The standard size for ranges is 30 inches wide. But ranges also come in 20", 24", 36", and larger widths. Most 20 and 24 inch electric ranges have coil burners and standard cleaning. 36 inch ranges tend to either be standard cleaning gas or commercial style gas ranges. There are virtually no 36 inch wide electic ranges, but there are 40 inch ranges, which are electric or dual fuel (gas top with electric ovens.) Ranges wider than 40 inches are always commercial style gas ranges. Commercial type ranges can be all gas or duel fuel.

Standard cleaning is where you clean the oven, often with a product such as easy off. Self cleaning is where you set a cycle and the range cleans it self. The bake and the broil elements come on, bring the oven to about 700 degrees and burns off all the mess. The oven locks during the cycle for safety. Usually a self cleaning cycle is 4 or 5 hours, if you only set it for 2 hours is when you might dissatisfied with the cleaning results. After the cycle is over, it needs to cool down before the door will unlock. Then you would simply wipe the ashes out of the oven.

Gas Self clean vs. Standard Clean

Self cleaning gas ranges have the broiler in the top of the oven. This is required to be able to reach the temperature neccessary for the self cleaning cycle, as both the bake and the broiler jets will be on.

STandard cleaning gas ranges have the broiler in place of the bottom drawer, as they use one set of burner jets, baking above that set of burner jets, and broiling beneath it. Having less sets of burner jets helps reduce the production cost of the range.

Basic standard cleaning ranges will have open burners, while others will have sealed burners. The sealed burners will often have more btu power. Many standard clean gas ranges are fairly basic, but they can come in 20, 24, 30 or 36 inch sizes.

Some 30 inch can have much nicer burners and grates. There are a few stainless steel 24, 30, and 36 inch ranges that can have up to 15,000 btu's on natural gas.

The most basic ranges have pilots. Since about 1992 the Dept. of Energy has required that any gas range that is plugged into a wall must have electronic ignition. If a range has a clock or a oven light, then it is required to have spark ignition system. Electronic ignitions systems save gas by not having pilots continously burn gas. All self cleaning ranges have electronic spark ignition systems.

Electric cooking products come in many forms.

Coil ranges are much easier to clean than they used to be. Most have lift up cooktops so it's easier to clean under the top if you have a spill. Most have upswept cooktops that eliminate crevices that old ranges often had, that were hard to clean. Some coil ranges have porcelain drip pans that can be washed in the sink or in the dishwasher, or can even be placed in the oven during the self cleaning cycle.

The wattage or power of the coil burners can vary. Some of the more basic apartment type ranges offer 2100 watt burners, while the more deluxe units will offer more powerful 2600 watt burners. The wattage tends to be more important than the number of turns or coils that a coil burner has, but these tend to be relative. The more turns a coil burner has often the more wattage it has.

Most brands offer different types of baking systems, without counting convection which would be yet another type. Most brands offer a basic type of baking system, often where only the bake element creates the heat for baking. Many brands offer a more deluxe baking system, that uses both the bake and the broil element to generate the heat. GE calls thier system TruTemp, Whirlpool's is Accubake, and Maytag's is Advanced Cooking System. Not only utilizing both elements, but they have a more accurate sensor to sense the oven temperature, often a platinum tipped sensor. In a few cases there are two oven sensors.

Many electric ranges and cooktops now have smoothtop surfaces. They are popular for their appearance and cleanability. These are also called glasstop, radiant top, cerantop, or other similar terms. The glass isn't really glass it's a ceramic material. Most of the tops are made by either of two companies Ceran or Keran, but they all share similar attributes.

All of the smoothtops are scratch resistant, stain resistant, and durable. We've seen the tops break in shipping, and in a few cases that are clearly extreme, but in general they are very tough. Unless you drop something heavy on it, or stand on it, chances are you won't ever break the glass top.

Special cookware is not needed. Cast iron cookware is not recommended as if the pan is slid across the smoothtop, it can leave metal markings that are hard to remove. Glass cookware is also not recommended as it can scratch more if it is slid around. Canning is a tricky subject, in general water bath canning is recommended versus pressure canning. They normally instruct the user to do more smaller batches when canning. It is common to refer users to the Department of Agriculture or to Ball MFG or to other companies that makes canning jars to make sure you are using proper procedures.

Cookware should have smooth bottoms, thick bottoms, and flat bottoms. It the bottom of the cookware has dimples that are rough, it will scratch more than if it is smooth. Thick bottom cookware will provide for more even heat transfer with smoothtop, gas, or coil burners. Flat bottoms is the first topic that actually can be a performance issue. If the bottom of the pan is concave or raised to create a pocket of air between the burner then the burner may limit itself. The burner has a thermostat designed to sense the pan temperature, when an air pocket is present the sensor can't see the pan temperature just the air temperature. It's fooled into thinking everything is hot and turns itself down. Normally it is suggested that a consumer take a flatedge, such as a ruler, and hold it to the bottom of the cookware to ensure its flat.

Probably 95% of cookware is fine to use with a smoothtop surface.

Typically the pan should be the same size as the burner, or larger than the burner on each size. A 9 inch burner can be used with a pan with a 9 to 11 inch bottom.

Cleaning is easy if you are using the right tools. There are several brands of cooktop cleaner which is highly recommended to use in conjunction with a no scratch scrub sponges. Using the right cleaner makes it very easy to clean.

Burner sizes on smoothtops can vary, Large burners can be 1800 watts up to 3,000 watts. 2,400 to 2,500 watts is a standard full size large burner.

Bridge elements are found on some smoothtops,

Dual Elements are burners where you can select to turn on just the smaller inner burner, or select the larger burner size, giving you more flexibility on which burners to use.

Warming zones are getting to be more common. These lower voltage burners are not cooking burners, but just designed to keep food warm, in the event that another course of dinner isnt quite done.

Electronic burner controls are available on a few smoothtops which can enhance your control, and ensure you are getting the exact setting you desire.

Most typical ranges are 30 inch wide freestanding models. Controls are on the backsplash. Some are coil ranges and some have smoothtops. Some information on coils is on the main Electric cooking page. Some information on smoothtops is on the smoothtop page. A comparison on self cleaning vs. standard cleaning is on the standard cleaning page. Virtually all smoothtops are self cleaning.

First decision is do you want coils or a smoothtop. Then what color. Many of the basic ranges will be white with a black door or bisque with a black door. Some of the basic models are available monochromatic, that is all white, all black or all bisque. More deluxe ranges normally are monochromatic or stainless, as the two tone color option simply isnt offered. Stainless steel is more common to the deluxe ranges but there a few basic ranges that offer stainless as a color option. Some stainless steel ranges will have stainless handles and backguards, some will have black handles and/or backguards.

Most free standing ranges have oven windows and oven lights. The oven capacities do vary, but often the larger the oven, the smaller the drawer.

Most ranges have electronic control systems. Only the most basic will have the old style analog thermostats. The digital controls for the oven let you set the temperature more accurately, usually in 5 degree increments. These usually ensure a more accurate and even oven temperature.

One of the first things to know about gas ranges is the variation in btu power of the surface burners. Some now come as high as 18,000 but's on the large burners. Some have 8,000 btu's or less.

Most ranges come factory set up for natural gas, but have a propane gas converter kit included, if you happen to be on bottled gas. However there are a few that are not convertible to propane, a few you need to order one way or the other, and a few that need a separate conversion kit if you are going to use it on propane. So make sure your salesperson knows what type of fuel you will be using. Natural gas is piped in from the street, Bottled gas, which is when you have a tank that's refilled, is also called propane or L.P. gas.

As mentioned above most ranges are convertible from natural gas to propane. When the range is converted the btu power of the surface burners often change. Some burners, can be 9,500 btu's on natural gas and when they are converted remain at 9,500 btu's. Some burners can be 15,000 btu's and drop to 10,000 btu's. So what the ratings are for the fuel you are using can vary dramatically.

Professional type ranges often offer 15,000 btu's, which is very high. Apartment type ranges often offer 8,000 btu's which can be adequate for a large burner. Anything less than 8,000 might leave you less than satisfied with the range. For most homeowners 11,000 btu's is a pretty good power level for their largest burner, as they normally will not need anything close to 15,000.

Most ranges will come with a few different size burners, often one large, 2 medium, and one small simmer burner. There is a growing trend to rate simmer burners in degrees, but historically we've still compared them based on btu's. Some really low simmer burners will turn down to a low of 500 btu's or less. Many pretty good simmer burners are 550, 600, or 650 btu's. Some ranges only have 4 identical burners and it's often hard to simmer things if the lowest setting is only 1,000 btu's.

Most ranges have sealed burners, which means you should never get a spill to go below the main top, so you never have to clean underneath the main top. These have been very popular for many years, as cleaning is so much easier. Typically only apartment type ranges, and commercial ranges won't have sealed burners.

Gas ranges have a wide variety of burner powers. Most are factory set up for natural gas but can be converted to propane gas. Standard cleaning ranges have the broiler in the bottom in place of a drawer.

Some models will offer convection. Some have two ovens. Some will offer 5 burners, even in the 30 inch size. Some offer downdraft systems with a grill, a griddle, or other options. Some gas ranges can have griddles even when they dont have a downdraft model. There is one 30 inch range now that has a griddle, two ovens, convection, and 5 burners.

There are alot of stainless steel ranges available now, some are very reasonable in price. More basic ranges can be two tone in color, white with a black door or bisque with a black door. Better models tend to be all white, all black, all bisque, or stainless. Some of the stainless models will have black handles and/or black control panels, others will be stainless.

Steel grates are found on the more basic ranges, while deluxe ranges will have cast iron grates. The more deluxe the range the heavier and bigger the grates. Many now offer continuous grates that cover the entire surface, some use a center grate to be full surface. Some stovetops are glass, but most are still porcelain.

Oven capacities do vary, but the bigger the oven the smaller the drawer typically.

Dual fuel ranges have gas tops and electric ovens. Often these are electric convection ovens. They are often considered the best of both worlds. Even heating in the oven, with the response of gas burners on top.

They come as regular freestanding ranges, as slide ins, as downdraft ranges, or even as double oven units.

Convection is an advanced method of cooking that can be found in electric ranges, in gas ranges,or even in wall ovens.

In all the convection products we sell, the convection feature is an option, meaning you can chose to use it, or you can chose to use normal bake, or normal broil. So that fruitcake recipe you can do strictly by your grandmother's recipe.

Convection is circulating hot air. Using a fan in the back of the oven, air is circulated around the food, providing a more even temperature throughout the oven. This not only cooks more evenly so that you can cook on more oven racks at one time, but it also cooks faster and at a lower temperature. Most of all, it cooks BETTER. There are many foods that are cook better with convection. Most restaurants only cook with convection.

Some models offer a convection conversion feature where you enter the standard time and temperature, and the control panel converts it for you. Making the range very user friendly.

There are two types of convection, True Convection and Speedbake convection. Speedbake is a more affordable option, which has a single speed fan in the back of the oven, which you would turn on or off by it's own switch. True convection typically offers two fan speeds, a heating element around the fan, and the fan control is intergrated in the baking control system. The slower fan speed is for baked goods, while the faster fan speed is for roasting. The heating element around the fan provides even more even temperature, as the heat source in part comes from the fan, not just the floor of the oven. The control panel typically allows you to select bake, broil, convection bake, or convection roasting, and automatically sets the fan speed slow for convection bake, and fast for convection roast. The fast fan speed on baked goods such as bread can be too fast and will affect the shape and appearance of the bread. However the fast fan speed on roasted things like meats, helps to sear the outside, sealing in the moisture, for a much juicier roast.

Some convection ovens will offer proofing modes for allowing bread to rise properly. Some models will offer dehydration systems, for making things like jerky or dried flowers.

Convection is also available on some microwaves.

Normally in convection microwaves you can chose to cook with just microwave power, with just convection, or with alot of convection with a just a little microwave power, or with alot of microwave power and just a little convection.

Slide in ranges differ from standard free standing ranges, where they have no backsplash, all the controls are typically on the front edge, the surface has flanges that overlap the countertop on both the sides and the rear. The counter top usually has to custom cut to fit slide in ranges, although the cabinet opening is normally the standard 30" wide. Some models do go all the way back to the wall, others offer (sometimes at an additional charge) backsplashes to fill in the gap behind the range, where a strip of countertop often goes.

Normally slide in ranges are more expensive, but they do give a more custom or built in look to a kitchen.

Slide in ranges come in electric, all gas, or dual fuel. As slide in ranges are often desirable options for having a range in a kitchen island, some models come with downdraft ventilation.

Drop in ranges are much like slide ins, except that they have a wooden platform underneath them for still more of a custom built in look. Slide in ranges normally have a drawer on the bottom, downdraft ranges are the typical exception to that.

Drop ins & Slide in ranges differ from standard free standing ranges, where they have no backsplash, all the controls are typically on the front edge, the surface has flanges that overlap the countertop on both the sides and the rear. The counter top usually has to custom cut to fit slide in ranges, although the cabinet opening is normally the standard 30" wide. Some models do go all the way back to the wall, others offer (sometimes at an additional charge) backsplashes to fill in the gap behind the range, where a strip of countertop often goes.

Drops in ranges can come in gas or electric, or with coils or a smoothtop surface.

The cabinet openings required are normally 1 1/2 inches less than the overall width of the oven. Heights do vary significantly. If you are replacing a wall oven, knowing what the cutout dimensions of the cabinet opening is very helpful.

Wall oven doors normally open down, but a few open to the side.

Twenty-four and twenty-seven inch ovens can be standard cleaning or self cleaning. Twenty-seven or thirty inch wide ovens can be self cleaning or self cleaning with convection.

Not all models are available in all colors, but many are available in all four colors, black, white, bisque, and stainless.

There are single ovens, double ovens and mircowave combo ovens. Double ovens normally come:

• self cleaning upper, standard lower
• self cleaning in both cavities
• self cleaning and convection in the upper, self cleaning in lower
• or self cleaning and convection in both cavities.

Microwave wall oven combos installations have a few typical set ups:

• A unitized oven where a side opening microwave is attached on top of an oven so it's all one unit.
• A unitized oven where a pull down opening microwave is attached on top of an oven so it's all one unit.
• Mounting a standard microwave with a trim kit over a single wall oven.
• Mounting a built in pull down microwave that's a separate unit over a single wall oven.

Gas Wall Ovens

Most wall ovens are electric. There are several 24 inch wide gas wall ovens that are most often for replacement situations. JennAir has one full size 30 inch gas wall oven. For new construction or complete kitchen remodels, most people will choose an electric wall oven, as there are so many more choices in electric.

Electric cooktops can come in smoothtops or coils. Some coil cooktops have lift up tops for easy cleaning. White, black, bisque, and stainless are the standard colors, but a few are available in brushed chrome.

30 and 36 inches are the standard widths. Some small 2 burner units are available in 110 volt or 220 volt. 4 and 5 burner units are always 220 volt units.

Just like smoothtop ranges some models will have warming zones. Some cooktops have integrated downdraft systems, but most can have a pop up downdraft mounted behind them. Some models offer grill or griddle options. Most smoothtop cooktops can have the same features as smoothtop ranges: different power burners, warming zones, dual element burners, or electronic controls. Some cooktops will have the burner knobs in the front center, while others have the burner controls along the side.

Gas cooktops can have sealed burners or open burners just like gas ranges. The btu power can vary just like burners on gas ranges.

Some gas cooktops can have intergrated downdraft systems but most can have pop up downdraft systems mounted behind them. Some models can offer grill and griddle options. Thirty, thirty six, and 45 inch widths are common sizes in gas cooktops. They can have 4, or 5, or 6 burners. A 2 burner model has also been available. Most cooktops will provide a range of burners, one large, a couple medium, and a good simmer burner. Some cooktops will have glass surfaces, some are porcelain, and some are stainless steel. White, black, bisque, and stainless are the typical colors.

Microwaves are available in a variety of sizes, feature levels, and power capacities. In order to cook popcorn in a microwave, you typically need at least 800 watts.

Some models offer convection, some cook with halogen light as well with microwave power, Some mount over the range, others still will mount under cabinets. Most commonly people look first at where they plan to place the microwave, along with what color they want. Then they either go fairly basic or they step up for the sensor feature.

The sensor feature is the most common reason to step up to a more deluxe unit. The sensor is not a meat probe, people don't typically use a probe much, but they do use the sensor. The sensor is great for cooking, reheating and popcorn. With reheating, you place the food in the microwave, making sure it is NOT sealed tight with plastic. The microwave heats up the food, steam comes off the food, the sensor senses that steam (humidity) and thus can tell when the food is hot. Often adding a few seconds to make sure the food is hot throughout, but it takes the guesswork out of reheating.

Over the range microwaves do not vary that much in exterior dimensions. Most are basically 30" wide, about 15" deep, and about 16" high.

The most important dimensions is the distance from the floor to the bottom of the cabinet from which it hangs. This needs to be at a minimum 66 inches, although most new kitchens will have this be 69 inches. If it is lower than 66 inches you will not have enough room to cook underneath it. 69 inches provides a little more space. Typically anything over 72 inches is just to high for people to safely retrieve hot foods from, as they would often be reaching over thier heads for it.

Most over the range models offer more than 800 watts, with 950, 1,000, and 1100 being fairly common. Most are between 1.4 and 2.0, except for convection microwaves which tend to be slightly smaller. Some models offer sensors, which is discussed on the main microwave page. Some models have racks, some offer convection, and some speedcooking with technology such as halogen light. Most have 2 or more fan settings, most have 2 or more light settings.

Over the range microwaves can be vented outside throught the top of the unit, or out the back. They also can be recirculated back inside utilizing a charcoal filter to absorb the smoke and odors.

Over the range microwaves come typically white, black, bisque or stainless steel, but some of the new colors such as silver metalic are now being offered.

Countertop microwaves are simply standard microwaves. The sit on a counter on a table. Some models can be built in with trim kits, see built in microwaves. Some models offer convection features, see convection microwaves.

There is a greater range of sizes and power in countertop microwaves, than in other types. Some are smaller than .5 cubic foot, some are larger than 2.0 cubic feet. Some offer less than 700 watts, others are over 1200 watts.

Most models are available in white or black, some are offered in stainless steel. A few can be found in bisque, silver metallic, or other colors.

The sensor described on the main microwave pages is still one of consumer's favorite features.

There are many countertop microwaves that have optional trim kits that allow them to be installed into a wall cabinet.

Trim kits come in 27 or 30 inches wide to match the common wall oven sizes. Not all models have all sizes of trim kits available.

There are some built in microwaves that are strictly built in microwaves. These often have pull down doors just like wall ovens, and they look like small wall ovens. Paired with a matching wall oven, they can enhance a kitchen nicely.

There are still other built in microwaves that are attatched to wall ovens. These are often called Microwave/Wall Oven Combination units. Some have side swing microwave doors, some have pull down microwave doors. These can be easier to install, but the real choice is normally just personal preference on how they will look in your kitchen.

Convection microwaves are available as countertop or over the range models. The can provide easy and fast cooking. Often they serve as a second oven.

Normally in convection microwaves you can chose to cook with just microwave power, with just convection, or with alot of convection with a just a little microwave power, or with alot of microwave power and just a little convection.

Advantium is another form of speed cooking found in a few microwave ovens. They cook with the microwave, but also with halogen lighting. An Advantium over the range microwave can be a convienient way to have a second oven without remodeling or replacing your range.

A few ranges have downdrafts. JennAir has a few models, typically all electric, all gas or dual fuel. Either with modular burner systems or with just burners on the top.

They serve the same function as an overhead range hood. Downdrafts pull smoke, grease, and odors and vent them outdoors. They cannot be recirculated.

Downdrafts can be integrated as part of a cooktop, or can be separate unit from a cooktop. Downdrafts cannot be placed behind a range, only behind a cooktop.

Warming drawers are offered on some ranges, but are also available as separate units.

These separate warming drawers are typically designed for wall installation. They are ofen used to keep parts of a meal warm until the rest of the meal is ready to be served. The usually are available in 27 or 30 inch widths.