My wife and I purchased this range about one year ago when we remodeled our kitchen. She wanted two ovens, lots of burners, and sex appeal. When we saw this oven, we thought we had found the perfect answer. It IS costly, but the alternatives (say in-wall over-and-under ovens and a premium cooktop, or a Viking range) were more so. It also seemed relatively space efficient. What we liked:

o Two ovens - Both electric for supposedly better and more even cooking. One regular sized, one smaller - perfect for warming or preparing a side dish

o Five gas burners - from small "simmer" burners to a massive "power burner". Nice layout, with knobs in the middle placed intuitively: you never reach for the wrong knob. Solid cast iron grates (covered in, unfortunately, very fragile enamel). I hate electric cooktops, so this seemed perfect. The burners are sealed, for easy cleaning.

o Design - looks good! At 40" wide it is a great size for those planning on cooking some serious meals (think family Thanksgiving) in style without taking up too much space or costing a fortune.

But problems soon surfaced:

o The rubber gasket on the smaller oven expands at high temperature, so that the door cannot be closed. Huh? Wanna check your souffle? Better hope it's done, because you wont be able to close the door again.

o Larger oven seems to cook erratically. Our Christmas roast was well done on one end and rare on the other!

o Enamel - Most of the burners began chipping within months. We've had other Kenmore ranges (the $700 kind) that NEVER chipped.

o Electronic controls - Too bad they are not nearly as intuitive as the burner knob placement. Just an example - the range has an electronic timer. We've used it twice. Each time I needed to get out the manual. We use the one on our GE microwave hood.

o Burner ignition - The push-down for ignition system, while not that uncommon, is balky. We always have to explain how to use them to visitors. Worse, the front left burner ignition broke TWICE within a year of purchase.

o Burner reliability - The front right burner has also broken twice within a year. Get this: it broke, both times, while on HIGH! We could not turn the range off. Even if we removed the knob and turned the valve stem with a wrench, the burner remained on high. The valve stem actually broke. So, until you can get someone over, you either have to shut off the gas (either pull the oven out of the wall if you have a relatively easily accessed local shut-off, which I would highly recommend, or else you have to shut off the gas to your house, a chilling prospect if it's midwinter...)OR leave the burner on 24/7.

o SERVICE - This is where things really break down. I used to buy all my appliances from Sears. I worked as a management consultant for their supplier, Whirlpool. I like the products, and Sears seemed to stand behind what they sold. I usually decline extended warrantees - they are usually pure profit for the retailer. I also hate having to bet that the product I just bought is going to break. But I did for this range. Perhaps because it cost more than four times what we could have paid for a perfectly good range. Anyway, Sears' handling of this lemon crosses the line into fraud. More on that later.

When the gas burner first broke, we called for emergency service, but had to wait for days since "ranges do not qualify for emergency service, only refrigerators and freezers." Funny, but I would think a giant flame/gas leak in a house with two small children is a bit more dicey than a frig on the fritz. Most of Sears service believes that this is their emergency service policy. It turns out is isn't. But it took me about 12 calls to convince Sears an uncontrolled burner on for 24 hours was an emergency and get someone to come the second time the burner stuck on high. Their solution? Plug up the gas pipe with silicon and hope it works until they can order a new burner - say in about a week. "I've never done this before. Not sure it'll work. If you smell something later, turn off the gas to the house" the repair man said. Comforting.

The fraud part? Sears Master Protection Agreement offers to replace an appliance after four product failures in twelve months. We purchased a new MPA just before the original 12 month agreement expired when the telemarketer told us that with one more breakdown we'd get a new range. Well, that breakdown came Christmas night, while cooking for 12 family members. Burner stuck on high, for the second time. A week later, the burner was still not fixed, and Sears refuses to replace the range. We have been given five distinct interpretations of the MPA contract, and have placed over 15 calls. Sears, it seems, now excels in the runaround.

So - pricey range, poor design, faulty parts, and multiple issues with leaking gas and uncontrolled flames. All backed up by the worst "service" I have ever witnessed, and a protection agreement whose sale would constitute fraud in most states. It looks like I will have to go to court to get the vendor to take this evil range out of my house.




Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 2500