Community Chat

[Burnsite]

I have a mustardy 1960s GE range, the kind some of us may have grown up with--burners on the bottom (the stove is set on top of a lower cabinet, like a cooktop) and a stove on top, with a mustard-colored middle expanse where a backsplash might be today.

It no longer is reliable for baking, so that's that. Carpentry (removal of the lower cabinet) will be needed for me to add a free-standing range. That seems to be the most practical alternative. I can then place an over the stove microwave in the upper region where the old oven is.

The induction tops are pricey--does anyone have one and is the extra cost worth it? I am looking at a GE Profile one that is top-rated at Consumer Reports, but it is so expensive--$2600 at Home Depot and Sears.

I also don't like how dark it is. (One of the rave reviews---people who buy this rave about it--mentions that their stove has a nickname: Darth Vader.)

I am also looking at a model not reported on by CR. It's a Kenmore (CR does not like the two models it has reviewed recently) with just radiant heat, not the invection cooktop. That's just under $1,000. It is prettier, with more bright stainless and less black, and it has a huge oven, which appeals to me after years of working with a very small oven.

Anyhow, does anyone have recommendations about invection cooking, positive or negative? Or recommendations about a suitable stove?

With a bit more carpentry, a slide-in range is possible, too. Has anyone purchased one of those recently? Thanks in advance for any advice!