what specifically makes the GT better than the LT as far as durability and build for the person who will only ever use it for mowing a flat 1 acre of land? I don't think a person who is mowing a flat acre really needs a GT. What they need is a good lawn tractor. The problem is that most lawn tractors are built on the cheap. In my opinion, the cheapness will show up in unlikely places. Wheel bushings will be of lesser quality... seats will be made from cheap fabric... transmissions will be light-duty units... plastics will scratch or crack easily... These inferior materials/components are used so the manufacturer can offer the product at a low price. They do the best they can, but they have to cut some corners to stay within budget. Which corner gets cut will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Good lawn tractors, like JD's X300 and Kubota's T class (I mistakenly wrote GR above) are well-built, but they are just as expensive as some of the competitor's entry-level garden tractors. That makes them a tough sell. Only a brand with strong reputation can compete against low price. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a budget-priced lawn tractor. They aren't junk. It's just that the owner needs to be diligent about maintaining it. They have to accept that some parts may wear out prematurely. They should know the tractors limits and stay well within them. A wise owner can make one last a very long time. If they don't have "tractor smarts" or a very good service center, I think shoppers should upgrade to something more durable and less likely to fail. However, that needn't be a GT.

It did not crack during delivery from the stone yard to the fabricator. It was not cracked on their lot while it sat there for quite some time. I went to match paint, tile, etc. MANY times. It was fine- other than the sticker that caused the stain. It is NOT marble or onyx - the delicate materials. It is quartzITE which is harder than all of the stones, thus what the stone people are highly recommending for kitchens to those who want the look of marble but the durability of granite. SO that's what I got. I felt confident in it's durability and it's gorgeous, so I paid a good bit more per square foot for that beauty and durability. He said the insurance covered dropping the slab on the crane when it arrived at his lot from the distributors. He said nothing about it cracking DURING fabrication. I interpreted the insurance as neither the distributor wanting to accept responsibility for transportation nor the fabricator - so they ask the customer to cover that gamble. That is what I thought I was declining. But the more I think about it, granite companies should have insurance for dealing with delicate materials and subcontractors that break them. Why should the customer Pay for their breaking of a slab!? If I ordered a 5000 dollar appliance and it arrived damaged, the appliance company replaces it. I'm not asked to pay extra insurance for transportation on a refrigerator! The warranty begins once the perfect condition refrigerator is on your property. NOTHING in life works this way. Something is wrecked. The person at fault has THEIR insurance pay for it. They broke it. He has yet to tell me exactly what happened, but during the day of installation I was at the house painting the laundry room and something secretive seemed to be going on in a different language amongst the subs. I think that it happened during fabrication. When offered the insurance, breaking during fabrication wasn't mentioned, and no I didn't think about that. And I would have thought that absurd. I thought he was referring to the changing of hands. I had never heard of such insurance so I knew nothing about it. I was already paying a lot of money for a slab that they told me was the hardest stone of all the stones. I was also agreeing to paying him a good bit more per square foot for its hardness and how that hardness affects his tools. So the distributor and the fabricator are telling me how HARD the slab is and charging me more for that hardness, so paying insurance for fragility didn't make sense. He presented the insurance as if it was for dropping it from the crane when moving from the delivery truck. Now if my 2 year old beat the slab with a hammer and broke it, would I expect the fabricator to pay for that? No. So how is this any different? My point about the range is that immediately when he informed me of the broken glass he offered to buy an entirely new range. I didn't ask for that. Those were the first words out of his mouth. So if he's willing to spend 2500 on my range then why won't he be comfortable forgoing the 2500 bill while I handle the range? That was my thinking because there's no way I'm trusting them to repair the crack. If I get the crack repaired, I will find another company to do it later on. This company does not have the leather finish tools. The slab came from Brazil with a leather finish - it was not fiished by the distributor or the fabricator. To the poster who said I seem worn down--- I AM I AM!!! Before this renovation we purchased a lot to build on. Had blue prints drawn up and ended up selling the lot to the builder that said he could build 2600sf in our budget then later says he couldn't after we spent 10,000 on the blue prints. It's all been very stressful! A lot of lessons learned but nevertheless, very stressful doing all this with 4 young kids. Not asking for sympathy. Just saying that I am worn down. However, I will fight this last fight. I'm not paying that bill. If he wants to replace the slab then I will pay him in full. But otherwise, the more I think about it in terms of other situations - appliances, furniture, windows, doors....The customer isn't left with a damaged item! Wish me luck. I'm calling him now to discuss our options. Hopefully we can come up with a solution that we are both comfortable with.

Ideally I would consider getting a rangetop and separate ovens so you can get the best of each for your style of cooking. I have a Wolf DF and while I love the way it bakes, it was shot at 4.5 years because of the blue chipping enamel issue, which is a known issue with Wolf and is well documented on this forum. I would love to replace it with another DF but I am just not sold on any yet. Since you are looking at a 48" range, I am assuming you are looking at pro style appliances at the more expensive end. You may hear that gas is moist heat and electric is dry heat and if you just look at the heat source, you might think this. You have to look at the oven as a whole. Gas burners release water as a byproduct of combustion but because they require more ventilation and as soon as it heats and the air flow gets going, this moisture and moisture from your food vents out quickly. This is more drying to the outside of what you are cooking and facilitates browning which is helpful in roasting or even some parts of baking. It does put more heat and moisture into the kitchen. Electric ovens are usually more closed so even though they don't produce water, they will hold on to moisture from food. The increased moisture, in baking, facilitates starch gelatinization so you can have a little more time before the crust sets and this can affect the structure of what you are baking. You can always use convection after the rise is complete to add more air flow so more browning. Electric ovens can have a third/fourth element in the back or corners of the oven that in theory are supposed to make heat more even. Electric ovens have more modes to direct heat from the top or bottom and control air movement with a fan(s). Some have variable fan speeds. This can vary from Miele and Gaggenau that have a multitude of modes to something like Bosch/Electrolux which have less but very usable modes. Another consideration is a combi or steam oven that allows the control of humidity or at least the addition of steam. Thermador is the only manufacturer that had a steam oven in a range but I have no idea how it bakes. Gas is more straight forward with heat from the bottom and just on and off for convection. The advantage for this is that you don't have to have the computer boards that are needed in an electric oven. If you get an electric oven, I would buy an extended service plan for as long as possible because they are so complicated. All ovens can have quirks especially in the high end and it can be difficult to determine what they might be. Read the manuals very carefully. If you narrow it down you can ask more questions or search the brand on this forum. Another difference would be the broiler. Most gas ovens in this range will have an infrared broiler which will have very even heat but can be narrow look at that. It will depend on how you use your broiler what would be better. Some people say electric ovens have a more narrow range of temperature and it might be true in some. As far as an oven being "even" this can be the difficult part. This can mean no hot spots. It can also mean the ability to keep an even temperature. Convection gets a little oversold in this respect. The structure of the oven, if it is well preheated contributes greatly to the evenness of heat in an oven. Convection can change the process of baking by changing the direction of heat. Most recipes were developed in conventional ovens with the heat from the bottom. When you even out the heat, you will get more from the top and sides. You also get the drying at the same time. It can be trial and error as to how this will work. I look at it as a tool and seldom use it the whole time something is cooking. Convection can also cause hot spots especially if you combine an element in the back, so more immediate heat, with a high speed fan. It can have the blow torch effect. This might be more noticeable with things that are prone to burning anyway like something with a lot of sugar.

We are Blue Star fanatics at our house. My first choice always: a work horse, easy to repair (no expensive electronics to go wrong), powerful burners, easy clean, in my opinion. I have the infrared grill, which I absolutely love; moving to a new house soon, and got a great deal on a Blue Star with a griddle. I will miss the grill for sure, but think the griddle will be useful. Sounds like you are looking at a 36". Go get it.