Gas Ranges...Basics

So many gas ranges and so many brands. 90% of what we sell is 30 inches wide. As I have said throughout the ole blog, appliances follow cabinet sizes. 30 inch is almost universal for cooking.

But what is the difference between a good range,

and a great one....

1. BTU: Better ranges will have a higher BTU burners and a better simmer option

2. Griddle/5 burner option

3. Convection....Fan forced heat to keep a more even temperature for better baking

4. Second oven instead of a warming drawer

5. Aesthetics: More metal less black

What's Hot

Had a sales training today, and the rep emphasized the output of his ranges burners.....So I started thinking.....what is the hottest?

As a reference, average burner BTU is 12,000

Answers as follows:

Capital Range - Their 30 inch range has a 25,000 BTU burner.

JennAir - Their units have 2 20,000 BTU burners.

Viking - Their 30 and 36 inch sealed burner stoves have 18,000 BTU.

Wolf - Their non sealed burners are 16,000 BTU.

Of course any induction will be hotter than any gas unit...

Never Change(That Much)

See this old KitchenAid range

This was state of the art 12 years ago. It had convection conversion, a power and simmer burner, as well as a warming drawer.

Which means it is very similar to this years product...

Only this one has better grates and different controls. There lies in the issue, because this is what you are buying:

Ranges with 5 burners, different controls and a second oven like these...

Pro Electric Alternatives

Lets go back to the Wolf Gas/electric (Hi George) DF304.

As said in a previous post, this is a great range. But what if you only have electric? You can bury a propane tank in your yard and convert the range to propane.

There are, however,better alternatives in actual electric as follows:

Electrolux EIS65JS

Repeat after me: Induction is faster than gas. Seriously. It also simmers better and is virtual childsafe. It also requires less ventilation, because it emits much less heat into the room than gas. With that in mind, Electrolux is a great range with intuitive controls, convection oven and yet another oven below. Price is $2500 less than the Wolf.

Frigidaire FPCS3085

Frigidaire is Electrolux Light. This unit has 2 induction burners, convection oven and a warming drawer underneath. At $2049, the Frigidaire is $1150 less than the Electrolux and $3150 less than the Wolf.

Buy an induction range...and bury a pool in the yard instead of a tank.

Pro Alternatives

Ah...The Wolf dual fuel DF304

Wolf is one of my favs. Each burner has 15,000 BTU at its high yet simmers at 500 BTU. It has electric convection for even baking. In short, this is a great range, but at $5599, it should be.

Unlike in years past, there are good lesser-expensive alternatives.

GE Cafe C2SG9800

I like the Cafe. It has five burners with one at 17,000 BTU and one dedicated simmer at 5,000 BTU. It also has an electric convection oven and yet another oven below. Price of the Cafe is $2599 (in dual fuel as described).

Frigidaire FPDS308K

Frigidaire is a great value brand. For $1729, this range has a 17,000 BTU burner and a dedicated simmer with an electric convection oven and a warming drawer below.

Wolf still has a better top as all their burners have power and the ability to simmer, but for $3000-3800 less, there are other choices to consider.

Tomorrow, we will look at electric...

The Countess of Cakes

Behold the best cake I have eaten (I had 2 pieces for dinner and 2 more pieces for breakfast). Yellow cake, vanilla frosting with homemade lemon curd in the middle.

This cake was made by scratch by Moms friend, Sally. We looked at her kitchen a couples of months ago. Curiously, she baked it in my mothers stove.

Rather than her own (a 48" version of this)

Mom has a 30" dual fuel. Sally has a gas convection. Perhaps this may be a good time to post simple differences and understand the reason why Sally chose to bake in her neighbors range.

Electric: Slower, less responsive top (except induction), but a more even bake, especially in convection. Broiler is not as good.

Gas: Faster top, better broil...bake is not as even as electric, even in convection.

Dual fuel: Best of both, combining the speed of the gas top and the evenness of electric baking. The electric broil is not as good, and the price is more expensive.

Induction: Better than the best. Top is way faster than gas, and the bake is better. But like the dual fuel, induction ranges have electric broilers and are more expensive.

Killing Brands, Daisy Burners and Cooktops

Have a look at this Chambers range.

Chambers was a high end wall oven and cooktop manufacturer back when I started in 1986. They were known for a cast iron burner known as the "daisy" for its daisy like shape. It was solid, dependandable and had a then unheard of output of 12,000 BTU.

KitchenAid purchased the company around 1988, and eliminated the Chambers name and rebranded the cooktop under their own label. They never really invested back into cooking per se, and are accordingly behind their competitors.

But what is in a gas cooktop...like this Miele.

Really a gas cooktop is about the ability to achieve high heat (in this case 15,500 BTU on the 2 front burners) and its ability to simmer (in this case 500 BTU).

After that it is about aesthetics.

That's all.

Capital And NXR

Behold The Yale Outlet:

A hodgepodge of different stuff, discontinued products, floor models, some scratch products, a few damaged pieces.

And 2 professional brands, NXR and Capital...

We sell Thermador, Wolf, Viking, Electrolux and Monogram, which are the dominant players in this market. Still these two ranges are somewhat compelling for different reasons.

NXR:

At $1999 for a 30 inch and $2999 for a 36 inch non self cleaning, NXR is an economical alternative to the more entrenched brands. NXR features 15,500 BTU burners, which all can simmer at a very low 500 BTUS. We have sold about 15 since last year without issue.

Capital:

From the previous owners of the financially imploded DCS is the new yet similar Capital Range Corp. Capital is interesting as well with a powerful 19,500 BTU burner(the average is about 16,000) and a competitive price for self cleaning at $3999 for a 36 and $4999 for a 48.

But will you consider them?

The Sequel

One of Frigidaire's most unique cooking products was always their best gas freestanding unit. It had the power burners, convection and a second oven for about $1250.

I am in no way advocating this type of purchase in all cases, as the average range sold in the US is $599-$699. However, it is a viable option to a competitive product starting at $2,000.

Frigidaire has returned with their double oven range adding a fifth griddle burner...Have a look...

Pro Ranges

I noticed these three pro ranges are almost identically priced at $5499...so it seemed like a good post.

Viking: This range is eerily similar to their first range produced back in 1990. Probably because they haven't changed it and have offered upgraded models. I still like this range. Burners aren't sealed, but you can't lift the whole pan to clean unlike their sealed competitors. The BTU's are basic at 15,000 with a 700 BTU simmer. As a reference, a 10 year old range has one 12,000 with an average simmer of 1,000 or so. Unit is available as a 6 burner, 4 burner grill or 4 burner griddle.



Wolf: Wolf became interesting when SubZero purchased the company. Unlike the previous regime, they actually invested money in the company. This unit has semi sealed burners with a 16,000 BTU and simmers well at 500 BTU. Semi sealed means burner is mostly sealed (more than the Viking), and the trays can lift off for cleaning. Unit is available as a 6 burner, 4 burner grill or 4 burner griddle.



KitchenAid: I actually like this unit. Unlike Wolf and Viking, it is not available with grill and griddle, BUT is self-cleaning and has clock and timer. KitchenAid also has 2 20,000 BTU burners.

The White Range

The white range is the staple of the appliance biz. You probably have, had or will have a white gas range in your kitchen. They haven't changed much through the years. The clock was a huge innovation back in the 50s, then self-cleaning, pilot-less ignition, sealed burners (gas) or ceran (electric) tops...

Then the big style change was adding all white styling. Seriously. We have placed a man on the moon faster than developing the everyday range.

Today's iteration of the ever popular range is much improved. Back in 1986, the range was $599-699.

Today's: $299....I guess capitalism and competition works?

Have a look:

(Almost) New Frigidaire Professional

Frigidaire is the most underrated company in the appliance industry. They were the first to manufacture affordable stainless steel appliances. To a certain degree, they still own that segment of the market.

Following is their latest and greatest...a curious introduction.



First, the style is interesting and matches this whole new series. They added convection conversion, which automatically reprograms regular baking recipes to convection. Frigidaire has 2 power burners including the griddle burner, so the top is better than last years.

The second oven (under the main) has been eliminated in favor of a warming drawer. A warmer will keep food warm without dehydrating for up to 3 hours...or refresh leftovers...but a second stove it isn't....a definite downgrade.

However, at $1269, it is still cheaper than it's competitors by a couple hundred dollars.



Unfortunately, if you want a second oven, the price tag is now around $1800.

Our Most Popular Post Ever

Don Henley once wrote "The more I know the less I understand". I look at the 820 posts and this one is by far the most popular...Its not my early thought provoking stuff, nor is it about SubZero, LED, Viking, GE or Bosch..

Its about NXR....Why? Here is the post with a How to afterward.

Features to Consider when buying a pro range

1. Self clean or not....?
2. Regular gas or dual fuel?
3. Grill or griddle option?
4. Low simmer/Higher output

Best Names

Simmer...Thermador...150 degrees is the lowest
Price....Viking(open burner units)
Oven.....Wolf(double convection)

Gas Vs Electric Cooking

Why have I never written this post before? Clients ask all the time. Here is the definitive answer...

Gas: The burners are more responsive with less residual heat.








Electric: Slower on the top, more even in actual cooking








Dual Fuel: Makes sense when you think about it...Gas on the top and electric below (best of both worlds)....before you run out and buy one...Electric needs 50 amp/ 220 volt. A regular gas is just 120 volt.





Induction: Magnetic (electric) heat on the surface. Faster, more efficient and better in every way...

GE vs Frigidaire

I have to respect Electrolux. They bought Frigidaire in 1993, and promptly shuttered the factories and retooled. They were the first to aggressively market stainless steel by 5 years. They have dominated the lower middle to middle commodity products.

Until now. GE has lowered their prices to compete in this segment. The best two (non Bosch) well capitalized companies are now vying for business. Ultimately You will win, but which is better...and is the GE stated strategy just marketing or actual execution.

Lets look at a couple of popular ranges:

Gas:








The GE 5 burner range in stainless is $999...Nice range, but the Frigidaire has a griddle burner as well as convection for $200 less.

Electric:








GE is better looking with stainless handles and accents, but it is 10% more.

Perhaps there will be more price changes next month.

How to Buy a Pro Cooktop

Really easy post. Cooktops really accomplish two functions. They heat and simmer. Typically a high output burner on a professional unit is about 15,000 BTU in comparison, a 10 year old range is 10-12,000 BTU. A lower simmer should be around 700BTU


Professional cooktops are great at both, but before you spend $2300 dollars, look at this Miele with two high output burners at almost $1000 less as regular cooktops are becoming more powerful






For a versatile high output with low simmer 15,000 at the high and 500 BTU at the low
look at Wolf

For the best simmer, look at Thermador, which is intermittent at an almost frigid 200 BTU

How To Choose a Gas Cooktop

Why do built-in appliances cause such much dread amongst consumers. Its been awhile since my selling days, but I am curious. Let me simplify considerably the vexing category of gas cooktops, as there seems to be so many.





You want to look for a high BTU output on one or more burners AND a unit capable of simmering. What else does a cooktop actually do?

A couple of my favs...

Bosch: Reasonably priced with 5 burners in a 30 inch configuration.





Viking: Good commercial style with 6 burners in 36 inch configuration.