Even with those numbers it was a bargain since used Combi ovens of that size are sold here for $11000USD. 

I wish I hadn’t bought it. The first one I bought was, as Ectofix pointed out, 3-phase, which could not work as my restaurant is the ground floor of an old apartment building. So I got lucky and sold that one to a nursing home here

The second one I bought was 1-phase gas & it worked great for about 1 month. Then we discovered that only ONE company has the right to service Henny Penny in Montreal (not a small city). They basically changed all the electronic guts of this oven and charged $4000, and it still did not work properly. 

In the end I swapped it for a refurbished gas range/oven to a restaurant appliance restaurer. He tried swapping it back because even he couldn’t get it going properly. They ARE finicky machines, they do not like being moved (fragile electronics) and they require constant upkeep and maintenance .

though I have to say, when they work, they reduce cooking time soooo much and they cook so well. I could cook 30 chickens to perfection in 45 mins. 

I told myself if I ever get another one, it’ll be a new one and one that is commonly serviced in my area. 

[fixbear]

Unfortunately your not the first to experience this.  In the food industry combi’s are rather on the new side and haven’t fully matured.  But I do believe we are getting there.

One should still have a convection oven as a back up. But if you do invest in a Combi, make sure you have a maintenance program and stick to it religiously.   Also maintain your water supply and quality.

[nafets47]

If you want an idea of what can happen with a Combi oven look at my topic of my Rational SCCWE62G dying.

They are far from fun on trouble shooting if something goes wrong.

I think I will echo what others have said, if you are going to get a Combi, it is not a smart choice buying used.

You absolutely want to get a warranty on the machine, and WHEN (not if) you place a service call ensure you watch the technician and ask questions, take notes and keep those notes for the future when it is outside of warranty so you know what to do to fix it and trouble shoot it.

Also if what you said regarding budget is true, it is not a budget friendly idea buying a used Combi or used dishwasher. After talking with the technicians and people who use the appliances in my facility the Combi and Dishwasher are the most problematic.

If you have an option to lease in your area that would be a good idea, sure you dont own it, but then again you dont own it and can have the company replace it if it breaks down and they are also responsible for the warranty of the machine.

[fixbear]

Nafets47,  I’m real sorry that you feel the troubleshooting went a bit on the bad side. Being you lost both a transformer and a board, It comes down to a power surge from something. I could be a weather related item or a power regulator hang. But you had to have a over-voltage to start the whole chain of events to your oven. Believe it or not, Electronics are very stable. There are two things that bother them, voltage spikes and heat. 

Now in a kitchen environment there is airborne grease. It can penetrate anywhere there is air flow. And the problem with transistors and IC’s is that they make heat and have to be cooled. Which means heat sinks and fans. They in turn get coated with grease and loose capacity or fail. Going back to the original problem.