Smooth Top Ovens

jd50ae

Well after months of use I have come to a clear decision.
I will never buy a smooth top oven again, because they suck big time.

jgibv

could've told ya that......


gas ranges/stoves or GTFO

jlmarta

Do you mean a smooth top stove?  Range?

What don't you like about them?

0patience

Cleaning the top?
My wife's stove gets dirty real fast.
She has some glass cleaner for our pellet stove glass that she uses and it cleans it right up.
Can't recall the name of it, but can get later this afternoon.

Amos_Umwhat

Now you tell us...Ours is due in this week. 

cbuck

Yes, let us know about it! My range is 35 years old, and we will probably need a new one soon. 

jlmarta

Well, opinions are like @ssholes, everybody's got one. 

Personally, I love our smooth top range. It's easy to clean and it cooks just fine. To me, a gas flame contributes to a dirty kitchen by producing soot if it isn't adjusted correctly. Just my $0.02. 

jgibv

i'll elaborate on my previous response....and say that i personally, do not like the flat top ranges.  (electric or induction)

while i'll agree with @jlmarta ; marty that they are very EASY to clean, that's about the only positive thing about them IMO.

i feel that, compared to a gas range, the flat tops:

- have much worst heat control
- take longer to heat up
- more difficult to rapidly adjust the temperature (aka go from a BOIL to a SIMMER on the same burner)
- don't heat as evenly
- don't work well with cast iron cookware
- don't work with round bottom cookware (i.e. woks)
- can not roast peppers/tortillas/etc directly on the burner

^^^^ those are all the reasons why i think gas ranges are superior. 
but like you said, opinions are like as*holes, everybody's got one! 

so if you like your flat top range, then keep doing you!  but i've used them all (electric, induction, flat top, gas) and will firmly say that gas is superior IMO! 

0patience

We have a smooth top stove.
Other then the fact that the top gets dirty and we've had it for 5 years, that is about all I know about it.
There are knobs and buttons on it, but I don't know what any of them do.

Evidently, the wife likes it, cause I haven't had to go buy a new one.
It has 2 ovens on it. One has a fan for making cookies. She tried to tell me what the fan does and I glossed over, so she just said makes the cookies better. Cool!

0patience

This is the stove my wife has at work. If we had natural has to our house, I'd have gone with a smaller version of that for home.

jlmarta

What I remember about gas kitchen ranges is from when I was a kid growing up. That's what my mother had and I think most folks had either gas or a wood stove. Certainly no smooth-top ranges in those days. 

I recall the greasy cooking fumes leaving a film on the walls and ceiling that the soot from the burners stuck to so that every few months you had to drag out the stepladder, a bucket of water and some Soilax, and some sponges and wash down the walls and ceiling. In my mind, gas flame = cruddy kitchen. 

I know that's a generalization but ...... 

i have no argument regarding the control features of gas burners. 

peter4jc

I like my smooth top because I can pile all sorts of crap on it and use it as extension of my counter top.

Yakster

I have a radiant cook top, it cycles on and off for different temperatures instead of having a smooth variable heat range which can be problematic if you're trying to make Turkish coffee, but overall I think it works pretty good.  If I were trying to brew beer in the kitchen, I'd have to have gas.

jgibv

peter4jc said:

I like my smooth top because I can pile all sorts of crap on it and use it as extension of my counter top.

that sounds like a fire hazard @peter4jc ;

Bob_Luken

jgibv said:

peter4jc said:

I like my smooth top because I can pile all sorts of crap on it and use it as extension of my counter top.

that sounds like a fire hazard @peter4jc ;

Yeah, so is "literally"  having a bunch of burning leaves in your hand. 

peter4jc

Bob_Luken said:

jgibv said:

peter4jc said:

I like my smooth top because I can pile all sorts of crap on it and use it as extension of my counter top.

that sounds like a fire hazard @peter4jc ;

Yeah, so is "literally"  having a bunch of burning leaves in your hand. 

You tell him, Bob!

jd50ae

!. smoothtop, that it is. Everything slides across the top with the slightest touch.
2. temperature. I am a cook. I do not need some computer to turn the heat on and off for me, I will control it. This is the worst thing about smooth tops.
3. It is almost impossible to clean and keep clean. Even with the scouring pads provided.
4. The small burners are too small and placed very strange. I ended up using the big burner for everything. There is one burner I can not even tell if it is big or small.
5. What does STS have to do with the efficiency of an appliance? It cost a lot more and is hard to clean. But it looks nice.
6. Don't even get me started on the oven. It is an even bigger joke. It wants to control everything.

I guess I am a simple minded American male. My wife likes it but she wanted it, and has to say that, She does like all the bells and whistles though she hasn't used half of them. The self cleaning does work well, but most do.

This is one of those things that started out "look what we can do". In the computer world they are learning, "that does not mean you should do it."

It has been interesting to see what you guys have had to say before I listed my dislikes. You can tell who cooks and who doesn't. I think I will build a permanent fire pit near the back porch. Or a custom BBQ. Or go back to eating raw food. Can't take a lot of meals out, expense being the biggest reason. And the fact there are not many (any?) decent restaurants less than 40 miles away. 

Usaf06

Best way to clean is to turn the flat top on and then pour water on the areas needing to be cleaned. The boiling water cleans it right up and then just wipe away. Turn off the heat, let it cool, spray some cleaner, and wipe it away. 

jgibv

Bob_Luken said:

jgibv said:

peter4jc said:

I like my smooth top because I can pile all sorts of crap on it and use it as extension of my counter top.

that sounds like a fire hazard @peter4jc ;

Yeah, so is "literally"  having a bunch of burning leaves in your hand. 

that's why i NEVER leave a cigar unattended. 
and i always keep a fire extinguisher within arms reach while smoking a cigar. 

Yakster

We use something like the cheese knife in the middle to scrap off the cooktop.  Barkeeper's Friend in a pinch if it's really bad.