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« Stove Buying Tips: Revelations from Food Professionals & Salespeople |Main| Rapping about Pho Culture: Q&A with Alexei of Seattle’s Townfolk »
November 21, 2012Stove Buying Tips: Weeding through Add-ons, Reviews and DealsBeyond the foundational basics of buying a new stove –burners, grates, ovens, and finish – there are add-ons to consider. I didn’trealize that buying up in the world of stoves would involve a complexity of bells and whistles. Doing their due diligence, appliance salespeople had to show offall the extras. Some things -- like the duo or triple ring burners were cool. However, salespeople tended to besheepish when presenting these add-ons:
Auto-adjustconvection ovens temps: Upscale models have convection oven control panelsthat will automatically downscale the oven temp for you. How convenient. Cooks can’tdo substitution math to lower the temp by 25 degrees for convection? How aboutan auto Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion? That’s the harder math!Temperatureprobes: Stick it in your roast to monitor cooking. It looked like somethingthat could malfunction. Why not use a $5 meat thermometer?Storage/warming/bakingdrawer: What used to be storage drawer for baking sheets and pans, etc., isnow pitched as a warming drawer. What happened to sticking your plates into awarm oven to warm them? On one GE profile model (priced at $2399), a wimpy electricheating element sits underneath the storage drawer so that it may function asan oven for casseroles and pies, in case you’re using the main oven forsomething else. I got down on my hands and knees to check out the ‘bakingdrawer.’ Imagine me holding a hot pan of potatoes au gratin and trying to getup from the floor with it. Chickennugget and pizza buttons: My favorites. Just like a microwave oven, thereare now stoves that will help you with the most common items that cooks make.Frigidaire describes the chicken nuggets button as: “Easily bake perfect chicken nuggets with the touch of a button.”If your food life is about baking (likely frozen) chicken nuggets and pizza, apricey stove is not what you need. Shouldn’tthe package instructions suffice?After I stopped laughing at these functions on the stovesthat I looked at, I began resenting manufacturers for pumping prices for thingsthat I didn’t really need. Every cook should do some stove soul searching whenlooking at buying a new one. What will help you to continue cooking well or cookbetter?
For me, many of the modern convenience functions didn’t appeal. Plus they could break down. (Years ago, the digital control panel died and the cost of replacing it was $350. I instead bought a new stove for $650.) I’ve cooked on singleelectric burners, 24-inch studio stoves and entry-level electric and gasranges. I just wanted efficient heat. Reliability was the next issue to deal with.
Consumer Reviews vs.Consumer Reports
After a day or so of looking, stoves began looking the same. Like Yelp, consumer reviews could be painfully negative (“Never buy this brand”) or Pollyannapositive (“I love the way the stove looks and haven’t tried it out fully yet”). I was relieved to find balanced, thoughtful reviews. Major chain stores carried reputable brands and models because they didn’t wantdisgruntled customer.
To weed through stove reviews and figure out what was the best for my situation, Igot a $6 monthly subscription to ConsumerReports.org; make a note to cancel in30 days or they’ll auto renew you forever. Consumer Reports has the mostconsistent and professional product reviews. Their reliability/repair ratingsare super helpful. Smartie salespeople often parrot back what CR says.
After I found the stove I wanted with few bells and whistlesand a decent amount of power, I hunted down the best price.
Hidden Costs andBountiful Deals
You can always find an appliance sale somewhere, sometime. Coincidentally,right before Thanksgiving people tend to buy stoves, one salesman told me. Isuddenly noticed that stove beauty shots sometimes featured a turkey andfixings.
But wait, post-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales includeplenty of appliances too. Again, appliance sales are plentiful so don’t despairif a salesperson tell you this is your only chance for a great deal. There willbe others.
Compare prices between major chains, local stores, andinternet retailers. A stove is a big ticket item so you want to make sure youget a good deal. Prices are usually very competitive, but one salesman saidthat stores typically shift costs around to give the illusion that you’regetting a better deal. Extra costs on delivery, disposal of the old stove,hook-up, and extended service warranties can add up and equalize the pricebetween retailers, he said. I looked at the fine print and did a little math to add up all the costs.
If you’re a bit of a risk taker, check SearsOutlet.com for steep reductions onnot just stoves but all kinds of home appliances, from affordable cheapies tohigh-end models. Cook’s Illustratededitor Andrew Janjigian shared that he bought a Five Star, 36” wide stove for asweet price on Craigslist; it took 3 days of cleaning but his race car stove was worth it. Theultimate deal is what my parents found: a free GE profile stovetop that theirneighbor was giving away due to a remodel.
Keep your eyes open.
Extended ServiceWarranties
I didn’t buy extended service warranties on my cheapiestoves because it wasn’t worth the money visa vis buying a new stove. However, a mid-range or higher priced stovemerits a service warranty, which gives added protection beyond the typical 1year deal from the manufacturer. I went for it.
What did I buy? AnLG gas range with convection that Consumer Reports rated in their top threepicks. I was set to buy a GE Profile 980 but the LG 3095 was currentlyon sale (about 25% off) at an incredible price during Home Depot’s Black Fridaysale which goes for most of November this year.
The stainless steel model was less expensive than its DarthVader all black cousin. For some reason, Home Depot is pushing that model rightnow. It’s just the sale, I was told. Whatever. I lucked in on the deal. On topof the price, delivery was free, hook up was nominal, and a 5-year labor andparts service warrantee was cheap. I whipped out my credit card and said, “Charge!”
I spent about $1350, a lot less than my original budget. Therewill be other stoves in my future. At the moment, that was the best choice and thebest deal.
How did you narrow down which stove to buy?
Related post: Stove Buying Tips: Revelations from Food Professionals & Salespeople
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Comments Stove Buying Tips: Weeding through Add-ons, Reviews and DealsBeyond the foundational basics of buying a new stove –burners, grates, ovens, and finish – there are add-ons to consider. I didn’trealize that buying up in the world of stoves would involve a complexity of bells and whistles. Doing their due diligence, appliance salespeople had to show offall the extras. Some things -- like the duo or triple ring burners were cool. However, salespeople tended to besheepish when presenting these add-ons:
Auto-adjustconvection ovens temps: Upscale models have convection oven control panelsthat will automatically downscale the oven temp for you. How convenient. Cooks can’tdo substitution math to lower the temp by 25 degrees for convection? How aboutan auto Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion? That’s the harder math!Temperatureprobes: Stick it in your roast to monitor cooking. It looked like somethingthat could malfunction. Why not use a $5 meat thermometer?Storage/warming/bakingdrawer: What used to be storage drawer for baking sheets and pans, etc., isnow pitched as a warming drawer. What happened to sticking your plates into awarm oven to warm them? On one GE profile model (priced at $2399), a wimpy electricheating element sits underneath the storage drawer so that it may function asan oven for casseroles and pies, in case you’re using the main oven forsomething else. I got down on my hands and knees to check out the ‘bakingdrawer.’ Imagine me holding a hot pan of potatoes au gratin and trying to getup from the floor with it. Chickennugget and pizza buttons: My favorites. Just like a microwave oven, thereare now stoves that will help you with the most common items that cooks make.Frigidaire describes the chicken nuggets button as: “Easily bake perfect chicken nuggets with the touch of a button.”If your food life is about baking (likely frozen) chicken nuggets and pizza, apricey stove is not what you need. Shouldn’tthe package instructions suffice?After I stopped laughing at these functions on the stovesthat I looked at, I began resenting manufacturers for pumping prices for thingsthat I didn’t really need. Every cook should do some stove soul searching whenlooking at buying a new one. What will help you to continue cooking well or cookbetter?
For me, many of the modern convenience functions didn’t appeal. Plus they could break down. (Years ago, the digital control panel died and the cost of replacing it was $350. I instead bought a new stove for $650.) I’ve cooked on singleelectric burners, 24-inch studio stoves and entry-level electric and gasranges. I just wanted efficient heat. Reliability was the next issue to deal with.
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Sometimes ya just gotta open yourself up for all to see to truly appreciate your imperfections.
When Grace Young was a child, her father instilled in her a lasting appreciation of wok hay, the highly prized but elusive taste that food achieves when properly stir-fried in a wok. As an adult, Young aspired to create that taste in her own kitchen. Her quest to master wok cooking led her throughout the United States, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Along with award-winning photographer Alan Richardson, Young sought the advice of home cooks, professional chefs, and esteemed culinary teachers like Cecilia Chiang, Florence Lin, and Ken Hom. Their instructions, stories, and recipes, gathered in this richly designed and illustrated volume, offer not only expert lessons in the art of wok cooking, but also capture a beautiful and timeless way of life.