Kitchen Range/Stove

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I've been using a GE radiant heat stove for the past 6 years and do like it a lot. Clean up is so much easier being a sealed unit. Plus caked-on stuff can scraped off with a razor blade.

Radiant heat (Smooth tops) got a bad rap when they first came out because they were slow to heat up. That's not an issue any more.

All in all I still do miss gas. If I were to build again, I'd probably pay to have a tank installed, running my stove, hot water, and grill off of it. I also like the fact that a gas range will work during a power outage. In addition, I would get a convection oven.

If you are already set up for gas, I'd say do it, otherwise stick to electric which is not all that bad. Overall, cooking accounts for such a small portion of your overall energy use.

Consumer Reports recommendations in your $ range:
Gas - GE JGBP85WEJ, Hotpoint RGB745WEH
Electric - Kenmore 9611/9641, Hotpoint RB757WH & GE JBP35WH
 
I have a Kenmore Elite with the flat top and radiant burners and absolutely LOVE it. The burners heat quickly, regulate temperature very well and are VERY easy to clean. A little Soft Scrub will take almost anything off them, but most of the time only Windex is required. Some types of spills, most notably carmel, can etch the top, as per my friend's experience, but in 99.9% of cases any spills, even burnt on stuff, comes right off.

I grew up with a gas stove and never liked electric. My wife insisted on electric, however, and it turns out I love this stove. I still don't like the regular electric coil elements, but the radiant burners are great. The only thing I still miss is that the burner stays hot for a while after you switch it off, unlike gas. Personally, I like having the heat almost completely gone the moment you turn it off.

One caveat: if you have any pots or pans without a completely flat bottom or any tea kettles with a raised ridge around the outside of the bottom (like mine), plan on getting rid of them. The radiant burners will take forever to heat them, food won't cook evenly and they'll dance all over the stovetop.
 
I also like the fact that a gas range will work during a power outage.


The only type of gas range that will work during a power outage is the ultra inexpensive style that uses a pilot lite for the burners. About 99% of all gas ranges in homes have to have 115/120V to operate the ignitor. You cannot get gas flow until the ignitor is heated to a preset temp range. Now if you hook your range to a generator, yes you can use it.

Most Travel Trailers and Motorhomes still use the pilot lite ignition for the burners. The Ultra high end require electricity.
 
quote:

Originally posted by 59 Vetteman:
I also like the fact that a gas range will work during a power outage.


The only type of gas range that will work during a power outage is the ultra inexpensive style that uses a pilot lite for the burners. About 99% of all gas ranges in homes have to have 115/120V to operate the ignitor. You cannot get gas flow until the ignitor is heated to a preset temp range. Now if you hook your range to a generator, yes you can use it.


There's other systems. Our GE gas stove uses a spark to ignite the gas. It arcs at about 3 times/second until the gas lights. It could be lit with a match.
 
quote:

Originally posted by XS650:
There's other systems. Our GE gas stove uses a spark to ignite the gas. It arcs at about 3 times/second until the gas lights. It could be lit with a match.

That describes almost every gas stove I've ever seen. If the power goes out, you light it with a match. On most gas stoves, the knob directly operates the gas valve. It's completely manual.
 
quote:

Originally posted by 59 Vetteman:
I also like the fact that a gas range will work during a power outage.



I wonder if this feature has been disabled on the new safer gas stoves. I noticed some new gas stoves will attempt to relight themselves if they go our and then finally shut the gas off.
 
Senior Moment, I was describing the oven operation. I was answering about 50 emails and trying to post in between.
pat.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by Matt_S:
I have a Kenmore Elite with the flat top and radiant burners and absolutely LOVE it...

This a a CR top rating but I didn't mention it because it was more than Ediamiam wanted to spend.
 
I've got a 10-15 year old flat top surface range, probably among the first generation. Came with my house.

The pulse width modulation style of regulating temp... 15 seconds on, 10 off, makes it hard to simmer stuff at an exact temp.

I'm sure they've fixed it by now, but consider it as something that could come up in operation that's more than just looks.
 
We have a Whirlpool smooth-top bought from the Sears scratch & dent warehouse in Richmond. Paid $430 (pretty sure about the price but it's been 5 years). and like it a lot. Only problem was a little nick on the top corner and the sales guy gave me a bottle of touch-up paint. After about 2 years the control panel had to be replaced but is a simple repair for someone with a little mechanical aptitude. Control panel was around $120 so that made up for the difference I saved by going to the scratch & dent. Part can probably be found cheaper but I needed to get it working ASAP.
 
Seeing that post on the gas vs electric clothes dryer reminded me that I'm in the market for a new kitchen range. The oven stopped working recently on the 25+ year old electric GE. I priced out the cost on possible replacement components I would need, and figured at this point it best to go new. Most likely candidate would be a Sears Kenmore, looking at electric again but with the radiant glass cooking surface instead of the burner coils. Price range for the candidate $500-$600. Any thoughts, comments, or recommendations welcomed.
 
quote:

Originally posted by eljefino:
I've got a 10-15 year old flat top surface range, probably among the first generation. Came with my house.

The pulse width modulation style of regulating temp... 15 seconds on, 10 off, makes it hard to simmer stuff at an exact temp.

I'm sure they've fixed it by now, but consider it as something that could come up in operation that's more than just looks.


Mine works like that too, but I've never noticed the temperature going up and down too much. The burner retains a lot of heat, which modulates the temperature pretty well. Once the pan's warmed up, it will stay at a pretty consistent temp.
 
One caveat on glasstops is that you should never use them with cast iron cookware, as they can crack the top of the stove. I'm not a huge fan of electric stoves, but my last one was pretty nice and had very tightly wound coils.

My problem is that I like to cook a lot of gourmet dishes, and electric ranges SUCK. You cannot simply go from "bring to boil" to "simmer", to get good temp control like that you have to switch burners.

I've gotten to the point that when i'm looking for houses (renting, not even buying) I immediately put houses with electric appliances further down the list of possibilities.
 
Tough call and this won't help you much - info only kinda post:

Go with gas. Sniff for leaks. I just like cooking with gas.

We have an Amana gas cooktop in our island. Two speed center vent. Previous owner left TWO grill inserts (both new), although they are a tad smaller than the electric Jenn-aire we used to own the fact that they are gas makes up for it.

I guess the only problem I have with this gas cooktop - the BTU's per burner could be a bit higher. Only noticed when boiling 3+ gallons of water (and still faster than electric!)

Our built in oven is electric - on the reverse - most domestic gas ovens are crap....so this really leans the argument in favor of an electric range!
smile.gif


Also - always wonder how much of our power bills are related to the stove. Small percentage unless you cook a lot.
 
I went to Sears' appliance clearance warehouse in Rancho Cordova and found a $799 unit at $449 in an electric radiant glass unit. Unit was initially marked down to $599, but dropped another $150 on a 'red hot' clearance sale. Pretty good deal and even comes pre-dented. It has a built-in simmer switch that keeps the heat consistent when youse needs to simmer. Overall pretty nice unit and so much easier to keep clean than the old one.
 
Originally Posted By: ediamiam
Seeing that post on the gas vs electric clothes dryer reminded me that I'm in the market for a new kitchen range. The oven stopped working recently on the 25+ year old electric GE. I priced out the cost on possible replacement components I would need, and figured at this point it best to go new. Most likely candidate would be a Sears Kenmore, looking at electric again but with the radiant glass cooking surface instead of the burner coils. Price range for the candidate $500-$600. Any thoughts, comments, or recommendations welcomed.


My Mom just replaced her 35 year old G.E. electric stove just yesterday...Those old G.E. electric stoves were awesome...She replaced it with another G.E. stove...This one is a flat top instead of the coils...When I moved down here my stove,refrigerator and dishwasher were all 30 years old and worked just fine...They were all G.E..I replaced them all [just wanted new ones] with new G.E. models.

When it comes to appliances I recommend G.E. products...The next best applicance after G.E.[IMHO] would be Kenmore...I have a Kenmore [over the stove] microwave that I really like..I only heard good things from G.E. and Kenmore owners.

I really wish G.E. was still in the small appliance business...I used to get G.E. T.V's and VCR's and never ever had a issue with any of them...I still have a G.E. VCR that is over 15 years old and it still works perfectly...Never even had the heads cleaned on that VCR and its used every single day of the week...No other VCR ever lasted that long.

BTW when I first moved down here my central A/C unit was G.E. also..It was also 30 years old and worked just fine...Not bad since its used all year in jungle heat conditions.

If G.E. made flatscreen T.V.'s that would be my first choice.
 
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