Just got my Samsung induction delivered Tuesday. They have changed the 11" hob so it now will accept pans down to a 6" base (actually I have a 5.5" pan that works). They have a tiny tape in the instruction manual to correct the minimum size.I like having a small and a large hob in front. Hob configuration on the Samsung is a little odd, but we seldom have more than two pans on the cooktop anyway. Sears came out with the Maytag 2 days after we purchased the Samsung, but I have had terrible luck with Maytags, going back into the 70's when I lived 20 miles from the factory. Also, it appears the Maytag oven only uses the steam clean - from reading the manual, I did not see that it has the conventional oven cleaning available. It has a good price, tho!

I've had two different washing machine(Maytag 14 years then GE profile for 6 years) with electronics and they never failed, the mechanical parts did. I do have a Speed Queen washer now though that is very old school. No electronics. The reason I bought it though was to get adequate amounts of water for cleaning and rinsing and the general build quality. I would love to have my old Maytag back but love the Speed Queen. It still has all the wash speeds and cycles but all mechanical. Posted by gtadross I think you'd be more likely to run into problems with ranges in that their heat output could fry circuitry. The better ranges have no electronics like clocks, timers, digital temp readouts etc. Just get a kitchen clock, a manual timer, and an oven thermometer and you can avoid a whole host of problems. You also avoid a whole host of benefits. I guess the definition of "better range" particularly the oven is variable depending on how you cook and use your oven. While you may run an increased risk of problems mixing circuit boards with heat, there seem to be brands that are prone to this and brands that function well as they are designed to do. You just have to do your homework. In a well designed oven with electronics, the purpose is to provide a more specific, advantageous environment in which to bake and roast. For me this is the "better range". I love that I have modes that give you the ability to direct the heat and change the speed of the convection fans in various ways to give optimum results when you are baking/roasting. A "third element" is often incorporated around the convection fan(s) that keeps the temperature super even if your oven is fully loaded. I can put three racks of quiches or whatever I am baking in my 36 inch oven and it cooks evenly wall to wall. I can manipulate heat from the bottom for pies and cakes and mostly from the top for roasting and items that need to brown evenly. Miele has a huge number of modes that replicate brick ovens and all kinds of nuances that a baker would love. Electronics may give a very narrow temperature swing as little as 2 degrees. It may also be more specific and repeatable. You may be able to set the oven exactly in 5 degree increments and 285 will be exactly 285 each time. I have used my oven for a modified sous vide as I can set it for 135 and with convection. A normal swing with a thermostat is 25 degrees. Some people like to have a thermometer that shuts off the oven at the moment the meat is done, avoiding the risk of missing the optimum point of doneness or not hearing the beep. More people are using steam ovens, with electronics, which opens up another whole world of possibilities. Eventually we will probably have cvap for home use. My current ovens have been trouble free, even using self clean(another possible benefit) for five years as far as the electronics go. All these things may be important for some or you may only care that you oven stays somewhere around 400 to heat a frozen pizza. Most people fall somewhere in between. The key is understanding how you cook, what benefits you might get from what is available. I have made choices both ways looking at what is important to me. -

From my stove shopping last fall, it seems you can't get all of your specifications in a freestanding range for less than $1.5k but you can get everything (except for stainless-surfaced stovetop) in a slide-in model which you can use as free-standing range You do know that a slide-in can be used as a freestanding stove? (Don't confuse them with "drop-in" ranges). Also, you do know that you can buy a rear-filler strip and/or a thin backsplash/backguard as an accessory for most slide-in models? (And, if you will have fully exposed sides, you can get usually get side panel for the slide-in models that don't already have them.) GE, Frigidaire, Whirlpool (and its sub-brand Maytag) all have gas slide-in models with almost everything you want for less than $1600 (including an accessory back-guard if you need one). Some are down closer to $1k in price. Check out Lowe's.com and AJ Madison.com. "Almost everything" that is, except for having the stainless-steel finish on the top instead of the black top. When I was shopping last fall, it seemed that either some design cartel had decreed or else some marketing survey company had persuaded all major manufacturers that all customers in this price range must have black stove tops on gas ranges with stainless steel fascia. If you want a sub $1.5k gas stove with a stainless steel finish and absolutely must have to have an integral backsplash without any oven controls on that non-removeable back-splash, I know of only one readily available brand: Premier Pro (offered at AJ Madison, Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, etc. etc. but you have to search for it.) But: (a) these stoves are very, very basic; (b) they are $1400 to $1500 for one with an oven window on a stove that is otherwise very similar to the $200-$400 models from other lines (although the Premier Pro's will have one larger burner rated at 15000 btu-hr); (b) complaints are about design, poor function (including uneven oven heating); and (d) there are complaints about poor build quality. For example, Costco offered Premier "Pro" stoves for a few months last year at costco.com. The reviews were negative and the number of returns apparently prompted Costco to drop the line. (You can find the reviews if you use costco + premiere pro + range + reviews" as your search string.) And, the stovetops on all stainless Premier models are black. This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 15:43

On Monday, Oct 1, I will call the Maytag customer service # and request a "Change out." A few weeks ago, I tried to call that number, but backed out, because the automated message requested my US postal zipcode, and that indicated to me that my call might be redirected to the same people I have already been deeling with at My local Maytag authorized repair center. Anyway now, I guess I will take the advise and talk to whomever they switch me to on Monday. I really hope Maytag will resolve the issue in a professional and ethical manner. Thanks for all the advice. Soon, I hope to be posting a new report on this issue; at that time, I hope things will have worked out well enough for me to be able to report, "They resolved my 'lack of oven' problem in a professional and ethical manner."