Flat top range vs traditional range?

[Girl Power]

We are having our kitchen remodeled and will have a counter cooktop and separate double oven. I've always wanted a flat top range, but I'm wondering of the practicality of it. With five kids who are always in the kitchen, I worry about them dropping a heavy jar or something on it and cracking it. Are they durable? Any regrets in choosing a flat top over a traditional coil stove?

 

Thanks!!

Beck

[kalanamak]

We are having our kitchen remodeled and will have a counter cooktop and separate double oven. I've always wanted a flat top range, but I'm wondering of the practicality of it.

 

Induction, baby, is the way to go.

[Dustybug]

I always wanted a flat top as well. Then I got one. We've had it for four years and I want to go back to the traditional style. It's not as easy as it seems to keep clean, we've had issues with the eyes overheating/not wanting to turn down, and you have to be really careful to not scratch/crack the glass top because they are expensive to replace.

 

Whenever we get the money, I'm switching back!

[Tap]

I have had a glass top ranges since '94. I have never had a problem with them. I wouldn't buy a traditional electric range again.

 

 

Gas maybe, Induction maybe.....but not electric coil.

[Girl Power]

I always wanted a flat top as well. Then I got one. We've had it for four years and I want to go back to the traditional style. It's not as easy as it seems to keep clean, we've had issues with the eyes overheating/not wanting to turn down, and you have to be really careful to not scratch/crack the glass top because they are expensive to replace.

 

Whenever we get the money, I'm switching back!

 

That is part of my worry, that the kids will scratch it. Also, I remember my mom had one and remember her saying that if she let something boil over and burn, it was very hard to get it clean.

 

Thanks for your input,

Beck

[Girl Power]

I have had a glass top ranges since '94. I have never had a problem with them. I wouldn't buy a traditional electric range again.

 

 

Gas maybe, Induction maybe.....but not electric coil.

 

That's good to hear! Any issues keeping it clean or scratch free?

 

Thanks!

Beck

[Girl Power]

Induction, baby, is the way to go.

 

I'm getting a separate double oven, so will have to look into this when the time comes. What do you love about it?

 

Thanks!

Beck

[Little Nyssa]

We lived in a house with one-- the glass top was hard to keep clean-- stuff would build up that would require a LOT of elbow grease with the special soap stuff. It also heated slowly, I think.

[Spy Car]

Gas all the way.

 

You could not pay me to have a glass top.

 

Bill

[Tap]

The heat is fine, I don't have problems with inconsistencies. Burners are different temps just like on a regular stove. I make huge pots of stew/jam/soups....I don't have a problem with hot spots and they boil just fine.

 

I am NOT gentle with mine, use very heavy commercial pots...even cast iron, have dropped things on it and have no scratches to be seen. I chipped the white enamel on my first glass top, but that had nothing to do with the glass top, it would have chipped on any stove.

 

I use CeramBrite (I think that is how it is spelled) to polish it periodically. If something boils over, I just wipe it up. If something gets burnt on/stuck on, I soak it a bit with a wet wash cloth or a puddle of liquid (water, vinegar, etc). I use a glass scraper to lift any debris. Even in the worst condition I have ever seen my stove....It still only took 15 minutes or so to have it looking brand new again. I HATE washing stove rings, and gas grates.

[Girl Power]

Gas all the way.

 

You could not pay me to have a glass top.

 

Bill

 

Unfortunately we don't have gas here. Please elaborate on your glass top disdain:D

 

Beck

[kalanamak]

I'm getting a separate double oven, so will have to look into this when the time comes. What do you love about it?

 

Thanks!

Beck

 

Not convection, induction.

 

In times past, being a snob for gas stove tops, my first question on buying a house was "does it have gas". I had a lovely Viking top I dragged through 3 houses, but when we moved here, despite there being gas to the garage for water, I just didn't have the time and energy to plumb for gas to the kitchen. I got induction instead.

 

I'm never going back. These tops are easy to clean because they don't cook stuff on. I've had mine a year and it looks like NEW. Water boiling is fast fast fast, I can get my big curved pan hotter than I care do, and it can go very mild. Mine has a melting "fifth burner" and it is very handy.

 

I never dreamed I'd give up gas, but I was working from ignorance. No more grates to clean and so easy to adjust to perfection.

Edited July 7, 2012 by kalanamak

[Spy Car]

Unfortunately we don't have gas here. Please elaborate on your glass top disdain:D

 

Beck

 

You can not "cook" on them. Boil water (slowly) maybe, but not "cook."

 

Think about trying to sauté with a heavy copper skillet and moving that around on a glass top. No way. Even worse imagine trying to use a wok or an Indian karhais/kadhais.

 

Gas gives instant controllable heat. One can monitor it with precision. And gas heat spills over the sides of sauté pans heating the edges. You need this if you are going to "cook."

 

Every chef in the world prefers gas. If you want to "cook" you need gas. Some people don't have a choice (poor souls :D) but you do. Don't blow it.

 

Bill

[DaffodilDreams]

I hate my flat top and will go back to traditional burners when this dies.

[mellifera33]

I do not like my flat top stove. Settings 1-8 are "meh, I might get warm some day" and 9 is "OMG I gonna kill you with fire!" I find it difficult to work with. :lol:

[Girl Power]

I do not like my flat top stove. Settings 1-8 are "meh, I might get warm some day" and 9 is "OMG I gonna kill you with fire!" I find it difficult to work with. :lol:

 

This made me smile :001_smile:

[Girl Power]

I hate my flat top and will go back to traditional burners when this dies.

 

What do you hate about it?

[Soror]

I've always had a flat top since we've been married (13yrs). I don't find it difficult to keep clean, although you do have to stay on it. I've not terribly gentle on mine I use cast iron etc. I'm just not a gentle person to begin with, as to the cleaning you do need to give it a good scrub at least weekly and daily messes should be wiped off, if you follow that it should be fine, go with a darker top as well. I find it stays nicer looking than those with the stupid little pans and absolutely easier to keep clean than those.

 

I didn't even know gas for cooking existed when we got married (everyone was all electric) but I do have on my wish list for life to switch to gas for cooking, just because I've heard it does an awesome job. For most people in America though electric performs just fine.

[Refined by Silver]

Of course everyone has their own opinion, but I have had a glass top for the past 10 years and I love it. I grew up with the traditional electric type and I also had a gas stove for a couple of years. The smooth top is by far my favorite. I really don't get some people's complaints because I have never had any issues with mind.

 

They are much much easier to clean than a traditional electric stove. Talk about soaking drip pans when the potatoes boil over. All I do is wipe it up as soon as possible and every so often I get out the special cleaner and use that. It is much easier to clean. I am no clean freak and I have two kids and mine still looks new with zero scratches. Oh, and I've dropped my share of things. It doesn't break that easily.

 

So, I say go for it. You said you can't get gas so that's out. I'd say it is a no brainer. Much better than traditional electric and gas for me. Oh, and I do much more than boil water. I saute just fine.

 

I also think the smooth top induction ones might be quite nice. I've looked at them, but they are pretty pricey.

[catz]

We had a flat top that was in the house when we bought it, but quickly had gas lines run for a gas stove. HUGE improvement!

[Parrothead]

I've lived in two different houses with two different flat top stoves. When we build we will be going with gas. The flat tops don't get hot enough. With the first one I tried making candied apples. On high the candy stuff would never come to a boil. The second was in this house. I tried blanching veggies to freeze. The water would not come back to a boil within 2 minutes. So the veggies ended up cooked instead of blanched. It ruined quite a bit of food.

[Chris in VA]

HATE the flat top.

Hard to clean if your pots are even a bit bigger than the edge of the burner--they burn the stuff off your pots and it's almost impossible to clean.

They stay hot a LONG time, if you've used them on High, especially. If you have a habit of leaving a pot holder on the range or whatever, you are in danger of starting a fire, as there's no "boundary" to physically remind you where the edge of the burner is (it's marked, but still easy to put a tiny bit of the fabric on the burner).

Once they scratch, they are even harder to clean.

 

I hated the pans that go under the electric stoves, too--but I'd still pick one of those over this any.day.of.the.week.

[KatieJ]

I have had many electric stoves that I was not thrilled about. I also had a gas stove I loved to cook on, but hated to clean.

 

When we remodeled we put in a flat top. I don't cook as much as I used to, as my kiddoes are all moved out. I love having the flat top area that I can use as counter space when I setting up a buffet. I have no problems keeping it clean. I buy Bar Keepers Friend ( liquid) at the local Dollar Stores but it is also available in a larger bottle at Home Depot/Lowes, etc for about the same price. It is much cheaper and works better than whatever stuff they sell you for the stoves. I just squirt some on, let it sit for up to an hour depending on what my stove looks like, and I come back and wipe it off. SO much easier than my old gas stove.

 

Yes, I do prefer cooking on gas for all of the above mentioned reasons. But currently my life is easier, not so much cooking and I love my glass top and the way my kitchen cleans up so quickly.

 

So ask yourself how much cooking you do, what kind of cooking and would you be able to do that on a flat top, and then make your choice.

 

My flat top is now 3 years old, it has never scratched. I am not sure what it would take to do that.

I have only heard of two people that broke their flat top. One stood on it and the other dropped a Pampered chef cookie sheet out of it from a cupboard above it.

[Rhonda in TX]

I love my glass top as well. I use a special cleaner with a scrub pad. If anything won't come off after that, I use a razor blade (held at an angle) to gently scrape it off. Easy peasy. So much easier than keeping drip pans clean!

 

I'm not sure what people mean about it not getting hot enough. I've never had that problem. I've cooked on coil electric and gas in the past and do not have any issues with how the glass top cooks.

 

As far as breaking, I did see a reality TV show episode where someone put a hot lid flat on the stove top and that caused it to break. So I make sure I don't do that.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Rhonda in TX

[flyingiguana]

Our flat top works great. Heats up fine, boils water quickly. Admittedly, you can't turn it down as fast as a gas stove, but it's really only a matter of seconds difference. You can just move the pot off for a few seconds if you need that.

 

I'm guessing that people's different experiences with flat tops have to do with the quality of the particular stove. You might want to check Consumer Reports to see if they've done any comparisons.

 

They're WAY easier to keep clean than a traditional coil stove. And we've pretty well beat ours up with rough cast iron pans and things. If there are scratches, they're not noticeable.

 

I won't use gas because it gives me headaches. But, to be honest, I don't really see a whole lot of difference. The lag time is just a little longer on the electric stoves. You just need to learn to factor that in. If you're interested in doing something like wok cooking there are woks made with flat bottoms for electric stoves. The one we have works fine.

 

We don't worry too much about it breaking from dropped items because we don't have anything in the cabinet above it. The cabinet has asbestos in it so we'd rather just leave it alone. I'd just be sure not to keep anything heavy up above it. And, as already mentioned, don't put any lids full on it. (We put lids half on it all the time -- the trick is not to let it seal and create a vacuum.)

Edited July 7, 2012 by flyingiguana

[GailV]

We had glass top a few years ago.

 

- While trying to teach young children to cook (which they dearly want to do) they would be a bit messy (which is pretty typical -- things slop a little while stirring, for example). And then you have to turn off the burner, wait for it to cool, and then clean it, before you can proceed to the next step. What a pain. Can't necessarily move to a different burner immediately because 1) others might be in use with other pots, and 2) kids are too short to use the back burners.

 

Nothing like trying to cook sugar to hard crack and have it run down the side of the pan to the burner ... or just make a tomato sauce with a 6 year old who accidentally flips some of it to the burner ... oh, I have some vivid memories.

 

- My bil in insurance commented that they were a hazard. People don't realize they're still hot, and burn themselves on them. (Aside: I've noticed that relatives in insurance know all sorts of statistics about hazards I've never even thought about.)

 

When we remodeled we took it out and ran a gas line. I can finally cook again! And the kids can cook, too, although now they're old enough to not spill and to reach the back burners.

[nukeswife]

I've had flat tops in my rentals for quite a few years now. They are ok to cook on unless you're someone that does more professional cooking. The one thing that kind of bummed me out was that I found out I can't use a traditional canning water bath on my stove. I would have to hunt down and pay a lot more for a flat bottom one. So if you are someone that wants to do a lot of canning that may be something you want to check on.

[Beth in OH]

I have had a glass top ranges since '94. I have never had a problem with them. I wouldn't buy a traditional electric range again.

 

 

Gas maybe, Induction maybe.....but not electric coil.

 

:iagree: I've had glass top for about 11 years (2 homes), so my kids were 11, 9, and 6 when we started. We are not overly cautious people, but everyone has always understood they needed to be somewhat gentle when placing pans. I don't think my kids ever even think about the possibility of scratching. We've had no problems.

 

Both cooktops have been Jenn-Air in case that makes a difference. Cerama Brite and a razor blade have taken care of the tough boil overs.

[mlbuchina]

That is part of my worry, that the kids will scratch it. Also, I remember my mom had one and remember her saying that if she let something boil over and burn, it was very hard to get it clean.

 

Thanks for your input,

Beck

 

I had one, and the top was a cream color. I hated it!!!! It was impossible for me to clean it as I just was not strong enough. My dh would have to get in there with his elbow grease to get some of the burnt spots up. When it finally died, he ran a gas line for me and I got my gas stove. Such a relief! I LOVE my gas stove.

 

Oh, and you can't cook with cast iron skillets on them either because of the scratches it leaves. If you like to cook in cast iron, you won't be able to anymore.

Edited July 7, 2012 by mlbuchina
wanted to add about the cast iron

[QuirkyKapers]

Had a flat top growing up. It cracked twice. Personally, I wouldn't do it.

[Kalmia]

Hate my flat top and would love to replace it with coil or gas. Anything would be better than the burned on rings of crud around each burner. The only thing that works to get that stuff off is a paint scraper and serious elbow grease. And mind you, this isn't from things boiling over which rarely happens with what I cook. So much more difficult than taking apart the coils and pans.

[SwallowTail]

I really dislike the electric coil type stoves. I also never learned to like or cook well with gas. Myhusband likes gas though, and he is the better cook of the two of us. We have had flat top several times in different houses, and have it currently, and I like it the most. I find that all 3 types have issues though, and non are without their own aggravattion. Flat top stoves do require care, frequent cleaning, and do get very hot and stay that way. Doing pancakes can be especially difficult, as the heat rapidly becomes way too hot, and you have to turn it don, where it gets too cold, and then yo must turn it up again.

[abacus2]

I really like my flat top. It is a dark color so it doesn't look terrible when not perfectly clean. It never really occurred to me to be gentle with it; I just cook as a I normally would. It has a warning light that tells you when its still hot which is very helpful. When working, it's really like having extra counterspace.

[WistfulRidge]

Gas all the way.

 

You could not pay me to have a glass top.

 

Bill

:iagree:

 

This. I hate cooking on an electric range.

[lorisuewho]

Do you can? My mom has a flat top and she can no longer can on the stove. It can't handle the large water canner or the large pressure canner.

[kalanamak]

Hate my flat top and would love to replace it with coil or gas. Anything would be better than the burned on rings of crud around each burner. The only thing that works to get that stuff off is a paint scraper and serious elbow grease. And mind you, this isn't from things boiling over which rarely happens with what I cook. So much more difficult than taking apart the coils and pans.

 

This is part of the beauty of induction. The glass surface just gets "warm" from picking up heat from the pan. Crud does not cook on. It is eerily easy to clean. I couldn't believe it for the first few months. (I've also touched the surface and not gotten burned!)

 

Gardenweb has a big discussion on induction, and you can read reviews on Amazon. I find most people have no idea what I'm talking about .... sort of the way convection was 25 years ago.

[Dustybug]

That is part of my worry, that the kids will scratch it. Also, I remember my mom had one and remember her saying that if she let something boil over and burn, it was very hard to get it clean.

 

Thanks for your input,

Beck

 

The bolded is VERY true.

 

We lived in a house with one-- the glass top was hard to keep clean-- stuff would build up that would require a LOT of elbow grease with the special soap stuff. It also heated slowly, I think.

 

:iagree:

 

I do not like my flat top stove. Settings 1-8 are "meh, I might get warm some day" and 9 is "OMG I gonna kill you with fire!" I find it difficult to work with. :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol: Also true.

 

Hate my flat top and would love to replace it with coil or gas. Anything would be better than the burned on rings of crud around each burner. The only thing that works to get that stuff off is a paint scraper and serious elbow grease. And mind you, this isn't from things boiling over which rarely happens with what I cook. So much more difficult than taking apart the coils and pans.

 

:iagree:

[momtoamiracle]

my mom has one and hates it. The heating is either too much or too little - very hard to regulate.

 

 

 

If I had a choice between electric and gas, I'd certainly go with gas. Haven't read all the posts so don't know if that is an option.

[Soror]

Oh, and you can't cook with cast iron skillets on them either because of the scratches it leaves. If you like to cook in cast iron, you won't be able to anymore.

 

Do you can? My mom has a flat top and she can no longer can on the stove. It can't handle the large water canner or the large pressure canner.

 

I use cast iron as does my mom(who also has a flat top) and have canned water bath(smooth bottom canner found used) and pressure canning on my smooth top. I was afraid that it would be hard to regulate temp for the pressure canning but it wasn't at all. One of my burners is x-lrg and it accomodates the canners just fine.

[wapiti]

Gas all the way.

 

You could not pay me to have a glass top.

 

Bill

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: (lol, did I mention, I agree?)

 

We had a brand new, beautiful stainless steel range with convection oven that was in the cabin we bought. It had a glass ceramic cooktop or whatever it's called. Horrible horrible horrible. I made DH replace it with a duel-fuel (gas cooktop, electric oven).

 

As for whether your cooktop is separate from the oven, that's a different question. My advice: while it has been trendy to put the cooktop on the island, I prefer my island to be free of all obstructions. (plus, I don't want to set the schoolwork on fire.) When our house was being built, we asked the builder to put the cooktop on the side of the kitchen (it is separate from the in-the-wall double oven)

[Rose in BC]

You can not "cook" on them. Boil water (slowly) maybe, but not "cook."

 

Think about trying to sauté with a heavy copper skillet and moving that around on a glass top. No way. Even worse imagine trying to use a wok or an Indian karhais/kadhais.

 

Gas gives instant controllable heat. One can monitor it with precision. And gas heat spills over the sides of sauté pans heating the edges. You need this if you are going to "cook."

 

Every chef in the world prefers gas. If you want to "cook" you need gas. Some people don't have a choice (poor souls :D) but you do. Don't blow it.

 

Bill

 

Gas is the best, however, I do have a glass top and can cook on it. In fact, my one element has a rapid boil feature . . .i can bring a large pot of water to boil in minutes, and sautéing is no issue (I love to cook).

 

Some of your comments seem to refer to the old glass tops. New glass has not limited me in any way.

 

Mine also is very easy to clean. And I use it a lot and not gently :).

[mom4him]

We are having our kitchen remodeled and will have a counter cooktop and separate double oven. I've always wanted a flat top range, but I'm wondering of the practicality of it. With five kids who are always in the kitchen, I worry about them dropping a heavy jar or something on it and cracking it. Are they durable? Any regrets in choosing a flat top over a traditional coil stove?

 

Thanks!!

Beck

 

I have had several flat top ranges and would not get anything else. My kids cook, we have cast iron kettles(read into that very heavy). The only thing about them is you do need fairly flat bottomed pans. Even the ones that tell you you don't heat faster with a flat bottom on the pan.

[WishboneDawn]

I always wanted a flat top as well. Then I got one. We've had it for four years and I want to go back to the traditional style. It's not as easy as it seems to keep clean, we've had issues with the eyes overheating/not wanting to turn down, and you have to be really careful to not scratch/crack the glass top because they are expensive to replace.

 

Whenever we get the money, I'm switching back!

 

:iagree:

 

Our next range will either be gas or good old electric coil. I do not like our flat top.

[Disney Dreaming]

I hate my flat top and will go back to traditional burners when this dies.

 

 

:iagree:They are VERY hard to keep clean. I haven't had any issues scratching but it is impossible to clean up after something has boiled over. I haven't tried the razor though. I had a flat cook top about 10 years ago and didn't have this kind of trouble getting them clean. I just bought this one a year and a half ago.

[cjzimmer1]

I have to agree with kalanamak. Induction is the way to go. Smoothtop surface that is super easy to clean (I've never used anything more than a wet rag), and it has the temp control of a gas cooktop, adjust a little bit up or down or a lot. No pans to clean like the old coil, no special lines to runs like a gas. It truly is the best of all the options.

 

When I boil things over (which happens fairly frequently because I'm a messy cook), I can lift my pots, wipe down the entire surface including the "burner", clean up my mess, not start a fire nor burn my hand. I also love how "cool" it is to cook over. My mom has a radiant smoothtop (the kind you were thinking of) and it puts out so so much extra heat that even in the middle of winter I sweat when I have to cook over it. With induction, very little heat is lost is the transfer to the food so none of that extra heat is going into your air. My air conditioning runs a lot less with my induction stove than with my old coil stove.

[flyingiguana]

Do you can? My mom has a flat top and she can no longer can on the stove. It can't handle the large water canner or the large pressure canner.

 

My husband cans on our flat top all the time. I was never aware there was a problem. I don't think he's aware either.

[elfgivas]

:bigear:

 

we are in the process of choosing a range to go from gas to electric.

 

do i love to cook with gas? yes!

it is expensive? yes! (we are rural, no gas line, must have propane)

do we have solar panels that produce electricity? yes!

 

so we will change to electric because its less expensive and easier than propane delivery.

 

i'm wondering if any of you who have posted would be willing to go back and edit your post to include the make and model of your cook top/range. that would help us a ton!

 

we have looked at consumer reports, and there is quite a difference in performance, even within brands.

 

tia,

ann

[Spy Car]

:bigear:

 

we are in the process of choosing a range to go from gas to electric.

 

do i love to cook with gas? yes!

it is expensive? yes! (we are rural, no gas line, must have propane)

do we have solar panels that produce electricity? yes!

 

so we will change to electric because its less expensive and easier than propane delivery.

 

 

Someone needs to perfect a HHO range, that way people with electricity (but no natural gas) could use electrolysis/fuel cells to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and cook with that.

 

The technology is there.

 

Bill

[cassiemc]

We have a glass top. I use a razor blade to clean it, no problems. I assure you that I do cook on it, very well in fact :) I also like that it's flat and I can use for extra counter space when needed.

[Soror]

The razor blade works awesomely well for cleaning. We don't have gas out where we live as well in order to have a gas stove dh will have to run the line and hook it up to propane. We are hooking up propane anyway for our generator so it will not be just for the stove, otherwise it wouldn't really be worth it here.