Hotpoint WD714IX

Verdict

This 20-litre warming drawer is simple to fit, doesn’t use much power, and has a decent amount of space inside. It’s a touch basic, with just a simple analogue temperature dial (40°C to 70°C), but it heats evenly back to front and looks great.

Introduction

If you entertain a lot and need a stylish, integrated way to keep food and plates warm, the Hotpoint WD714IX is a decent entry-level warmer.

It’s a little light on features and has slightly basic controls, but it works well and is great value.

Design and Features

• Neat finish
• Good internal space
• Basic controls

Finished in stainless steel, the Hotpoint WD714IX integrated warming draw is sleek and stylish. At 134mm high, the drawer is designed to go underneath a small oven in a standard cavity.

Although the Hotpoint WD714IX has a 400W power requirement – so could be run from a plug – it doesn’t come with one and has bare wires, so needs professional installation.

The warming drawer’s entire front is completely blank, bar a cut-out for the LED that shows if the drawer is turned on or off. It can be hard to see the LED unless you’re looking straight it, though. To access the controls, the drawer has to be opened by pressing on it to, and then pulling from below.

I found that the drawer slid out smoothly, and comes out a long way that its entire space is usable, with an easy-clean tempered glass base.

Just inside is a power button, and an analogue dial that starts at 40°C and goes to a maximum of 70°C. However, only 40°C and 60°C are marked on the dial, so trying to get 50°C means aiming for halfway.

That’s not necessarily an issue for a product like this, where general temperatures will do for keeping food warm, warming plates or, at 40°C, proving dough.

There are no dedicated modes for any of the functions, nor can the drawer act as a slow cooker, as some of the competition can. However, getting extra features typically means paying a lot more for a more premium device.

Inside, there are 20 litres of space, which Hotpoint says can hold 20 plates or 80 espresso cups. All of that depends on the size of plates and cups you have, and I found that I could easily get a stack of my six dinner plates in, leaving room for side plates.

There’s also enough height for standard serving bowls, and I could easily fill the drawer with all the sides for a family roast dinner.

Performance

• Even temperature control

I set the temperature to as close to 50°C as I could manage, and then left the drawer for two hours. Opening the drawer I took a thermal photo, which shows that the heat comes from the back where the element is.

Measuring the front of the drawer, I took a temperature reading of 43.5°C and at the back 44°C. That’s even, although my guess as to where 50°C was slightly off, so I’d be tempted to go a touch higher.

That said, with such even temperatures from front to back, it shows that it doesn’t matter where dishes are placed.

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