Recommended 30" ranges?

I'm buying a 30", 5 burner GE Profile or Café gas range for my kitchen renovation. GE has a lot of 30", 5 burner models: single or double oven, warming or storage drawer, with/without convection, slide in or freestanding. The new models have the tri-ring burner seen on the Wolf's. I had one of the cheaper 30", 5 burner Profile models in my last apartment and loved it, especially the griddle for the 5th burner and the super BTU burner for boiling water.

If you do a scan on the ajmadison.com website, they show 20 of these GE models ranging in price from $797 to $3,497. Consumer Reports gives a lot of these models good ratings.

Don't even bother with the cheap, flimsy dreck they make today. Get something restored: http://www.antiquegasstoves.com/pages/30wedge.html

We've been happy with the Frigidaire Gallery FGGF304DL(F). Nothing fancy, but it does everything we need and the second small oven was a major plus for us.

Check bertazzoni. PC Richards can give you five year guarantee for $200 or so.

Thanks all for weighing in. Jel--we have actually been seriously considering the GE Cafe so I appreciate hearing your experience with the brand. Matt--that site is terrific! Don't think an antique will work for what we need here but perhaps if a country home materializes eventually... Westie and 300--thanks for the recs :-)

I did quite a bit of research on the topic recently. Decision came down to GE Cafe or the Wolf 30". Wolf was $2000 more expensive and didn't have the self-cleaning feature at that price point. Ended up going with Wolf, but the GE Cafe in the low 2's was a very close runner up.

I found out that I cannot use the Wolf in my kitchen because I cannot hook it up to a venting system. A ductless vent isn't sufficient according to the architect working on my kitchen.

Thanks brett and jel. Jel--I have a friend who has a 30" Wolf in a smallish windowed kitchen with no outside venting and she has no problems with it.

Matthew, if anyone goes that route, they need to get (me) the stove that was in my grandmother's country house. Probably 36" or larger, integrated griddle with (fish?) broiler beneath, dedicated slide-out stock well, possibly dual oven (but more likely ample storage alongside). I've been unable to figure out who made it. Probably late 1940s to very early 1950s.

Bramstar, demand "true convection", and look into evolving options for induction cooking. My ideal -- electric convection ovens topped by two gas and two induction burners -- seems not to exist.

And, of course, verify your electrical capacity (and upgrade ability) before looking very deeply into anything but all-gas (with electrical ignition). That can be a challenge.

Plus venting requirements (and attendant deafening noise) if you go "pro" (which you shouldn't).

Branmstar: The window is key. I have a windowless kitchen. I had an architect, contractor, and kitchen designer come in to look at the kitchen. They all vetoed the Wolf.

Recently installed the 30" GE cafe. Went with the warming drawer (which will work as a double oven) rather than the double oven and the cafe convection microwave. The decision came down to realizing that we'd use the second oven for occasional use rather than most days. I preferred having the large oven on top. I've used the bottom drawer as an oven once and as a warming drawer a number of times. So far have really liked it- both for cooking (which I do daily) and looks. One thing to consider is that this is not a slide in range -- so there is a small gap between the stove and the counter -- which I did not consider before I bought it. My only disappointment has been the broiler ( but even that works well enough)

I considered the bertazzoni but didn't like how small the oven was and that it does not self clean.

If you really like the Wolf, talk to them again (or call Wolf). There is nothing in the Wolf installation specs that seems to require an external vent. http://www.ajmadison.com/ajmadison/itemdocs/gasrangeinstall.pdf

In fact, note that they give instructions that if there is no hood whatsoever, thats fine as long as there is 42" clearance. Put a hood there (venting or not) and you need 30" clearance.

I have a Bluestar range with more BTUs than your Wolf, and no window in my tiny kitchen. I have a non-venting range-hood (I wouldn't go with an undercabinet microwave). This is the hood I have is this one (installed with the recirc kit - you have to pay a bit extra for that). http://www.broan.com/products/product/852837a8-77a9-4b00-9598-9bf0539703d6

stuy--thanks for the hood rec. We have actually been considering doing away with a microwave altogether (we only use it to make the occasional popcorn bag or reheat a cup of coffee...) and putting a non-venting hood above the range instead. We heard good things about Broan and also Zephyr. Is your Broan terribly loud (that's the one complaint I've heard about them)?

(sorry for the delay)
The Broan has a knob to control the fan speed. At full blast, its noisy, but I wouldn't call it deafening. I tend to run it at about 50% speed and its fine in terms of noise, and effective at capturing cooking vapors. If I am searing a steak or something else with lots of smoke, I run it full blast for 5 mins and put up with the noise.

Overall, it does as good a job as you could expect from an non-venting range. It's main job is to protect the cabinet above from extreme heat and cooking vapors, especially vaporized oil/fat - it has a drip tray and removable baffles (can go in the dishwasher). The recirc kit has a charcoal filter, but I'm not sure these are ever really effective.

One thing to note: our contractor installed it wrong. There was virtually no suction. A call to Broan helped me discover that there is a knock-out that wasn't, erm, knocked-out.