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kalchhouse

Trying to decide between ovens

12 years ago
We've narrowed it down to the Jenn Air Pro Style dual fuel range, and the Kenmore Pro dual fuel range. Both 30". I'm having a hard time deciphering reviews as there seems to be so much negative feedback on all ovens we've looked at (viking, wolf, dacor, etc). The Jenn Air comes with a free dishwasher (a plus for my husband whose eyes light up at the word "free") but the Kenmore is on sale at Sears.
Any feedback would be great. THANKS!!!!

Comments (25)

  • PRO
    12 years ago
    We have had several homeowners opt for the Jenn Air Pro Style line and have had no complaints (wall oven and cooktops vs range)
    kalchhouse thanked Galle Construction Inc
  • 12 years ago
    What ever you get, don't get it from Sears. I wish someone should have warned me of the delivery issues. I ordered a stove that was supposed to be delivered on Dec. 3. I did not get it until Dec. 17. I spent a total of 20 hours over several days on the phone getting jockeyed from department to department. Sears did not initiate one phone call. They made it my job to track down the stove I paid for. It was the worst experience I have ever had with a retailer. After the fact everyone I spoke to had similar experiences. I wished someone had warned me. I need better friends :)
    kalchhouse thanked Christalyn
  • 12 years ago
    In good conscience I cannot let this go by without a comment. I had a Jenn-Air dual fuel pro style range that was so bad that Jenn-Air actually bought it back from me, but it took a long time and many, many repair visits before that happened. We were refunded $300 for this six year old range that was out of commission often. The free DW might be tempting but please keep looking for a good range.
    kalchhouse thanked alexa64
  • 12 years ago
    Thank you so much for your feedback!! Are there certain ones that you could recommend? There seems to be so many!
  • PRO
    12 years ago
    It is unfortunate that appliances can be so hard to compare. I recommend that you go to the message boards for the appliance retailers brick and mortar as well as online. You will find dozens of reviews with very specific comments. They have a date so you can tell if it is a current issue or one from years back and if certain themes become evident. Such as customer service, repairs etc) Appliance manufacturers work rapidly to fix bugs in their products prior to the next launch of new features. (Typical models adjust in May and December). Once you have that research your local appliance specialist can find out if a comment you read online has been fixed in the new models being shipped. Good luck!
    kalchhouse thanked Murphy's Design
  • 12 years ago
    HI -- Sears is in trouble -- at least that's what it's looking like . We just went through this by getting a new dishwasher . We were told a date for the delivery and no one showed and after several calls and promises we ended up picking it up and installing it ourselves . We bought a German made Bosch dishwasher --- it works great but it stinks before it is fully loaded and mold was actually growing on the bowls in just one day . The biggest problem with it is the racks . German people don't use that many cereal bowls and there is not enough room for bowls . The racks are very hard to stack the dishes in -- it holds the least of any dishwasher I have ever had . And the shallow cutlery tray in the top is almost useless . No one is going to stand there and set all the cutlery in every slot . And the inside is always sweaty . It was very expensive and never again . So what ever appliances you are looking at -do lots of research because the price doesn't mean it's any good . Find out where the high end kitchen shops get their appliances and shop there - much better customer service .
    kalchhouse thanked lefty47
  • 12 years ago
    Ok- will definitely steer clear of Sears!! What a shame! I found a lot of reviews that said the same thing. i don't think i could handle buying an expensive oven and having it not show up at my house! Thanks so much! We are likely going to buy from our local Bray and Scarff. Still deciding on the actual range though...will keep doing my homework!
  • 12 years ago
    I've been researching this myself and luckily I still have some time before my selection needs to be made. But my current thinking is this GE Café CGS990SETSS.

    GE makes other configurations in the Café series.

    Good luck!
    kalchhouse thanked User
  • 12 years ago
    HI -- Also look at induction stoves/cooktops . Chefs are even using them because they are instant response and safe . They say they are actually better than gas . It's the way of the future in kitchens . Be careful of the two oven stoves because the larger lower oven door opens down to the floor -- very dangerous with kids in the house . And do you want to bend over that far to get something out of the oven ?? Just some things to look at in the showroom.
  • 12 years ago
    I don't think I can let all the bad mouthing of sears go by without saying that I have had nothing but good luck with them for ages. We got our induction range, our side by side fridge, our Bosch dishwasher, our vacuum cleaner, and our washer from Sears. All without a single problem. It isn't sears fault but my Bosch drives me crazy. It has a filter that must be clean,or the dishes will not clean. And the only way to know if the filter is clogged is to take it out which is a messy yucky job that no one wants to do every day.
  • 12 years ago
    We bought a Bosch dishwasher and it got used as a drying rack. I wish we'd never bought it and it'd go back now but we didn't get it installed before the warranty ran out. It was 99% DOA from the first attempt to use it. Now it's in storage with the other kitchen appliances and I don't think it's ever going to see the inside of the house again. $800 I didn't need to waste.

    I'd say that I've owned a lot of Sears stuff, over decades, but lately, forget it. Last two years I'd buy anywhere else.

    I'd vote Jennair, but do be warned if you get a lemon it's gonna be a doozie of a lemon.
  • 12 years ago
    When we were researching appliances, we called our appliance repair guy and asked his opinion.
  • 12 years ago
    Hi. I don't know the product u r talking about, as we live in Australia. But when we built our home we opted for a 900mm oven and it is very big. We have a big family so it was a good option. But now I am thinking I would have preferred two smaller ovens as sometimes if we want to bake a cake it just seems like a massive waste of electricity. That's my input for you :)
  • 12 years ago
    You know sandkshouse got me thinking...in the 17 years I have lived in this house I have never had an appliance repaired! Used to be they had to come all the time, right? I guess I have been lucky. Or appliances in general are made better.

    I have been doing the next best thing...scouring forums and websites for tidbits. Oddly there's not so much good about Jenn-Air out there. That used to be the aspirational brand.

    On Sears - I used to buy stuff there all the time and had good luck but my last purchase was years ago. They seem to have good prices on certain things though.

    Good luck!
  • 12 years ago
    Sears is in trouble, they are closing stores left and right (in Ontario at least) so I am with your husband Jenn-air with free dishwasher. good luck.
  • 12 years ago
    please check out Dacor. It is a bit more expensive but I have had their cooktop and double oven and they are more accurate than any other I have had. Also the low burner on the cooktop is so low that I never use a double boiler any more. Just a thought.
  • PRO
    12 years ago
    last modified: 12 years ago
    Kalchhouse, have you looked up the ratings in Consumer Reports? They always do a kitchen issue, which rates all the different types of appliances. The problem is that quality can change a lot from year-to-year and model-to-model. I have had Jenn-Air double convection ovens for over 20 years, and they still work fine - never a problem. On the other hand, my GE appliances from the same time frame have had problems; now, however, GE gets very good consumer ratings. I would look at the evaluations from other users on websites too (although keep in mind that people usually only comment there when there has been a problem), as others have said. Also, find out who actually makes the Sears range you are considering - Sears appliances are all made by the major mfrs. This won't help, however, with service after the fact - which is a big consideration!
  • 12 years ago
    Good tip Barbara. Not that much more it looks like.
  • 12 years ago
    Top-rated gas ranges with dual ovens on Consumer Reports: #1 LG model LDG3037ST, not dual fuel though and #2 Kitchen Aid model KDRS505XSS, is a dual fuel range. Surprisingly, there was a JennAir in the #4 spot, but I didn't get the model # on that one. When we were buying appliances, I checked out all of the online reviews, spent hours on it. I realized that, for the most part, the reviews on the Sears website were mostly bad; a lot of people stating delivery issues and customer support problems. It occurred to me though, that most people are not going to write an on-line review if they've had a good experience with something. They only write reviews to complain. So I would take those reviews and use them to decide about WHERE to buy, but not necessarily WHAT to buy, unless there is a chronic problem that many reviewers have stated. And remember, there's always going to be lemons out there, no matter what you buy, so make sure that you buy from somewhere that has good customer support.
  • 12 years ago
    I would not do the Jenn Aire. We had to sue Whirlpool, the manufacturer of our Jenn Aire range, due to a bad thermostat and rusting under the burners. The day before the court date, their attorneys called us to settle....however, it still wasn't worth the aggravation and time that we had to put into it. We had a friend with the same range, and he had the same problem with rusting. I currently have two wonderful Dacor wall ovens. We are building a new home and will be putting in GE's 48" dual fuel convection range that has received very high ratings. I would do Dacor or Wolfe, but they are not part of our builder's options.Good luck.
  • 12 years ago
    For what it is worth, we bought a beautiful Thermador / professional grade.
    Love it now, but had service issues the first two years. (Very expensive repair charges, so do not recommend to others.)

    My best advice is to locate a trusted, independent, appliance repair company that is authorized to work on your final selection, before you purchase. I wish I had done that before we bought our Bosch dishwasher, also. Our service company is kind enough to tell us the brands they hate to work on and the ones that require the most frequent calls.
    Best to you.
  • 12 years ago
    Thanks for the feedback about the jenn air. When was this issue? Recently? The reason we started to consider jenn air was because we have an electric range in our kitchen now that was installed in 1986 and it still works except for 2 burners that recently died but I think the cleaning lady disconnected something by accident. We want to convert to gas though and it just needs to go. I've been reading reviews- and yes all the reviews are negative-for all the ovens- bc happy customers aren't writing in to say how satisfied they are :-). Sigh. Thanks everyone!!
  • 12 years ago
    Hello, we recently renovated and I spent a lot of time researching appliances... I can honestly say after 3 months I am 100% happy with all choices... I went with vzug ovens and induction cooktop (one normal and one steam oven wall mounted) and I have the Miele dishwasher with the top cutlery tray... Once you get used to it, it's actually quicker to load the cutlery tray than the traditional basket... The ovens are perfect and it great being able to cook with two different temps simultaneously :-)
    kalchhouse thanked julieellen
  • 12 years ago
    Hey, I quickly read through a few comments and here is my opinion/experience. DO NOT use sears. We paid around $500 for extended warranty on our appliances, after having someone come "fix" our dishwasher 7 times in one year ( 5 in one month) they wouldn't back their warranty and we ended up having to buy a new unit. Ours was brand new, 1 1/2 years old. It was Samsung, which is absolute garbage. We also have a jennair gas stove top, which I love and a jennair built in oven/microwave unit. It's garbage too. I have been fighting with sears about that now for over a year. It randomly shuts off, our microwave will randomly turn on and takes forever to heat something. A tablespoon of butter can take 2 mins to melt. Small world problems, but annoying at the same time. Anyway, good luck with your appliance hunt, hopefully it's smooth sailing for you!!
    kalchhouse thanked tamrenner
  • 12 years ago
    Oh yes, I love my Miele dishwasher; definitely worth the price. And I agree with julieellen about the cutlery tray; once you get used to using it, it's fantastic, and makes unloading so much easier if you group together all of the forks, knives, etc. (and my stainless knives don't get rust-spots anymore). Kalchhouse, I've heard that after Jenn Air was purchased by Whirlpool, they went downhill (Maytag too).
    kalchhouse thanked Lesley Delle_Grazie