30 inch range recommendations

10 years ago

Hello, I have spent the last few days wading thru range reviews. I know I want a gas or dual fuel range. I am still undecided about open vs. sealed burners as you seem to be able to get 5 burners in the sealed kind at 30 inches. I both cook and bake so really need more info about the baking capabilities of the ovens.
These are the brands I have been considering; American, Blue Star, Thremador, Capital, and GE Cafe.

Comments (2)

M4rtin
10 years ago
I just ordered 30'' Bluestar RCS after reading on this forum for over a year.
For me it was the price, the burners, the grates for Woking, less electronics less chances for something to break, great oven capacity and bluestar seems to work with client when it comes to warranty claims.
But I'll really know if my expectations will be met once I get to test drive it at home.
NWRain-Gal
10 years ago
Phyrephox,

We are wrapping up a total kitchen remodel. I had an old mid- 1970's electric range that came with the house. I had toyed with the idea of having a dual fuel range. I wanted an electric oven because I like to make cheesecakes and pies. We already had the 220V outlet and had previously ran a T for a future gas range in 2005 when we switched from an 1940's oil furnace to a new high-efficiency gas furnace.

I found an amazing deal on our local Craigs list for a NEW 30 inch GE Profile dual fuel range. It had been purchased as part of an auction lot from a kitchen remodel company that suddenly went out of business. It must have been displayed in a model kitchen vignette.

It was a few years old, but never used! It carried a full warranty by GE. It was white, which is exactly what I was looking for. I bought it for $1,000!
It was missing the internal probe, which I probably would never use. It also was missing the instruction booklet which I got from calling GE with the model and serial numbers.

The range got hooked up just in time for Thanksgiving. I cooked a turkey breast and it did superbly. I have since baked casseroles, pizza, cookies, and lasagne. No cheesecakes just yet. The oven seems to bake about 25 degrees too cold. (My neighbor bought a brand new GE Profile Dual Fuel about the same time I did and her oven does the same thing) I just adjust it accordingly, either by increasing the time or upping the temp.

The cooktop is great. I really like cooking on gas better than electric. Heats up so much faster and much more immediate temperature response. I am having a little learning curve on the pots to burners choices. I am using my favorite 25 year old Reverware copper clad. You do have to match more burner size to pot size, but I'm getting the hang of it. I find I am able to cook most things on a lower setting on the burners at about 2,3,or 4 setting. Most of the time I use the medium and large burners from my everyday cooking. I use the X-large burner for large pots and pans and to boil pasta water. I have had great success using a 10.5 inch stock pot on it. The simmer burner I use for small pots, and light simmer for small batches of soup.

I like the electronic controls on the oven and it is easy to use. Cleaning the cooktop is easy too. I'm a "wipe up after you cook gal" so cleanup has been fine. I love having a window on the oven, something I never had before. I like to watch things cook and not have to open the door to do so. I haven't tried the convection bake yet.

So far I am very, very happy with this range. I also like the styling of it, it kind of has a rounded vintage look to it which goes well with my bungalow vintage kitchen.

This post was edited by NWRain-Gal on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 3:28
Related Discussions
30 inch hood over 30 inch range?
Q
Comments (8)
Several points: 1) Higher cfm will not make up entirely for decreased capture area. I think of blower performance as what determines how quickly smoke etc. that has been captured by the hood can be evacuated. Inadequate cfm means the hood will not clear fast enough to "make room" for incoming smoke, thus leading to spillover. However, an overly small capture area means that some smoke will never enter the hood at all. Remember that smoke diffuses laterally as it rises, and that is compounded if there is any cross-current of room air. As a first approximation, smoke that drifts laterally beyond the edge of your hood is lost no matter how high the cfm rating is. Kind of like trying to go faster on an icy road by installing a bigger engine, when the limiting factor is the spinning tires. Re haus proud's comments: all of the major hood manufacturers other than VAH allow remote blower installation. In the case of the OP, though, it sounds like he/she is venting through a side wall. That eliminates possibility of using a blower mounted inside. Only remote option would be to mount an external fan on the side of the house, which on the first floor of a house would look pretty weird. "Air intake surface covering entire underside of hood"? Isn't that all of them, except for some of the "Euro-style" hoods that have a flat piece of glass extending beyond the edges of the hood? Otherwise, the entire underside of any hood is "capture area." However, that is not related to airflow noise. That is almost all generated at the actual point where the ducting connects to the hood. "Forcing" the air through the much narrower diameter duct causes acceleration and turbulence, thus the noise. And remember that the largest duct in any standard hood is 10'', so that's pretty much fixed independent of brand. weissman: my experience differs somewhat. I have a 42'' 600 cfm VAH over a 36'' Dacor cooktop. I clearly get spillover. May reflect how I cook: I love to sear (favorite salmon recipe involves preheating dry pan on max heat for 4 minutes then dumping in fish). I'm hoping the new hood with 1200 cfm remote blower will do better over the Lacanche, and if I could, I would choose a different hood with higher cfm over the Dacor as well. Agree totally that increasing the depth from standard 24'' to 27'', or at least mounting the hood out an extra 3'' or so will partially compensate for the narrow width. amysrq: re choice of hoods--all the companies you name are good choices. As always I'll throw in a plug for Modern-Aire (Modern-Aire) with whom I've had an excellent experience. I know others have liked Metallo Arts for really wild, over the top designs. Any of these companies would make a good hood for you. I think it's more of a design decision: find one you like the looks of and you should do fine.
...See More
30 inch vs 36 inch range
Q
Comments (1)
30" ranges are fairly standard so resale shouldn't be an issue. I went with a 30" range because storage was more important to me - I was able to put in a corner supersusan by staying with a 30" range. 36" ranges are somewhat more convenient if two people are cooking at once - but 36" ovens take longer to preheat. You need to decide how important the larger range is to you. Personally, I'd leave it the way it is but it's really your choice.
...See More
A 42 inch hood over a 30 inch range ----????
Q
Comments (8)
Usually the diameter of the hood matches the range and the cfms required are determined by a formula (there was a chart here with that info long ago -- anyone have it?) that calculates the length of the duct run, room size I believe and one or two other factors. Getting it right is not arbitrary or merely a matter of opinion. An overpowered hood sucks too much air out of the room and becomes inefficient. Going too wide risks ventilating your counters. A good quality, efficient hood with cfms appropriate to the range type will be optimal. Femmelady's kitchen shows that perfectly. She has a pro range with an indoor grill plus a 24" wok stove next to it. I think they went with a 900 or 1200 cfm VAH and a photo she posted showed it drawing out the grill smoke -- even installed extra high as her husband is tall. Here's a link. Surely there are enough hood styles that one can be found to look good with the cabinets. I'd be much more concerned with technical issues, a good brand and proper ventilation calculus, especially if you plan to go with a high-powered range and one of the monster gas ovens. Here is a link that might be useful: femmelady's hood install
...See More
30 inch range vs. cooktop/wall oven vs. 36 inch range
Q
Comments (1)
I can answer the BS oven door question. My 36" BS RCS was installed two days ago (haven't used it yet, hopefully this weekend). During the burn off of the oven (high temp is 450 F for an hour) I checked how hot the oven door got, as that has been a big issue noted on these boards. On my range, the SS part of the oven door did not get hot, just a bit warm. The glass on the oven door got hotter but not that hot. What did get quite hot were the sides/edges of the oven door. I could touch the side but not for long. Definitely quite hot. Not instant burn/scald though. There are vents (or look like vents) right there so it makes sense that those areas heat up a lot. Your kids would have to press their hands up against the 2" side of the door for several seconds for it to affect them negatively. More likely a kid running around will touch the front of the door and that is not a problem, on my range at least.
...See More

30 inch range recommendations

Comments (2)

M4rtin

NWRain-Gal

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US