Let's Talk BBQ
Tips, Tricks & Just Good Advice! => Tips, Tricks & Things of Interest => Cooking Equipment - Tips => Topic started by: Smokin Don on October 22, 2016, 09:58:28 PM
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Oct 22 2016
I have never been anywhere to have a gas range so I am only knowledgeable with electric ranges. I have been cooking for over 40 years now. My early ranges were the ones with the coil elements and remember the drip pans under the burners were a pain to keep clean.
18 years ago I got my first glass top stove, an Amana, and it had a convection oven. It came with Cerama Bryte cleaner and it worked well. I have used cast iron and carbon steel on it for at least 10 years. The glass top still looked like new and our son and wife took it when I just got my new stove.
Six years ago I needed a new fridge and liked Whirlpool products. I found one at Lowes that was a side by side and had water and ice in the door. The ice bucket and dispenser were in the door and gave more room in the freezer. The wife wanted black but I said I want stainless steel and I won that one! Well I never lived down my choice! Within 6 months the removable ice bucket would freeze fast and it leaked water down the front of the door.
To make it short I argued with Whirlpool service reps for over 3 months trying to get them to replace the fridge with a different model. They lied to me saying no one else was having problems. A factory service guy was here about 4 times and said everyone was having problems with the indoor ice makers. He finally replaced the whole freezer door but the leaking has persisted. Whirlpool never researched how to get rid of the water created during the defrost cycle. I am done with Whirlpool!
I saw where Lowes was having 10 to 30% off on all appliances. I was tired of looking at my bad choice fridge. My beer fridge in the garage was 28 years old and seemed to be running a lot. I told the wife let’s get a new fridge and move my choice to the garage! I picked out one, a Frigidaire, and got the wife’s input too and it was black.
Before it came our son said they would like to have our old stove. I was thinking of getting a new one in the spring. I thought while the good sale was on I’d just get one now. I looked at Frigidaire and GE; the GE won out since it had the bottom oven element under the metal. That will make for a lot easier cleaning. It has 5 burners, 2 large ones in the front that are adjustable from large to small, 3 small ones in the back and the middle one is a warmer.
As far as glass tops go I have found they are pretty easy to keep clean. The main thing is you have to put the pots and pans on and let set while cooking; you cannot move them around or you will end up scratching them. For normal cleaning just wipe with a soapy wash cloth and then spray on Windex Complete and wipe with paper towels. For any stubborn spots use a razor blade scraper. Every so often use the Cerama Bryte cleaner on it.
Most manufacturers do not recommend using cast iron on the glass tops but I have used cast iron and carbon steel on my old glass top for at least 10 years and it had no scratches from them. It was a Ceran glass top. There are several makers of the glass tops but I can find no info on who makes them for the different ranges.
My kitchen is pretty small and at times I have envied some nice setups with a lot of room and a middle island for food prep. I do not like anyone else in my kitchen when cooking and when I think of it is ideal for me. About anything I need is just two steps away. My dish washer and above the stove microwave I got last year and are GE. My appliances should outlast me!
My 6 yr old Whirlpool leaker
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A088148_zpsajzq8zi9.jpg)
My old Amana glass top
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A178212_zps00hw8vbz.jpg)
My 28 yr old fridge is gone
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A178213_zpssvzgdqj4.jpg)
My new GE glass top
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A218247_zps4z6zgugb.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A228259_zpst1xxfbhk.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A228260_zpsbmhiskns.jpg)
My expensive beer cooler!
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Indoor%20cooking/_A228261_zps9giegwct.jpg)
Smokin Don
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Love it! :)
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Nice Kitchen Don! We got a new GE stove top this year & like it but it just has 4 burners.
It has a griddle burner where you can put a griddle on & it heats the whole area. Front to back
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Looks like a very comfortable feel at home kitchen. Nice. :)
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Appliances too often are a crap shoot. They are getting so complex, things are bound to fail. I have 12 year old appliances, and so far no problems. I feel lucky. You will save money getting rid of your beer fridge
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Appliances too often are a crap shoot. They are getting so complex, things are bound to fail. I have 12 year old appliances, and so far no problems. I feel lucky. You will save money getting rid of your beer fridge
Gotta have my beer fridge Pappy!!! :) I do use it for other things and nice to have the extra freezer. Don
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Nice set up. Your beer fridge can also hold seasoned meat for queing to keep your other fridge from being to overloaded :thumbup:
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You were a good Cowboy Don. You were home on the range ;) ;) ;) ;)
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Thanks for the write-up Don. I have a glass top and have been using CI on it but I worry about it cracking but after reading your post I'm not as concerned. I have had my Samsung appliances for about five years now and my extended warranty is about to expire. Dishwasher - two repairs, Microwave - two repairs, Stove - one repair. Fridge/ice maker? Fridge replaced once after three visits, since than there have been at least two or three more visits by repairmen. In fact, I currently have a repair in the works because now the the ice maker will not crush ice. It goes on and on and on. I don't like making bad reviews about manufactures but come on, really? These things are not cheap.
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Great looking set up, Don! I thought your old stove was the new one, it looked so nice!! And yes, gotta have the beer fridge. :)
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Thanks for the write-up Don. I have a glass top and have been using CI on it but I worry about it cracking but after reading your post I'm not as concerned. I have had my Samsung appliances for about five years now and my extended warranty is about to expire. Dishwasher - two repairs, Microwave - two repairs, Stove - one repair. Fridge/ice maker? Fridge replaced once after three visits, since than there have been at least two or three more visits by repairmen. In fact, I currently have a repair in the works because now the the ice maker will not crush ice. It goes on and on and on. I don't like making bad reviews about manufactures but come on, really? These things are not cheap.
Yea know what you mean Rad, My beer fridge was $1400 but I got a good price on it but still too much to move to the garage after 6 yrs. Don
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I think me beer fridge cost $330.00 from Costco Just a simple one that is in the garage. Freezer on top & Fridge below...sure comes in handy
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My beer fridge is a mid 30"s or 40"s International Harvester. Traded my neighbor a crappy window air conditioner for it 16 years ago when I moved in to my home. Still running fine in the garage. Don't make them like they used to!
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My beer fridge is a mid 30"s or 40"s International Harvester. Traded my neighbor a crappy window air conditioner for it 16 years ago when I moved in to my home. Still running fine in the garage. Don't make them like they used to!
Love to see a Pic of IH Fridge! Didnt know they mage them. Would be cool if it was IH Red! :)
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Appliances too often are a crap shoot. They are getting so complex, things are bound to fail. I have 12 year old appliances, and so far no problems. I feel lucky. You will save money getting rid of your beer fridge
Don a few of us will help you empty it if you need the help ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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That looks just like the GE we bought about 1 1/2 years ago. You are right about the element being under a solid bottom. It is much easier to clean (without running a full self cleaning cycle). You can put some water in the recess in the bottom and do a steam clean that works on about 95% of the stuff.
I will say this, the control range on our GE is a lot better than on our prior stove. I recently finished a 22lb foiled chuck roll in the oven (figured it was foiled, so why add more charcoal to the WSM). I was concerned about what the temp band would be around the set point. On the initial heat up, it does overshoot a bit, but after that first cycle it was very tight. Setpoint was 225 and the element clicked on at 218 and the overshoot went to 234. Element only ran about every 20-30 minutes, so it held temp well. That was more than acceptable, so I slept well while that big hunk of meat rose to 205 internal (I ran the Maverick so it would wake me when it was time to pull out and move to the ice chest).
Ok, I got wordy, but those GE oven/ranges are good units.