It's Time to Buy a New Gas Home Oven, What Do You Recommend?

[ddolinoy]

My GE home range/oven just died, so I need to buy a new one.  I see this as an opportunity to buy something better for pizza making.  I typically set my old oven to 550F and used a 18x18x1 1/4" soapstone.  I found that I had to use the broiler a few minutes to brown the crust.  Is there a different kind of oven that does a better job?  We bake a lot, so we see it as a worthwhile investment.  Thanks.
Dave

[scott123]

Dave, this is actually kind of a difficult question to answer.

Dial temps can, unfortunately, be pretty imprecise.  I've seen ovens with 500 peak settings go all the way to 600, and I've also seen 500 deg. settings produce 500 deg. temps. I've also noticed a disappointing trend that older ovens tend to be the ones that run hot, while newer ones are a bit more precise. It doesn't always turn out this way, but it happens enough that when people start talking about buying new ovens, I tend to get a bit anxious.

Unless someone can chime in who recently bought a new oven that gives them temps above the dial, I would shop for the following attributes:

1. 550 dial temp (obviously)

2. Convection, and preferably, convection at 550.  Many ovens seem to go to 550 but only 500 for convection, so convection at 550 might be a pipe dream, but I'd ask around.

3. Temperature adjustment, preferably over a wide range. If you have a 550 oven with the ability to adjust the temp +/- 35, that's an excellent insurance policy.

4. A broiler in the main oven compartment.  No old fashioned broiler drawer underneath bs.

5. High-ish BTUs.  I know deck oven BTUs like the back of my hand, and have a pretty good idea of the kind of wattage electrical ovens require, but my knowledge of home oven BTU requirements is a little light.  My advice- find the cheapest oven and the most expensive, get the BTUs for each and shoot for somewhere in between. For your use, you don't need a super powerhouse, but, at the same time, though, some of these new ovens can be especially weak.  Be wary of too much energy efficiency.

[Jackitup]

I have the GE profile gas range and oven with warming/storage drawer on bottom. Convection does go to 550 (bake or roast) and IR temp on Fibrment stone varies 535 to 565 with 45 min to 1 hour pre-heat, pretty good numbers I think. No problems for 2 years plus now. Would reccommend to anyone.

Jon

[Jackitup]

http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=PGB930SETSS

I believe this is the one we have with maybe a couple of small differences. Great unit..

Jon

[Jet_deck]

I'll never be able to get one, but a Viking : http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/index.jsp

[scott123]

Convection does go to 550 (bake or roast) and IR temp on Fibrment stone varies 535 to 565 with 45 min to 1 hour pre-heat, pretty good numbers I think.

Jon, thanks for the feedback.  Convection to 550 is great, but 535 to 565 is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling- at least not in the context of Dave's needs.  In my very old oven, with soapstone, I set the dial to 525 and the stone pre-heats to 550-560.  Because I'm not at peak temp, I can turn the dial up to 550 and get a minute or two with the broiler on. If I can recall correctly, I can hit 585 with the dial set to 550.  We're only talking a couple degrees here and there, but, for those of us seeking 4ish minutes bakes those couple of degrees make a world of difference.

Jon, does this oven have any way of adjusting the temperature?

[JConk007]

WOLF!! 550 convection and an seperate element that plugs in and goes right under the stone when you use it! Beke Stone Mode Took my indoor  pies up a notch for sure !!
lots of others as well not so much $$

[scott123]

John, is the Wolf gas?  Have you got any temp readings on the stone?

[Jackitup]

I'll check on the temp adjustment. I checked the stone temp a while back so may be off a few going some by memory (eh). Like the oven a lot though, very even baking with breads and pies.

Jon

[parallei]

Dave,

We purchased a Viking dual fuel range in March of '98 (I just looked at the Owner's Manual). Gas burners, electric oven.  The oven is conventional or convection with a top mounted broiler (that works great) and is self cleaning.  I like the dual fuel set-up.  In 14 years, the only maintenance it has required is two new interior oven light bulbs, and trust me, it has been used hard.  If I ever leave this place the range is going with me.....

[petef]

http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=PGB930SETSS

I believe this is the one we have with maybe a couple of small differences. Great unit..

Jon

Nice Gas oven. I'm noticing all the new model stove/ovens have electronic controls. If the power goes out does that mean you can't operate the stove top and oven, or is the stovetop alone able to operate?

I also wonder if it's even possible to get a new model gas stove/oven that does not have electronic controls. I like the durability and reliability of the non-electronic units. To me, the ELECTRONIC controls means susceptibility to power surges and complicated and expensive repair bills down the road.   

---pete---

[Jackitup]

I here ya. Even with the ICU vents I use, I'm still the old fart that b1tches about touch screen controls and layered hidden menus and screens, AND I probably use and understand them better than most. I still miss my vents with knobs and switches    And yes, power goes out I can lite the top burners with a match, haven't tried it on the oven, I'm thinking no on that.

Jon

[barryvabeach]

Pete,  I agree with you, I don't want a computer board in a range.  Most manufacturers have gone to touch screen controls, and most of them put them on the rear of the range, so you have to reach over pots of boiling water, but I am hoping some manufacturers will make a few models with normal mechanical controls, as long as consumers demand them.  You can still find a few in the high end models, like Wof, but most have gone to touch screens.

[ddolinoy]

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate it.  I'm not ready to buy a high end oven, so I went shopping to the local appliance stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, PC Richard's, Sears)
I ordered this GE gas convection oven from Sears.
Since I haven't shopped for ovens in over 10 years, I noticed some trends that I don't like.
All the ovens have digital controls (no more knobs to adjust the temperature).  Consequently, you don't see the maximum temperature the knob can be turned to.
When I asked the salesman what the maximum temperature of the oven was, he didn't know.
If you read the manual, it says the oven/broiler burner is rated at 16,000/13,500 BTUs, but nowhere could I find the maximum temperature.
I compared my oven to the top of the line GE gas oven and the ratings were the same.
All of the convection ovens had digital controls.  If I wanted knobs, I had to settle for a lower end oven.
I compared the specs with Jackitup's oven and they are the same.  Since he said his oven reached 550F, mine should too (I hope).
FYI, if your power goes out, you can light your gas range burners with a match.  However, your oven/broiler will not.  That is because modern oven/broilers use electrical ignitors (no more pilot lights).  These ignitors are in series with the gas safety valve.  If no electrical current is flowing through the ignitor and into the gas safety valve, the valve will not open.  This prevents your house from filling up with gas if the ignitor doesn't work.  Unfortunately, this also prevents you from lighting the oven/broiler if your power goes out.
If I remember, I'll let everyone know how this oven works when I get it in 10 days.

I'm thinking about how I will use the convection feature with my soapstone.  Any advice?
In the past I tried putting my soapstone very low in the oven so it was as close as possible to the oven burner.
This got the stone very hot, but at the same time the top of the pizza wasn't cooking.
Do you think this problem will be solved with the convection fan on?
Any advice using a convection oven would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Dave

[ddolinoy]

Sorry about that, the link didn't work.
I'll try again.
This is the oven I got.
Dave

[TXCraig1]

WOLF!! 550 convection and an seperate element that plugs in and goes right under the stone when you use it! Beke Stone Mode Took my indoor  pies up a notch for sure !!
lots of others as well not so much $$

My parents just put one in. It vents steam so fast, it's terrible for making crusty bread.

CL

[Don K]

I like the GE profile line of appliances.

Any advice using a convection oven would be appreciated.

I tried using convection with stones and I didn't much like the results. I have used convection with just screens and no stones and it works fairly well. I do this in the summertime when I don't want to heat the kitchen up with a long preheat.

I have also used convection with screens when I have to make a bunch of pizzas at once. I have baked as many as 7 pies at once (double oven). They all baked surprisingly evenly.

I still prefer to bake on stones but convection with screens is a decent compromise.

[scott123]

Dave, buying an oven without knowing, for certain, what it's peak temp is, isn't a risk I'd take, personally, but I'm guessing that you might not have had the luxury of time, considering your old oven was dead.

On a brighter note, this oven does have a +/- 30 degree adjustment, so if it does go to 550, I think you should be alright. If the specs don't match up with Jon's, though, and it only goes to 500, you've got a problem.

Re; convection,  unless an oven has no broiler in the main compartment, stones should always be placed on either the top shelf or the second to top shelf, to allow for broiling during the bake. With the convection feature, you may not need the broiler, but you should still have the stone high in the oven, in case you do.

Convection is really easy to use.  Turn the oven on 550 convection to pre-heat the stone, and leave it on 550 convection during the bake.  If the top browns a bit to fast, turn down the bake temperature. If 550 convection doesn't give you enough top browning, utilize the broiler during the bake.

[petef]

In the past I tried putting my soapstone very low in the oven so it was as close as possible to the oven burner.
This got the stone very hot, but at the same time the top of the pizza wasn't cooking.

I don't know much about the convection feature, but I have great success with an 8 to 10 minute bake with my stone on bottom floor of my GE Gas oven. In fact the stone was getting too hot so I had to raise it off the floor a bit by placing four 6x6 inch tiles under the stone. I get good top heat but I'm now experimenting with getting it hotter by placing two 11x16 inch black baking pans side by side on the 2nd to bottom shelf as a way to keep the heat down towards the bottom of the oven.

Since the temperature control sensor is located in the upper area of the oven this should also help to raise the temperature in the lower area. So far, I only tried this technique once and it seems to be on the right track. I really need to do some more experimenting. Unfortunately the weather is so hot lately I'm more focused on cooking outdoors on my new Weber Genesis gas grill.

Give my baking double pan pan method a try and see if it helps get the top pizza baked better. In my oven, the 2 pans fit snugly and do well to seal off the bottom oven area from the top oven area. If you do, please let us know how it worked out. A hand held IR thermometer would really help a lot to evaluate things.

---pete---

[petef]

Pete,  I agree with you, I don't want a computer board in a range.  Most manufacturers have gone to touch screen controls, and most of them put them on the rear of the range, so you have to reach over pots of boiling water, but I am hoping some manufacturers will make a few models with normal mechanical controls, as long as consumers demand them.  You can still find a few in the high end models, like Wof, but most have gone to touch screens.

Now days, the older model products often perform better than the new ones. I know my 20 year old GE Washer performed so much better than my new Maytag high efficiency washer (worst washer I ever operated). So it might be wise to be on the lookout for an older model used high end oven and have it refurbished. I'm thinking that a small local appliance repair shop might be able to hook me up with an older model high end oven that one of his customers is getting rid of because they upgraded to a new model.

---pete---