STOVES

[Carol in Cal.]

In my whole life I have never bought a new stove.

 

Once I bought an old Wedgwood and installed it in my old house.  It cost $50 at a garage sale.  I'm glad I did not blow us up.

 

But other than that I have just used the stoves that came in houses and apartments.  Currently I have an old gas stove in my house.  It's not classic.  It's almond in color, probably was installed after a kitchen fire in the mid 1980s.  (We got the house in 1990).  It has 4 gas burners, a gas oven, and a gas broiler drawer under the oven.  There is a flat 'counter'ish area between the two rows of burners.

 

However, in shopping for a new dishwasher recently I saw and fell in love with the idea of a new Kitchenaid stove.  It has several features that I currently don't have.  These are a warming drawer that you can actually bake a pan of stuff in, separate from and below the oven.  The oven has a convection feature available.  There is a fifth burner in the middle of the standard four, instead of the 'counterish' area.  The grid of burner covers is continuous so you can slide pans all over the stove.  The broil function is in the main, upper oven, so you don't have to crawl down on the floor to reach it.  Dual power is available, so we could have electric oven and gas burners, pretty much ideal, although we would have to install 220 in that wall, which might be expensive.  And one or two of the burners has 19,000BTUs possible.  There is also a nifty oven gadget to facilitate steam-baking.  These are all very attractive features to me.

 

However, it's not a high end stove.  It's a medium end one.  Here it is: 

 

So I wonder what I am giving up in having a medium end stove.  I wonder how to find out?  The high end ones have 20,000BTU burners, which to me is no more valuable than 19,000.  Other than that, I don't know why the ones called 'commercial' are worth 40% more than this one. 

 

Bottom line--this one sounds too good to be true, for the price.  What do I need to know about this?

[Liz CA]

We bought middle of the road appliances and they have always been fine. 

Unless there is a specific feature in a high end appliance you would be using consistently, it would not seem worth it to me.

If you really suspect the price is rather low by comparison, I would check if it's the last model before an upgrade or a return - neither of which have to be a dealbreaker IMHO. I'd just want to know the details.

[KungFuPanda]

My stove is not high end, but it has two ovens.  One full and one half-sized.  I LOVE having two ovens. It's a real game changer.  They both have keep warm settings so can serve as warming drawers.  The bottom one has a convection option. I think it's a maytag.  I was never going to remodel and get wall ovens, but look at me living that double-oven lifestyle!

 

ETA, my stove is also programmable.  Lets say I'm out teaching a class and my husband is helpless.  I can stick a chicken pie in the oven and tell my oven when to turn on, off, and what temperature.  I time it so they don't starve while I'm gone, but it's still hot when I get back. It also has a kosher setting, which I've been told DOES NOT make anything you cook kosher.  Whatever.

Edited February 20, 2018 by KungFuPanda

[gardenmom5]

I have a GE profile (from before they made cafe) - that has dual fuel.  gas burners - and electric oven.  (the oven is bigger than most "commercial" style 30" ranges)  also has a warming drawer.

 

if you're interested in gas - pay attention to the btus on each burner.   I much prefer grates that go all the way across - easier for pulling pots across.   I don't have the center burner - but would need more information about it before I could say if I liked it or not.

 

I have a lodge cast iron griddle that goes across two burners I use for pancakes/etc.

 

eta.  convection.  timer, etc.  current ones don't have 2 max burners,

Edited February 20, 2018 by gardenmom5

[BlsdMama]

My stove is not high end, but it has two ovens. One full and one half-sized. I LOVE having two ovens. It's a real game changer. They both have keep warm settings so can serve as warming drawers. The bottom one has a convection option. I think it's a maytag. I was never going to remodel and get wall ovens, but look at me living that double-oven lifestyle!

 

ETA, my stove is also programmable. Lets say I'm out teaching a class and my husband is helpless. I can stick a chicken pie in the oven and tell my oven when to turn on, off, and what temperature. I time it so they don't starve while I'm gone, but it's still hot when I get back. It also has a kosher setting, which I've been told DOES NOT make anything you cook kosher. Whatever.

 

You just sold me on your oven.

 

You amuse me. Pretty sure they’re lying about the kosher thing. ;)

[Ottakee]

I love my new GE gas stove. It is mid range and oy has 1 oven but has the largest center griddle of any out there. I love, love, love the center griddle. I use that way more than the burners. It makes awesome omelets and just wipes clean. I also have the center grate so I can use that instead of the griddle if needed.

[Liz CA]

I have a GE profile (from before they made cafe) - that has dual fuel.  gas burners - and electric oven.  (the oven is bigger than most "commercial" style 30" ranges)  also has a warming drawer.

 

if you're interested in gas - pay attention to the btus on each burner.   I much prefer grates that go all the way across - easier for pulling pots across.   I don't have the center burner - but would need more information about it before I could say if I liked it or not.

 

I have a lodge cast iron griddle that goes across two burners I use for pancakes/etc.

 

eta.  convection.  timer, etc.  current ones don't have 2 max burners,

 

 

This seems minor perhaps but if you cook with heavy cast iron, it's nice not having to lift it all the way up.

[Liz CA]

You just sold me on your oven.

 

You amuse me. Pretty sure they’re lying about the kosher thing. ;)

 

 

Maybe she is not. I used to have a oven with a Sabbath setting.  if you are not careful or push the wrong button, the oven shuts down for Jewish Sabbath and you cannot bake anything. It never happened by accident to me (there must be an overwrite function :) ) and I am not Jewish so I did never use it.

[Sugarfoot]

We have a huge Wolf. It does EVERYTHING, lol. We also have 2 separate warming drawers under the island that seemed like sort of a silly splurge but are used every single day. I think that if you truly use your kitchen, it's worth it to buy what you really want and can afford. I had a designer remark to me that it was so refreshing to meet someone who actually cooked and baked with their Wolf. I about fainted at the thought of spending so much and then not even using it, :huh: but apparently it's pretty common.

[Carol in Cal.]

See, I have an electric griddle that I like better than any gas griddle I have ever used, so I'm not sold on the center burner either.

Plus this particular stove has a center burner that is round.  I think most of the other mid-range ones are oval, more suitable for a griddle.

 

This is not my ideal stove, but it seems like a BIG step up from what I have UNLESS the electronics fail.  Mine has no electronics; it's almost impossible to mess up.  There is really nothing wrong with it.  But dang I like this other one, and it is so reasonable in price compared the Stove Of My Dreams that it has positively turned my head.