Jenn-Air dates to 1947. Originally an industrial fan/ventilation manufacturer. They invented the self-ventilated downdraft cooktop in 1961 by integrating an exhaust fan into it. Maytag bought Jenn-Air in 1982. There were other appliances added to the line-up, including Jenn-Air branded laundry for a short time. Whirlpool bought Maytag in 2006, Jenn-Air and other brands Maytag owned at the time were included in that deal. The hyphen was eliminated from the name in 2018, now being JennAir.

Malabacat--glad to know you own a Bluestar and love it. I just recently learned of that brand on here. Our appliance dealer has some in store we can go look at so I will make an appointment. My husband is a gas guy from a long family history of gas, so he won't even consider the induction. My parents are interested in getting induction when their next range dies, so I have heard the great things about it!

dadoes--thank you for the history of the company. Seems like they have been around for a while then! Did the Maytag and Whirlpool takeovers negate the quality of the new JennAirs?

Bluestar is your only choice here. It's capable, with few electronics. Jennair is just a tarted up Maytag. With a poor reputation.

Minardi -- The "tarted up maytag" made me think of the Bridget Jones' tarts and vicar scene, so that gave me a chuckle. That's the sort of thing I was wondering about. I feel like when larger companies buy other companies, they just become the same product.

Bluestar seems to have a duel fuel, which could be cool since we are going to have to use propane. The duel fuel has a touchscreen unfortunately. Maybe we will have to just do all propane gas then if we want a "no electronics" oven. Also, not sure cooking-wise if duel fuel is good or not. https://www.bluestarcooking.com/cooking/ranges/48-dual-fuel-range/

Forget dual fuel. You wanted simple. Dual fuel is not simple and needs a 240 electrical circuit for the electronics that would be required. It's also completely unnecessary for any type of cooking. Professional bakers use gas ovens.

We purchased Blue Star for the same reason - no electronics. Bonus that during COVID lockdown we realized that are not too hard to repair on your own. Astounding that we did given we are not handy at all.

I found the front door and edges to get extremely hot and wished there were more insulation. I also don't think it cooked all that evenly. Disappointing. Our new home had a Bertizonni when we moved in. It is fine. Needs some recalibrating. Nothing major. I'm not sure I understood the comment though about taking abuse. It seems to be as durable as the Blue Star.

I live in NYC where I'm told a lot of Bertazonni's are sold so there are likely many repair companies when repair is needed. That is something I would look into with any appliance you purchase.

Yale Appliances has a fantastic online resource center for consumers. Go down the rabbit hole of watching their videos and you will learn a lot.

I'm totally on board with SubZero fridge and Bosch dishwasher.

I inherited a JennAire double oven with my house. It has to be 12 years old or more and it’s flawless. My appliance guy said there wouldn’t be replacement parts for it anymore (if something went wrong) but I’m hoping nothing happens because I love it. Very consistent heating throughout with lots of room. Worth looking at.
My gas cooktop is a Frigidaire and it is about 8 years old. Works perfectly.

We just ordered a new Frigidaire refrigerator (French door) and I’m hoping it keeps up the good reputation these appliances have had. I also had several in my previous home including a dual fuel double range.

Minardi -- I did the math and the propane cost of a total gas oven would not be that much a year. Simpler the better! We have an electric wall oven now and it is a pain to cook anything in it, so any improvement in cooking would be a delight!

Kendrah -- Your review of Bluestar makes me want to buy one right now! We love things that are straightforward enough to fix ourselves. I will have to investigate about cooking evenly though.

I judged a book by it's cover with the Bertazonni's. I assumed they wouldn't be tough enough for a lot of cooking if they looked that nice! How is your oven glass? The lady at the appliance store said they break a lot when they ship them in. Your comment has kept them in the running!

Yes! I will call around to repair places and see what/if they fix. Great idea! Yale Appliances is going to be my rabbit hole after the kids go down tonight.

Thank you for the insightful comments and reviews so far! Seems like Subzero and Bosch are the winners if we can swing it

RedRyder -- Thank you for sharing! Sounds so great about JennAir but are the new ones that reliable? Feels like everything is made so much worse than even 10 years ago. I pray that your JennAir lasts forever. My mom feels that same way with her 25 year old washer and dryer. They just keep going.

I will have to look into Frigidaire. I Honestly didn't even know they made ranges. Fridges--duh.

How was your experience with duel fuel? We have all-electric right now and definitely want a gas top. The electric oven we have is not great. It's a Summit (definitely not recommend) and before we had a 30 year old Thermador that worked okay. The idea of saving on propane sounds nice, but it's not a ton extra every year to just do all propane gas.

My dual fuel was a dream. Best of both worlds.

I would read reviews on AJ Madison. They have no allegiance to any brand and owners write very helpful reviews.

My appliance repair guy still thinks JennAires are good wall ovens. But who knows the “extended reliability” of anything new?

In researching refrigerators, I did come across complaints about Samsung and LG. Temperature issues. Just letting you know.

Thank you RedRyder! This is a brand new world for me, so all your help has been much appreciated! Seems like I have homework now reading reviews. I have also heard that about Samsung and LG. My friends have a Samsung fridge and the customer service has been a nightmare for them.

I think that stainless appliance brands are close enough that buying the best brand (instead of a “suite of ……”) is a better idea. My current kitchen is a JennAire double wall oven, a Bosch dishwasher and we are adding a new Frigidaire refrigerator. I’m sure it’ll look just fine. If you go with a color - even white - different brands may look weird together.

Do some homework to help pick the best appliances. I have a close friend who did that 20 years ago and her Sub Zero fridge was a nightmare. Most expensive isn’t always the best.

And buying them all at once when you do a big remodel is really scary. But take your time. Ask questions. Read reviews. Private, small appliance places can provide good information (as opposed to HomeDepot, etc) on brands. Asking an appliance REPAIR person is your best bet. He/she will know what brands they’re always getting calls about.

Longevity over looks is my appliance motto. They all look the same when they’re with cabinets. And they play second fiddle, IMO.

If you do a lot of cooking then a Bluestar RNB is an easy range choice IMO.

FWIW, we do a lot of cooking and entertaining so our kitchen was designed for that.

More: https://bamasotan.us/2020/12/the-kitchen/

RedRyder-- longevity is our goal! If we could replace parts and fix things and have it last 20 years, we would. We love buying things for life.

opaone -- I have never heard of Bluestar but seems to be a favorite on Houzz/GardenWeb! Are smaller companies hard to work with if something goes wrong? As others have wisely suggested, I definitely need to call some repair people and see if they service it in our area. Hallman is very local, but it looks like the company has really gone off the rails in the last few years with customer service and never-delivered appliances !!!

Also, what the heck?! Your kitchen just knocked me off my chair--IT'S GORGEOUS! I can see why you would entertain there! The ceiling planks, inset cabinets, colors, integrated fridge, SCULLERY, coffee area are all so great! The traditional elements like the moulding and transoms are such lovely details. love your thoughtful post there of your reasoning. This is very helpful to me! Thank you for sharing. I think the part that worries me the most about buying a range is being able to get parts to fix it and warranties honored. I have read so many nightmare stories on here about spending so much money and the oven just stops and then the resolution never happens.

Hello again! What are your thoughts on the Thermador 48" all-gas or the La Cornue Cornufé 110 or the AGA Elise 48"?

I just saw the Thermador in person and don't love the little clock screens, but the star-burners look and seem to perform well. The two Middleby brands are obviously gorgeous and our sales rep says she has never had issues with them, but I don't want to get sucked into buying a range that is pretty but won't perform like I need it. Also, the 5 burner top is different. We aren't gourmets by any means, but I was wondering if that would be weird to cook on.

Thank you again appliance geniuses

Also, shoutout to the Yale Appliances / Appliance Advisor videos! They have been so helpful learning the nuances between all these features!

I currently have a 36" Bluestar, 1.5 years experience with it. Had a 40" Lacanche Volney in our last house, 10 years of experience. Both are minimalist in design. Bluestar is $$-$$$ and Lancanche $$$$. I LOVED the Lacanche. The Bluestar not so much. The cooktop on BS is fine - it does flame out but has plenty of power. The oven is terrible. It could be the size, but I wouldn't never buy a BS. The Lancanche is the forever range. High quality, beautiful, plenty of power with 18k burner IMO and the ovens rock.

If you want a BS, get the cooktop and get separate ovens from another brand.