Braytonak
Thanks for your review. I am thinking of getting one of these myself, so this is helpful.

Perhaps you could find a smoked transparent sticker that would dim those numbers.

Can I ask if you noticed how well it is sealed at the back and underside? I ask because we previously had trouble with mice getting inside a range (between the oven and elements. They'd pee there and then when the oven went one we would be treated to the scent of cooking mouse pee! Lovely!
thanks

Wow, that's not what you want to smell when you're making dinner.

Going from memory, there is enough room for a mouse to get where it shouldn't. (Electrical connection access holes, etc) As for the underside...well, I never thought to look under it. :-) The heating element for the warming drawer (450 watts) is separated from the floor only by a metal plate. I would think a mouse could easily go to the front of the drawer and wiggle between the drawer and the body of the range, ending up in a perfect place to make a nasty mess.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't think any range is that tightly sealed because they need some airflow to prevent heat build-up.

The sides and rear of this range are very 'open' or unfinished, as you would expect with a slide-in. There's a freestanding version that has finished sides and doesn't overlap the countertop. That one is cheaper.

I forgot to mention the cooling fan for the electronic system. It turns on whenever the oven, warming drawer or cooktop are in use. It's very quiet, so it's not at all annoying. What's weird is to walk up to the range and have cool air blowing on your waist. The air vents between the top of the oven door and the bottom of the controls. It gets warmer as you use it, so eventually you don't even notice it blowing. It's when you first turn it on that you just aren't expecting to get a cool breeze on your waist. (I guess that would make cooking bacon in the nude more thrilling?)

As for a tinted sticker to cover the blue lights; I've thought about it, but I think it would be strange to have this sticker on such a perfectly smooth surface. I told my boyfriend yesterday that I hope it just fades. Watch it take 15 years to do it. ;-)

So there's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Any more questions?

Come back in a few weeks/months and give an update.

Thanks, braytonak, for posting this review! We're trying to decide whether to get the Kenmore induction range or a separate cooktop/wall oven even though the wall oven has to be mounted under the cooktop in our kitchen, so I'm grateful to see another person's experience. Did you go with the slide-in over the freestanding for aesthetic reasons?

Braytonak,

Maybe you can remove that smudge?

From the Sears site, a customer review of the similar freestanding range:

"... The space between the outside oven window and the inside thermal window allows for spills between the glass, and while it can be cleaned by taking the stainless front off the oven door, it's really a chore! "

jshnyc: We chose the slide-in because we not only prefer the look of it (more built-in), but because the range that was original to the house was a Jenn-Air drop-in. The space was already there and the countertop was cut to wrap around the back of the range. If we had chosen the free-standing, we would have had to modify the countertop and possibly even the cabinet distance (width). Our range is flanked by two Lazy Susans, so it has plenty of breathing space behind it. If your home is already configured for a freestanding range but you like the slide-in appearance better, you will find that the slide-in comes with a trim piece that you can attach to the rear wall between the cooktop and wall. (Where the controls on a freestanding range would have been.) The trim piece is black, so if you have dark countertops it would blend nicely. The trim piece is flat (doesn't extend up the wall) and is just to hide the gap that would be at the back of the cooktop. The trim surface would ideally be flush with the countertop surface.

If given the option of a cooktop and separate oven underneath, I would prefer the slide-in. Easier installation and maneuverability. Little or no cabinet modifications. The slide-in also gets me a warming drawer, which a separate oven may not.

attofarad: That's an interesting tip. I may look into that some day. Fortunately the smudge is barely noticable. But I'm nearly certain there are three panes of glass, so this can at least get to half of it if that's the case. Thank you very much!

I was getting excited about this range, but it appears to only come in stainless, and that won't work for me. I love the idea of the warming drawer.

Right now one side of my kitchen will stay torn up until I can figure out what will work. I'm kind of getting use to having the wall open to the dining room and being able to see out the front window, though I'm not real keen on having the dining table and buffet pushed against the other wall and unusable for now.

Cathy

Maybe you should only build a half-wall, then. That way you can continue to see into the dining room but still have it separated.

I've had one of these installed since December 24th. I am not a fan of induction for reasons I've listed elsewhere (here and on the Kitchens forum) but gas just wasn't a practical option for us for many reasons. Other than the fact that I'd rather have gas, it is a good unit. One note: I DO notice the noise from the cooling fan. But then I'm extra-sensitive to noises.

I also agree with you about the blue. One of the first things I did was to hunt for the (non-existent) dimmer control.

Braytonak - This is the wall the oven backs up to, and will have the range hood on it to so it has to stay. Right now it has no sheetrock so I can see to the next room.

We opened up the wall to make an alcove for the buffet in the dining room (it had been the den prior to this) and installed a second wall 2' into the kitchen (which use to be the dining room).

I'm use to my range lights working as a "night light" in the kitchen, sounds like this one does a good job of that (not something I'm a fan of either).

Cathy

For the curious, this is what the retro-fit piece looks like in place:

Alas, we did the counters before the range otherwise it would fit better. We may still at some point have the granite folks notch out the front so that it sits better. (The range has a lip in front that catches on the granite overhang preventing the range from sliding back further.)

Here's a look at the front:

I'm in FL with no gas available. My 10-year-old Kitchenaide is OK, but .... I'm ready for something new. I've appreciated your review but have never considered Kenmore. This kitchen, however, requires a slide-in.

Now that you have had this range for over a month, can you give us an update? I'd really appreciate it!

Now that I've opened the control panel and properly connected the control cable for the oven, it works much better.

The only continuing downside that I haven't fixed is the buzzing / rattle from the rear panel when the oven warms while the convection fan is on.

I still despise the stupid blue clock. I wish the clock itself could just be turned off.

My cats like it, oddly enough. I can tell because there are always cat prints on the surface. One day they'll learn. You betcha.

The bottle of surface cleaner that comes with the stove is hard to remove. I've read somewhere here that there's a different product available that's much easier to work with. I can't remember which thread it was in or the name of the product, though.

I've accrued one scratch on the cooktop surface. I noticed that the surface cleaner helps to keep the surface slick. The surface is always slick enough that I have to hold my pots and pans in place while stirring. Either it wasn't slick enough to avoid the scratch or I wasn't holding the cookware still enough. I guess it was bound to happen, though.

Overall I still love it. So much easier to keep clean. The speed that it generates heat is great. I kind of like the buzzing sound it makes because I can just hear how high the power level is set without looking. (It's rather odd that the power levels go in weird numerical steps.)

If you can get it on sale, go for it. It's definitely made by Electrolux, keeping the Kenmore tradition alive. (The tradition being that Kenmore isn't really a brand so much as a generic reseller.) I'm curious to see how it holds up over the years.

Thanks! Appliance by appliance, we are updating our kitchen. A new refrigerator is on order and the only thing left is the range. I'm going to get to Sears this week and take a look at it.

Thanks again!

Bray, yesterday we went to Orlando to look at the Sears Slide in. The local Sears won't have it for 2-3 months--Daytona isn't a hot-spot for technology! Anyway, I loved it! Measured everything--top, oven, etc. Looks like it will work with very little problem. The sales agent said that the July "Friends and Family" should have that range on sale at 30% off. We will see!

When we got home, I hit the net and found that Bed, Bath had Emeril Pro-Clad stainless on closeout. Without eating dinner, we went over to BBB. They didn't have the close-out 10 piece set in the store, but we ordered it with their 20% coupon--paid $119! So now I discovered that I have 21 pieces of Cuisinart Stainless in my cookware cabinet. Also have a niece who is purchasing her first home and a friend with MS whose husband lost his job. They are going to be happy campers! My husband volunteered to polish it.

Boy, this is moving fast!

I do appreciate your help in this matter!

Bray, I just found out that the induction range will be included in this Sunday's sale. The price will be $2,519! Excitement! We didn't expect to purchase a new range at this time, but price is critical, and we have agreed that it will be a good move for us.

Thanks to the enables on this site!

Beachlily- did you really get the Emeril Pro-Clad? I'm seeing the non-pro-clad at $150 but the Pro-Clad at $300 still.

The difference being the non is a thick sandwich at the bottom only and flared edges. The pro-clad is a uniform thin sandwich all the way up the straight sides.

But, as has been mentioned here before, you only really need the cladding on the bottom. Also, the extra thickness plus the copper in the sandwich probably means that the non-pro heats more evenly on the bottom (if that's an issue on any induction hobs). Though the thermal gradient from bottom to sides is probably a lot steeper.

BeachLilly: That's exactly the sale that we got ours on. It took us a few weeks from the time we looked at it in the store before it was really in our house.

We found pots and pans at Costco, but it wasn't any fancy set. It's just a Circulon set. I've learned to wipe the bottom of the cookware and the surface of the cooktop before using them. You never know when those scratchy bits are on there.

Congratulations on your new toy!

macybaby (Cathy): We're in the same boat: We want an induction range that isn't stainless steel and are considering a separate induction cooktop/single wall oven in a range configuration. I'm curious what you ended up going with.

Jek

OK, this is quick. My new range comes this afternoon, after a morning doctor's appointment (just routine). I am .... excited and there goes the heart rate! Yes Bray, I did mis-speak. I got the old style Emeril. Not made as well as my 20 yr old Cuisinart, but it works. Love the 4 qt. Chef's pan. I also purchased a Lagostina soup pot from William-Somoma that is drop dead lovely! My new stainless FD frig came in last Thursday and is brightening up a dark corner in the kitchen. This is unreal! I'll let you know how this works!