Bought this range to replace a 30+ year old with a failed electronic oven control. Was looking for: Gas, Durable, Stainless Steel, Easy cleaning. None of the burners on my previous range were able to go very low, for simmering, or very high, for boiling large pots of water. I was interested in a range which had a variety of burner capacities, and had a convection oven. I was able to get a built in cast iron griddle, which was a bonus. I use it more than I thought I would.This range meets the specs, but is not great. My complaints about the range revolve mostly around the layout.
The burners can not be moved around, the largest is in the front right corner, the smallest is behind it in the right rear. These are the burners I use 95% of the time, and it is unpleasant to have to reach over or around a large stock-pot of boiling water to stir a much smaller simmering saucepan. It is also a safety issue. The two largest burners are in the front, which means I frequently have large pots on the front edge of the stove, the center of largest burner is only 5-1/2" from the front edge of the burner grate, less than 7" from front of range. I have children, and this is dangerous. My last cooktop issue is that the range burners were designed for a restaurant, not for a family of 4. Even the smallest burner sends the gas flames out around all but the widest pots and pans. The large burner is ridiculously sized, even with my 16 qt stock pot the handles get heated by the flames coming out and wrapping up the sides. (The water is still cool, so it isn't from the contents.) I would like the larger burners in the back, and the size of the flame pattern to be much smaller. Ideally, the burners would be interchangeable, so the owner could decide how they preferred them. The griddle is nice, although, with a 30" range, it can't possibly be wide enough. It would be nice if the edge was about twice as tall, to prevent small food items from being inadvertently pushed off the griddle.
The only issues I have with the oven revolve around the control. The only time the temperature is accurate is when the oven is heating up. Once it reaches the set temperature, the displayed temperature never changes, even if I leave the door open. That's just lying. It's accurate to 1 degree, so tell it like it is.
My last gripe is with the kitchen timer. It is very user unfriendly. It only displays minutes until you have less than 60 seconds to go. Then it counts down the seconds. It works, but it is counter-intuitive. I have to think when switching between the microwave and the range, since I am used to entering and seeing the seconds. It is also annoying, looking at 2 minutes, and not knowing if that is 2:59 or 2:01. I will accept that this is a minor complaint, but it is indicative of the engineering of this range. Good ideas, unwieldy execution.
The surface is not as easy to clean as one would think, but it is far easier than my previous range. One has to remove the griddle (quite heavy, and frequently still hot) before one can remove either the left or right burner grates. The burner tops tend to get stained and are not dishwasher safe, and the stainless surface gets burned-on food stains quite easily, which are very difficult to remove. Even with the burners and grates completely removed, the surface is not flat, and the igniters poke up, so you can't just wipe it clean, but instead have to work around the obstacles.
So, with all these gripes, you would think I hate it, but I don't. I like it a lot. It makes cooking much easier than with my old 1980's range, and quicker. The oven cooks evenly and consistently. I use the griddle constantly (if it was wider and had more of a lip, I'd use it instead of my frying pan.) I wouldn't buy this model again, but I would look for something very similar. This design is 85% of perfect for the price range. The last 15% is fine-tuning the layout, controls, and materials.
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