New Range/Oven Advice - HELP PLEASE

[Muddy Rivers]

Our 30" gas oven/range just stopped working. Before buying another, I would love to hear if someone found a really good range/oven at a great price. I'm really looking mid range as far as price goes, not a Viking.

I really don't need alot of bells and whistles but saw some had dual ovens. How has that worked out for anyone? Did you find that you lost too much room in the main oven by having a 2nd oven. I can only go 30" wide.

 

[dhuba]

I just bought a Maytag Gemini stove in December. It is the one with two ovens. I paid about $1500 for it. It has five burners and is convection and stainless. I like it, but the only drawback might be lifting a heavy roaster like a ham or turkey from the larger bottom oven because it does sit low. I bought the Maytag convection microwave also, so I like having 3 different areas that can be used as ovens at different temperatures all at once.

 

[Muddy Rivers]

I wondered the same thing. I wasn't sure if the bigger of the 2 ovens was on the bottom, it might be a little awkward.

Thanks for the info. Very tough to gather lots of info in a short time before going out to buy another stove. I appreciate first hand advice!

 

[rainy~daze]

we just bought a GE Profile dual oven. LOVE IT!
It has smooth glass top, 4 burners (5 if you include the warming zone), dual ovens and one of my favorite features the griddle zone. The 2 left burners on the stove have a separate area that is a rectangle tha heats up the griddle evenly. (even came with the griddle)/
Bottom oven is convection cooking and has a built in probe for meat temperature. Self cleaning, including racks they are the coated ceramic so they don't have to be taken out to self clean.


The bottome oven does sit very low to floor, but I find myself mostly using the top oven for smaller stuff anway and conserving electricity. I did make a turkey last week and the bottome oven was way big enough for our 17lb bird. Cooks great, looks great, so far I love it.

I purchased it online through appliancesconnection.com (they are out of Brooklyn area) it did take 3 weeks to get here, but their prices for were unbeatable.


this is our stove
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[SplashMo]

Dacor is a nice in between Viking and others

 

[Sinderelly]

We purchased all new appliances for our new house. They are all Maytag and we have had problems with three out of four. I do LOVE my glass top convection oven though. The pump went out of the dishwasher and is on backorder so we have been w/o a dishwasher since mid Dec. The range has had problems with one of the burners not working correctly( kept turning itself off during cooking). The microwave has been serviced three times. The warranty ( 1 year) has ran out now and Maytag/Whirlpool customer service had been awful. The manager got really nasty on the phone w/ DH.

We just put our house on the market and will probably be building a new smaller house and will be looking for a different brand when it comes to appliances. I hope this saves someone from having all the problems we have had.

 

[Astro Orbiter]

Try Craigslist - you can find some sweet deals and it's pretty easy to hook up. I sold my old one last fall.

For new, I bought a stardard GE - 5 burners, one oven - and have been very pleased with it. Though I haven't completely figured out what to use the 5th burner for.

Deb

 

[fakereadhed]

Be careful about placement of 5 burners! I hate mine! There are two large in front(too large/hot for most things), a normal one in the middle, normal size in the back left, and tiny warming one in the back right corner. The tiny one won't boil water on high. It is IMPOSSIBLE to cook on both the normal sized burners at the same time since they are too close together. So, by upgrading to five, instead of four, I get one freaking burner. Plus the option to burn something on the front burners!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I have a Jenn-Air double oven. It is dual fuel and convection. So the stove top is gas, and the oven is electric.

It has a gas stove top with 5 burners. The burners are 4 different sizes. I like that because I use different burners for different pots and foods. The middle burner is small and used for simmering. So I might start a big pot of chili in the front on a big burner, and then when I want to simmer, I move it to the middle burner.

The double convection oven is fantastic! The small oven is on top, and I use it most of the time. It heats up so fast. Much quicker that the full size oven. I feel like I'm using less energy just using the small oven. It also has a toaster oven setting that I like. The bottom oven is like a normal size oven it is just lower to the floor. I had to find a spot to store everything that was in my old ovens bottom drawer.

The only time I have trouble getting things out of the bottom oven is the big Thanksgiving turkey. My DH gets that out for me. It took some getting used to to have the shelves that low, but it works great. One of my racks slides out on rollers, making it easier to get to.

 

[mousestruck]

We just bought a GE Profile and really like it so far. There were a zillion models to choose one, but we ultimately went with a double oven (the top one has a convection option) and the five burners. We love the griddle that comes with it! It replaces the fifth burner and it is perfect for cooking eggs, burgers and all sorts of stuff! The second oven is small and low. We haven't used it very much, as it takes a lot longer than the top oven to preheat. However, it definitely comes in handy when cooking a meal that requires cooking two different items at different temperatures -- like broiling meat and baking french fries.

We shopped around and found the best deal (on this particular model) at Lowes. Good luck!

 

[Mixie]

I purchased a new stove this summer.

I considered the 2 oven type, but then though 'where will I put all the pans that usually stay in the drawer?' and decided against it.

My only other advice is to take a few of your favorite pans with you (you'll look silly doing this, but do it anyway) and set them on the stove you are looking at.

I discovered that the large burner on my new stove is larger than any pans I had - so I had to go buy a couple more pans. Also, if I were to use all 4 burners, the two left ones tend to sit pan to pan - no real room between them.

I *didn't* bring pans when I was looking and if I had, I would have chosen differently.

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great ideas. There are several things I hadn't thought of. I really appreciate it!!

 

[Brer Shay]

I also have a Maytag Gemini - 4 burner configuration. I've had it for 3.5 years and highly recommend it. Our previous home had two ovens that I used somewhat regularly - no room in the current one, so I went with this model. I believe it was about $800. I love the ability of cooking two items at two different temps. I also really appreciate how quickly the top (smaller) oven heats up to temperature, particularly in the summertime it just puts less heat into the kitchen. The only negative is when you use the bottom oven, the door opens basically to the floor which always messes with my head about someone stepping on, falling in, etc... I don't think it's a realistic fear, but it does run through my head. Bottom line is it's a great and convenient oven/stove.

 

[luvmy3]

I just bought a new oven, I ended up getting a Kenmore because of reviews from personal friends and family. I love it, it has 4 burners, and one warm zone and a convection oven. My favorite part besides the convection is the hidden bake element, it gives me a little bigger interior (5.7) and makes cleaning the bottom of the oven so easy.

 

[mikehn]

You didnt say whether you have gas or electric. That might make a difference. If you have gas, you should check the path of the gas supply behind your current range to ensure the new range will fit that configuration. Otherwise, you may have to get a gas fitter to reroute the gas supply. We ran into this problem when we went to replace our old range. The new range did not fit without moving the existing gas pipe. We ended up getting the GE Cafe, a step up from the Profile line. It has dual ovens (one large, and one small) and an oval fifth burner in the center.
For those who have an oval fifth burner but would rather not use a griddle with it, Analon makes a 5qt lidded oval saute pan that conforms perfectly. I am not a big fan of using an open griddle on top of the stove because of all the grease splatters.