OT - Gas Ranges

tarheelmatt

Really looking over kitchen plans lately and want to have a nice stove for the new house (when ever that happens).  I want a gas (will be propane where we're at).  

I have looked at a few options.  They are: 

GE - I can get this range at a great price (low $4k)

http://appliances.monogram.com/ApplProducts/ZGP366LRSS

Costco - They carry a brand I haven't heard of (not saying a good or bad thing).  

http://www.costco.com/ranges-gas.html

Viking - I see those around all the time.  I'm pretty sure they're pricey.  


I'm not wanting to be cheap and not wanting to go over the top, but want a nice range for a long time.  


Just looking for some sound advice.  

Darby_Crenshaw

thermador has the highest output range top, at 18000 btu per burner, than the others in the same range (viking, etc.). they have an ultra-low simmer burner in addition to the already fairly 'low' temps their burners can hold

i think the proharmony can be had at 30" for 4200

we're planning a reno too.

best thing about the thermador (in my wife's eyes) is none of those frigging touch pads that burn out.  no electronics, nothing but a damn on and off

blasting

Wolf is another high end brand, up there with viking.

buzd504

We got a Verona dual-fuel range (gas top, electric oven) that is basically the entry level to the upper-end models like Viking, etc.  I think we paid 2500-3K or so.  We've been really happy with it.

http://veronaappliances.com/classic/36-inch-dual-fuel-single-oven-classic

BYS1981

One thing I will chime in about, these ranges are extremely heavy, so I recommend an appliance valve in a nearby cabinet. If the range ever has an issue with a propane leak, you don't have to move the appliance and risk scratching your floor, etc 

kl8ton

We are looking at putting in a 48 inch Wolf 8 burner for our reno.  You can put a piece of paper on the grate over a burner and place chocolate chips on the paper.  It melts the chips and doesn't even discolor the paper.  At the appliance place we went to they had a La Cornue oven with stove top that was $39,000.  It came with a matching hood though.

kl8ton

tarheelmatt

kl8ton said:

We are looking at putting in a 48 inch Wolf 8 burner for our reno.  You can put a piece of paper on the grate over a burner and place chocolate chips on the paper.  It melts the chips and doesn't even discolor the paper.  At the appliance place we went to they had a La Cornue oven with stove top that was $39,000.  It came with a matching hood though.

Haha... My pockets are pretty shallow I'll add!  Lol.. 

fishlessman

ive had a lacanche cluny for 16 years, love the simplicity of it and it will last my lifetime, but if i were to do it again it would be a blue star, huge burners,low simmering burner, infrared broiler, its a cooking machine. they have open and closed burners, closed is easier cleanup, open is quicker restaurant style heat. if i remember right, natureboy posted one years ago
http://www.plessers.com/Bluestar/rnb366bv1ng.htm

kl8ton

Regarding Viking . . .  our sales rep at the appliance store told us to stay away from them . . .for now. . . quality has slipped.  They either moved manufacturing operations overseas and are trying to bring it back or something like that. . . . the store I was shopping at was waiting to see how it played out, but were considering dropping the Viking line because they didn't like the direction they were going.

tarheelmatt

Darby_Crenshaw said:

thermador has the highest output range top, at 18000 btu per burner, than the others in the same range (viking, etc.). they have an ultra-low simmer burner in addition to the already fairly 'low' temps their burners can hold

i think the proharmony can be had at 30" for 4200

we're planning a reno too.

best thing about the thermador (in my wife's eyes) is none of those frigging touch pads that burn out.  no electronics, nothing but a damn on and off

Never heard of that brand.  I'll look into those as well.  

The plus for the GE model is I get a discount on those, plus if I were to buy a complete kitchen, I get more discounts, plus free shipping (and sometimes free installation).  

tarheelmatt

kl8ton said:

Regarding Viking . . .  our sales rep at the appliance store told us to stay away from them . . .for now. . . quality has slipped.  They either moved manufacturing operations overseas and are trying to bring it back or something like that. . . . the store I was shopping at was waiting to see how it played out, but were considering dropping the Viking line because they didn't like the direction they were going.

Seems I vaguely heard something about that now that you mention it.  Thanks for the info.  

I noticed the Capital brand on Food TV too.  Figured if they use them, they could be a looker too.  

kl8ton

Thermador makes great ranges.  For me it was between that and the Wolf.  My only issue with the Thermador was the particular model that the salesman was showing us did something that i thought might annoy me.  To simmer, the burner is on for 10 seconds and off for 30 or 40 seconds.  Then it self ignites for the 10 seconds.  I thought the clicking to ignite once or twice every minute would bother me.  It only does it when it is on its lowest simmer settings.  We simmer a lot to make broth/stock, so i went with Wolf.

GATraveller

We have a Jenn-air and I love it. Good idea to get a simmer pad or two for low temp cooks. They work great to keep the bottom from scorching. 

tarheelmatt

Thanks all!  I think the wife is opposed to getting a higher end stove, but I told her it'll be the stove we have for a long time.  I'll talk her into it soon.  

northGAcock

@tarheelmatt Matt I have an Italian Oven / range made by a company Bertazzoni. Give them a look. They are not as pricey as commercial brands...but certainly north of you GE's if you will. I absolutely love mine. Wife is not a big fan of the oven as the cavity is not as large as most US ovens. It also (oven) heats up differently than what we are use to here in the US. The gas range......love it. Give them a look.  http://us.bertazzoni.com/ 

Darby_Crenshaw

Thermador comes with a free bosch dishwasher as well. For a while viking was matching the offer, but dropped it. 

Yale electric near Boston has carrid Viking for years, but dripped them due to quality issues. From the word on the street anyway

YukonRon

We have begun a remodel of our kitchen. We went out and did some research, and compared function, quality, owner satisfaction, value, features, dimension, appearance, and several other considerations. We did this with each appliance we chose to replace. The final consideration was how the utility company rated it.
Our money-pit home had a poorly designed, extremely small, area for a kitchen. We had to remain cognizant of that for the remodel, and as such the research lead us to a 5 burner, 17000 btu, 5.4 cubic foot convection oven with all the bells and whistles from LG.
this was a need based purchase, not a want or desire. Big difference. For us to go any larger for any of these appliances, would have required a complete home (vs kitchen) remodel.
We are into this for around 50K, and hopefully we can keep it there.

NPHuskerFL

I might know "a guy" that can get you something quality at wholesale

Darby_Crenshaw

we are at $50k or so too for the kitchen.  but it is small, needed some creative thinking, and we have been putting it on hold for too long.

we have been planning for a while, and i finally drew up the concept.  the next night, our second "temporary" electric oven (both were scooped up from friends who did their kitchens over as temps until we did ours) literally blew out.  like, flash of light kinda thing.

i said to the wife: "um. so NOW do you think we can pull the trigger on this thing?"

we cook every night, and eat as a family every night. would rather drop $50k on a kitchen than a BMW

tarheelmatt

NPHuskerFL said:

I might know "a guy" that can get you something quality at wholesale

Oh, yes... I know that guy!  

B-Lak-E... HEYYYYY buddy!  Remember that time I made a water mark for you?  

NPHuskerFL

You've got my digits Matt. 
Ya I know the dude that made me a sweet watermark too

fishlessman

Darby_Crenshaw said:

thermador has the highest output range top, at 18000 btu per burner, than the others in the same range (viking, etc.). they have an ultra-low simmer burner in addition to the already fairly 'low' temps their burners can hold

i think the proharmony can be had at 30" for 4200

we're planning a reno too.

best thing about the thermador (in my wife's eyes) is none of those frigging touch pads that burn out.  no electronics, nothing but a damn on and off

check out the bluestars, i think the burners are 22k and their upper line is 25k. big upgrade over 18k for a wok which is what i have on my cluny, my 18k center wok burner is just not big enough. me and your wife are on the same page about keeping it simple...maybe not, i went no broiler and havent even hooked the power up to light the burners, match stick works for me

Legume

I thought everyone cooked everything in their eggs?

YukonRon

Legume said:

I thought everyone cooked everything in their eggs?

I told My Beautiful Wife, we are going to do this major rebuild basically to heat water in the microwave for our french press coffee. We do cook everything, almost, on the BGE.
My Beautiful Wife does biscuits in the oven, and I make soups. that is about the only thing we cook indoors any more.

saluki2007

I went with the Bosch line for our house.  http://www.bosch-home.com/us/search.html?q=ngm8055uc and http://www.bosch-home.com/us/search.html?q=hbl8451uc

All the grates and knobs come off easily for easy cleaning.  A lot of people don't think about that.  Cook tops can be a PIA to clean sometimes.

WeberWho

Legume said:

I thought everyone cooked everything in their eggs?

We had a stove that didn't work for 4.5 years. No point to fix it since we had the egg and the stove top still functioned. Finally replaced the oven 6 months ago but now I just refuse to use it. Everything I cook is based for the egg so the oven doesn't even cross my mind. My wife likes a functioning oven though.

tarheelmatt

WeberWho said:

Legume said:

I thought everyone cooked everything in their eggs?

We had a stove that didn't work for 4.5 years. No point to fix it since we had the egg and the stove top still functioned. Finally replaced the oven 6 months ago but now I just refuse to use it. Everything I cook is based for the egg so the oven doesn't even cross my mind. My wife likes a functioning oven though.

I like my Eggs, but I gotta go with what puts food on the table the best way possible.  

DoubleEgger

I've got an all gas six burner Wolf. It's alright. It was bought for looks and house resale value more than anything else. (got the impress the female when selling a house) I was told about that chocolate bar paper thing too. Don't believe it. I tried it many times after buying the range. I don't think it's better than other decent units. Oven takes a month of Sundays to heat up. 

kl8ton

@DoubleEgger
That looks great.  Do you simmer with yours?  We were going to just get a wolf range top and get Kitchen Aid wall ovens, but it was going to be cheaper just to get the Wolf 48" 8 burner with double ovens.  

My wife does a decent amount of canning and with four large stock pots going on our current 4 burner stove, none of the pots are centered.  Plus those big red knobs have to be worth 2 grand, right!?!?

tarheelmatt

I like that @DoubleEgger.  A whole lot, but I want the thing to be functional.  

Hmm...