suzanne, the pilot light... My DH and I had this conversation a while back when we had to replace our oven ignitor.... An option is a true commercial range with a pilot in the oven.... (are you allowed to do that?) If you are set on a pilot oven, I would look into it. Most modern gas ovens use a ceramic glow plug type of ignitor. These will burn out after so many cycles of lighting. (There are only so many variations on these parts and they are similar in performance. There are no ignitors that last forever. I replaced my Viking ignitor with el cheapo after marker part and it works fine.) If you or the spouse is DIY sort, then you can replace these for about $50 to $100 (Viking part would have cost me $300, yikes!). If not, you gotta call the service guy, which is always a few hundred dollars please... This is what makes owning "all gas oven" expensive this day and age. (your gas furnace will have the similar repair record if you switch to efficient pilotless furnace.) There goes your savings from the efficiency that "compounded" for a few years. So for your total pocket book cost, there is absolutely no savings from the increased efficiency. Some brands may have a better "performance" on this part than others but you will have to deal with it in decades of owning the oven eventually. They simply don't make ovens with pilot light anymore, as were the vintage ranges. Even the "new" vintage looking gas ranges don't have a pilot light. Pilot lights are much simpler way of dealing with ignition. The electronic ignitor is the same part (all of them look almost identical) that turns on your gas furnace, gas BBQ etc. (Maybe this is a reason to stick to a true vintage range with pilot light... Hm) all gas ranges are just about the simplest thing there is. You have an ignitor plus a flame adjustor, which is often a mechanical valve for letting more gas to the burner. Even if you don't have electricity, you can use a match to cook. All new gas cooktops come with electronic clicky starter. Even if that goes out, you can just use a match and start the coktop. My partner has an ancient Wolf gas cooktop that has burned out the electronic starter many years ago and he uses matches.... Cheaper than calling in the dude to fix it. Prostyle ranges such as Viking and Bluestar come in many tens of colors. They also come in 24 inch, which may help your tiny kitchen remodel. (not sure about Wolf) I would NOT say that your only option is SS. Yes, there is that issue of "cost". For example, if you can find an all gas pro style range used, it should last you a long time.... Again, the infrared gas broiler uses a similar type of ignitor with a mesh of ceramic that heats up instead of a burner. There are no electronics per se to break down but there is that ignitor once again will go out.... Then, there is a fan for convection. Electrical motors are rather sturdy beasts and do not go out too often.... Even if the convection fan went, out you CAN still bake without it. I used to have a gas range with the control behind the stove. That range needed to have the computer panel replaced after a few years, which we did ourselves... They are ugly and impractical. You already seem to know the limitations. I suggest getting open burners(which I agree with Amcook but that is another story) and with something that has minimal electronics.... Viking, Wolf and Bluestar are options. My "colored" Viking all gas range with open burners practically has NOTHING built in it. There simply is not much to break.... No self clean. No temp probe. No timer etc etc. I am keeping it at 10 year mark even though I am remodeling and spending many $ for the entire kitchen. There is nothing wrong with it. I can't see myself doing better at this point.... I think I would have replaced it if it was SS.

Just following up to my original post. We kept the range for 4 + more years since my original post, but will be getting a replacement this week. The Caloric is still fully functional - including the electric mechanical clock - it just doesn't look too great anymore - even with my attempts at repainting some of the trim. As far as I can tell the only physical issue is that the bottom of the oven cavity has rust - probably got its start when the range was stored in an unheated garage, The planned obsolescence that many people have experienced with the new ranges has kept us from going too crazy in buying a replacement. We are getting a Kenmore 74332 gas range. I'm not too thrilled with idea that the new range's lifespan may only be 1/3 of the old range, but the replacement has a convection fan, so that will be something new to try.

thanks jakvis for the info. since my granite has not been installed yet- last evening i disassembled my cupboard from the wall that is beside my range, went out and purchased an infrared point and shoot thermometer -- the temp on the exterior sides ranged from 145 degrees to 240 degrees farenheit which is way hot. i can not imagine that being good for the custom painted cabinetry installed beside the range- the temperature on the outside of the wood cabinetry was extremely hot also- the inside of the cabinet was ok, however towards the exterior of the front side of the range was the highest heat and that's where the custom drawer-fronts are. i even had heatshields applied to the cabinetry but they are pretty useless since they are just 1 inch metal strips that also got extremely hot. ugh, i'm hoping someone knows of a way to rectify this problem. thanks again for all the help.

Hi, everyone. My wife and I just bought a new Kitchenaid Architect II gas range. Last night I cranked it up to 550 degrees to bake pizza. I noticed that the metal exterior on the side gets super hot--too hot to touch, in fact. Is this normal? And is it a fire hazard? It's very odd to me that there seems to be no insulation at all under the metal panels; they sound hollow. Is there a good-quality (but under $1000) range that does not have this problem? Thanks for any advice or info.