36 inch rangle plus single vs. 48 inch range

10 years ago

I'd love some feedback from folks that were questioning the same decision that I am trying to make. Should I buy a 36 inch gas range plus a single electric oven OR a 48 inch gas range with double ovens. I cook multiple meals at the same time on the weekend so I need multiple burners and 2 ovens. I do not need 8 burners however.
So for those of you that decided 36 inch range, do you have enough burners and oven space? Did you add a single oven too? Do you have any regrets? And for the 48 inch range owners; any regrets? Is it too many burners? Do you feel like your fan is just too big in the kitchen?
Thanks. I can't tell you how much time I have spent over the last 2 months reading everyone else's posts:)

Featured Answer

tyguy

10 years ago

Cathy:

Every situation is unique. I was in the interior design and general contracting business for years so my perspective comes with a bit more bias on the esthetics than you will typically find on the appliance forum. As mentioned, every space is unique and in some kitchens a 36" range would look out of scale and tiny. In other situations a 48" would look ridiculous. Some kitchens require a 60".

In my particular case, my kitchen begged for a 48", so I went with a 48" bluestar with a grill and a griddle. In my experienced opinion it is perfect for its space. I have a 54" hood with no upper cabinets (just open shelves) on my "range wall" which helps to not make things look too top heavy with the large hood. My range wall is also aprox 12 feet if memory serves correct so the 48 inch was a natural choice as it takes a nice even third of the space. Most, if not all, wall ovens are also very modern looking but therefor date themselves so if you have a traditional style kitchen it may not look so good down the road.

From a function standpoint, I would have to agree with nyc. I think you would get the most versatile setup with gas range and electric wall oven. I will say tho, that the small oven on the bluestar is a champ. In my experience it gets very even and accurate temps. It fits a standard half sheet cookie sheet. To be honest I use the small oven more often then the large one.

Another point....on the functional side of the equation, a 48" allows you to have a grill and griddle if desired. If you do go 36" route, my personal recommendation would be a grill. I love being able to grill inside, and this very very very cold and harsh winter we just had in ontario just reaffirmed that an indoor grill is a blessing in cold climates. I do like my griddle as well but a portable griddle can stradle the top of two of your burners on a 36" if a griddle is desired.

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Comments (8)

nycbluedevil
10 years ago
I have a 36" Blue Star with grill and a Miele speed oven. I think it is a perfect combination. I was considering the 48" range but decided against it for a couple of reasons besides the fact that it might have overwhelmed my narrow kitchen. First, I liked the option of having one gas and one electric oven, plus the speed oven gave me the extra functions. Second, I read that the small oven on the 48" was the weak sister--not great air flow for example. Last, I didn't really need 8 burners. Now I have four plus the grill which is always enough. Only occasionally do I use all four and I can use the grill as an extra burner in a pinch but haven't needed to do that.
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Comes down to what you cook as stated above. We lived with a 30" all gas range and found it fine other than having to do a suffle when making larger meals. Take one thing off to cook another and then pop that pan back on to warm up whatever etc. as we had all burners going. The range had four burners on it. For us, a 5 burner 30 was just too crowded for what we wanted. What started our whole remodel process is that hubby wanted a second oven. Hubby loves to cook and really hated having a rib roast in at 200 slow cooking and then having to suffle things and wait on yorkshires at 400-450 to get done or roast potatoes or bread. So, we redid the kitchen and bought a 36" DCS AG with 6 burners to replace our range and a 30" wall oven that we mounted under counter. We were the same as you on the burner/griddle/grill issue. Love the 6 burners. Can have multiple pots and pans on cooking the whole meal and simmering all at the same time. Nice to have the realestate as it were. Great for starting roast potatoes and gravys in large roasting pans without crowding out the rest of the burners and then pop them in the oven to finish. Really like the extra room in the oven as well. Yes, does take longer to warm up the large capacity, but then we also have the 30" wall oven that we use if we are just doing a small pie or something. Very wise advise to take your pans and cooking sheets into the store. Yes you can buy new pans to work on whatever range you buy, but you are used to cooking certain things on certain pans and so it will give you an idea of capacity and useability for you. We were surprised when we did this as it illustrated to us the difference in some manufacturer ratings for cubic feet oven space. Put our half sheet pans in two ovens that were supposedly identical size. Fit with tonnes of room in one (in fact it would fit a full sheet pan per level) and had to put the pans sideways to get them in the other (only one half sheet pan per level). Good luck with your search! Cheers
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"even resaturants don’t have them anymore because they don’t NEED them." As someone who spends a fair amount of time talking to chef's and visiting kitchens in restaurants I can say that this is patently false. To the OP... What kind of cooking do you currently do and what would you like to be able to do? How are you for disposable income? We are going from a 36” ( burners + 12” griddle) to a 48” (4 burners + 24” griddle) primarily for the griddle space. We use the griddle not just for normal griddle stuff but for keeping sauces warm or various other tasks. For what we do a 24” thermostatic controlled griddle is much more useful and versatile than burners. We’ll also have an electric wall oven (Miele Masterchef), CSO (Miele XXL), GE Advantium MW/Fastbake, and two warming drawers. The changes from our current kitchen are the addition of the CSO and an extra warming drawer. Realistically this will all make little difference in what we prepare or how many people we can entertain but it will make cooking a bit less hectic and more enjoyable so for us it will be worth it. As I've said before, I've seen chef's produce outstanding meals with nothing but two portable burners and I've seen them produce delicious meals on ranges with no more than 11k btu's. I’ve also enjoyed some delicious chef prepared meals cooked over (or under) a simple fire. With anemic burners they won't sauté or do any high heat pan frying. Without enough burners they may limit the number of sauces. But what they will be able to do will be quite good. And FWIW, if a 48" looks better and you have the money for it then there is nothing wrong with going for it.
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wekick
10 years ago
I agree with tyguy in that you may need to consider the scale of your kitchen. I have 36 inch range with 6 burners and a 30 inch wall oven. I use the wall oven all the time. It is much easier on your back. I have an overlay griddle and we grill outside, but I can see how an inside grill would be usable for some. You can get griddles that cover 2 or 4 burners and made of aluminum to heat very evenly or steel that will hold a lot of heat. Some range(top)s have a griddle overlay that fits the range, If I did need additional burners, I would buy a couple of portable induction burners. One lady I read about had an extremely small kitchen and was going to buy all portable induction units instead of a cooktop and keep them put away until she needed them. If I had it to do over, I would have a rangetop and two separate ovens. You can then pick the best for each component. I might pick a steam oven and a regular wall oven or even just two regular ovens. If one component fails you are not stuck replacing a whole range. My range lasted 4 1/2 years and must now be replaced due to the failure of the porcelain in the oven.
daveliv
10 years ago
One other point to add is the oven on the 36" BS is 3" wider than than big oven on the 48" (or 60") BS. The extra size comes in handy, such as roasting a big turkey and then having room to bake 8 sweet potatoes at the same time.

I went with the 36" BS range (6 burners) and wall ovens and am very happy with the combination. I generally use the wall ovens on a daily basis. They preheat more quickly and not having to bend down is great. The BS oven is used for broiling (fantastic, but too small broiler) and baking and roasting for a crowd.
Fori
10 years ago
I currently have a range and small wall oven and like the combination. I'll probably repeat it when I remodel.

Have you considered a rangetop and double wall ovens?
stevep2005
10 years ago
I have a 36" BS rangetop and dual 30" Therm electric convection ovens. Personally, I prefer separating the ovens from the cook top - easier oven access, no oven heat while you are working the range top, less conflict with multiple cooks, and greater oven capacity. The downside is that I have no hood over the ovens if something smokes and the dual ovens take up more space than a single 36" range. The six burners is plenty 95% of the time but 12" pans do crowd neighboring burners so if you use those concurrently often then consider that. The only change I would make 8 years in would be to get the 48" BS range top with 6 burners plus the grill with a 4-grill-2 config to better facilitate multiple 12" pans.
CathyShoe
Original Author
10 years ago
I am going to go with the 36 inch gas range and a single 27 inch oven in the island. I do not have the vertical space for dual wall ovens unless I lose some pantry space (not happening). I like the idea of a portable induction burner for an extra burner (ie boil water for pasta) when the other burners are full. Thank you for your help
bober
10 years ago
To keep costs down my contractor suggested I consider a 48" all gas range (will sit against the wall) rather than a 36" + a separate single electric oven in my island. For me, I would have needed a 240V upgrade to my electrical system to support the single oven. I was not crazy about having just 1 large oven under the 36" and figured I needed a 2nd one.

So... I'm now looking at the 48". My wall to support it is about 130" which seems good enough to get some cabs on each side, etc. Then I get the 2 ovens, 1 small, 1 large. Love the BS but was not crazy about what I read about the long preheat times on the oven in the 36" range..

Will also consider other 48s like Wolf & Thermador but have no idea about pricing yet.

36 inch rangle plus single vs. 48 inch range

tyguy

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36 inch rangle plus single vs. 48 inch range

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