I was in the same boat (or similar boat) a couple of years ago. After thoroughly researching, I ended up buying a 30" American Range Classic. Couldn't be happier. Slightly above your budget, but not too much. 

OK. Here you go. < $500. Does everything as good as any other stove I've ever used. It's plain, boring, has no bells/whistles. 

Kenmore 30'' Freestanding Gas Range

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtimeytim 

Does yours look like it would be easy to service?

Hmmm.. hard to tell.. how do I  tell? I've never had to service it so I honestly don't know. I am lucky to live in the city where they are manufactured so I guess that may make it easier to service...

I have no experience with them, but American Range has come in for criticism on quality grounds at http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/.  That forum might also be a useful place to post your question.  

I had never heard of American Range until a specific issue while building our catering kitchen led me to them for convection ovens.  While I can only speak about my experience with this particular item in a commercial kitchen, I look forward to one day soon having a house and equipping it with American Range items - I drooled over them when researching the brand.

I have not had any quality issues with my stacked, bakery-depth convection ovens.  We did have installation issues as the plumber didn't set the regulators - but then, they screwed us on a bunch of basic plumbing issues, too.  These ovens are my workhorses.  From the get-go I realized how solidly they were built, functional design, comes apart easily enough for major cleaning.  Commercially speaking, these have been under the radar forever, but I'm now a huge fan.  With some of the big names out there, all you're paying that extra money for is the nameplate.

There will always be issues when enough of something is produced and enough different people have experiences.  Just look at all the reviews on Amazon - they run the gamut from 1 star to 5 for the same item.

I love my American Range (convection oven) and would recommend it as a quality brand.

I hear your dilemma.  Even if we discount CR as being "not very independent", and to a certain extent, a popularity contest, you'd still be left with "I don't know a single person who has an American Range residential piece of equipment!".  Also, I think the ratings may also have to do with low expectations for GE (easily achieved, or close to it) and friggin' high expectations for AR (achievable provided they're realistic and the person using it understands how to get the most out of it.)

That was actually exactly my concern when trying to research these convection ovens.  I spoke to the company and they put me in touch with 3 people who had this oven in their operations.  Once I spoke to the 1st guy, I didn't have to go any further.  While I got the names from the company themselves, I took it for granted that once speaking on the phone to them, I'd get honesty.  I asked the pointed questions and was more than satisfied with the information I got.

Maybe you can do something similar through an AR distributor?  

I know you're the one buying this, but my feelings are that American Range does what they do well - commercial or residential.  They seem like solid, well-made pieces of equipment, without all the bells-and-whistles people think they love.  Look at how simplistic their designs are, while still incorporating new baking technologies!  So they're no circuit boards to get fried, etc.

Good luck!  And I'm interested to know how it all works out.

*1 disclaimer*  I have never seen, much less used any American Range residential equipment.  But their commercial line blew me away to such a degree that I now have such faith in the quality of all their equipment.**

OK. I gotta ask ... How does one range "beat the crap" out of any other range? TIA for educating me on this concept. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceMan 

OK. I gotta ask ... How does one range "beat the crap" out of any other range? TIA for educating me on this concept. 

Faster heating, more even baking, less heat escaping.  Better sealed burners, more powerful BTUs, legitimate simmer setting.  Easier to clean, easier to hide spills.  Heavier duty/longer lasting.  

That'd be my definition, anyways.

OK. Thanks for that. 

What I know, is that in My house, my < $500 Kenmore cooks things just fine. It does all that stuff you said just fine too. To tell you the truth, I don't really think that for the +/- $3000 difference, standing side by side in any home kitchen, you or anyone else could tell any real difference in regards to actually cooking something. Could I be wrong? ... Oh yeah, sure I could. But I don't think so. Not for +/- $3000 anyway.   It amazes me that among so many people claiming to be professionals in the culinary industry, anything inexpensive is garbage and the only good products are those over-the-top expensive. Yeah, I could be wrong there too. I'm also the guy that thinks "Chef" is only a vocabulary word. WTFDIK? LOL. 

I'm certainly not of a spoiled mindset where it's only good if it's expensive - At ALL!  I worked for a caterer in the basement of a synagogue, preparing food for 300 at times using 2 "NYC apartment-style" Magic Chef Ranges/ovens.  I couldn't fit a full-size sheetpan in there and often used the "shelf" right above the gas burner to sear and caramelize.   Yeah, I cooked some pretty damn good food - but the equipment I have now....Buh-LOWS that away.  Easier, more efficient, and often enable the quality to be better - aside from the fact that those dinky ranges/ovens did limit menu, to an extent.  Oh, and bringing a pot of water to boil - starting with cold water as the hot water tank was a mini - man, I had to start that first thing in the morning if I wanted it boiling by noon!

I should have just stated that any residential range that can handle full sheetpans is a crap-kicker in my book!

Overall capacity is another crap-kicker.  especially when you have 6 racks in usable positions at the same time!

...A boy can dream.....

And yes, IceMan, the extra cost does need to be justifiable.  A $600 Kenmore isn't even in consideration.  But if you're going from a $1600 GE to a $3K American Range or other, it's not as big of a jump, and provided the finances are there, it's a fun decision to have to make!

LOL. Try comparing apples to apples maybe. 

+/- $3,500vs. < $500

That just aint'e the same as whatever you used in the basement of your synagogue. Now I'm happy for you that you were able to do what you did. I think that's a good thing. And I'm also happy for you that you are now in a position to afford and buy those things that you like. Go for it. It's all good. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin', that item for item, all other things being equal, I don't think you, me or anyone else is gonna cook anything better on your stove or mine. That's just my opinion though. YMMV. 

First off, that Kenmore is very basic (not a bad thing), but not so dissimilar from the Magic Chef (ha, the irony in that as I had to pull some magic!).

Not always about "better tasting food".

Cooking 6 things at once, getting everything baked in one batch instead of 3....

Efficiency is time; time is money; yada yada...do the math.

Absence of frustration is... Happiness?  Can't put a value on that.

For the record, in outfitting our kitchen, we decided that we would buy quality equipment (Once) professionally, but I have literally nothing personally.

Price not being an issue, don't tell me you wouldn't rather have an American Range in your kitchen instead of the Kenmore!

LOL. A 30" range, any way you want to dress it, up is still only 30". You can only cook so many things on so much space. Efficiency in comparison is right there equal to comparing chrome w/ white. The flames come out, things get hot. In the six(6) or so years I've had my the only frustration is not having an over-head salamander. The American doesn't have that either, so I guess there's no frustration.    LOL. All things said ... I'd rather have +/- $3000 in my pocket. And on-top-of-that ... if I was buying a new range w/ no price conditions ... I'd get a BlueStar, and still have more $$$ in my pocket than you would w/ the American. LOL. YMMSV.

Pretty tough to have an over-the-head salamander as part of a residential oven...BUT American Range does feature an infrared broiler.  Sure sounds like a salamander to me .  As far as your thoughts on efficiency go, more btu = more faster.  Better seals = better heat retention.  Better made = quicker heating and quicker reheating after opening.  There are quantifiable benchmarks for efficiency.  Comparing that to color is just... dismissive.

A car will get you from point A to point B....I'll be efficient and not bother to finish that obvious thoug...

OK. Have you ever heard of a "thermostat"?      250* for 2 1/2 hours is the same in any range operating properly.   I don't know just how many BTU's anyone else needs at home, but I can use my wok just fine on my Kenmore.   How many people cook under rush situations at home?  Does your (or anyone else's) food taste any different/better being plated in 14-minutes instead of 17-minutes?    There had better be a whole lot of difference for $3,000. 

*  For anyone wondering ... this is a conversation, not an argument. 

Speed limit of 65mph.  $12K car versus a $45K car.  No difference?

Of course there's a difference.  Is it a quantifiable $33K difference?

Doesn't really matter.  You can afford the $45K car, you like it, and feel it's worth the money.  That's not to say that the $12K car isn't a viable car.  It is, certainly.

When you have a cake in a 325 degree oven, and you open it up to check on it, by the time the door closes again the temp has dropped over 100 degrees.  yes, the cake will continue to bake just fine, and it'll be good, but with a better oven, the temp will be back up to 325 significantly quicker than a...Kenmore, for example.  Better air circulation in the oven, which can lead to lower gas bills.  There are a lot of benefits built in to  $45,000 cars and $4,000 ovens.

If you know how to bake a cake, and you know the equipment you are using .......... You don't need to open up the oven to check. 

*?    Why don't you take public transportation and save the $45,000?  I don't have any issues that need to be satisfied with or by a $45,000 car. I'm secure in/with who I am.  

Iceman, please chill.  ChefDave is being impressively tolerant, but you can make your points without being aggressive, and behavior like this discourages others from joining the conversation.

I spent a couple decades in apartments with the basic GE/Kenmore appliances and did a whole lot of cooking and baking.  OTOH I'm getting a lot of benefit now from a 30" Culinarian rangetop -- lots of heat when I want it -- and from a spiffy electric oven with a big window. The extra rangetop heat lets me use a wok much more effectively and lets a saute pan get back up to heat faster after stuff goes in it.  And yes, the oven window lets me check on stuff because I like making breads I haven't tried before.  Plus I like seeing how stuff bakes.  Almost as much fun as the washing machine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colin 

I have no experience with them, but American Range has come in for criticism on quality grounds at http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/.  That forum might also be a useful place to post your question.  

I had done extensive research before buying, including reading absolutely every single post about American Range home ranges on the gardenweb forum. I found a couple of people complaining, one about their broiler not working past the warranty date and the company refusing to help (personally I don't find this very surprising), another complaining about issues with the ignition which was repaired by the company under warranty. I wouldn't call this "come under criticism on quality grounds". Out of all the brands I've researched (and I've nearly researched any brand you could think of) this is the least amount of criticism I've found about a single company over the internet. 

Keep in mind people often go online to report a bad experience, while they don't give a second thought to a good experience. Take myself, for example, I never went on forum, except for this one thread 3 years after my purchase, to make a positive review of my purchase. 

I however agree that asking the question over at gardenweb may be a good idea. 

LOL. Colin ... you be you ... and I'll be me.     Please continue in the conversation of this thread. Do not let me stop you.    If you, ChefDave, oldtimeytim or anyone else wants, and has the means to buy a $3,500 new stove ... GO FOR IT.  Make yourself happy. I'm all for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceMan 

if I was buying a new range w/ no price conditions ... I'd get a BlueStar, and still have more $$$ in my pocket than you would w/ the American. LOL. YMMSV.

I considered blue star but preferred American Range, mainly based on:

• The AR has better user reviews.

• The blue star burners are kinda cool, but apparently harder to clean? Never had to clean one but when I looked at the assembly the prospect of cleaning them kinda scared me.

• The blue star burners are all the same size. The AR has two large burners, one medium and one small.

• The AR burners are further away from the pan. While this works in a restaurant range where the BTU hare higher, I question the efficiency in a home range where the BTU is lower. Looks like there would be more heat loss. 

• The American Range is a better oven, with a better convection system with two fans and vents to circulate the hot air etc. 

• The AR oven is the whole width of the oven, the Blue Star isn't, so the AR oven is wider inside than the BS. 

This is from memory, there were probably other reasons... that's at the top of my head. 

Hey Tim,  I'm also in WNC (AVL), and am looking hard at the AR model you've been shopping.  Lots of time has passed since this thread was active, I know.  I'm wondering what you ended up doing.  My brother has this AR stove and loves it.  He is in Oregon, tho.  I also  have been looking at the Culinarian 30" open-burner model.  It is $1000+ bucks more, and I can't tell why....  I'd appreciate any insight the thread-followers can offer.