The Cafe could work for your situation if the price were not pushing $2800, which is $800 over your max budget. Maybe there might be a lower price at a "ding and bing" outlets. IIRC, Sears has one in the Baltimore area. That Samsung FX710 is probably a skoonch too tall. The specs for it say that the top of its backsplash is 46 1/2" tall, which is 1/8" too high for your 46 3/8" shelf. So near and yet so far. Seems like you've tried every brand of slide-in except Frigidaire. Might want to check them out. Consumer Reports annual membership surveys show almost all brands of all gas stoves (including Frigidiare) having about the same range of reliability/problems in the first six years of ownership. (According to CR, the survey results of less than three points difference are not significant and pretty much everything reported runs in the 7 to 9% range.) If you went with Kitchenaid, it is unlikely that you would see a repeat of the issue with the coating melting off the grates. That's just a manufacturing defect in either applying or mixing the coating. But Kitchenaid/Whirlpool have had a spate of trouble with electronics failing. The latest is a recall of microwaves that sponaneously start-up with some of them catching fire. For ranges, they had several recent years where the oven self-cleaning function would sometimes cook the controller boards and sometimes would trip an "over-temp" circuit breaker that could be reset only by taking panels off the stove for access to it. Supposedly that has been fixed with cooling fans but we still see complaints about the problem here at GW.) The NXR would certainly fit under the shelf. The top of the oven vent/backguard on mine is only 40." That will give you plenty of space to the shelf, although that shelf could still get rather warm. Do you have a rangehood or OTR? The standard width for a stove-cutout is 30 1/8" although, in practice, that is a "more or less" thing. The width of the NXR may be a concern as it, like some other pro-style stoves, is a true 30" wide. (Mine is actually 29 15/16" FWIW). Best way to tell if it will fit: get a 2x4, square the ends, cut it to exactly 30", put a level on it and pass it through the cut-out. If it sticks on the countertop or cabinets at any point, you know an NXR will not fit. Speaking of counters, I gather you folks are tall since your counter surfaces at 36 7/8" above floor level, which is about an inch higher than standard. (Either that or you bought the house from tall people.) I mention this because the top of my NXR is only 36" above floor level. The NXR instructions do spec a minimum 2" gap between the stove and any combustible surface rising above the stove. If you have a tiled countertop, no problem. But if, like me, you have laminate or composite countertops, you'll need to either cover the exposed edge or raise the stove. The NXR's legs are adjustable feet, but I do not know if there is 7/8" of an inch of adjustment. If you are considering an NXR, you could call customer service at 1-877- 639-7624 and ask them how high the legs can go. (There are real live people there and I've found them helpful.) You might want to check on the the requirement for having a plumber do the gas connections for you. Some cities and some covenants are pretty strict about this, but many places allow homeowners to do hookups and only require a plumber when you are installing the gas line to the kitchen. Most of us NXR owners have been able to make the connections ourselves. If you can do the hook-up yourselves, it could save some money and keep an NXR within your budget. (IIRC, GW member susan/dirtyblloomers lives in Maryland near Baltimore and has posted here on installing and servicing her NXR by herself.) Also, check with your your local public utilitiy company. Some of them may offer hook-up services. If they do, it may be free and, if not, is usually much less expensive than a plumber. (Calling a highly trained plumber for such a minor task is like having a neurosurgeon for taking out tonsils.) On that Imperial stove, skip it and any other commercial stove. Commercial ranges do not have the kind of insulation that are fitted to all residential stoves including "pro-style" stoves. That means they get very hot in use. Not good for a home kitchen. Plus, you to install non-combustible surfaces (tiling the walls and cabinets or sheathing them in stainless steel) and the local codes may require make-up-air and a fire-supression system for your range hood. They may require larger diameter gas lines than residential ranges, too. Lots of extra cost there. AFAIK, most of the commercial ranges do not have in-oven broilers, either. Numbers of postings here have discussed using true commerical appliances in the home if you want to research the subject. This post was edited by JWVideo on Sat, Feb 16, 13 at 14:06

Markw, thank you for the speedy response. I found these instructions online: is this what you mean by a simple DIY job? My skills have been up to simple woodworking and painting thus far: I am a little intimidated by anything that refers to high voltage being present while I complete the repair! This advice is on how to replace a bad element on kitchen ranges that utilize ELECTRIC heating elements for baking and broiling. 1. UNPLUG the range and remove the rear panel. Dangerous voltages are still present with the range turned off. The rear panel is in close proximity to the input power terminal block & shock hazard and/or equipment hazard can exist. Remove the series of screws around the perimeter of the panel. 2. Locate and disconnect the terminal lead wires from the element. Color coding may differ between manufacturers, so make sure you mark or label the wires as you remove them. If replacing both elements, do so one at a time to avoid confusion. 3. Open the oven door and remove (if possible). Refer to your ownerÂs manual to see if there are instructions on how to remove the oven door. Some have spring-loaded locking hinges, while others just lift out. If you cannot remove the oven door, use care not to lean on the door or put too much weight on it. This can cause damage to the door hinges or cause the hinge springs to come loose. 4. Remove the oven racks, and remove the oven pan (if required  some elements are fully exposed, some have pan covers). There are usually two screws either in the back or front of the oven holding the pan in place. 5. The element will be mounted directly to the back of the oven wall, and/or to the bottom/top of the oven wall. Remove the mounting screws and remove old element from oven. 6. Install new element by carefully feeding the terminal leads through the oven wall first. Reinsert all mounting screws. 7. From the back of the range, reconnect the terminal wires. 8. Plug range in, turn oven/boiler on, and perform a visual test of the heating element to ensure it is working properly. Turn oven/broiler off and allow sufficient time to cool. If the oven has only been on for a minute or so, the cool down period will be brief. NOTE: Stand clear of any exposed wiring with rear panel removed. 9. UNPLUG range once again and re-install rear panel ensuring the terminal wires are NOT touching the panel. Reinstall the oven pan and racks. Reinstall door if necessary. NOTES: Prices vary between models and manufacturers, but most elements are in the $20-$40 range. There is a difference between the BROIL and BAKE elements in that they are usually different wattage ratings and are shaped differently. They should not be considered interchangeable. Good luck & I hope this information is helpful.

It's been a long time since I thought about this. I was having an issue recently that I think was probably just water in an igniter (overflow or from a pot put back on the stove to dry after cleaning). I'd been meaning to check back and remind myself what I did and maybe update if I change something out. I did notice that the screws attaching the igniters were pretty corroded. That may have been a bad material choice on my part. My quick and dirty troubleshooting would be to trade igniters from a working burner to a nonworking burner to decide between module and igniter. If the same burner still doesn't work, you might also check out the wiring to see if it's been pinched or otherwise has a problem. That's my mute-the-work-conference-call-and-type-real-quick response.

I don’t think you need to get rid of your Maytag. there are some new portable battery backup solutions available that you probably should invest in anyway (fridge, medical equipment, radio radio/internet access for news) that would be more appropriate than a gas generator. I’m assuming your maytag runs off a regular 110 outlet? walmart has a bunch of these and they’re reasonably priced. plus plus, most red cross and fire stations will recharge for free. I’m looking at one for my pump house to keep our water and electric gate running - they are 220 running intermittently).