OT - replacing a kitchen range

I know that the ultimate decision is based on budget. But my oven died
and one of my burners died earlier this year. My range is 13 years old,
so I'm not going to get it fixed.

So, I have to go this week end and buy a new range.

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

Does anyone know whether there's a tremendous difference between "speed
baking" and the usual baking?

What about the differences in burners? I see they offer several
different BTU burners on a given stove. What the heck does THAT mean?

Do self-cleaning stoves really work well, or are you left still with
messes that don't clean up well and must still use elbow grease?

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not going
to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!

Dianne

Sealed burners are truly wonderful. They prevent messes from sneaking
down into the guts of the stovetop, which then smell bad.

There's not a "self-cleaning" oven yet that has proven satisfactory to
me.

The differing BTU burners: I have two normal burners, one super burner,
and one low burner. The super burner can put out much more heat than
the normal ones, and the low burner can put out much less heat than the
normal ones.

Haven't a clue what brand it is - it's at home and I'm at work - but it
came from Sears and was their lower-middle class one.

Good luck!
Lynn

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not going
to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!

We have a five year old Maytag gas stove and I really love it. I could
probably find more information among my owner's manuals, but I get the
impression you're looking for an electic range.

Elizabeth

My own opinion is that self cleaning ovens *do* work. But other than
that, I would get a bsaic stove, with no fancy gimmicks on it. Baking,
grilling, etc are straightforward things, and IMHO you dont need any fancy
gadgets to improve on a simple stove and burners.


Dianne Lewandowski ) writes:
I know that the ultimate decision is based on budget. But my oven died
and one of my burners died earlier this year. My range is 13 years old,
so I'm not going to get it fixed.

So, I have to go this week end and buy a new range.

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

Does anyone know whether there's a tremendous difference between "speed
baking" and the usual baking?

What about the differences in burners? I see they offer several
different BTU burners on a given stove. What the heck does THAT mean?

Do self-cleaning stoves really work well, or are you left still with
messes that don't clean up well and must still use elbow grease?

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not going
to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!

Dianne



--
Jim Cripwell.
From Canada. Land of the Key Bird.
This creature of doom flies over the frozen tundra in winter,
shrieking its dreaded call; "Key, Key, Key, Key rist but it's cold!!"

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

The one that came with the house is a respected name, but about half the time,
the oven heats to 600 no matter what the thermostat is set on. After the
second time the thermostat was replaced, I finally got a repairman in who has
been professionally repairing these things since I was in diapers. His
assessment was "this is the cheap one". Apparently the prior owner bought the
bottom-of-the-line stove because the house was a rental.

He recommended that I not buy the lowest priced even of a reputable name,
because they *are* mostly sold for rental units, where the person paying for
the stove doesn't have to deal with the vagaries of it not working properly.
He suggests the mid-price-range one would be the one a homeowner would want.

FWIW, my mom's is a Kenmore, bought before I was born and still going strong.
Most of my family's appliances were Kenmore and most of them, Mom's still on
her first one. I think the only thing she's had to replace was the fridge.


--
Finished 12/8/04 -- Army bear ornament
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

That was stupid of me. I want to replace a broken gas range with
another gas range.

I've been on the Internet for over two hours looking up reviews.
Actually, it's a little frightening. Lots of recalls for burners that
don't work or can cause fires.

Also found out I don't want one with gray grates. They stain horribly
and are difficult to clean. sigh I really don't want gray, anyway.
Black hides all the gunk. grin

Dianne

wicked brat of the west wrote:
Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not
going to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!


We have a five year old Maytag gas stove and I really love it. I could
probably find more information among my owner's manuals, but I get the
impression you're looking for an electic range.

Elizabeth

"Dianne Lewandowski" wrote in message
...
I know that the ultimate decision is based on budget. But my oven died and
one of my burners died earlier this year. My range is 13 years old, so I'm
not going to get it fixed.

So, I have to go this week end and buy a new range.

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

Does anyone know whether there's a tremendous difference between "speed
baking" and the usual baking?

I don't notice that it is all that much faster, but convection is much more
even heat. I can throw three racks of cookies in, and not over brown any of
them.


What about the differences in burners? I see they offer several different
BTU burners on a given stove. What the heck does THAT mean?

I really like this option. I have one burner that stays at a low
temperature and is easy to get just the right heat to keep food simmering
without getting too hot.
I have one burner for boiling sixteen quarts of water in a hurry.

Do self-cleaning stoves really work well, or are you left still with
messes that don't clean up well and must still use elbow grease?

Self-cleaning ovens are the greatest thing. I would never own an oven that
wasn't.

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not going to
pay a thousand dollars for a new range!


I like sealed tops with an easy-to-clean surface. The distance between
burners matters if you want to have a few larger pots on at once. I would
check out a consumer ratings book for relibility and all. Go with a trusted
brand too.
I bought a new one a few years ago and although it has almost everything
thar I wanted, it isn't what I would buy now.
Judy

Dianne

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

I know that the ultimate decision is based on budget. But my oven died
and one of my burners died earlier this year. My range is 13 years old,
so I'm not going to get it fixed.

So, I have to go this week end and buy a new range.

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

Haven't done that, but there are a few things
I definitely look for:

- glass top (much easier to clean, but get a dark one, not
a light one)
- burners heat quickly (some glass tops have burners that
heat way too slowly)
- large oven (some are ridiculously small)

Does anyone know whether there's a tremendous difference between "speed
baking" and the usual baking?

"Speed baking" is usually just a fan in the oven,
which basically turns it into a convection oven. It certainly
is useful at times, though it isn't useful for everything.

What about the differences in burners? I see they offer several
different BTU burners on a given stove. What the heck does THAT mean?

That affects how hot it can get, and how quickly.

Do self-cleaning stoves really work well, or are you left still with
messes that don't clean up well and must still use elbow grease?

It works well enough to be worth your while, in my
book. The self-cleaning feature pretty much leaves you with
just a bit to wipe out afterwards. It's much easier than
scouring out a dirty oven. Hmmm...reminds me that I need to
clean mine...

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not going
to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!

Look closely at the burner configuration. What sizes
of pans do you use most often? Will the burners work with
those? Are the burners so close together that if you fill
the surface with pots they'll be crowded too close together?
If you cook small quantities and usually use small pots, a
stove with three large burners is likely to be a pain.

Best wishes,
Ericka

I believe Kenmore appliances are made by Whirlpool if for some reason you
don't want to shop in Sears.
Lucille

"Karen C - California" wrote in message
...
In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

The one that came with the house is a respected name, but about half the
time,
the oven heats to 600 no matter what the thermostat is set on. After the
second time the thermostat was replaced, I finally got a repairman in who
has
been professionally repairing these things since I was in diapers. His
assessment was "this is the cheap one". Apparently the prior owner bought
the
bottom-of-the-line stove because the house was a rental.

He recommended that I not buy the lowest priced even of a reputable name,
because they *are* mostly sold for rental units, where the person paying
for
the stove doesn't have to deal with the vagaries of it not working
properly.
He suggests the mid-price-range one would be the one a homeowner would
want.

FWIW, my mom's is a Kenmore, bought before I was born and still going
strong.
Most of my family's appliances were Kenmore and most of them, Mom's still
on
her first one. I think the only thing she's had to replace was the
fridge.


--
Finished 12/8/04 -- Army bear ornament
WIP: Fireman's Prayer (#2), Amid Amish Life, Angel of Autumn, Calif
Sampler,
Holiday Snowglobe

Paralegal - Writer - Editor - Researcher
http://hometown.aol.com/kmc528/KMC.html

I just got a new stove earlier this year after enduring 18 years of
electric (blah) stoves!! The 1972 electric oven/stove in our current
house, known as El Diablo for it's fondness of dark black charcoal on
all things baked, was gratefully put to pasture.

We had to have gas lines run into the house and had a propane tank put
on our property but I FINALLY got to go back to cooking on a gas stove.

My husband works for a major homebuilder so he went through their GE
sales rep and got a GE Profile gas cooktop/electric convection oven
model at a little less than retail.

It does have the various BTU burners and being a "foodie" I find I use
them a lot - the super burner to get pasta water boiling, the smallest
burner to simmer soup, etc. Of course with gas I have the joy of
instantly increasing/lowering heat and food cooks much faster. It also
has various oven settings, warming drawer and the oven cleaning
function works great. Of course my cooking requirements might not be
the same as yours so you may or may not want so many "toys"

We also have a fairly new GE Profile fridge and dishwasher and overall
I would say I'm pleased with GE. Of course that could just be years
of deprivation speaking (LOL).

my .02 worth -
MelissaD


Dianne Lewandowski wrote:
I know that the ultimate decision is based on budget. But my oven
died
and one of my burners died earlier this year. My range is 13 years
old,
so I'm not going to get it fixed.

So, I have to go this week end and buy a new range.

Has anyone purchased one that they said, "Never again!"

Does anyone know whether there's a tremendous difference between
"speed
baking" and the usual baking?

What about the differences in burners? I see they offer several
different BTU burners on a given stove. What the heck does THAT
mean?

Do self-cleaning stoves really work well, or are you left still with
messes that don't clean up well and must still use elbow grease?

You get my drift. :-) Any and all suggestions welcome. I'm not
going
to pay a thousand dollars for a new range!

Dianne