Model PGB995SETSS Is there anyone out there that can give me input on this puppy for everyday cooking for my son and sometimes my husband? I have searched and there is not too much info.on appliances forum for these double free standings w/small oven on tops. Some peeps in the kitchen forums liked them, as like me, they don't like to bend over all the time and like a small oven to use everyday. The subject of cooktops vs. free standing ranges came up. I'm remodeling a 12'6" x 15'9" kitchen with three doors and a 49" (38 1/2" of it actual glass, from 1939)and of course a sink w/ window over it. Wall oven and cooktop seem like they'd limit counterspace/storage. Will add island but if anything went there, I'd want it to be prep sink. Some peeps suggested induction cooktops, but I think I like to see the fire and am leery of buying new pans etc. Help?

A 10" round pot over two 7" induction elements isn't likely to work well, and likely won't hit both pot sensors as well, so literally wouldn't work. Check the manual for whether you can bridge the elements with a double griddle. I'm guessing that you probably can. Also, make sure that each element has at least 17 power settings (1-9 with half steps). I've heard that some ranges only have 10, and that's not sufficient for a good cooking experience. Even more important than size is power output, and also power sharing since you're talking multiple pots. Make sure the outputs will work for you. A great big pot will work on a smaller element, but it'll have a hot spot. If you have thin enamelled steel, or carbon steel (which is usually only found on shallower pans), you're more likely to get rapid response. Next would be a high quality designed for induction clad steel. Are all of your big pots good on induction? You might have to invest in some new ones anyway. I LOVE my 11" element. My cooktop is 24" wide with the 11" double ring, a medium sized one and a small one. The only time that's not big enough is when I have a couple dozen guests and the chicken soup in one stock pot with the matzah balls in another, and I have one on the 15" gas cooktop. For spaghetti, for the family, a three quart pot on my medium induction element is fine. I have a few pots that I make spaghetti sauce in, but they're all the size of the ring at the base. I'm more likely to package it up for the freezer, and change to a smaller pot to heat the portion for dinner, however, so I don't have to deal with more work later. So... I think you'd be fine simmering your sauce in your big pot, and perhaps using an 8" steel pot for the pasta. Or something like that. Compared to the price of a new range, a couple hundred dollars for a few necessary cookware additions doesn't sound tragic. For boiling pasta, however, if you can get your current pot on the element without banging into your sauce pot, even if it's a little off center, it should be fine. It's not like you're cooking something on the pot where hot spots really matter. You're just heating the water that's cooking the pasta. Every new piece of cooking equipment, whether it's a cooktop or oven or small appliance, has a learning period. Each has its quirks. Adapting to those is necessary. Relearning your timing is essential. It's not hard if you don't resist it. Just be mindful and notice how things are working for the first month or two. It'll turn out fine in the end.

IIRC, only Whirlpool has ever manufactured induction ranges with two separate ovens. Those were sold as Whirlpools. Maytags and KitchenAids. They had high-temp self cleaning functions instead of the much maligned AquaLift mode. IIRC, the Kitchenaid version, KFID500ESS, was also supposed to have had some kind of steam oven function My recollection is that Whirlpool discontinued them a year ago. Somewhere here I recently saw a posting that Home Depot still has some of the KitchenAid models available for special order. Those may be in the "big book" that Elraes Miller mentioned. Not sure if there was or will be much of a deal on them, though. Sears Outlet also may have some of them, as well. My recollection of postings is that the reviews were pretty mixed on both the Whirlpool-made double oven ranges and the Samsung divisible-oven slide-in induction range (NE58H9970WS???). Worth checking out the reviews to see what to watch out for. Also, a good idea to download and read the Owner's Guides before buying one of these ranges. Other than that, I have not seen or heard anything about anybody else venturing into this market. A possible alternative solution for KAREN though not for thereunionband --- maybe looking into getting a regular induction range with one of the better countertop convection ovens like the Breville Smart Oven (BOV800??) or the slightly smaller convection steam oven from Cuisinart (CSO300?). Both garnered some pretty favorable reports here, at eGullet and Chowhound over the last few years. As for "bridged" burner function that thereunionband is considering, those can be a mixed bag, as well. Often, the bridging function is not really bridging. Often what is called "bridging" is actually only a way to link the controls for two burners without putting any heating elements between the two burners. Many induction owners will use them with a cast-iron griddle. Cast iron is very much induction ready and the griddles are readily avaialble and not very expensive. Unfortunately, they will have full temperature circles directly over the burners and not-so-hot areas between and around them. (Cast iron is great at absorbing and retaining heat but not very good at spreading it evenly.) Getting one of the better and larger (and thicker) carbon-steel griddles (say, a Chef King) can mitigate this a bit but most of us still find that the areas between the burners will not be as hot and take longer to cook pancakes, burgers and the like. What would be ideal (but I do not know if anybody actually makes one) would be a rectangular carbon steel griddle wrapped around a large slug/layer of aluminum. Another potential disappointment with cast-iron griddles on induction --- that is, a disappointment for those who hope to have a perfectly evenly heated cooking surface --- is there will be something of a mismatch between burner sizes and griddle widths. My Lodge griddle is not quite 12 inches wide. Last time I checked, most of the ranges and cooktops seemed to be linking burners with six or seven inch induction fields. My recollection is that only the GE induction ranges (PHS920 and PHB920) have linked 8" burners. There are some induction cooktops with actual bridging functions --- where there are additional induction coils between the burners or an array of smaller coils. The ones that come to mind right now are from BSH, which owns the Bosch Benchmark and Thermador brands.

Three things that might help with that very low oven: 1. I believe the oven comes with a rolling rack (you can check that). That should help with getting stuff in & out of the oven. 2. The door is shallower than a regular oven door, so there isn't as much hot door to reach over. 3. I got an oven stick to help pull/push my somewhat low oven rolling rack. Using the stick, I don't have to bend as much, and it keeps hands & arms away from hot surfaces. Well worth the $20 bucks I paid for a handcrafted solid walnut stick. Inexpensive ones available on Amazon, if you prefer. You can use the stick to pull & raise the door so you can grab the door handle more easily. Or open the door slightly, then use the stick to push it down to the fully open position. Easier on the knees & back. https://www.etsy.com/market/oven_stick