Oven Options Overwhelming

16 years ago

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are in the appliance-choosing stage of our kitchen redo. I've progressed from the "I'll just be happy to have an oven that works" phase to "I'm so confused I might as well stick with the broken one I have now" mentality. Obviously, there is a happy medium :-)

We are a family of serious cooks, so whatever we choose will get a workout.

GE Profile Gas Range - Had decided on this until I read all the negative reviews about the knobs melting off. Thoughts?

Kenmore Elite - I like the idea of the burner that can go from slow simmer to high output, also the porcelain racks, and convection. However, that means dealing with the "machine" that is Sears appliance repair and I think I'd rather go with a neighborhood store with a good rep for service.

Frigidaire - opinions on the general brand reliability?

If I had to list my priorities, it would be large, reliable oven and burners with ability to vary the heat. "Pretty" and "bells and whistles" aren't as important.

Thanks,

Renee

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Comments (3)

User
16 years ago
Are you looking for an oven only, or are you looking for a cook top, or a complete range?

How much of a range would you like, and how much budget are you thinking appropriate? And do you want to have a GAS or ELECTRIC cook top, and will your oven be built into it and will it be a GAS or a DUAL FUEL or an ELECTRIC....Do you want a SINGLE LARGE OVEN, or a CONVECTION/INDUCTION/WHATEVER with a warming drawer or microwave functions.
It really does gets confusing, doesn't it!!

I'm going through the same thing, but I've changed from a simple gas cooktop to a gas range, with a true temperature gas oven, only 24" wide.

The more I learned, the better I could define my needs. Like the size of my household is only TWO. How many are YOU going to be cooking for? Do you entertain a lot? Are you thinking PRO style appliance if you are a serious cook?

The stove tops in gas appliances are made to have various BTU ranges, with one big honker or maybe two, which cranks up the BTUs, and with an inner ring/burner which can be used for simmering. But if you want to have a big pot going on that burner, having another simmering burner is a big plus. The smaller burner is a nice feature to have standing on its own. And then a couple of medium BTU burners could be the workhorse of the stove top.

I recommend that you read some of the threads about stoves which discuss the advantages of various features. This forum is probably one of the quickest to turn over topics and a question asked this hour will be going onto the next page by morning!!

You came to the right place to research your dilemma.
cali_wendy
16 years ago
I previously owned a Kenmore freestanding range with convection oven and warming drawer. Loved it. It was white with powder coated grates that seemed heavy duty, but cleaned up great. I liked the controls and their functionality.

I also previously owned a Frigidaire freestanding range with convection oven and warming drawer. Hated it. The SS always looked gross, the little rubber feet on the grates always fell off, leaving an out-of-level cooking surface and I didn't like the controls on it.

I thought the ovens were both plenty large and cooked well, but I would never chose a Frigidaire again.
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reneemath
Original Author
16 years ago
Moccasin, thanks for the welcome and gentle reminder to post more details (sorry!). I'm looking for a freestanding gas range with convection capability.

Cali, exactly the kind of info I'm looking for - thanks! (and I'll keep my eye out for little rubber feet.)

This might be a weird question, but what the heck... My current oven has a storage drawer on the bottom and I'm forever cleaning dog hair out of it. (We have a golden retriever who sheds enough hair to clone himself a few times over.) I sweep constantly. I'm a little skittish about preparing food that close to the floor. Anyone else have problems?