I posted this over at CT as well but thought I would ask here.
My wife and I are purchasing a new range and are looking at a double oven convection electric range. My wife and I cook a lot and host frequent dinners and the old builder’s grade flattop Frigidaire just isn’t cutting it. We are looking at the GE PB975SPSS.
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SPECPAGE&SKU=PB975SPSS&SITEID=GEA
A friend of mine is a GE rep in NY and told me they are coming out with a model with glass controls instead of knobs sometime in august. (Hard to get a honest opinion out of him, he thinks his products are the greatest thing since sliced bread)
My question is, does anyone have one of these? Do you like it? Does anyone have a range with controls without knobs? Any repair, reliability issues?
Edited 6/16/2009 3:47 pm ET by restorationday
Replies
that looks fairly new. its going to be difficult to find someone with experience with it.
I like the idea of a bridge element on the cook top since I have a lot of large pans like clam steamers that take some time to heat up
I did install a Wolf double oven that had buttons for the controls. the panel actually revolved into the fascia out of reach of children. That was a cool feature
No offense to your GE buddy, but as of the last few years every GE appliance I have had the pleasure to be involved with has been a POS. They seem to fall apart after warranty and if you did not buy the extended warranties, you will forking alot of money over to the GE repairman who is very difficult to schedule to through the call center in India and the parts change every six months.
I have had great luck with Kitchenaid pro series stuff but I would still buy all the extended warranties as quality seems to have disappeared from the appliance industry.
Bruce
My 'GE buddy' is a guy I went to HS with many years ago that I still keep up with through email. He works as a sales rep going around managing an area of stores that sell the appliances. His opinion is somewhat dubious as he just gushes over the stuff any time I talk to him, kind of typical cheap suit salesman. The appliance store saleswoman seemed to think they did not receive a lot of complaints about them but I bet they only see new problems and not stuff 3-5 years out.This type of range has been around for 5-6 years and Maytag has been making their version for 10+ years, so there should be some track record out there.I have installed a fair amount of high end stuff but I can not afford it, I am looking at spending $2k max so the high end designer stuff is out.
This is not an exact answer to your Q, but I'll offer it because you won't get a lot of responses on double-oven ranges, since they're fairly new to the market.
We just bought a double-oven Jenn-Air (made by Maytag), but it's a gas cooktop with electric ovens--30" wide. The big oven is convection.
The controls for the oven are on the back console, they're push-button under a plastic cover. The gas burner control knobs are on the right side of the cooking surface.
We like it very much, since we often stage dinner parties where we both cook, or where one of the ovens can be used to keep stuff warm, to warm plates, etc.
They also make an all-electric model--at least Maytag does.
My Mom had a double oven Jenn-Air with electric convection oven and gas burners, and she loved it. It was left in the house when she died, and the current owners are selling the house without the stove included in the deal. Does that say something?
You might want to ask over at Cooks Talk.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
Did that first and have received some good feedback.
Don't do it! For some things, no, a lot of things, the old ways are the best.
I'm going the oposite way. Looking for old gas stoves on craigslist.
they work like new and have a soul. GE has no soul.
Will Rogers
She Who Must Be Obeyed is pushing for this. I figure I would spend good money on a tool that will get used almost everyday so the same should apply to a tool she (and I to a lesser extent) will use almost everyday for the next 15 years. Believe me when I say I cook with fire (grill- charcoal and gas) as much as possible and running a NG line to the stove is really way too much of a hassle. Further I figure she doesn't want a fancy car or expensive jewelery so she can afford the nice (yes bragging rights) kitchen that actually gets used.
I was over the top. but I still stand by what i said.
I don't like GE as a company. Do the reseach yourself if you want.
I look for old appliances in Craigslist and they come up often. I would have bought one recently but it was 36" wide. Most of them are. I'd have to change the counters and really don't want to.
Gas isn't on that side of the house but I'm ready to run the ng over there.
I really dislike cooking on electric. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
I really dislike cooking on electric. >
Me too. One of the reasons I (and most guys) like to cook is because it gives me a chance to play with fire and knives.
And an excuse to open a bottle of good wine. (You wouldn't want to cook with wine you haven't tasted.)
"And an excuse to open a bottle of good wine. (You wouldn't want to cook with wine you haven't tasted.)"
Sounds like you grew up watching Julia Child & Graham Kerr too. ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
popawheelie, gas is better for the cook top, because it is lots easier to adjust quickly. This is followed by open element electrics. The solid top electric units are really hard to cook on, because of the amount of heat lag. For ovens, electric is normally far better at holding and maintaining stable temperatures. I keep two or three pieces of 1-inch thick granite counter top scrap cut down to 1.5-inches less each way than the inside width and depth of the oven, on the racks in mine. With them in there the temp stays really stable. Which is one of those essential things in getting a really good prime rib roast. By the way: The double ovens aren't new. There are several from the mid fifties in the housing at work, with double ovens. They are however side by sides with six burners, and might have been a commercial grade when they were new.
I cook on an electric range right now. I hate the lag time.
Since I'm in a hurry I turn the heat selector up to high to get heat.
If i don't catch it in time the pan, burner, and the whole surrounding area is WAYYY to hot.
Once the area has gotten to hot it extremely aggravating to sit there waiting for it to cool off to the point I can use it again.
Another reason I want to put gas in is because it frees up room in my undersized electric panel.
A lot of things I can't use gas. But when I can, it is one more thing off my panel.
General Electric is a huge company that makes some realy bad things. They are closely connected to our government and are at the trough eating our tax dollars.
They certainly don't need my money for a range. There are many other options.
I don't buy GE product. Period.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Edited 6/19/2009 10:54 am by popawheelie
GE has no soul. http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/articles/art_toxichudson.htmlOr a frikken conscience.http://www.tvwsolar.com Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Edited 6/19/2009 8:13 pm ET by Snort
The PCBs are just the tip of the iceburg.
But I don't think this is the palce to discuse it.
If people are interested, just do some research. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Thing is, it ain't an iceberg bobbin' in the ocean, it's right here, all over the east coast... homeland security, ha, ha, hahttp://www.tvwsolar.com
Now I wish I could give Brother Bill his great thrill
I would set him in chains at the top of the hill
Then send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille
He could die happily ever after"
Seems to me the question is what would you like to cook on. That is different from what someone wants to show off.
I like a 48" gas top with electric convection ovens. In 48" that almost always means dual oven. But glitzy controls add nothing to useability.
I would like to find a 48" designed for efficint top use, but not a show piece. Looked at Viking, Dacor & F & P and all that stainless doesn't add anything to efficient food prep.
But then I have the same opinion of Granite tops. I'm planning soapstone.
We have a GE Profile that we bought last year, it is the model from 2 years ago. Ours is not convection, but it is a double oven with the ceramic cooktop, which it looks like yours has.
I love the double oven aspect to it - we use the smaller oven probably 90% of the time when only using one oven because we are mostly cooking short things (pastry, pizza, and pan). I am sure that we save a lot of energy costs because of the small oven.
I don't love the cooktop. If you like to shake the pan when you saute, or if you want to turn off the heat quickly, you will not like this range. For the first - at some point a grain of salt will get under it and scratch the top. For the second, the glass stays hot a VERY long time. I don't mind this too much because people buy pots for heat retention and I figure burner retention means I can buy cheaper pots :), but serious cooks will despise that aspect of it.
I am a person who prefers electric for various reasons, but this is not like cooking on a "normal" electric range. Also, the solid top means that instead of venting out one of the burners the stove vents out directly under and partially through the electronics. Pretty dumb design and I don't think the longevity will be there. We bought a model that is supposed to have better sheilding, but it would have been smarter for GE (and all the other clones like Maytag and Kenmore) to design it differently. Unfortunately, unless you go really high end, you can't get the double ovens without the ceramic top, so it is your call what is most important to you.