My stove died. It lived a long life (20 years), but finally gave up the ghost this morning.

So, where do I start to find out what is good and what is not about stoves? Any recommendations?

I'd say go for a gas stove... nothing ever cooks better. Get one that has a time for the overn (i like that) Otherwise Kenmore is a good brand. Will last a while, and do a good job. Some people like convection ovens, I don't care one way or the other. As long as it has a flame on top I am happy, lol.

hopefully you have a gas stove and can replace it with gas. I highly recommend a convection oven. I put a new one in our old house and now I'm back to cooking in an old oven and it stinks. There is definitely a difference. OH, if you don't have gas, don't fall for the flat top cooking surface...it's really bad, IME. We are on our second one and I really dislike it.

we are taking the big roasting pan we cook our thanksgiving turkey in, to go oven shopping. No sense in getting something if ya can't cook a turkey in it. Our largest cookie sheet just barely makes it inside our oven atm.

have fun shopping.

I agree that if you have gas available, get a gas range. I have this one: http://www.kitchenaid.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=643827&prmenbr=136&catname=Ranges&sku=KGST300HWH&subcatname=Gas%20Ranges and LOVE it!! It's convection which can cook my Thanksgiving turkey in less than 2 hours!! A roast beef takes just one hour - SOOO worth it, IMO!

Good luck with shopping! I'd check Consumer Reports and Epinions for their recommendations.

Ann

We have a gas stove, however, I wish we wouldn't have gotten the bottom of the line. Gas is nice, but ours TAKES FOREVER to warm up. If we would have spent just a little bit more money, it would have saved money in the long run imo.

Convection oven is a must. :)

Oh get gas for sure!! I have a Maytag and it is just wonderful, heats up quickly, keeps an even temperature, and works just great.

my dream is an electric one.. with a flat top.

I hate gas... but that's a personal thing :)

I personally like our whirlpool flat top.

I wish I had gas. We had gas in our house in Virginia, but now we are all electric.

I don't want a flat-top range (I use too much cast iron!) and I want a stainless top, not just a stainless door. I looked at three places tonight (Sears, Lowes, Best Buy) and there is nothing electric, non-flat top, with a stainless top. Also, all of the non flat-top electric ones just looked so...er...cheap. I have a few more places to check tomorrow. But, I need an oven. I didn't realize how often I used it until I don't have it.

Thank you for all of the ideas....I sure wish I had gas.

We have a Maytag flat top. Love it! It is so much easier to clean WELL worth the extra $$!!
The only think I dislike- the lighter weight frying pads slip a bit on it. Like when you are stiring you have to hang on to it, but heavy weight pans are fine.

After church last night we stopped by Sears, Lowes, and BestBuy and I didn't see anything like what I want (stainless top). Seems nobody is making stainless top electric stoves anymore and they are also stopping the flip tops that make it easier to clean under.

I really want gas. I have been calling around today to see how much it will cost to have a gas line installed for a stove. It will probably be a pretty penny to have it done by the gas company, but propane is looking very affordable. I just hate the idea of that big tank outside my kitchen (maybe I could build a little fence around it, or put it in a shed?).

am I not supposed to be using my cast iron on my flat top:confused:

It's very easy to disguise a tank. You will probably be charged by the foot to put a line in.

Propane here is $1.49/gallon. It's been that price for almost a year now. Last year, when we filled up (1000 gallon tank), it was $1.09. BIIIIG difference.

I need to sit down and figure the percentage of increase of propane vs. nat gas vs. electricity.

The next house we build will be passive solar so we don't have to worry about this.

Sorry you couldn't find the stove you were looking for. Do you have an appliance only store in your area?

Originally posted by LifesaBeach
am I not supposed to be using my cast iron on my flat top:confused:

Well, you can use it, but it doesn't work as well as totally flat pots/pans. Also, there is more of a chance of scratching the flat top surface since it is so heavy. The salespeople I talked to seemed to discourage use of cast iron on flat tops. One even told me I probably should stay with electric if I wanted to keep on using it. But, they said it didn't really affect the functionality of the stove (getting scratched), it just didn't look as nice after awhile. edited to add: Plus, if you do a lot of cooking with a wok, you move the pan around and that can cause more scratches. We like our wok:)

Oh, and Becky, propane is $1.60/ gallon here. The sales person told me that I would probably use about 100 gallons/year just cooking. It looks like I can get a line in for under $200 and rent a tank for about $50/year.