Kenmore KTES8 Toaster Oven

Pros: size, looks, accuracy, reliability, usefulness
Cons: a few crumbs can slip down under the door hinge

I read the Consumer Reports recommendation on the KTES8 and bought one at Sears on sale for $59. Replaced my 10 year old Munsey 88 (thermostat had died - no replacements found). In the two weeks I've owned the KTES8 I've baked an apple pie, toasted ...

Pros: Separate Controls, Easy to Clean Removable Crumb Tray
Cons: None

Finding the right toaster oven ended up to be a daunting task. I have certain features that were must haves, and most of the toaster ovens didn’t have all of them. Or , they were difficult to use. I compared the Sears to all the Black and Decker models,...

Pros: Thermostat accurate, four heating elements, nonstick surface, extra roasting pan with rack, size.
Cons: Crumbs still fall in the door hinge, surface gets hot.

I've had mine for over a year now and I had to write a review after reading some of the negative reviews. I have had terrible luck finding a toaster that ever worked properly and after the forth one popped my toast into the sink, I decided to check out ...

Pros: easy to remove food and racks, smallish for 6 slice toaster oven
Cons: slow, unpredictable, doesn't always turn off automatically, gets hot on outside, weird controls

I don't think I'm asking too much of a toaster oven to expect it to actually toast bread or bagels. Ostensibly this is the main function of a toaster oven, its raison d'etre. Unfortunately it's not something many of them seem to do very well. The ...

Pros: Toasted well; ability to start / stop toasting separate from darkness setting
Cons: See hazard in review. Inaccurate toast darkness setting; setting had very narrow usable range.

Our Kenmore unit said it was model KTES8 on the back (S/N 1519627), but was was made before the convection feature was added. It had small buttons at the bottom of the control panel to start and cancel toasting. One evening while cleaning the kitchen, a stack of papers was pushed up against the unit, causing the toast button to be pressed and held. The unit went into toast mode, but never shut off until we moved the very hot stack away. The handle melted off the front and the plug melted in the back. Thanks be to God, the paper did not ignite. I hope the newer model addresses this problem.

The controls were very readable and understandable. The crumb tray is a must-have.

Pros: toasts well when it does not jam on
Cons: dangerous when the on switch jams

Do not buy this machine! Boy did Consumer Reports goof on this one. While it works well when it works, when it does not work it can set your kitchen on fire. The least little dirt jams the on switch and since there is no safety switch it just kept heating. Today the house filled with smoke and the the off switch on this product did not work. I had to unplug it to shut it down.

Pros: None
Cons: Didn't work to any degree of satisfaction!

Trusting Consumer Report's rating, I bought this high ranking toaster oven/broiler and it was awful! It took almost 5 minutes for the coils to heat up to toast bread, and the broiler setting never got hot enough to top-broil. Heat escaped from the door and moisture collected inside the glass part. I felt like it was dangerous to use! Should have read your ratings first. Don't buy this appliance!

Pros: None
Cons: Doesn't cook properly. The outside gets hot. The timer is no good. Etc.

I also bought this product based on the Consumer Reports review, and needless to say, I think Consumer Reports was dead wrong. I takes me and hour and a half on 450 degrees to bake a potato, and it still sometimes comes out undone. Likewise with everything else I've "cooked" in it. If you're in the market for a toaster oven, look for something else.

Pros: Toasted nicely, attractive unit
Cons: Got dangerously hot on sides, top and back! Must keep door ajar when baking.

We returned this large toaster oven after a week. It generated so much heat that it was more like a space heater than toaster oven. Not only do the top, sides and back get dangerously hot even with toasting, but baking is done with the "door ajar" (so the oven maintains constant temp), generating even more heat into the area around the unit. In addition, it took 4 HOURS to bake several pieces of squash! Toast got done nicely enough. However the size of the unit combined with the amount of heat generated made it a "no go." Maybe it would be ok in a household with no children and a very large kitchen with an island where the unit can sit, isolated from food cupboards and anything else you would not want heated up.

Pros: easy to use
Cons: on this model, toaster malfunctioned, didn't turn off, started fire.

I too read the CR review, and went ahead and bought the toaster. It seemed fine, but within a week, my wife, while toasting some bread (toaster setting, light color, should have turned off automatically when it was done), came back to find that it had carbonized the toast, and started a significant enough fire to burn the plastic casing around the door and vent.

Pros: I found none.
Cons: Dangerously hot exterior, poor warming, poor workmanship.

I bought the Kenmore KTES8 because of the Consumer Reports Best Buy rating. I have NEVER been more disappointed in a CR-recommended product, or felt more misled. I bought it on a Tuesday and returned it on Thursday. It got so hot on the top and all sides that I could not even touch some of the controls (one of which did not work). The manual says you can stop the heating by either pressing STOP on the toast control, or by zeroing out the timer. The STOP button did NOT stop the heating.

I could not hear whether or not the food was sizzling hot, over the loud, annoying ticking of the timer (a feature I did not particularly want in the first place, but was willing to try). The timer continued to tick for almost a full minute after I zeroed it out.

The most ludicrous fact was that it took twice as long to warm a slice of pizza as my old, trusty, still-working but rather small Black & Decker. I have learned my lesson; my new larger toaster oven will be a B & D.

Pros: It heated my kitchen nicely.
Cons: Need I say more?

My english muffin actually burst into flame because the oven did'nt turn off as programed .Flames and smoke poured out of the oven's vent scorching and permanently discoloring the surrounding wood mouldings and microwave oven. The STOP button was inoperable and necessitated my pulling the power plug from the wall to shut it down.The damage was estimated to be $469.38.
We sent the oven to Salton Inc. and they have refused to compensate us for the damage claiming that they could'nt duplicate the problem.They offered to refund our purchase price.
I hope this experence will make you think twice about buying any product from Salton or those retailers who put their name on Salton products.This is a company which ,in my experience,will deny any responsibility for the damage caused by their faulty products in spite of evidence such as the honest user testimonials found here on Epinions.