Now *This* Is A Range!

[maytagbear]

In many localities, they

are not the least bit legal for home use, and as much as I (sometimes) love to cook, I would NOT want one! I don't even want a Viking (Ultraline) or Wolf, either. I do want a gas range, but a nice, friendly, easy-to-maintain home one like a Hotpoint or GE or Whirlpool.

If someone gave me one, perhaps an AGA, but even then.....

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[joeekaitis]

If I had the room, I'd love to put two of these side-by-side and make a 60-inch faux-pro range:

 

[circlew]

Commercial ranges

About 25 or so years ago my friend Brenda renovated her house, including a total re-do of the kitchen. She installed a double oven Garland range at that time, with six top burners and a broiler to the right. To meet the applicable building code, the entire kitchen had to be done to commercial standards. This meant she had to install a commercial vent system including the fire extinguisher system, could not have any cabinets adjacent to the range, and all surfacing material in the vicinity of the range had to be fire resistant (she used ceramic tile). The house is an unusual 50's contemporary style, and has a basement, but the floor above is reinforced concrete, so could hold the weight. She and her husband split up a few years later and she moved away. Don't know if said range is still in the house or not.

 

[hydralique]

I can't imagine that any range, commercial or otherwise, would be too heavy for a well built wood framed floor. I've seen more than a few garages attached to hillside houses on downslopes which have concrete floors supported by wood joists, so the wood must handle not only the weight of the slab but also the cars above. Even after many decades of use these hold up fine so long as they were correctly engineered to start with.

It is absolutely true that the clearance standards for commercial ranges are vastly different from those of residential ranges - a good commercial range burner gets hot and there better not be a nice wood cabinet anywhere nearby!

 

[launderess]

Well

According to the website listed above, this particular range weighs in at around 1000lbs. Cannot say if that is the crated or uncrated number, but all that cast iron must be heavy.

Here is some more scuttlebutt

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www.cheftalk.com

 

[launderess]

Here Is What New York's FD Has To Say

While the code pertains to commercial cooking establishments, it also covers "commercial" cooking equipment.

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www.nyc.gov

 

[rinso]

The star shape of the burners is also not house legal in many areas. If you watch these types of burners, there is always a lot of orange flame shooting out, indicating some incomplete combustion. But, we had them in the restaurant my parents owned and they would boil a huge stock pot of water much more quickly than a home range round burner would. They really do get hot.

 

[launderess]

Don't Know If Legality Plays Into It

Or simply that one design (circular shaped burners) at the expense of taking in more air,are easily kept clean/clog free. This is versus the star shaped pattern which while giving off a concentrated heat, tends to have less air flow (hence the orange flames mentioned/incomplete combustion).

Professional cooks/chefs and or anyone else working with a commercial range expects to and indeed must take apart those burners from time to time for cleaning. This helps keep star patterned burners from clogging. OTHO your average housewife/home cook probably never does such a thing on their range, and appliance makers are more likely than not loathe to design a range requiring such care.

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www.google.com

 

[tolivac]

and on commercial ranges-the flip down oven doors were strong enough to hold a persons weight-even an overweight chef that sampled his wares-the doors were used as steps to clean upper areas above the range-as outlined in one of the several textbooks I have on commercial cooking.-and yes the commerical applainces were designed for easy DAILY cleaning.Yes,something most home cooks would abhor.and yes the books warned to allow the doors to cool before using them as steps.

 

[mattl]

The only gas unit that I'm aware of today that uses star burners is the Thermador. I always wanted one, thought the star shape would do a better job but the price was a killer.

Here is one listed on ebay...

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cgi.ebay.com

 

[launderess]

IIRC

Didn't one or more of the vintage offerings by such names as Chambers or Merrit O'Keefe have star burners?

 

[toploader55]

flip down oven doors could hold a persons weight

You Never Never Never stand on a Oven Door. That will"Spring" or bend the door and it will never close properly resulting in Heat Loss and Inferior Baking. I don't raise my voice much in the Kitchen, but if I see one of my cooks doing that they will never do it ahain.

 

[maytagbear]

Chambers had a different

format for the surface burners, they called it a "daisy."

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[tomturbomatic]

Daisy burners failed miserably, IIRC,

when CU tested them for evenness of heat distribution by placing a skillet containing white sugar over them. Instead of even carmelization, it was not at all pretty.

 

[tolivac]

Standing on the oven doors-even if the stove builder rated it for that sort of use-is it still a good idea?-despite what it says in that cooking manual-I don't think I would stand on the door-use a footstool instead.And esp if the range was mine-I wouldn't or let someone else stand on the door.I also think someday someone could get a foot burned from doing that.We know for sure not to do that with residentual ranges and dishwashers-yet see kids esp stand on the doors in order to reach something in a cabinet or on the counter.Maybe if range builders wanted people to climb on them--put grab irons on them-or steps like on the back of a rearload trash truck.

 

[toggleswitch]

Personally

a standard 30" gas-fired self-cleaning residential range,
a single (or double) double electric self-cleaning fan-forced convection oven,
And a 30 to 36 inch wide electric cook-top with two induction elements and two radiant ones (under vitro-ceram) will do nicely.

You can keep any oven that does not pyrolytically clean itself, for the most-part. Unless, of course, the flame size varies in the oven (not full-on or full-off as found in today's gas-fired ovens) in response to a good, old-fashioned mechanical "Robertshaw" brand (or equivalent) thermostat.

 

[spookiness]

I agree with JoeEkaitis

"If I had the room, I'd love to put two of these side-by-side and make a 60-inch faux-pro range"

I would have one gas, one electric, matching from same brand. That way you've got all bases covered. The other problem with pro ranges is they're a b*itch to clean and in a home setting the grates would always look dirty. Also, the knobs heat up, and note that they are metal. Most of the time you need to use a towel or potholder just to operate the knobs.

 

[westingman123]

"I don't raise my voice much in the kitchen..." OMG I about spit my coffee out! Eddie, I could hear your "Never Never Never" all the way here in Missouri! Reminds me of when I have a disobedient child - "no, no no NO NO!"

 

[toploader55]

I about spit out my coffee...

ROFLMAO !!!

A Restaurant Kitchen is such a "Low Sress, Peaceful" place to be. And the Waitstaff never makes mistakes. I never raise my voice to them. Yah, Right.

I do try to resolve issues with Kind and Tender words. If it happens again... To quote one of my Best Cooks Zach, sees me getting heated he'll yell out "Don't wake the Dragon". LOL

 

[hoovermatic]

There are so many people nowadays who spend thousands on the modern day equivalent and can't even fry an egg, eat out all the time or have it delivered, but it is something to show the neighbours!!!