Electric or Gas Cooktop?

[tvguy]

Mine is a Maytag and has the controls on the front, above the over door. I've never had a problem with it and love it.
Hope you find what you are looking for.

I think control placement selection for many depends on if they have small children in the house. Those with controls on the back/top of the stove put them out of reach of little hands. Those with the controls on the very front/burner level would be within the reach of little hands.
We have the controls on the back/top, and you DO have to be careful reaching to adjust burner level because you are reaching over the pots and pans that could have hot steam coming off them.

 

[barkley]

For those of you that voted gas, I’d love to know what brand and model you have. I’ve been researching and it seems most of the newer models have issues with the knobs melting due to the front placement. My 20-year old stove has the knobs on the side and they are still in perfect condition.

termador pro harmony

The newer cooktops have the knobs position just in front of the grates and apparently high heat and oversized pans combined will melt the knobs.

knobs are well below (on the front) and don't even get warm from cooktop or oven usage

 

[AustinTink]

termador pro harmony

knobs are well below (on the front) and don't even get warm from cooktop or oven usage

The ones I’m looking at have the knobs on the burner level.

 

[AustinTink]

I’d love the knobs to be situated on the front apron below the burners but that would require cutting my granite.

 

[PacificCoaster]

Electric induction in my home.

The Environmental Protection Agency regulates outdoor NO2 emissions, setting standards for their safe exposure limit. But there are no similar standards for indoor exposure. Nevertheless, studies dating back decades have shown harmful effects from the NO2 in gas cooking stoves.

“Our knowledge of the health impacts of outdoor NO2 has grown dramatically in the last 10 years, and we have found that it is much more of a health risk than perhaps we previously thought,” Kephart says. And the impacts of breathing NO2 indoors are no different from those of doing so outdoors. “It has the same effect on your body,” he says.

Studies have also found that unburned natural gas leaks from stoves—and this gas contains benzene, a known carcinogen. In addition, cooking in general creates fine particulates with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), a known irritant that can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems.

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-health-risks-of-gas-stoves-explained/

 

[Imzadi]

For those of you that voted gas, I’d love to know what brand and model you have. I’ve been researching and it seems most of the newer models have issues with the knobs melting due to the front placement. My 20-year old stove has the knobs on the side and they are still in perfect condition.

Can you rebuild the stove you have with newer parts? Sounds like it is going to be just as expensive to replace what you have now, and nothing may fit your granite countertop.

 

[tony67]

I would be interested to know your reasons for disliking it.

The glass was the big issue for me, was not comfortable with it and was always worried about cracking it especially since that was in an apartment. Yeah you can get silicone mats and such I know.
My parents did end up cracking the glass on theirs, but at that point they were almost never using the stove anymore so was not an issue for them.

In the end they all have their advantages and dis advantages and it comes down to personal preference.
Although I prefer gas, I know there are risks and have run into issues with leaks etc...

 

[tony67]

For those of you that voted gas, I’d love to know what brand and model you have. I’ve been researching and it seems most of the newer models have issues with the knobs melting due to the front placement. My 20-year old stove has the knobs on the side and they are still in perfect condition.

I've heard the same, but had no such issue. I had an LG.
I've never had a gas stove that did not have them on the front.

The issue I did have is the knobs broke after about 6 years, but I was able to buy a new set (5 knobs) on Amazon for the price of 1 from LG.

The bigger issue was the stove died after about 8 years and I bought a Samsung to replace it.
I have heard of issues with the knobs, so we will see.

 

[RivShore]

We have always used gas until a recent move to electric. We HATE how long the burners on our smooth top range take to get up to temp or cool down, compared to gas. And the constant on/off of the burner makes for a non-constant temp. I blame it for all the food i burn. It is not operator error, i assure you! LOL

Another thing which maybe unique to our LG but the knobs (on the front above the oven) turn very easily. So easily that it has turned on while walking by it and brushing against it. Seems to be a real hazardous design flaw, anyone see this with other brands?

Now I have read good things about induction being closer to gas so we will probably try that when I finally throw this one out the window.

 

[Imzadi]

We have always used gas until a recent move to electric. We HATE how long the burners on our smooth top range take to get up to temp or cool down, compared to gas. And the constant on/off of the burner makes for a non-constant temp. I blame it for all the food i burn. It is not operator error, i assure you! LOL

Exactly! Here is chef, Gordon Ramsay teaching how to make soft scrambled eggs, which are luscious! He's using a gas burner and STILL needs to take the eggs on & off the heat for them to cook and set properly. And this guy KNOWS how to cook!

Since switching to electric burners, I haven't been able to make these eggs like I used to, even with his instructions. Nor pancakes. I think the electric burner's thermostat is just internally calibrated oddly, so it's either too low, or takes too long to turn on & off to self-regulate the temp. Yet, an increment higher on the knob, the temperature is too high. It's not just a degree or two higher in temperature which is what I need. There's no in between.

 

[AustinTink]

Can you rebuild the stove you have with newer parts? Sounds like it is going to be just as expensive to replace what you have now, and nothing may fit your granite countertop.

Well, it’s 22 years old so I would be hesitant to go that route. I’ll end up getting something new just will take me some time to decide.

 

[Imzadi]

Another thing which maybe unique to our LG but the knobs (on the front above the oven) turn very easily. So easily that it has turned on while walking by it and brushing against it. Seems to be a real hazardous design flaw, anyone see this with other brands?

Yes! I have knobs in the front that are too easy to turn. I have accidentally walked by and brushed against one and luckily found out in time that it's on. Same for my new convection toaster oven. I have very narrow counters, so the knobs are very easy to brush by on these appliances and accidentally turn them on.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I've got one of these and it is infallible, especially considering it is (checks math) 66 years old and counting.
GAS ONLY!


<soapbox>
I cannot stand the political push to eliminate gas stoves. Natural gas is a waste by-product of drilling and refining fuel we are using anyway. You either put it in a pipe and let me and my neighbors use it for cooking and heating, you flair it off at the refinery (that is the fire you see as you pass a refinery) or you de-gas it to the environment. Guess which option is best for the environment? Consumer gas by a big margin. Just stop it already.</soapbox>

 

[barkley]

Yes! I have knobs in the front that are too easy to turn. I have accidentally walked by and brushed against one and luckily found out in time that it's on. Same for my new convection toaster oven. I have very narrow counters, so the knobs are very easy to brush by on these appliances and accidentally turn them on.

i don't know if it's unique to thermodor but the knobs on mine can't just be turned, you have to push them and turn them and you hear a click, click, click if it's turning on and the burner ignites-if fact if i use the simmer burner which cycles the burner on and off to retain either a high or low simmer-every time it turns itself off or on i hear the click, click, click.

 

[RivShore]

i don't know if it's unique to thermodor but the knobs on mine can't just be turned, you have to push them and turn them and you hear a click, click, click if it's turning on and the burner ignites-if fact if i use the simmer burner which cycles the burner on and off to retain either a high or low simmer-every time it turns itself off or on i hear the click, click, click.

The LG does require a very minor push in and turn. No clicks, no way to know its on, if you don't notice the little red light, that is until that towel you left close to the burner ignites. Thanks again LG!!!

Seriously though, so many easy ways to fix this - make the push in a little deeper, make clicks noticeable, like yours, etc. How did this LG ever get thru product safety tests?

 

[NotUrsula]

The newer cooktops have the knobs position just in front of the grates and apparently high heat and oversized pans combined will melt the knobs.

Ah, I see; I take it this is a 30" cooktop? Looks like they are mostly doing them with 5 burners and putting the controls in the middle of the top front area. Doing this appears to require that all the grates are downsized to squeeze that 5th one in, and I can see how that would mean the knobs end up closer to the edge of the pans.

I looked a bit, and there is one 30" GE that still has the knobs on the side. There are other brands that do, too. This link is to the shop where we bought ours, they have a wide selection, and you can filter by several factors; maybe that would save you some search time: https://www.theappliancediscounters.com/catalog/gas-cooktop (They don't sell Wolf or Viking, though, and both of those brands do have some with righthand knobs.)

What I said before about grate height might play into this, most grates are much taller than they used to be. (I find it a bit of a PITA to clean, to be honest, because larger pieces of food fall under but are large enough that they don't get incinerated to ashes.) Perhaps if the grates are very tall and the knobs are relatively flat, melting wouldn't be as much of an issue with greater vertical clearance from the edges of pans that are sticking out.

 

[AustinTink]

Ah, I see; I take it this is a 30" cooktop? Looks like they are mostly doing them with 5 burners and putting the controls in the middle of the top front area. Doing this appears to require that all the grates are downsized to squeeze that 5th one in, and I can see how that would mean the knobs end up closer to the edge of the pans.

I looked a bit, and there is one 30" GE that still has the knobs on the side. There are other brands that do, too. This link is to the shop where we bought ours, they have a wide selection, and you can filter by several factors; maybe that would save you some search time: https://www.theappliancediscounters.com/catalog/gas-cooktop (They don't sell Wolf or Viking, though, and both of those brands do have some with righthand knobs.)

What I said before about grate height might play into this, most grates are much taller than they used to be. (I find it a bit of a PITA to clean, to be honest, because larger pieces of food fall under but are large enough that they don't get incinerated to ashes.) Perhaps if the grates are very tall and the knobs are relatively flat, melting wouldn't be as much of an issue with greater vertical clearance from the edges of pans that are sticking out.

I actually looked at that GE today. I had high hopes but the grates were really cheap and lightweight. I was really surprised.

 

[Imzadi]

i don't know if it's unique to thermodor but the knobs on mine can't just be turned, you have to push them and turn them and you hear a click, click, click if it's turning on and the burner ignites-if fact if i use the simmer burner which cycles the burner on and off to retain either a high or low simmer-every time it turns itself off or on i hear the click, click, click.

You are talking about gas stoves. Mine used to be like that. And the knobs had some resistance and required some strength to turn.

The new electric burners I have, have no click or push in, even to turn on. They are way to easy to turn. The stove does have a red light. But, that light is only on during heat up, it goes off when it reaches temperature. So, I might not notice the burner's been on for 5 minutes, (when I had brushed past it to do the dishes,) and am walking out of the kitchen and the red light is off but the burner is on.

 

[PollyannaMom]

For those of you that voted gas, I’d love to know what brand and model you have.

I have a Frigidaire Gallery. The oven controls are buttons on the (upright) back, and the burner controls are knobs on the front, above the oven door. It has an optional "speed bake" function, which is not quite convection, but a bit similar.

 

[AussieFan8]

I’ve had all three. Going on 10 years with my Bosch induction cooktop and it is by far my favorite. Feel better soon!