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help me with my decision on a pro-style range - dcs, electrolux i

15 years ago

I'm hoping you all can provide feedback to help me with my decision on a Pro-Style range. This forum is so helpful with pointing out things that can really help make the best choice.

I have been searching the scratch & dent sales due to limited budget for our minor kitchen remodel and have narrowed it down (so far) to these options:

1) DCS RGSC305SS - discontinued model, refurbished slightly used.

2) Electrolux Icon E30GF74GPS - discontinued floor model

3) NXR NRG3001 - brand new

There is a $600 price difference between the most expensive (DCS) and least (NXR). I am a little concerned about buying a "refurbished" unit (DCS) especially since it has been discontinued for 4-5 years.

Our other appliances are a Bosch Integra dishwasher and Samsung RSG257AARS fridge (not delivered yet) and we plan on being in this house for at least 10+ years.

Any help you can provide me in making my decision is very much appreciated. Pictures below.

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Comments (5)

kakimoto
Original Author
15 years ago
To follow up on my own message, we are a family of four and cook daily on the range, but only use the oven periodically (once every other week or so). Any of these ranges are going to be a big step up from our current Maytag slide in range and should function just fine. My wife doesn't care about brand names (in kitchen stuff only) but I guess I do.

Here are also pictures of the fridge that we are getting and our current dishwasher. They will not be on the same wall as the range, but we would like the finishes and handles to flow together or at least not clash.

Thanks again for your help!
weissman
15 years ago
I've had that model DCS for over 6 years and have been very pleased with it. In some ways I think it's better than the current model - they downsized some of the burners in the current model. I wouldn't worry about it being a discontinued model - it's similar enough to the current model that parts shouldn't be an issue. The only issue is the fact that it's used and refurbished - any way to test drive it before you buy? Other than that, if you're getting a really good deal on it you should be fine.
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Adding to what deeageux said, I will add that the reason CR testing downgrades the likes of Blue Stars may be as simple as the pans they used. This was something I happened on when I first got my NXR range and tested out its "dual stacked" 15k-btu-hr. burners (which are sourced from the same manufacturer that Wolf uses for sealed burners). Like many "pro-style" burners, these are set-up to favor using larger pans when you want maximum heat. CR does its tests using what they think of as a standard set of commonly used cookware. So, when you look at the time to boiling 6 liters of water (one of the CR tests for rating high-heat performance) you will find that CR reports the larger "pro-style" burners are often much less efficient at heating that stock-pot than the smaller "power burners" from the major manufacturers. A larger diameter pan can change this and possibly significantly. Here is a concrete example. One of the first things I did with my new NXR was to boil 6 quarts of water to make some pasta for dinner. (There is an old thread here from 10 or 12 years where several dozen GWers reported on doing their own tests and in which I participated, so I repeated what I remembered of those tests.) The first time I ran this test, I used my trusty old Kirkland 12-quart stockpot which is 8 inches in diameter. I suspect that it is very much like the pots that CR uses in its stove testing. On my previous stove, a GE dual fuel range with two 12k-btu-hr burners, it used to take just under 18 minutes to bring the water from tap temperature (about 50F) to just starting to boil (195F at my altitide). On my new NXR's 15k-btu-hr burners, it took over 22 minutes with that pot. However, with a different and wider stockpot --- this one with a 10.5" diameter base, the time dropped to just under 15 minutes. Another run used a 25 quart stockpot/canning kettle with a 13.5" diameter base and took only about 14 minutes and a couple of seconds to boil that same quantity of water. My recollection is that my old GE took 17 or 18 minutes to do that boil with the same big pot. What is going on here is the tried and true maxim that matching pan to burner size will enhance the efficiency of heating. The first test would say that my new NXR performed much worse than the more common major-makers' stoves in high heat. But, with a pan better matched to the burner size, my new stove significantly outperformed the previous stove. This does not mean that CR's testng is necessarily bad. It only means that it may not tell you what you want to know about the products you are looking at. It can be hard to decipher the preferences in the testing because CR does not give more than the most bare bones description of the tests and it reduces everything to graphical buttons which cannot provide the level of detail that some folks may want. For that, you have to come to sites like GW and sort through the threads. Here preferences and biases are forthrightly stated, sometimes, and, other times, you have to do your own assessing. Hope this helps. This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Dec 6, 12 at 15:14
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amcook
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If you are concerned about buying refurbished products, then you can always purchase an after market warranty. They are not perfect and sometimes you have to fight for them but in some cases, they come through better than manufacturer warranties. Just read the fine print. I've had pretty good luck with refurbished items I've bought but for the more expensive items that have lots of electronics or other hard to maintain parts, I have purchased warranties for them. Also, I've only bought warranties that cost much less than replacement or even repair. For instance $30 for a $400 item. Some will say that warranties are a waste of money and perhaps it is since most are never used. That said, if you are faced with a refurbished deal where you can save $300 and the only thing holding you back is the warranty, then the $50-100 warranty might be worth it for peace of mind alone. In the end, you still save $200. Let's face it, manufacturers build warranty costs into the price of new items so at least you have a choice when you buy refurbished. Also, look into your credit cards and see if any of them provide warranties for items purchased. Particularly AmEx was known to do this.

All of that aside, NXR seems to have a pretty good following. Most people say they are a great value.

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eandhl
15 years ago
I have a DCS and am pleased. Will you get a warranty with the refurbished range?
kakimoto
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you all for your responses, you guys have given me some great feedback and ideas, especially with the aftermarket warranties and credit card.

I went to see the refurbished DCS and although a picture is worth a thousand words, it doesn't tell the whole story. It showed quite a bit of use and what looked like some potential rust issues on the racks and inside oven (could have just been baked on grease/grime) and the racks didn't glide smoothly. This on top of more cosmetic scratches and dents than showed on the pictures. It does have a 1 year warranty from DCS, however, it was just a little too "used" for me.

So my search continues . . . this shopping the scratch & dent sales is hard work! I may just end up with the new NXR after all. Anyway, I really do appreciate all of your help!

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