Electrolux EI30EF45QS Electric Freestanding Range Review

From the Lab

Each range we review undergoes a series of rigorous lab tests, and the Electrolux EI30EF45QS is no exception. We measured preheat speed, rangetop temperature variance, and even baked and roasted real food in its oven. Our results were positive overall, with a few issues turning up with regard to oven temperature regulation.

Oven & Broiler Performance

First things first: The oven and broiler both preheated very quickly. The broiler took about 4 and a half minutes to heat up the area directly below the heating element. The oven took 9 minutes and 43 seconds to bring the entire cavity to 350°F using the standard bake setting. Convection will take longer—about 11 minutes—to preheat to 350°F.

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When it came time to cook real food in the oven, things got a little less straightforward. When we used the standard bake setting, cookies were dark on the bottom but lighter on top. Cakes experienced some of this variation in browning, but were much more even overall. Both cakes and cookies, however, showed marked differences in doneness between the individual cakes and cookies depending on location in the oven cavity. The standard bake setting of this oven seems to have some basic issues with temperature regulation.

We hoped convection would fix this issue but, unfortunately, only cookies benefited from increased air circulation. Cookies still varied in browning depending on location on the cookie sheet, but thankfully didn’t display much of a difference between the tops and bottoms in each individual cookie. Cakes, however, were a hot mess. Patchy browning that showed no real pattern from one cake to the next made it hard to compensate for this setting's shortcomings. Ultimately, it seems that convection may be a quick fix for poor temperature regulation with food that is only spending a short time baking, but items with longer bake times are likely safer with the standard bake settings.

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Interestingly, these shortcomings translated into the results turned out by our roasting tests. A pork roast cooked with the standard bake setting had more even browning, cooked through in just over 33 minutes per pound, and lost only 0.74 pounds of moisture in the oven. The convection setting was a tad less effective, decreasing the evenness of browning we saw in the finished roast, but only removing 0.7 pounds of moisture and cooking each pound of meat in just under 24 minutes.

Whatever issues we may have found with this oven, it’s unlikely to dry out your food.

Rangetop Performance

Three of the EI30EF45QS’s four heating elements gave standout performances during testing, but all were pretty effective. The left front 9-inch burner’s 3,200 watts of power allowed it to reach the rangetop’s hottest temperature of 770°F. Still, it managed to dip to the rangetop’s lowest temperature as well—just 82°F. Factor in a 6-minute boil time for 6 cups of water and you have yourself a winner.

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The right front tri-ring burner was ironically less versatile, but still pretty great. Despite having 6-inch / 1,200 watt, 9-inch / 2,000 watt, and 12-inch / 3,000 watt rings, the 9-inch ring actually reached the highest temperature within a 5 minute testing period: 648°F. This burner’s lowest temperature can be found on its outer ring and is a commendable 135°F. That said, the real standout here is the outer ring’s boiling speed, which is the fastest on the rangetop. We measured a time of 5 minutes 39 seconds to bring 6 cups of water to a boil.

The 6-inch 1,200 watt left rear burner really excelled when it came to its minimum temperature, just 110°F. Maximum temperature was a hot 682°F, but boiling speed was a bit sluggish at 11 minutes 49 seconds.

The 6-inch 1,200 watt right rear burner didn’t completely mimic the left rear burner’s scores. It reached a respectable max temp of 691°F and a reasonably low minimum temp of 127°F. Boiling was pretty darn slow at 13 minutes 19 seconds.