Repair-It

So the designer gave his 2 cents on this. I'm glad I asked. He said the drop-in ranges are going out of style. I thought they were coming into style. Shows what I know about that kind of stuff. Anyway, he said that is why there aren't many on the market and down the road it will be even more of a pain to replace so he recommended freestanding or slide-in or the hybrid. Which is what I thought originally anyway so that's good I guess.

The job manager lady said they do have a process for the rear piece. It is called a rail and I guess it is made to come out. So that can be removed, sized smaller and put back. Or just removed. So I'm not too worried about screwing myself down the road. I still want a slide-in.

If it means anything, Karen got an LG with radiant cooktop and it was like $900. She said she regrets buying it. I think $1000-$2000 for something decent (with a premium for induction) is not out of the realm of reasonable. Also, Bill reminded me the other day about front controls with kids. I did already think of this of course. But what I forgot to mention was that with induction, unless you put something ferrous/magnetic on it (and probably somewhat pan shaped), it doesn't even do anything. So a hand or stack of newspapers wouldn't do anything even if you turned it on high. That's an interesting benefit to the technology - safety.

kevm14 wrote:Or this, which is the cheapest on Sears.com
Frigidaire Gallery FGIS3065PF, not rated at CR. Induction.
https://www.sears.com/frigidaire-galler ... ockType=G2
$2,070. So again, $2,000 is bottom of market for slide-in and add $400 for cookware and that is $2,400. Just not sure I can justify that.

I noticed this was $1700 on Amazon which is certainly less than $2000. Here is a customer image of the range installed. This is sweet:

Love this range!! The induction cook top is amazing. Boils a cup of water in less than 20 seconds. Boils 8 cups of water under 3 minutes

The 5th warming burner is radiant instead of induction so that is cool.

This is also cool:

Love that you can set bake time and then set the keep warm so you don't have to be right there when the cook time is over.

4.6 cu. ft. oven

Need to figure out if this is on the small side. It may be.

EDIT: It is. 6 and even 7 cu-ft is possible in a 30" range.

kevm14 wrote:

4.6 cu. ft. oven

Need to figure out if this is on the small side. It may be.

EDIT: It is. 6 and even 7 cu-ft is possible in a 30" range.

Looking at reviews for a Kitchen Aid, which has a 7.1 cu-ft oven, people complain about the oven getting very hot when baking. Read further and apparently this particular model is not self-cleaning. What does this have to do with anything? It's actually very simple. Self-cleaning ovens go to way over normal baking temps. Probably upwards of 700 or 800 degrees, which is how they clean (everything just turns to carbon and wipes out). Now, an extra detail is that my 1975 GE double wall ovens are different sizes. The upper oven is smaller than the lower oven inside. Why? Because the upper is self-cleaning and has considerable insulation around the oven area, making the oven smaller inside.

Other than that, other things can impact the oven volume such as:
- Total depth. Some slide-ins don't seem to go all the way back, which may be by design to show off that seamless rail of countertop behind the cooktop
- Trade-offs with the warming drawer or pots/pans drawer size.
- I think there is less wiggle room here, but maybe some units need more, or less, space for the cooktop part

This is all good stuff so I can be better informed at the appliance place. Problem is, I don't know how helpful they will be about two key things:
- Reliability
- Actual function

While Consumer Reports does have good info on actual function (and not all appliances actually work the same, even when they are working 100% as designed - I was shocked at the considerable variation in function between appliances of the same type), CR has more broad reliability info only going at the brand level.

kevm14 wrote:My budget can support around $1,500 but I could stretch a little if it really upgraded the function and aesthetic.

For example:
GE PHS930SLSS, rated 83 at CR, induction.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Profile-5-E ... 1000301387
$2,339 on sale at 10% off. And add $400 for new cookware. That blows the budget. This is like the cheapest slide-in induction range I could find on Lowes.

I think I need to go to an appliance store.

So I just got back from Wickford Appliance. The good news is I don't think I need to go anywhere else. I either get a discount for buying 3 appliances, or a discount due to their relationship with KCCNE, whichever is better. I toured their showroom and it turns out I did a pretty good job educating myself on ranges.

Here's what I have:
GE PHS930SLSS which I said was unaffordable above is $2209 (so over $100 cheaper than Lowes 10% off price) AND if I order on or before 31-July GE has a rebate offer for a free 11 piece Chantal induction cookware set, valued at $895. They did not have this in the store but I am leaning this way. The GE is technically a freestanding so that would offer the greatest flexibility in the future. GE has touch controls which I am not thrilled with especially since I can't try it first. GE offers a synchronized burner which you'd use with a griddle so that's nice. The GE also offers side rails to complete the slide-in look which I like. It is also an IoT device which is not terribly great news.

Frigidaire FGIS3065PF. I was leaning toward this as it is the cheapest front control induction range I found. Normally it is around $2000 and Amazon has it for $1700. Their price is $1665 plus a $75 rebate which again is a good price. No free cookware. I'd say this is equivalent value to the GE. It has knobs and also looks a little more ordinary if that matters. It also has a 4.6 cu ft oven compared to the GE at 5.3 cu ft. Both have just a pots/pans drawer, both have true convection. This one is not full depth so I'd get that rear rail of countertop that is removable. Not a big deal and I do like that look though that may be why the oven is a bit smaller.

In other news, the equivalent GE in radiant (non-touch controls also) is only $1109 with a $50 MIR which is over $1000 cheaper. The Frigidaire has a much smaller discount with its radiant being $1465.

The alternate approach is Kitchen Aid or Bosch radiant. A Bosch 800 series would be $2009 for a radiant, and no new cookware. It looks really nice. There is also a Kitchen Aid which is $1777 until 8/18. It looks really nice, also, with a industrial looking knurled handle. The matching microwaves would be a bit more expensive with these brands but they are also "higher end." That said I don't think reliability would be better due to brand name, but the lack of induction cook electronics may be a bit simpler. But let's face it - everything has electronics now.

Ended up with this trio:
Range
GE PHS930SLSS. $2210. 83 CR score which is good. Sears $2341. Amazon $2333. Lowes $2339. Offer for the free induction cookware is NOT valid on purchases from Lowes, for whatever reason.

Cookware: http://www.chantal.com/induction-21-ste ... -11pc.html Also ordered the "slide-in kit" which is some strainless steel trim pieces for the sides. $89. 4 prong plug at $15 (need to check with KCCNE - may already be included). Microwave (over range)
GE JVM7195SKSS. $330. Looked up CR score....51. Ouch. Lowest rated GE OTR microwave on CR. I'm not too worried about it. 4.0/5 stars on Sears.com, though at least one person complained about uneven reheating and that was one of the dings against it at CR. GE rates decently for reliability. And we are currently using a small countertop Kenmore from 1987 that came with our previous house. One of the top rated GE microwaves is only $200 and scores a 76. Yet out of 71 customer reviews, the average score is 1.9 out of 5. So even with appliances, I don't think going 100% by CR is the right move. Has some kind of coating inside for easy cleaning. Sensor for cooking. Button to disable the turntable. 400 CFM 4-speed vent fan. Dishwasher
Bosch Ascenta SHS5AVL5UC. $660. Bit of a compromise here. Didn't get the third upper rack for silverware. I liked that on the higher line models. CR score 68. Mainly for poor drying performance. It is annoying because the two very top rated dishwashers on CR are Bosch Ascenta but different models. Also bought the inlet hose kit at $25 so I will again ask KCCNE if we need to supply that and if not that would save a few bucks off the order. Scores 4.5/5 on Sears.com, though their model does not have the "L" in it. I do not know what the difference is. Price is very similar. Unfortunately 7% sales tax makes a big dent (like $233) at these prices so total damage is $3,561.82. One part of the cost is no mystery: we could have saved about $1000 on the range if we went with radiant, and even more if we did a freestanding radiant (controls at rear), so I signed up for that part of it. I think it is worth it both for the function and the aesthetic (controls at front). And with the GE we chose, we are not locked in to anything particular down the road.

kevm14 wrote:Also ordered the "slide-in kit" which is some strainless steel trim pieces for the sides.

Found a pic of this. I guess the two options are set the range at counter height which doesn't look bad but you do have those small gaps at the counter edge and I prefer the slide-in look. So the other option apparently is adjust the height up a bit (3/8"?) and install those trim pieces.