We're major pasta-holics, and our current range has sealed burners. Trying to maintain any kind of rolling boil, even in an 8 qt. stock pot, requires it to be almost completely covered. Very finicky and invariably it winds up boiling over. Meanwhile our former gas ranges had open burners and could easily maintain a vigorous rolling boil in the same 8 qt. pot with no lid at all. The hotter temps have other uses too, e.g. browning meats and grilling veggies go much faster.