5K-6K budget - advice wanted

13 years ago

Okay, so I've done as much research as I feel like I can possibly do without confusing myself, and have read nearly every thread on here in the last few months. Getting close to decision time, so before I pull the trigger, I figure I'd ask for some help.

Wife and I bought a foreclosure, and we're ripping out the kitchen and starting over. This gives us a lot of flexibility in what we can do, but it's also expensive, so we're not going top of the line on appliances - we have to buy floors, cabinets, and counters too...

The one usable item in the kitchen now is a Bosch dishwasher, so we're looking for three items - refrigerator and either gas range/single wall oven or induction cooktop/double wall ovens. Have read all the pros and cons on gas versus induction and feel like I'll be happy either way. Leaning towards induction, but not 100% married to it yet.

Refrigerator - we want a counter depth french door, so am looking at the KitchenAid Architect II, since it's the largest in it's class. Also, KA seems to be pretty well regarded in refrigerators. Looks like the best I can do, either online or locally, is about $2,500 for this unit.

That leaves me with about $2,500 to $3,500 for the cooking portion of the kitchen - unless someone can talk me into reallocating funds from the refrigerator over to the range/ovens. Obviously, that eliminates all of the higher end options. From what I've seen, I could do something like the following:

GE Cafe duel-fuel 30" range ($2,000ish) with various assorted single wall convection ovens in the $1,300-$1,500 range, all of which seem pretty similar.

GE 36" induction cooktop ($1,500ish), Whirlpool 30" double oven (RBD307PVS, $1,700)

I know GE isn't always well regarded, but the Cafe range seems to get better reviews than most, and from what I've read, almost all of the induction cooktops are nearly identical in terms of quality.

If there's any alternatives I'm missing out on, I'd love to hear it. If I'm overspending on the refrigerator and should be shifting my money towards the cooking side of things, I'd love to hear that too. If I'm crazy for not buying one of your beloved BlueStar or Capital ranges while I have the chance, I'd be open to hearing an argument for that as well.

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Comments (10)

mydreamhome
13 years ago
For pretty much all the brands you mentioned, try looking at your local Sears Outlet Store. (I know, I know...there are some pretty bad threads on Sears on here, but they tend to be ordering, storage & delivery issues for the most part.) I was in local Sears Outlet the other day and couldn't believe some of the prices. Double convection ovens we wanted were about $1,000 off retail, dishwashers about $300 off, cooktops about 50% off. They also have a website. Something to think about...

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears Outlet Link
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Tim
13 years ago
I don't know much about induction, but it seems to me to be the latest fad, just like smooth top ranges were a long time ago, infrared, blah blah blah.

Do you really want to tie yourself to new pots / pans etc. to work on the induction cooktop?

I don't understand the need for 2 ovens - clearly I don't have enough parties.

Gas cooktops IMHO are likely always going to be your best bet. When it comes to electric vs gas ovens, there are plenty of arguments in favor of both.

If I had the space for a wall oven, I'd have gone that route only because it's more convenient to get things in and out, but I went with a 30" all gas Bluestar RCS range for my 10 x 15 kitchen.
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Posted by allykay I've looked at a couple of YouTube videos done by a cooking school chef comparing Wolf and Viking burners with Capital (Culinarian) burners, and a similar one for Blue Star. These are marketing videos done by Trevor Lawson of Eurostoves. He sells Capital Culinarian and used to sell Bluestar. The bottom line is that the placement, number and angles of the holes in the burners make both the Blue Star and Capital burners distribute heat much more evenly across the bottom of the pan than on Wolf and Viking burners. Heat distribution needs to be considered in the context of actual cooking. There are several factors that influence how effectively heat is transferred to your food. No one burner is the the most effective in heat transfer in all situations. Even CC and BS are very different in this way. The CC burner in the video is 5 inches across and has inner rings. This would provide fairly even heat across the bottom of a 6 inch pan. If you use a 12 inch pan though it would create a hot spot in the middle of the pan. You would need something wider to provide the most even heat. In this case a ring burner, open, that has a little wider spread of the heat might be "more even". Some ranges, like BS have burners are different sizes to accommodate the difference in pan sizes. None of this matters too much though if you buy pans that are made of adequate thicknesses of heat conductive metals like aluminum(good) or copper(better). Pans made of steel, cast iron or stainless steel are poor conductors of heat and require matching the pan to the size of the flame. Multiply cookware is an attempt to add some of the heat conductive properties of aluminum and copper to stainless. These are hard to evaluate because the amounts of heat conductive metals used are proprietary. The performance of the pan is blunted by the encasing stainless, but they do often go in the dishwasher. If you have a copper pan of adequate thickness, not only will your heat be even across the bottom but up the sides as well. Aluminum pans are much cheaper and are very even as well. If you cook with cast iron or steel, or even multiply cookware, you might want burners that have various sizes. It will also matter what you are cooking. A pan of chicken broth will allow movement of the fluid and transfer of heat away from the bottom of the pan much more than a pot of thick mashed potatoes. Posted by deeageaux If anything the new gas Wolf models are worse. They used to be 16k btu with that tiny inner burner. Now they are 15k btu without that tiny inner burner. The previous Wolf burner was also semi open. Functionally they are about the same. To me the sealed burner is a little easier to clean. The newer burner still has two burners(stacked) too, but the idea is that the heat on the simmer is spread out a little more avoiding the little circle of heat dissed on the Eurostove video. For anyone looking at ranges, try to see the range in person, live if possible. If you can't do that comments on this forum by actual owners can also be helpful if they contain pros and cons.
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renovirgin
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the advice on the Sears Outlet - there's one about 30 miles from me, so I'll check it out this weekend. Just to refresh my memory, Kenmore is made by Whirpool, who also makes KitchenAid, correct? I think I remember reading that Kenmore Elite is basically the same as KitchenAid brand products?

Tim, all my pots and pans are stainless steel or cast iron, so I won't be needing to replace any of them. In fact, induction will probably be less costly since I won't have to pay someone to run a gas line to my kitchen.

As for the need for two ovens, I'm frequently finishing meat in the oven after searing it in a pan, and I find myself needing to compromise the heat on the potatoes I'm roasting (or whatever side dish it is in the oven) in order to get the meal to the right temperature. I wouldn't say we throw that many parties, but we have people over for dinner a few times per month, and I'm often making meals that require simultaneous cooking of two different items even during the week. One oven just doesn't cut it for me.
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deeageaux
13 years ago
I don't understand the need for 2 ovens - clearly I don't have enough parties.

Not just parties.

Anytime you need to bake/roast two items at different temperatures.

That is at least once per week for me.
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mydreamhome
13 years ago
"I don't understand the need for 2 ovens - clearly I don't have enough parties."

2 ovens definitely--the holidays were enough to convince me of that. You can't bake anything else when the turkey is in the oven. and let's face it, that bird is in the oven for a LONG time!

"Kenmore is made by Whirpool, who also makes KitchenAid, correct? I think I remember reading that Kenmore Elite is basically the same as KitchenAid brand products?"

I always heard the same thing until today...I heard the French Door KA refrigerator was made by LG which I think is made by Samsung (or maybe Samsung is made by LG?) Anyway, it's something I would ask when you go to the outlet. My local outlet rep told me if what I want is not on the floor & it was something Sears carried, there was a very good chance they could get it for me at the outlet price brand new. Don't know how true that is, but worth a try!

"...all my pots and pans are stainless steel or cast iron, so I won't be needing to replace any of them."

Not always true. Those pots and pans have to be completely flat on the bottom--no medium/large recessed imprints of logos/brand names, no raised ring around outer perimeter of pot/pan bottom, etc. We talked with a lady who was enthralled with her new Electrolux induction cooktop except that her pots & pans didn't work even though they were stainless--they had a recessed imprinted logo/brand name on the bottom. It was just large enough in the center that the induction wouldn't work. If you have a store in your area with a working display, I would take one or two pieces of my cookware in to try it out and be sure : )
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renovirgin
Original Author
13 years ago
Following up to my own message, am also now considering going with the NXR DRGB3001, which looks like it can be had for $2,000 from less reputable online sellers to $2,300 for the more trustworthy. I've found some old threads with a few of you guys talking about getting this thing for less than that, but I can't find any such good deals.

The NXR seems to be a better bet than the GE Cafe, and fits in the price range. I'd much rather see one in person before I buy, though - anyone know a way to find a retailer in North Carolina who carries these things? The DuroCorp website is useless.
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mydreamhome
13 years ago
Try this...Durham, NC is where they say the East Coast Sales Center is.

Here is a link that might be useful: Professional Home Ranges (NXR)
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idrive65
13 years ago
Don't forget to add a decent hood and ventilation system to your budget, especially if you go with the NXR range.
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weissman
13 years ago
Kenmore appliances are made by a variety of manufacturers and frequently changes. There's a chart somewhere online that maps model numbers to manufacturers.
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renovirgin
Original Author
13 years ago
I talked to the agent at Professional Home Ranges, and that warehouse in Durham is just a distribution center, not a showroom, and they don't let the public in to view products. I'm always a little leery of companies who don't have any showrooms anywhere and have multiple company names, to be honest.

Definitely planning in a hood as well. Since the range will be on an exterior wall,I'm thinking a chimney hood that just vents directly to the outside. I was budgeting $500 to $700 for a 36" hood.
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5K-6K budget - advice wanted

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5K-6K budget - advice wanted

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