Has anyone bought an electric range lately? Or learn me new stoves

I guess I'll preface with a question, is there a time of year this stuff goes on sale?

With the loss of another burner, I'm beginning to shop for a new electric oven/stove/range, and I'm a bit out of the loop with home appliance tech these days. I'd like to get something similar to what I have, with 2 big and 2 small coils on the top as I berking despise that smooth top stuff. I've never used one or known an owner who had anything nice to say about them other than they clean easy.

I'm looking around and seeing over $1000 price range though. Digital would be nice, but isn't required. I just need an oven that stays where I set it, and at least 2 big burners. I just don't know what brands to even consider these days.

It's not a huge need for replacement, which is why I asked about maybe a sales time of year, I'm trying to spend under $600 but there could be some flex, and obviously sales or store specials can bring things down too.

So, anyone bought one lately? Or know who to stay away from?

I bought my frigidair 3 years ago. Other then the top sheetmetal being flimsy as hell ive been happy with it. I havnt been into appliance repair for a decade now so im sure some others can chime in with a professional opinion.

My mom has a digital Kenmore. She hates it and wants her dials back. I kinda agree with her. Digital would be fine if it would be as easy as the old ones, but it isn't.

Flat cook surface>>>non flat cook surface, and IMHO the only advantage electric has over gas... but it is such a huge advantage that I want it badly. Do note that cast iron will scratch the glass surface though, so don't slide it across the stovetop.

That is all I've got.

I've had a few digital Hot Point stoves where I've lived in the past, they were easy but older. And also gas. I just don't have the option for gas here, and it's not worth buying a tank and running lines just for my stove.

I measured, knowing my luck the 30 year old stove is a weird shape, and it's not. At least the footprint hasn't changed.

I'm seeing a lot of 4.8 and a few 5.3 cuft. Does the extra .5 cuft really make a difference? I mostly use the oven for baking, and an occasional turkey. Its the burners I use a lot for sauce, stock, cast iron, etc.

God, I can already see it happening. Just did the hot water heater, looking at stoves and carpet, need to start looking at washers and dryers. I'm gonna get all new stuff in this house and it's gonna fall down.

I always get weird heating cooking on the flat top ones, and I've done it on a few different stoves now. Granted none have been new, so I'm sure that makes a difference.

Last time I looked, the Kenmore elecric ranges were mostly made by Frigidaire. They make a decent range, as does GE. I would get something with self-cleaning even if you don't use that feature - they typically are much better insulated ovens. If you get a coil burner, get the upgraded drip pans - not foil. Something like this Kenmore is about the fanciest I'd go, with convection oven.

Do you need a freestanding range - full depth, has controls on the back?

Or a slide-in?

Or a drop-in?

Freestanding ranges are much less expensive for absolutely no reason.

Look online at AJ Madison - they are the RockAuto of the appliance world. They carry everything and I think shipping is free at level you are looking to spend.

Aren't you a culinary blogger, or was that a different guy? If so, I would think you may have some requirements beyond just looking for a coil-top electric range. You may want to consider an induction cooktop which looks like a normal flat surface but works completely differently (better). I also like to have a convection oven for baking.

Appliances definitely get discounted on a regular basis. Black Friday is the big one, but I'm sure there are Labor Day sales and probably some leftover July 4th sales.

The extra capacity of the oven has to come from somewhere, and usually it's the drawer underneath. It's up to you to decide where the space is more useful.

Eliminating the smooth ceramic tops will reduce your options greatly for better or worse. If you're determined to get a coil top, you're pretty much stuck with GE (and their cheaper sub brand HotPoint), Frigidaire, and the Whirlpool/Kenmore/Amana family. Parts should be pretty easy to get for any of those brands. GE recently sold their appliance division to a Chinese outfit, so that may be cause for concern or it may not be.

I've been out of the appliance game for about 3 years now but all of the coil top stoves that I can remember seeing had knobs. People that buy coil top stoves want cheap and simple, and digital controls wouldn't appeal to them or make much financial sense in that application.

Appliances typically go on sale around major holidays, but most major retailers will price match their competitors, so check the sale ads before you go shopping. The coil top stuff is less common these days, so you might have to order the specific one you want and wait for it to arrive, or settle for the one or 2 that the local store might have on hand. Your price range should cover the cost of a basic coiltop easily.

An induction range might be best of all worlds - super easy cleanup because spills don't bake on, work surface doesn't get hot, efficient energy transfer - but it's not cheap. Plan on $1300 and way up for induction. Also some pots and pans don't work with induction - a magnet must stick to the cookware.

I'm not getting why the loss of another burner implies the need for a new stove soon. Don't you just yank the burner out and plug in a new one? Or is my technology preposterously old? (Wouldn't be the first time.)

In reply to Stealthtercel:

Because even though it's a GE, being 30 probably 35 years old, even the elements for the oven were hard to track down. Found out the water heater was 40, makes me think the same for the rest of the appliances. The family has lived here 30 years with everything that was in the house when purchased.

I do the cooking blog thing, but mostly grill and smoke. I'm just used to coils for making sauces and stock. If I didn't bake bigger things than will fit, my toaster oven is actually a convection oven that handles most things just fine. I'd be happy with just a burner top and extra cabinet space to be honest.

So there are what, 2 kinds of flat top, not counting induction? ceramic and glass? Ceramic, in my head, would be better as I use a lot of cast iron and stainless, might not scratch/break as easily? I should find out what specific brand I hated the flat top on, it didn't heat right, it wasn't actually flat, and the elements were very hard to track down when one exploded. (it's installed in my friends house)

I've seen a lot of knob burners with digital oven, that's kind of what I'm hoping to find, but that's why I made this thread, I don't know what's out there these days. Even the apartments I did maintenance on just used Hot Point for everything, and they were fine to work on at least.

RevRico wrote: So there are what, 2 kinds of flat top, not counting induction? ceramic and glass? Ceramic, in my head, would be better as I use a lot of cast iron and stainless, might not scratch/break as easily?

Nope, just one kind. The "glass" is actually more of a ceramic material. Here's an explanation: http://myceramicglasscooktop.com/what-is-ceramic-glass/

bastomatic wrote: An induction range might be best of all worlds - super easy cleanup because spills don't bake on, work surface doesn't get hot, efficient energy transfer - but it's not cheap. Plan on $1300 and way up for induction. Also some pots and pans don't work with induction - a magnet must stick to the cookware.

I have an Induction cooktop. I love it. Was bought by the previous owners in 1994 so it was early and high end for what it was. When I bought the house, the largest burner was already out. Since then another large has gone out so I am left with 2 small.
I want another, new induction cooktop but as mentioned above $999 is the entry point (Ikea.)
I have temporarily suplimented the situation with a $50 countertop model similar to this. Maybe that too could be your temporary solution if you have a burner out.

Reviews

I fix all different kinds back to back, and if it were my money I'd get a whirlpool product, probably a maytag because I like the looks over the whirlpool badged one. Fridgidaire if you want to save a buck and don't mind it being a little cheaper build. They also have some circuit board issues, but not hard to fix.

Avoid GE like the plague from now on.

Samsung is built much like a whirlpool copy, but built with such cheap materials in surprised they don't bend in half during delivery. Like, I'm amazed.

Kenmore is rebadged who knows what year to year. Skip it and just buy what you want instead from the actual company.

Major holidays offer discounts. 4th, labor day, Black Friday, Christmas, etc... Don't overlook scratch and dent. If you can live with a minor ding, you can get deep discounts.

All I know about the hardware is I unload them every morning and those bastards are heavy. And tempered glass doors only bend once.

My frigidair is coil top with knobs and a digital oven. I can get the exact model when i get home. Three years of cooking for my family with zero issues. It was alot cheaper then your price range though. Bought at sears.

I've had coil stoves and hated the cheap E36 M3.

Gas FTMFW but that's off the table. BTDT.

When I couldn't have gas I went with the smooth top electric. The reason you're getting weird heating/cooking is likely your cookware. It has to be absolutely flat to conduct the heat evenly. The bottom needs to be machined flat.

If the pot or pan rocks at all then that is where the heat conducts and you get "hot spots".

I bought a set from Pampered Chef and everything worked perfectly from then on.

We've made our last two large appliance purchases on Black Friday weekends. People don't think about buying a large appliance at that time of year and they are happy to make the sale.

In reply to Rufledt:

I was hoping to hear from you on this one, knowing you have to deal with broken ones all the time.

Frigidaire, which honestly I wasn't even considering because of a bad fridge, may come out on top. For price, quality, and features. I'll probably just wait till black Friday and buy it with gift cards for fuel points.

But another question comes to mind, big box store or factory direct? I know tractors and home power equipment are much better deals and quality through the manufacturer or standalone reps vs say depot or Lowe's, does that hold true for stoves?

I'm just thinking I see a nice one at best buy right now on sale for 400, but not really sure about them for appliances.

Not expecting another 30+ years, but 10 would be nice, as would availability of parts.

We got our stove from Lowes in 2004 for the new house. It was ~$400 at the time. Great stove that has been a beast.

If you buy energy star rated appliances at LowesDepot you can get a discount. If you know someone with a military ID they can get another 10% discount. Scratch and dent aisle is the place to check first, ask for the manager and tell him/her you'll buy right now for another XX% off.

I don't know about differences in prices between stores, that's more of a region specific thing. We send people to a local appliance store simply because they have their own service guy and don't outsource that to some hack. The place also price shops so they usually have good prices. Don't know what you have available, but I would probably look for an appliance store. Most box stores like Sears buy appliances as is and are on their own for warranty work. I'm not saying it happens intentionally, but they have been sold bad batches of crap and forced to eat the cost. On a related note, don't buy a whirlpool GAS oven at the moment.

I'm gonna take a guess, your Fridgidaire fridge only went a few years and the compressor took a e36m3, you were told it only had a 1 year warranty and you were screwed, right? They (and some Amanas) had compressors made by Tecumseh, and they sucked really bad.

The problem Fridgidaire electric ovens have is the clocks blowing. I don't mean they break, I mean a relay or something blows up. New clocks aren't cheap, and we usually can't break out the soldering iron to fix a crater...

Hard to beat whirlpool for parts availability, btw. We just ordered something for a 35+ year old fridge that is built into an old couple's house. they will be kinda screwed when it finally dies, which is probably why they insisted we find a way to fix it at any cost. Anything was cheaper than bulldozing their kitchen. To top it off the part was like $30.

We fixed our glass top.... From the day we moved in we only had 3 burners... the one dead one was one of the large ones. After a number of years with it inop... we began looking @ used ranges... all actually looked worse than ours... so we went on repair clinic http://www.repairclinic.com/ and spent about $90 to fix ours........

Watching this thread with interest - I happen to need a new stove too. The A.J. Madison site looks particularly helpful.

i didn't think they still made them, but the oven that is in the house i'm currently renting is a basic electric model with dials and not a circuit board to be found anywhere on it- it doesn't even have a timer.. i love everything about it except for it's lack of a light inside the oven or a window on the door- but that's just less stuff to break... it is an Amana with a big "made in AMERICA" sticker on it, and it was built in July of 2013.