30 vs. 36' gas ranges

12 years ago

I'm designing a kitchen and trying to decide whether to go for a 36" or just stick with 30".

It will need to be all gas, and there's no room for wall ovens, so this is the only cooking appliance. We're a family of 4, but I probably cook dinner for 8-10 once a week.

Things I'm trying to figure out:

- Is there a huge difference in terms of energy use?

- Will a 36" take a lot longer to heat up? Is this too much oven for me?

Would love some guidance. Currently have 24"(!) in our crazy little apt.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

deeageaux
12 years ago
Is there a huge difference in terms of energy use?

There is between an electric quarter oven and a 36" electric.

The difference between a 30" and 36" gas oven,in terms of cost,is negligible.

Will a 36" take a lot longer to heat up? Is this too much oven for me?

A)No, maybe a minute or so if you are looking within the same brand and line.

B) Not IMO.

Maybe a 36" range and one of the better toaster ovens for really small jobs like the one below for ~$200 that fits a 12" x 12" baking pan?

Here is a link that might be useful: Toaster Oven
Emilner
12 years ago
There is a big difference between a 30 and 36" in terms of cooking ability, but not much in terms of added energy usage and heating time. It really all depends on how you use the range. The oven will be much larger- something I find important. You did not mention if you are going for gas or electric. With a 36" gas range you can go for 6 burners on top or add a grill or griddle.
Related Discussions
36' drop in range & 30' wall oven vs 30' DF range
Q
Comments (1)
I would pick an all-gas range and electric wall oven. An all gas range is considerably less expensive than dual-fuel, and you would have the flexibility of two ovens & an infrared broiler (only available in a gas oven). You could use the gas oven as a warming oven, handy to the rangetop, or its extra large capacity for crowds. If you don't choose a range, then a rangetop will give you higher BTUs and large burner grids than a "cooktop", which has discreet burner or hob areas. I'd pick the GE Monogram 36" 6 burner gas rangetop. For an electric wall oven, I believe a GE Monogram convection gives good value for the price. Others may suggest good alternatives. We installed a 36" 6 burner DCS range because it was available in all gas while GE Monogram only has dual fuel. At the time, 3 years ago, DCS offered rolling oven racks, higher burner BTUs, and a simmer ring on all burners, while Wolf did not & was considerably more expensive. We're very happy with the DCS & would get it again. We also have an electric wall oven & love the flexibility.
...See More
Going from a 30' gas range to a 36' range, will I love it?
Q
Comments (9)
I haven't cleaned the insides often (had the range swapped out because of the burner issues, so haven't had one long enough to get the inside too dirty). Yes, it is a PITA to do (the downside of no self-clean, but the alternative would be having the range pump out tremendous amounts of heat for many hours). I always had to clean my oven door manually on my old self-clean range anyway, and had to wipe out the ashes left behind after self-clean, so it''s not as though I had a free ride before! For the top, once you get the hang of it, cleaning goes pretty quickly (I don't clean the actual burner rings themselves BTW, don't see a need unless there's been a messy spillover--they're burners after all--not suppposed to look pristine and unused!). For spot cleaning or jsut wiping down the burner pans, I have found that Perfect Kitchen spray (from BB&B) was a good recommendation from the people at the SZ/Wolf showroom. Depending on the am't of mess, I'll spray the burner pans or spray a paper towel and wipe. For baked on crud or more extensive cleaning, spray with Dawn Power Dissolver spray gel, let sit (how long depends on how burnt on the mess or how much time you want to wait), and then "scrub" in the sink with a blue scrub sponge (ours usually has some Palmolive dish soap on it already), rinse, and dry. I use a dish towel to dry the pans. If I notice any smudges or finger prints after popping the pans back onto the range, I might give a quick buff with a dry microfiber cloth. The grates get a quick scrub in the sink with a soapy blue scrub sponge if I'm going to be cleaning the drip pans as well, not if I'm just spraying and wiping them. I do those first, then lay them upside down on a sheet of paper towel on the counter. They're pretty much dry by the time I've replaced the burner pans. I'll just blot up any remaining water/wet spots with a towel/microfiber/or paper towel and we're good to go!
...See More
36in gas range vs 30in gas range.
Q
Comments (6)
Without knowing anything about you and your family's needs, it's difficult to say whether you should get a 30" or a 36" range. How many burners do you regularly use? How many do you need when you entertain (if you do) and for holiday dinners? If 4 won't cut it, get a 36" range. Your kitchen is large enough to accommodate a 30" wall oven, too. Personally, I'd prefer to use the smaller oven most of the time so that I'm not working over a hot oven while cooking on the range. Another option would be to do a 36" cook top, a 30" wall oven and a 30" speed oven (MW combo, multi-function). Separate appliances cost more but, as DrB477 pointed out, 36" ranges are spendy. You didn't ask for lay-out advice but your lay-out doesn't make the best use of your kitchen's footprint. Your fridge and range are crowded together and your island's angled shape puts the sink farther away from perimeter counters than recommended, plus it provides limited counter space. Given the opportunity to take advantage of your misfortune (my sympathies), it seems a shame not to consider addressing these issues at the same time. Are you on a slab? Even if you are, can you move plumbing at all? If so, here's one possibility that relieves appliance crowding and gives you a larger island with more counter on each side of the sink plus a lot more room to work on each side of the range, and better work aisle widths. Do you have pantry space somewhere? Or are you doing pantry cabinets? There's room to add them to the above plan, either between wall oven/MW and fridge, creating a "wall of tall" or at one end or the other of the range run. Good luck with your rebuild! PS. If your fridge is a standard depth fridge, you may want to allow a wider aisle between fridge run and island. Or you could investigate recessing the fridge into the stud space a few inches.
...See More
any opinions on a 36"gas Wolf range vs a 36" Blue Star range???
Q
Comments (17)
We have had the 36" Blue Star range (model RCS36SB) for about 5 years and would not recommend it. The knobs get very warm and we have had problems with the convection fan as well as ignition (gas would build up in the oven while it failed to ignite), both problems required multiple service visits The latest problem, the oven knob broke off and Bluestar said they no longer manufacture the part. Bluestar said they changed from a mechanical thermostat to an electronic thermostat and the ”upgrade” would cost $350 to purchase, not including installation (total cost estimated at least $500). I assume they redeigned the oven knob/thermostat because they had so many problems with the knob, convection and ignition. Even though it was under warranty and the knob broke due to faulty design, the service manager refused to provide a replacement part. I guess you can expect problems to occur with any appliance, but I do not expect them to provide such poor service, especially when they know it broke due to their own design flaw. It takes them days to follow up on service questions. Best to stay away from Blue Star.
...See More
taeel
Original Author
12 years ago
Emilner - Thanks. We do need all gas. Can't do electric or even dual fuel. I love the idea of 6 burners, probably not going to use them all all the time, but like the option and the space. Really I just love the idea of the bigger oven.

What did you mean by the difference between a 30 and 36 in terms of cooking ability? Can you say more?

'Course if I'm going for a 36, now I have to think about which one which just makes me dizzy. All the reviews on everything are so mixed! The only thing I can sort of tell is that I prefer the sealed burners but not even fully settled on that. Any recommendations?
Emilner
12 years ago
A 36" has a much bigger oven, allowing you to do much more with it. The top has more burners or a grill/griddle, again allowing you to do more. I have never looked at a 30" range, but I don't think you can get the same type of burners and infrared broiler as you can on a good quality 36".

Any reason you want a sealed burner? If it is for cleaning reasons I can tell you my Capital Culinarian's open burners are the easiest cleaning burners I have ever had. I just took out a 36" Thermador (with sealed burners)and I could not stand how hard it was to keep the top clean. When it comes to cooking performance an open burner is night and day better than a sealed one. I would consider a CC or a bluestar.
User
12 years ago
The biggest difference is the HUGE jump in price between a 30" and a 36". 30" ranges are "consumer standard" while 36" are pretty much all prosumer grade, with higher BTU burners and higher grade components. Another big price jump is between a consumer grade inexpensive under cabinet range hood to a 42" pro grade ventilation system.

In all, you're talking at least a 5K jump if not more to go from 30" to 36" by the time all of the package components are put together. If you cook a lot, that may be worth it to you. Or, you may prefer to buy a nice gas grill and another toaster oven for those times when you need extra capacity for entertaining and have 3K left over for something else in your kitchen.

30 vs. 36' gas ranges

Comments (5)

deeageaux

Emilner

Related Discussions

taeel
Original Author

Emilner

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

30 vs. 36' gas ranges

Comments (5)

deeageaux

Emilner

Related Discussions

taeelOriginal Author

Emilner

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

taeel
Original Author