We were in a similiar situation like you, $2K, gas. After a mess up with another purchase by the store, we ended up getting a 30" RCS BlueStar. However, we looked long and hard at Frigidaire's.

Which double oven model are you looking at? The two showing are Frigidaire FGGF304DLF or FGGF305MKF.

The issue for me and the wife was bending way down on the DLF to reach the larger oven. Also, how much baking do you really do to warrant another oven?

As for the cook tops, does BTU output per burner matter to you? The MKF has 5 separate, whereas the DLF has 2 at 9500.

The most notable difference between the 2 will be oven BTU's, 6500 difference.

We did not look at Kitchen Air. Kenmore, we thought were pricey given the other options out there.

I assume you must buy a stove from a local dealer?
Buying online not an option?
I would bet half the parts of any Kenmore or Kitchen Aide comes directly from China anyway and are actually "made" in China from the specs given to them by US manufacturers.
The Kenmore stove is mostly likely made by Whirlpool so is the Kitchen Aid which is owned by Whirlpool for about 25 years.
Many parts that Whirlpool uses comes from China and are made in China.
Whirlpool has 47 locations and only 10 are in the USA.

Frigidaire is made by Electrolux since 1986 and could be made in USA, Canada or Mexico and many parts could come from who knows where.

Personally I would rather have a stove made with high quality parts from Germany, Italy and some US makers and then "Assembled" in China than I would a stove made from cheap parts then assembled in the US.
But to each his own.

We were in kinda the same boat when we were looking for stoves, our original budget was $1300 but was nothing but pure garbage at that price range, everything was very cheaply made, little light weight grates and oven racks, cheesy burners, very thin everything.

We started to end up with a $1600 Kenmore which was still pretty sad when you compare it to ANY professional albeit residential type range like the Blue Stars and Wolf's and CC etc but those were completely out of the question because we were not about to spend $3,000+ on a stove.
Fortunately I happened onto this site and at the time several people had reviews of their NXR ranges which I had never even heard of or seen.

But after checking them out thoroughly online I made up my mind they were the better bargain by far.
We made a trip to Florida to visit friends and made a 2 hour detour to Tampa to go check one out in person.
We were pretty much sold within a couple minutes, after checking out your standard stove you get from Sears or Home Depot, Lowes etc, be it a Kenmore, GE, KA, etc this NXR was in a totally different league for being IN THE SAME PRICE RANGE or less.

In some respects is a BS or CC better than the NXR? sure thing, no question.
But to us NOT worth $1000 more that we simply could not afford.
But compared to ANYTHING else for under $2000 there is no comparison.
The NXR is a comparison to stoves that cost $1000 more, but to any Kenmore/KA (Whirlpool) that sells for $2000 or less it is like night & day.
So it is a shame you have crossed it out simply because of where it is assembled.
Good luck with those American made stoves though.

My wifes best friend bought a Kenmore Elite a week or so after we bought ours, that cost her over $1950 then tax and delivery and she has already had problems with it and it is not even half the range the NXR ($1799)is.
No Infrared broiler, only one decent burner, cheap light grates and oven racks, an electrical panel that will crap out and cost hundreds to fix.
But it is American made and assmebled, so its cool.

I had wanted one of the double oven ranges for some time but ended up with a single oven. When out looking, I came across Samsung's version. Instead of two ovens, it's one that is divided by a removable tray. So you don't run into the stooping thing.

I think the smaller oven sounds very useful and more economical but the appliance salesmen didn't agree. They say the cost saved on heating is minimal and is not a real consideration. They didn't seem impressed with those style ranges and thought it was just a marketing thing that would pass. One said the only benefit was not having to bend over to use the oven since a lot of baking could be done in the upper.

I have heard some people on GW say they love the small oven and use it mostly. I would get one where both the ovens were convection. Can't remember how the Samsung was.

I didn't like those bright blue interiors (Samsung and KA) for my kitchen but learned they're supposed to let you see the color of the food more accurately as it's baking.

Nunyabiz1...While I appreciate your comments re: your NXR range, something of that size/power is just not in the cards for us. I assume (perhaps wrongly) that it would require sufficient ventilation if it is on par with Wolf/CC/BlueStar and we do not have that in place nor do I have the budget to upgrade our kitchen ventilation. Also, I understand that many of the components are manufactured in other countries (the burners in Germany, for instance) and that it's final assembly is in China, therefore, the quality could rival other ranges not assembled in China. My issue is not only quality. I'm not a "made in America" freak, but we do try to be cognizant of where our products are made and if I can find something that is made in North America and of decent quality, so be it.

I am a slightly better than average cook that likes to eat at home and host people for dinner. Our kitchen is basic with ordinary maple cabinets and (gasp) Formica counter tops. I appreciate the knowledge on this board and while many commenters are probably living with higher end kitchens, we are not, but that is not to say that people can't provide advice on features within our budget. I do like to get a good value and quality products are often a better deal in the long run, I don't have the funds for a new range, installation and ventilation system.

Laura, ventilation is less dependent on the stove's power and more on what you cook and how. I know because I've set off my share of smoke detectors while using small apartment stoves. Stoves that were made in the 1940's. Many and various different apartments. etc.

I think Nunyabiz is trying to do you a favor but you don't seem interested. And by the way, I own a Bluestar and have no ventilation other than the kitchen window.

Actually we use a LG Microwave ($395) with 400CFM and it is fine.
We also still have sad countertops, but hopefully the granite will be in by Tax return time.
I got the NXR because we we had a tight budget and originally had $1300 for the stove but that soon became almost a joke looking at what you get for that.
So we went up to $1600 which wasn't much better but doable.

I then saw some reviews about the NXR on here and it caught my interest.
I checked them out, and for the price nothing beats it.

I have as far as I am concerned a pretty darn decent 100% stainless pro type range with excellent parts and it was only $1799 shipped to the door.
For the extra $200 though we got 10X the stove.

alex,

I also thought that ventilation was more dependent on what was cooked rather than the power of the burners, but was recently told that BTU does matter with ventilation, so I'm not sure what to think at this point.

And while I do appreciate Nunyabiz's opinion and information, I don't appreciate a sarcastic tone (at least sarcastic in my opinion)...so, in this case it's not the message, it's the delivery. I am open to others' opinions and am early in the research stage for this purchase. My anal, over analyzing side will not allow me to make a purchase before I do check out the NXR ranges to see if they are an option for us.

Seriously I think the connection to BTU and ventilation exists, but you have to consider why.

I had a friend last week ask me how she could sear a steak on her small burners... I told her to use her cast iron skillet and leave it on the burner until a drop of water bounces around on it. I told her not to crowd the pan, and why the steak would suck the heat out, and why cast iron would hold so much heat.

She told me she took my advice and then some. While the steak was cooking on one side, she pre-heated a second cast iron skillet she had and when it was time to flip the steak, she flipped it into the other- by now 'hot' skillet. She said it came out perfect.

You can imagine my despair in the old days when even at breakfast the alarm would go on if I cooked bacon and eggs (when I lived in rented apartments), even steam from pasta would set the frigging alarm off.

Then I needed more water and a bigger pot to boil the water and at least twice the time, because the pasta would just take the water temp right down.. Now with a bigger BTU burner I don't need as much water because it comes back up to temp so much faster. Speed and control is what larger burners are about. You can certainly turn the burners down when you don't need the extra power. Having decent pans will go a long way, the extra power only adds speed and might change what you like to cook.

A lot of people on this forum will tell you how important ventilation is when you buy that deluxe fancy range. The fact is, yes, if you are cooking for a big party and food is flying, grease is frying, steam is rising and ovens are roaring, you will need what ever you can get. I can't tell you how many wonderful get togethers I've been to in apartments and homes with old kitchens and friends gathered, and there is just as much heat,steam and grease with those small ranges crowded over with visitors and loved ones.

We have had the Frigidaire double oven range for about a year now. We are quite satisfied with the oven arrangement and for the most part use the upper oven. Personally I do more roasting than baking and both ovens do pretty well. There are some hot spots if you have the racks in the lowest positions. These are above the slots in the bottom of the ovens (where the heat comes out). These are more noticeable when you use a very wide sheet/pan. The convection function in the lower oven works good, but I need to use it a little more. I've found one has to 'spin' the pan so the opposite side is nearer the fan.

The cook top burners have the typical sealed burner issues. The back left burner is a good size, but the front right can shoot the flames up the sides of all but the largest pans. I'm not sure if the Kenmore version of this stove has a 'double ring' burner you may want to check. I've seen the GE Cafe double oven does have one. The simmer burner (back right) can have a hard time getting water to boil in a 6" diameter pan. As far as the oval burner, I've used it a few times on a griddle/grill pan (Lodge makes a good one that fits). I've also used it while making Paella and wanted more heat towards the center vs. the edges with the round burners.

Would we buy one again, probably, one of our constraints was we wanted white and not stainless and many other double oven models were not available in white. Hope this helps.

drrust...

Thanks for posting your experience. I think that we're now looking at the Frigidaire FPGF3081KF vs. the Electrolux EW30GF65GS (and possibly the NXR). Still not sure of the double oven feature so I'm now trying to compare single oven units. Wondering how the stainless steel cooktop would be to clean on the Electrolux. I realize they are made by the same company, but there are some differences between the two that I need to compare more closely.

Laura,

That's the electrolux model I had purchased originally before my delivery incident. It's a great oven and my wife loved it over the Bluestar. But as it was pointed out to me, the cooktop will scratch very easily on this one, especially where the cast iron grates rest along where the back control panel is and on the front of cooktop edge.

Jcwr...yes, that's exactly what I'm worried about! While I'm really looking for a tool to assist me in providing food for my family, it's also this large, expensive item and I'd like to keep it looking good as long as possible. I think Electrolux has a model slightly less expensive that has the black enamel top...I've always had tops like that instead (but in white) and they have been relatively easy to keep clean, but they have been cheapie models with unimpressive open burners.