Not sure I have what you're thinking of - but we have the Kenmore Elite slide-in gas/convection. THe 2 burners on the left "connect" to make one long powerful burner for the grill pan/griddle. If this is what you're looking at, we love it. The provided grill pan/griddle are great, and the added burner space allows us to cook lots on that grill pan at the same time. Cooks pretty evenly too.

I'm embarassed to say we have hardly used the warming drawer on the bottom or the convection feature in the oven, so I can't really comment on those.

The stove looks great (stainless), and is easy to clean. good luck!

That's what I'm asking about, nicole, yes! Man, I was thinking that the poor oven was a g'web orphan. Thanks for the feedback on the bridge burner. Have you tried anything like stir-frying or high-heat cooking on the 17.2 burner?

We also have a Kenmore Elite gas range with gas convection oven (ours is freestanding, not slide in). We don't have the bridge burner thing although it sounds cool.

We've been cooking on the range and in the oven for about 6 weeks and we're loving it. I've used the convection for both baking and roasting and find that it works well. Roasting seems to take maybe 25% less time and baking a bit quicker as well.

The 17.2K burner is so much hotter than any burner on our old stove (a 1940s Merritt & O'Keefe) that I have to be careful not to burn things. I haven't stir-fried but I can't imagine that it wouldn't perform beautifully. The flame shoots up pretty high but it might work to take the grate off and put a wok stand thingy on there. I'll bet you're going to love your new stove.

Make sure you get a hood that's powerful enough for it. We knew we were selling the house by the time we got a hood, so we just went with 400CFM. I would recommend higher if you stirfry/deepfry a lot.

I had the sister range to that: 5th burner in the middle, instead of the bridge thing.
For this price-range (not the Wolf price-range), I would highly recommend it. Loved the power, the look, easy-clean glass up top (control panel), convection cooked faster and didn't dry out food.
I did remove 1 grate and put my wok ring right on top and it was great for wokking.

Here's a few thoughts that you did not ask, but you may want to know:
- it took FOREVER to pre-heat: like 25minutes just to cook a frozen pizza
- Having used this stove (which is closed-burner), I definitely will be getting an open-burner for my next range/top. Only DAYS after getting it, it was already impossible to clean. Everything was baked on. I'm a heavy-duty cook and I truly use my range, so it really showed. I used ALOT of elbow grease and still couldn't get everything clean.

Is there a way to find out who makes it for Kenmore? That might help you know more about the reliability, etc.

I think I have a Ken.Elite similar to the one you are looking at. Mine is free standing, Ken.Elite dual fuel, 5 burner. The only thing I found a drawback is that mine is an odd size at 40". Their largest ex.fan is 36". I ended up having to size up to a 42" fan in a VentAHood, which is rather an expensive upgrade over a Sears Stove.

Thanks, you all! I've been out researching an American as an alternative, to get away from the electronic control board (the piece that broke for the second time on our range, which has necessitated this purchase).

rhome, the sears salesman said they're made by Electrolux. E'lux also makes frigidaire--I'm guessing they're somewhere in between the E'lux label and the Frigidaire? Although I like this better than the e'lux, actually. More "features", like the delightful bridge burner. Although the E'lux has an 18K burner. But hey. If you can take the grate off, like huango says, and wok directly over the burner, life is good.

huango, the *one* thing you mention that surprises me is the slow preheating. That's kind of out of hand, 25 mins. for a frozen pizza (I'm assuming 425-450)? I make pizzas pretty often--we just keep our stone in the oven we use it so much (or *did* until it broke!).

What would you think of an American range as compared to this? I'm not sure which top would be harder to clean--the Kenmore or the American, which is all stainless...

I think there was a thread in the APPLIANCES section about how long the ovens of MANY different brands take to pre-heat; many of them were very long ~15-25mins.
From that - for my next kitchen (still in design phase), I concluded to get an Advantium or some other speedcooker, beccause I'll have pre-teens who will do a lot of cooking of pizza/chicken nuggets, etc, rushing to soccer practice, etc. Can't sit around waiting for an oven to preheat.

When I was at the Wolf showroom or somewhere, the salesman mentioned that stainless steel top were the hardest to clean.

Good luck.

Thanks, huango...we have that immediate-need situation too, currently being met only by a microwave. But it would be nice to have something more flexible like an Advantium...

But re your last point: yes, stainless does seem harder to clean. AND yet...we went to see both one right after the other tonight, and one thing stood out to us, that I want to ask all current owners of the KE about: have you ever had anything spill and flow off the rangetop either under the glass or onto the counter? Under the glass, which seems like it really would happen, seems really potentially problematic. DH is a bit clumsy and has been known to spill things when stirring. A lot. And I really don't want a crust (YUCK!) building up under the glass, since there is no recessed surface to contain spills.

Can anyone speak to this? This is almost a deal-breaker for DH, at this point, unless I can hear that for some reason it doesn't flow under the glass (which would violate laws of physics, but hope springs eternal...). Thanks!

Can anyone share anything relevant to the question above, pretty please? :)

The question is: have you ever had anything spill or boil over and flow off the rangetop either under the glass or onto the counter? Under the glass, which seems like it really would happen, seems really potentially problematic. I really don't want a crust (YUCK!) building up under the glass, since there is no recessed surface to contain spills. Do you caulk it? Is caulk enough or does that get grotty too?

Thanks in advance.

Not sure I understand. Are we talking gas-on-glass? if so, that is what I have. I cook a lot and have had no problems with spilling onto the counter or under(?) the glass. I have had burnt on areas around the power burner, though. I can usually get them off with Bar Keepers Friend, or a razor blade, if it's really caked on. When liquid spills out, like pasta water boiling over, it dries up fairly quickly and has never been a big problem cleaning later. I have found this stove fairly easy to clean. It does take an extra step with some windex after the BKF, but i love how it looks after it's cleaned!

nicole, thanks for responding. Yes, it's gas on glass, flat panel. And yes, I was wondering about liquids getting under the glass, say something boiling over and flowing past the outer edge of the glass, around the bullnose of the glass, and underneath. Good to know about your ability to clean it w/BKF (we love that stuff already :)).

Much appreciated.

How does the color of the kenmore stainless match with other brands? Is the cooling fan loud?