Posted by Ben.Fox
Monday, 10 May 2010
Of all the reviews you can read the most informative and instantly reliable has to be from Which? This is why Electrolux got very excited when the EKM90460X was awarded a Which? best buy. But what makes a Which? review different and how do you know it’s trustworthy?
Unlike most large appliance reviewers Which? use objective testing to decide how good a product is. To give you an idea of how they do this here are some of the tests the EKM90460X went through.
Heat probe stress test – Temperature probes are inserted into the oven to test how close it gets to three different settings; 50°C, 180°C, and 200°C. After the initial test, all of the heat zones or burners on the hob are turned on to see if the cooker is robust enough to stay accurate under a heavy load.
Small cake test – Placing a tray of small cakes into an oven gives a good idea of how heat is distributed throughout the cavity. Cakes caught in a hot spot are burnt while those in cool spots will still be gooey when they’re pulled out.
Toast test – Imagine covering the entire surface of your grill pan with white bread and trying to make toast. When you pull it out some slices are toasted while others are still raw. By running a photo of this kind of toast through a computer to analyse the patterns of brownness, Which? can compare different grills in a totally objective way.
Cleaning test – Testers clean the range one section at a time to find out if there are any dirt traps and award points for how easy it is to clean.
If you agree (or disagree) with Which? then you can leave a review on the EKM90460X page of Appliances Online.
Which? are an independent consumer group who publish a magazine, campaign for consumer rights (things like bank charges and endowment mortgage mis-selling) and review everything from broadband to fridge-freezers. They’re working with us to offer free delivery when you sign up to their £1 magazine trial.