The grates do not get hot at all by the counter...I have soapstone, so if they do, I don't notice it. They come off easily for cleaning, etc. Anything spilled on them I normally wipe as much as I can and then let the rest get "seasoned". I guess since the power burner in front is so nice to have (I replaced a 1970-esque Caloric gas range), I wish it had more. The others are adequate, but just seem to take longer to bring things to a boil. So I normally just get things to a boil on the power one and slide it over to a normal burner. I have not tried anything else other than some Easy Off stove top cleaner and Lysol kitchen cleaner on the top. The big thing is I'm afraid of scratching it. I guess if it were stainless, that would be a worry as well. I haven't tried much else, and I might try the oven cleaner stuff for self-cleaning ovens. Overall, I do love it. One annoying thing, but you will find this with any newer range, is the cooling fan. After the oven or burners are off, sometimes the cooling fan stays on a while after. Nobody told us about this, and it was annoying at first, but we're used to it now. I had considered the GE Cafe double oven range, but didn't like the plastic knobs on it. These knobs are heavy and metal. Good luck!

I just got back from looking at the 30" model. It was hooked up, so I saw the burners in action, but there was no hood so I couldn't actually try it out to cook anything. I have attached a link to some pics of the burners, drip pans/tray, etc. My initial thoughts, in no specific order... 1. As with all the American Range ranges, it is very well put together. Seams and corners are finished nicely. Understated look, less industrial by far than bluestar but not overly softened...just really straightforward pro-look. 2. The approach is a little different than bluestar, there is both a drip tray under everything and also separate drip pans under/around each set of two burners. More like the Bluestar drop-in cooktop, less like the range. Reminded me a bit of the Jade residential open burner ranges. 3. The drip pans are black enameled steel, and are very deep - seems like the likelihood of things actually making it to the drip tray is pretty slim. They also, however, don't seem to have any obvious way to get a grip on them to remove them...it was a bit fussy when I did it. 4. All the burners click when you ignite any single burner. 5. The center area on the 30" is a removable stainless steel piece...I don't know if they are going to offer an optional grate, but it seems like it would be really simple to get something to work even if they don't. 6. Unlike the other American Range ranges, the grates are free-floating...there are no "dents' for the feet to rest in and hold them in place. AS a result, the grates move around a bit more, and are noisier...this is especially noticeable because of the other "moving parts" (i.e., the drip pans and tray)...its a little "clanky." 7. My big reservation...the grates are really, really high. Pots are going to end up really far above the flames, which kind of seems to defeat the purpose of having super-powerful burners. I would be concerned that in the real world a lot less heat would be transferred to the pan on this than on, say, a bluestar (or probably a culinarian, but I haven't actually seen one of those in person yet). I may be wrong about this, but it worries me...I hope somebody does do some real world comparison testing soon. That's it for my iniitial thoughts. If anybody has any specific questions, feel free to ask and if I can answer it based on my look today I will. Here is a link that might be useful: pics

Now that I've opened the control panel and properly connected the control cable for the oven, it works much better. The only continuing downside that I haven't fixed is the buzzing / rattle from the rear panel when the oven warms while the convection fan is on. I still despise the stupid blue clock. I wish the clock itself could just be turned off. My cats like it, oddly enough. I can tell because there are always cat prints on the surface. One day they'll learn. You betcha. The bottle of surface cleaner that comes with the stove is hard to remove. I've read somewhere here that there's a different product available that's much easier to work with. I can't remember which thread it was in or the name of the product, though. I've accrued one scratch on the cooktop surface. I noticed that the surface cleaner helps to keep the surface slick. The surface is always slick enough that I have to hold my pots and pans in place while stirring. Either it wasn't slick enough to avoid the scratch or I wasn't holding the cookware still enough. I guess it was bound to happen, though. Overall I still love it. So much easier to keep clean. The speed that it generates heat is great. I kind of like the buzzing sound it makes because I can just hear how high the power level is set without looking. (It's rather odd that the power levels go in weird numerical steps.) If you can get it on sale, go for it. It's definitely made by Electrolux, keeping the Kenmore tradition alive. (The tradition being that Kenmore isn't really a brand so much as a generic reseller.) I'm curious to see how it holds up over the years.

There are lots of threads about the wall oven vs. range debate. I'll link one below. It's really a matter of personal preference and how your kitchen space works. I chose a double wall oven because I prefer to be able to look in the oven at eye level. Even my lower oven is higher than a range oven. Like a2, I find it more comfortable to cook without the hot oven right there in front of me. Also, I like having a utensil drawer right under the cooktop, as well as the pot and pan drawers below. On the plus side for a range, the oven is under the hood, so you get better ventilation. There's also the question of double oven vs two singles (if there's a problem with the controls, both ovens go out if it's a double, but one will still work if two singles.) Also to consider is range/wall oven plus steam oven or range/wall oven plus speed oven. Here is a link that might be useful: wall oven vs. range