I think all appliances these days have some amount of electronics in them. That said, I think pro-style all-gas ranges like Wolf, Bluestar, DCS, Viking etc. have less electronics in them than other ranges.

Our BlueStar slide-in rangetop has no electronics that we can discern. Just the ignitors, one to each burner, but those are manually controlled. It's a nice, simple, straightforward cooking machine. We love it.

Yes they do. Gas ranges like NXR on the way up to some of the most expensive French appliances available. Then there is the famous cast iron Aga in either gas or electric style. I'm sure there is a range for you out there but it may take a bit of searching to find exactly what you want.

NXR has electronics for the ignitors, as do most home ranges at this point.

I have found that lightning and power surges can be a problem with the control boards and other electronics in the home. I replaced two boards in my GE dishwasher, the board in my range and had a flat panel LCD (46") TV in the bedroom need a board due to lightning (it was one month old and luckily covered under Mitsubishi's warranty). I lost a well pump (It is about 550 ft down in a 600 ft deep well), the controller and the well control box all at the same time. Power surges and lightening seemed to be the culprit in all cases. The TV was plugged into a Surge protector at the time.
We just replaced all of our twenty-five year old appliances. We have decided to do something about this issue before any harm comes to them so I have an appointment with the electrician to install a whole house protector.

Our house is properly grounded but we live on top of a mountain (in the northeast so those in the west would accurately call 1100 ft a hill) surrounded by woods. We have had numerous lightning strikes break off the tops of some trees so we have proof that we are vulnerable.

You may want to look into this issue. I would also note that unlike appliances that you cannot pull the plug on-- I keep my good stereo unplugged during bad weather. After having a Ground Fault outlet fuse itself and render itself useless I decided to start pulling the plug on my expensive stereo equipment.
Hope this helps.

My Bluestar has no computer electronics -- the ignitors and the glow plug (oven ignitor) are electric but not computerized. That's one of the reasons I bought it. Other gas ranges in this category include the Viking and (I think) Wolf.

My friend has a bottom-of-the-line Frigidaire range in her apartment; it also has no computerized electronics. Peerless-Premier makes non-computerized ranges too -- their ranges can be found on some websites devoted to off-the-grid living.

The Lacanche has no electronics except for the ignition. I bought mine in UK, so I'm not sure if this applies to the American version, but you can light it with a match if you have a failure--I've been doing that for 2 years and have ceased to notice it and have forgotten to make an effort to get the ignition replaced.

Learned the hard way to put modern major appliances on surge protectors, just like computers, TV's, etc. Lost a dryer in a power surge, for heaven's sake. Since putting appliances on surge protectors, no problems.

-Roger

The US Lacanche's also have no electronics. I purchased them because of this.

American Ranges do not have an electronic control board--only igniters.

You may want to look for a range for people that generate their own electricity. I know of a few that do not even have an electric plug--a few friends in my area live "off the grid" and have this type of range. One has a cheapie and the other has a very nice restaurant series. Look for old style or country type ranges.

i Have a 48" American Range and when i had the back off i didn't see any control boards. i just saw the spark control box, the wires going from there to the ignitors and the broilers, oven lights and fans.
john

has anyone owned a peerless premier, if so, are they any good?

We installed a whole-house surge protector on our new home. I only hope it's "enough." We are in a very remote area and have current fluctuations all the time. I'm buying extended warranties on all my new appliances and TV.

A friend of a friend of mine had a peerless premier range and liked it a lot. They tend to get mixed reviews on this board but there haven't been any reviews in quite a while.

Thanks weissman for the follow-up. I'm seriously thinking about this brand. Any specifics would be great.

not much to add - my friend's friend bought one about 8 years ago - she researched pro-style ranges and felt this was good value for the money.

A few years ago, there were some posts about them - a few people who owned them were quite pleased but some other people who had looked into them posted that they didn't seem well-constructed and for the same money you could get a better non-pro-style range. That's about all I know. I'm no longer in touch with the people who had the range, so I have no idea how well it held up.

You could also try refitting a super old range. Go vintage!

My electrician recommended a whole-house surge protector be installed at the breaker panel for this very reason. He doesn't feel the surge protector strips are worthwhile.

Lightning blew the chimney off our previous house and did $70,000 worth of damage to electronics, breaker panels, intercom, appliances, as well as the cost of repairing the chimney & roof. At least we didn't have a fire.

I agree that a whole house protector is a less expensive & more effective way to go than multiple individual strips.

Thanks again weissman. I was also looking at the Frigidaire plgf659gc 36" pro style & the Kenmore Elite 7540 36". They are more my budget, I can't see paying $$, especially since I only cook to keep from starving & getting divorced lol. Has anyone out there read any reviews or got any comments or thoughts on these?

All appliances now have electronics. If surges are harming a stove, then furnace, dishwasher, air conditioner, and clock radios are also at risk. In any facility that damage cannot happen, a 'whole house' protector is earthed. And money is not wasted on plug-in protectors.

Effective protection means nothing is damaged even by direct lightning strikes to incoming utility wires. Even the protector remains fictional. A protector destroyed by a surge is not effective and can even create other hazards. Just another reason why informed consumers install one 'whole house' protector.

No protector is protection. Not one. An effective protector connects short (ie 'less than 10 feet') to earth ground. Even a 'whole house' protector without sufficient earthing is ineffective.

Earthing means every wire in every incoming cable makes a connection to the only thing that provides protection - earth. A connection via a direct wire (ie cable TV) or a connection via a protector (AC electric, telephone).

Damage to the stove indicates a problem that exists everywhere in the building. An effective solution (for about $1 per protected appliance) is one 'whole house' protector (properly sized). This was discussed further in:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg020938102146.html?9
> Only protection is a 'system' component that dissipates energy. That
> earth ground must both meet and exceed post 1990 code. ...

Protection already exists in every appliance including that stove. Your concern is the typically destructive surge that overwhelms appliance protection. The well proven solution for that (which puts all appliances at risk) is earthing one 'whole house' protector.

Correction: Even the protector remains functional - not fictional.

The only electronic thang in our Bluestar is the piezo ignition and flame sensor module. There are no control boards, no electronic displays, no timers, no tears, no fears, no ruined years, no clocks. It is strictly an old-school ride when it comes to electronics. You can buy a replacement ignition module for about $65 on the internet, so it really isn't something to worry about too much, and even if it went out you could still light the burners with a match.