Is it me or ranges are so boring.

[fan-of-fans]

Even compared to “newer” ranges of 15-25 years ago the stuff out now seems so plain and dull.

The metal parts look thin and cheap compared even to then.

Hardly any new ranges have a warming drawer feature whereas they were fairly common 15 years ago.

Nothing now has a panel light or even LED night light.

Electronic oven controls look so plain. Many used to show time and oven temp at the same time on the display, most now seem to be only capable of showing one at a time and not much else, unless you order a convection model and sometimes not even then.

Also the 40” market appears to be sadly dead, not even Frigidaire offers such a model anymore.

The only thing some of the newer ranges seem to offer that gives anything the others didn’t seems to be Wi-Fi capability, and I have my doubts that’s a benefit.

 

[gizmo]

yes, seems the same to me here in Australia, too.

 

A couple of years ago I removed our 1987 Modern Maid Ultima cooker for a make  over, as we were getting new flooring in the kitchen and the stove had to come out, I thought it was a good time to give the old stove a once over. Found that the oven cavity and griller burner (broiler burner) were rusted out, parts no longer available.

Note that Modern Maid in Australia had no connection to the same name company in the USA.

 

We went shopping for a new stove and found there was exactly ONE model on the market to replace our Modern Maid - 600mm wide, all gas, with fan oven and separate gas griller - a Westinghouse.  Its only "features" are push-button ignition to all burners, oven light and oven fan. The old stove had all that and much more. Compared to our old stove, we have lost the following features - storage drawer under the oven; digital clock with automatic timer for oven; digital actual oven temperature readout; twin lights in the oven for better illumination; high splashback behind the top burners.

Also, the new one has a hopeless griller, the burner is too high in the cavity so cooking is slow, we basically don't use it any more; behind the burners, where the old stove had a splashback, the new one has black painted louvres that provided ventilation for the space behind the stove, and vents for the oven and griller cavities - when cooking on the stove top, splashes and small bits of food fall down the grille and into the space below, but the louvre grille is not removable, you would have to remove the whole stove and dismantle it from behind to access this space and clean it out. Absolutely hopeless.

 

There is more to complain about with this stove, but I will spare you.

 

[combo52]

Yes new stoves have gotten very boring

And there are very few advanced features compared to older models.

I have not seen any that have built-in rotisserie, none that have automatic thermal control on top burners, let alone neat features like burners that actually stir the contents of the pan or even two sided broiling at the same time.

And worst of all nearly all newer stoves here in the US use much more energy than the old ones the ovens have gotten very large they have almost no insulation and they’re all glass doors and they require a full-time cooling fan to control the exterior cabinet temperatures of the appliance.

I don’t want to sound like an old Fuddy dud but I’m keeping my older stoves and ovens.

John L

 

[pulltostart]

Shouldn't be a surprise, really

Stop to consider how many people really cook anymore.  The days of Hariette Nelson, June Cleaver, my mom, are long gone.  How many families still sit down nightly to a home-cooked meal?  Food is typically grabbed on-the-run, eaten on-the-go, frozen or otherwise already prepared and placed in the microwave.  There are still holdouts who enjoy home cooking, but basically I'm betting those days are over.  The stove/range doesn't really have to do much - get hot, maybe clean itself, and look pretty.  The single largest market for new ranges is probably the new construction market and the real estate flipping market; both of which just want the stove to look good, preferably in stainless steel and no matter the gauge.  

 

Just sayin

 

lawrence

 

[rinso]

My favorite range of all time was my mom's (and my) 40 inch Frigidaire Flare. It had a special timer that was great for roasting standing rib roasts like a prime rib. We just had to dial in the desired doneness and it took over. It was surprisingly accurate for a machine in this pre-computer age.

 

[rinso]

My favorite range of all time was my mom's (and my) 40 inch Frigidaire Flare. It had a special timer that was great for roasting standing rib roasts like a prime rib. We just had to dial in the desired doneness and it took over. It was surprisingly accurate for a machine in this pre-computer age.

 

[joeekaitis]

I'm a bells 'n' whistles kind of guy . . .

 

. . . and Frigidaire's free-standing induction stove spoke to the younger inner me that yearned for a Touch N Cook.

 

Induction, convection and Air Fry are whipped cream, peanut sprinkles and a Maraschino cherry on top.

 

 

 

[norgeway]

Ill weigh in on this..

A couple of years ago, my vision deteriorated to the point I couldnt see to work on anything , I was depressed and frustrated, Donald bought me all new top of the line GE appliances, Its been about two years, now several surgeries later my eyesight is back to nearly normal, Had I thought my eyesight would be restored, I probably would not have let him get me new appliances, They work, and really, perform well, They probably wont last long, The refrigerator is huge, which is ok, the dishwasher cleans very well, in 3 to 4 hours, Now for the range, First the glass top, as far as cooking performance, its fine, I have no real issues with it, but black glass is about the hardest thing to keep clean, you have to completely clean it every single time or you will spend a hour scrubbing, the groove between the glass top and the edge of the stove gets full of the white dust from the cleaner, then you have to use the vacuum to get it out, now for the oven,,,,As far as baking, its very good, It bakes very evenly and browns well, BUT, It is the slowest preheating thing on earth, I can turn the 59 Westinghouse on to 450, and turn the new GE on to 450, Mix a batch of biscuits and have them in the preheated westinghouse Before the GE ever gets up to temperature. Having a self cleaning oven is a nice thing, For years I avoided them, I should have listened to John, it really is a great feature.But would I trade this stove for the Westinghouse Lord have mercy no.

 

[ea56]

I love my new GE Smooth Top SC oven and stove. The smooth top is the easiest stove to keep clean that I’ve ever used or owned. I just keep a damp dishcloth nearby when I’m cooking and wipe off the splatters before they can cook on to the stove top.

About twice a week I clean the top with some Weimans Stove Top Cleaner using a damp dishcloth which keeps the powder from getting into the groove around the edge of the stove top. Then I polish it with a dry dish towel. If there are any areas that have some burnt on cooking oil/grease I give them a scrub with a drop if the Weimans Cleaner using a plastic scrubbing pad.

The burners cook nice and evenly and I seldom need to use high heat except for bringing water or other liquids to a boil. Its very easy to control the heat and I never have a problem with burning things. The low temperature control is the best I’ve ever used. I can set a pot of soup or pasta sauce on low and leave it for hours with the contents maintaining a constant temperature.

I love the time delay oven control and use it just about every day.

I’ve been cooking since I was 11 years old, 60 years and I’ve cooked on just about every type of stove there is with the exception of induction. I believe that an experienced, attentive and good cook can adapt to cooking on any kind of stove. Just pay attention to what you’re doing. That being said, given the choice I would never have a gas stove. The low temperature control is hard to maintain and it takes forever and a day to bring large pot of water to a boil. But if thats all I had to cook on I’d manage, even if I didn’t like it.

BTW, I cook dinner EVERYDAY. I was raised that way. My family always sat down to a home cooked dinner everyday. I believe that the family or household that eats together everyday are closer to one another and are aware of whats going on with each other. My brother and sister also cook dinner daily and eat together with their families.

The kitchen is the heart of the home and the table is the sounding board of the family. People would be a whole lot happier if they ate together everyday. And their food expenses would also be a lot lower too. Cooking and baking from scratch is much less expensive than buying preprepared and frozen foods or take out. And its healthier too. I also bake all of our bread and rolls too, something I took up in retirement when I had more time. But even when I was still working I cooked dinner every night.

Eddie

 

[fan-of-fans]

Joe, I do have to say I like the looks of that control panel. I like the looks, at least, if ranges such as yours and the LG models that have the tall control panel and all touch controls.

I assume that display shows the temperature next to the clock readout, instead of in place of it? I can’t tell how big the display is exactly, but it looks larger than most.

 

[joeekaitis]

Temperature is directly to the right…

… of the clock/timer display. Each induction zone has its own single digit display. The number pad is for entering temperatures and times. Oven status icons light up to the left and right of the digital displays.

 

[joeekaitis]

Oven display in action.

 

Convection Roast setting and timer.  The red icons are sharp to the human eye but bloomed (overexposed) in the camera.

 

[combo52]

Meet comparison between the current Frigidaire induction control panel and the original Frigidaire touch and cook control panel.

The original touch and cook ranges were pretty neat in the late 70s but you can see where the control panel on the current one is much better designed and more user-friendly to make selections with.

John

 

[polkanut]

This 1972 General Electric J 370 30-inch range belongs to member Danemodsandy. [COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is 95% original, and everything works. Unlike today's painted tin-and-plastic wonders, this range is over 250 pounds of solid steel, finished entirely - top, front and sides - in porcelain enamel. It has a fluorescent light for the cooktop, a Sensi-Temp thermostatically controlled burner [/COLOR]</span>[COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap]at right front (with a nonstick cast-aluminum griddle that fits over it), and P*7 self-cleaning for the oven. And this was also the last year for range top electrical outlets, one of which is also a timed outlet that is used in conjunction with the clock. I found it for him 9 years ago on my local Craigslist. [/COLOR]

 

[COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap]Photo #1 is from when I went to look at it at the seller's home in 2013.[/COLOR]

 

[COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap]Photo #2 was taken after it was delivered to me for storage in my garage until it was picked up to be delivered to Sandy.[/COLOR]

 

[COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap]Photos #3-7 show it after it was installed in its current location in IA.[/COLOR]

 

[COLOR=#050505; font-family: 'Segoe UI Historic', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap]Photo #6 shows the optional griddle in use that fits over the Sensi-Temp burner[/COLOR]

 

 

[ea56]

Tim,

That is a truly beautiful GE stove that you found for Danemodsandy! You are so correct, they don’t make them like this anymore.

Eddie

 

[luxflairguy]

What a beauty! Wish it were mine...!

 

[fan-of-fans]

Haven’t seen any posts from Sandy I a long time!

Really like the fluorescent light, I wish ranges still had that!

Kenmore had a sort of modern LED strip light on some of their Elite models a few years ago, but I think they’ve all been discontinued.

Whirlpool too had an LED night light on some of their newer Gold series ranges, again discontinued.

Pretty much everything interesting has been discontinued, the only truly new feature ranges are promoting these days is Air Fry but is that really something you couldn’t do before in a convection range? I doubt it, probably just a new promotion of something already there, banking on the recent popularity of air fryers.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

There’s no returning to any classic designs that at least characterized electric ranges that we all know and love, I’m just glad to have a fairly decent gas range that works so it does what an appliance at least is supposed to do—albeit all that grating being hard to have to remove and make squeaky clean under…

— Dave

 

[sudsmaster]

I've got an old 30" drop-in Frigidaire electric range in the patio kitchen. It's probably from the 1970's. Still works, although I don't think I've used the oven for a few decades. Just the top burners, and then not for at least a decade as well. It's got those big fat Frigidaire burner elements.

 

I'll have to move all the extraneous stuff off it to take some photos, which I can post here if anyone is interested.