Looking for advice on ranges

Cafe Society
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My 20-year-old much-loved Dacor range that I’ve hauled into 3 houses and across the country is unfortunately dying, and we’re contemplating a kitchen remodel. I’m thinking of upgrading to a 36" range, and need some advice.

At the time I bought my Dacor, I was doing a lot of bread-baking, and wanted the best oven I could get. The thinking at the time was that electric convection was much better than gas, so I went with it. I’m very happy with how it cooks, but now that I’m pricing 36" ranges, you pay a LOT more for duel-fuel (ie, gas on top, electric oven) ranges. I don’t bake bread very often anymore, but I do use the oven for roasting, braising, making cookies, etc. What the latest info on that? Any opinions gas over electric? Can you get gas convection ovens?

Also, another thing I’m reading about electric ovens is that they come with electric controllers, and they can go bad and are pricey to repair. Gas ovens are simple; there’s not much to go wrong. My experience with my Dacor has proven what I’ve read - the #@$#@ control panel has crapped out more than once, and it is pricey to repair. If I can avoid that going forward, I will, but not if a gas oven is markedly inferior to electric convection.

I’ve been reading that 36" ovens take a long time to heat up, and indeed, I have a friend who has one who has complained to me about how long it takes. At the time, I assumed it was because she had a gas oven instead of electric, but now I’m reading that the heating time is inherent to larger ovens and may not have anything to do with the fuel. True?

Last off, any recommendations on brands? I cook a lot, I’m probably going to drop a fair bit of cash on this range. What’s good out there?

edit: another must: self-cleaning. I’m not hand-cleaning an oven, no way.

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Just a suggestion: Consumer Reports have pretty complete ratings on “Professional” 36" dual-fuel ranges.

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[QUOTE=Athena]
Can you get gas convection ovens?

Also, another thing I’m reading about electric ovens is that they come with electric controllers, and they can go bad and are pricey to repair. Gas ovens are simple; there’s not much to go wrong.
[/QUOTE]

Gas convection? Absolutely! In the traditional 30" size, Sears has more gas convection ovens than non-convection., and unless you want the $349 apartment special, self-cleaning is practically standard.

As for the controls, they’re almost all electronic now, other than the super-cheap ones.

Oh wait, you want a 36" wide range? Why? The price penalty is staggering, and the selection is sharply limited from 500+ to one or two. Rather than pay $5800 for one range, I’d much sooner do a standard gas range and double electric wall ovens for about half the price. Roll that idea around with your dreams and planning…three ovens will be immensely useful for holidays and parties.

Just be aware that with a lot of double wall ovens, only one of them is convection and self-cleaning.

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I was a professional baker years ago, and still bake most of my own bread. When I gutted and rebuilt my house, I couldn’t really afford to go deluxe on anything. I got a Bosch 30" gas range and oven with convection. I do use the convection setting a lot and love it. I think the biggest virtue is a more even heat. I also like that the grids on the stovetop are continuous. It’s almost 10 years old and I’ve been pretty happy with it. Sometimes I have to spin the selector dial a few extra times to get the numbers I want, but it hasn’t been enough to make me seek out a repair. So if you’re not absolutely committed to a 36" wide, there are some decent options in 30".

I think it cost somewhere between $800 and a thousand, at least 8 years ago. I agree that adding another separate wall oven is probably cheaper than the 36" if you need the capacity, and can make the layout work.

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Alternate option: go range-free.

Last year, I was faced with replacing my stove (the gas company upgraded lines in my area and announced that my ancient relic couldn’t safely be hooked up to the new service without a valve retrofit).

I didn’t want to rush into a big ticket purchase, so looked around my kitchen to see if I could make do for a while with my assortment of countertop applicances. Which I am still doing.

You can spend as much on a full array as you would on a real stove, but may save on utility bills. You may already have some of the items I am about to list. You won’t be able to roast a turkey, and it will be less convenient to do a big Christmas cookie bake, but you can do just about everything else you can do with a stove.

[ul]
[li]microwave[/li]li toaster oven – larger ones can have rotisserie insert[/li][li]slow cooker (I have a small and a large one)[/li][li]grill (I have a 3-in-1 with ridged grill, waffle, and panini plates, plus a larger one)[/li][li]hot pot (boils water)[/li][li]electric skillet (get one with domed lid)[/li][li]egg cooker (use this more than I’d expected)[/li][li]things you may not use your range for anyway, such as coffe-maker, popcorn popper[/li][li]rice, pasta cookers (if your household would use a lot)[/li][li]bread machine (same notation)[/li][/ul]
Plus there is an amazing assortment of specialty preparation applicances.

You could use your range slot for a countertop and storage for the appliances.

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I want the 36" range because I want 6 burners. Unfortunately I don’t have room for wall ovens, otherwise I’d be going that route.

Cost-wise, this is a high end thing. I’m guessing I’ll end up dropping $6-$8K (or more. Duel fuel is stupidly expensive) on it, which is why I want to get it right. Cooking is my main hobby, and I’m at a point in my life where I can afford it, so why not get something nice? Hell, I’d go with a professional range if I could, but Mr. Athena has put his foot down on putting in heat shields and such :smiley:

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Few years ago I bought a Bertazzoni, all gas model. I also like to cook and wanted to buy something I’d love to cook on, even if it was spendy. Like you, I debated over the dual fuel, but decided against it and went with all gas for a couple of reasons:

[ul]
[li]I’m primarily a cook, not a baker. So perfection in baked goods was secondary to me.[/li][li]For the stuff I do bake/roast (veggies, meat, casseroles, etc.), conventional wisdom was that the moister heat of the gas was more beneficial than the dry heat of electric.[/li][/ul]

I also wanted simple: excellent temp control, but no timers/fancy electronic faceplates/displays…No. Did not want. Saw a Berta in one of the appliance stores around here and fell in love. They’ve a fantastic line of enameled models which I’d love to have, but I ultimately just went with a barebones stainless model.

Love it. Love love love it. Mine’s not self-cleaning; a different model might have that, however. Oven temperature control is rock solid. Gas burners are a joy to cook on. Easy to clean, and looks fantastic. Other than me and El SpouseO, it’s the sexiest thing in my kitchen! Mine’s a 30 inch master series; they’ve got various models. I bought it at the appliance store’s “warehouse sale” in which it was priced at a deal for ~$2000.

Love it. Give them a look.

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[QUOTE=Athena]
I want the 36" range because I want 6 burners. Unfortunately I don’t have room for wall ovens, otherwise I’d be going that route.
[/QUOTE]

Another option that just came to mind is a 36" gas cooktop, possibly in an island, and a regular electric range elsewhere. One weird bit with the 36" gas cooktops is they tend to have 5 burners, with the front and center spot taken up by knobs. At least the electric range brings 4 burners to the game, so you’d have nine burners and one oven.

Most of the 6-ring cooktops are from Dacor, and we already know what that means for price. Other downsides are that you still have just one oven and it’s 30" wide.

It does sound like if you want a 36" range that doesn’t require industrial-level insulation or installation clearances and an oversize gas line, you’re stuck with a very few stupid-expensive options. You say there’s no wall space to put an oven into - would you be able to steal 24" of cabinet space next to the 36" range? If so, you could put a gas and electric range side by side, giving you dual fuel, two ovens and eight burners.

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I appreciate all the suggestions, but seriously, I’m only looking for a 36" range. Wall ovens, cooktops, two smaller ranges, all innovative ideas but my kitchen simply will not accommodate them. It barely accommodates the 36" range (with a remodel). Although my kitchen is not small, the way it’s situated in the house makes it less flexible than I’d like.

Also, I know this is going to be spendy. I’m not looking to find cheaper ideas. I just want a 36" range, gas or duel-fuel.

I’m actually not finding that to be true at all. In fact, I started this thread because there seems to be too many options! Wolf, Dacor, DCS, BlueStar, Capital, Bertazzoni and probably 3 more I’m forgetting all make good options. That said, there’s a strong push to end up with a Wolf if I can find one I like, because it’s the only brand that has a local dealer.

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I have a Thermador 36" all gas range.It’s beautiful (the background of this pic, not so much. We’re building a house and it’s installed in our temporary shop-apartment).

It’s about ten years old; we found it on Craigslist for $1000. The people we got it from had just bought the house, and the ignition spark thingy on the right side burners wasn’t working–such an easy fix!-- so they switched out for a Bertazzoni. They said they like the Berta, but that it isn’t as powerful as the Thermador.

Anyway. LOVE. I love the 36" vs the 30, that extra space makes cooking much nicer. Mine has self clean and convection, and typically takes about 10 minutes to get to 425 degrees (I roast a lot of vegetables). I almost never bake, but I do notice that there are some slight hot spots in the oven. I’ve personally never had an oven that didn’t have hot spots, and these aren’t any worse than others I’ve experienced.

You don’t happen to live near Kansas City, do you? A few weeks ago the Habitat for Humanity Restore Store there had a 36" Wolf range for $2000.

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Also, you’ll get more experienced advice on this issue on the Gardenweb forums. Those people know their expensive appliances.

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I would highly suggest a DCS range as I have owned and used both a DCS range and grill since the early 2000’s.

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My oven (30", so not what you’re looking for) has a removable heat shield that separates it into two ovens internally. I have separate controls for each part, or can remove the shield to have one normal sized oven. At Thanksgiving, I use it in big mode for the turkey, and I fall back on the microwave as a second oven, since it is also a convection oven. Most of the rest of the year, I only cook in one of the small parts of the oven, and it heats up much faster. Only one of the two segments in small mode work as convection - the other is only a standard oven.

I’m not sure if something like that would exist in anything you are looking at in the larger size, but if so, it might help with the pre-heat time question.