My insight on this range
Written: Jul 17 '06
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Pros: Great price, large capacity and very usable functions and #4 on C. R. mags.
Cons: Tedious to clean top if no eyes are kept on it while cooking.
The Bottom Line: Go out and take a look at this stove and compare it, and you will see why I love this stove!
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| luistm24's Full Review: Kenmore 96212 / 96214 / 96219 Electric Range |
Again another one of my favorite appliances I like suggesting to my costumers. From a great price and usable features this stove is another one of my best sellers. It's a standard 30" free standing range with a smooth top with 5 burners, 5.4 c' self cleaning hidden bake element over.
When ever I get a customer who are looking for a decent stove at an affordable price I always bring them to this one first. For the white, black, and bisque the price for it on sale is normally 599.99(some times 712.49) and for the stainless for 749.99(very important! make sure it matches any of the other stainless appliances since the stainless finish does very between brands).
When it comes to the price this machine has some great features. First off you have 2 9" burners in the front. The one on the right is a dual burner with the 9" external and 6" internal burner. Then on the left you have a 9" simmer burner. The benefits of the simmer burner it dubs as a regular burner when ever you don't have the simmer select on. but when you do, your temp select from low to 4 allows you to do lower then normal temps. If your a fan of melted cheese, chocolate, rice crispy treats and/or low temp soups; This feature will be very beneficial to you since it will heat them up high enough to melt but not burn!
Also you have 2 6" burners in the back along with a 7" warming zone in the middle of the two back burners. So when your cooking your home made mashed potatoes, and your gravy gets done b4 it, just place it on the warming zone till the potatoes are done.
Accenting the smooth top is the large capacity oven. With a 5.4 c' oven you can fit a 21 lbs turkey with no problem. So for yal who have a large family gathering at your house for turkey day like me, it does come in hand very well. One main factor that does give this range its large capacity in its oven is the recited up broiling element.
Next great feature which is one of my favorite features is the hidden bake element. Underneath the steel plate you have a six coil baking element which heats the plate nice and evenly so when your baking a tray of cookies, you don't have to worry about turning it around mid way through the baking process. Also it's a great safety feature. By having the element hidden, it will prevent grease fires( which i had 4 of them in my life time already, 2 accidental and 2 intentional for an old school project). Also it makes cleaning very easy in the oven.
Now when it comes to your control panel, it is very easy to read and operate as well. The labeling is very clear and readable for the knobs and oven control. It gives you the option to do a delay bake, select clean( another name for self clean for yal who don't know) and my favorite lock out. Oh and to those who just got the range and looking for your light button, it is the oven control area on the top left. No joking around it is a very common question from my customers!).
Now when it comes to care it is just like any other smooth top and even some coil it can be a pain! Unlike some brands such as the Maytag ranges, it is not as pores. Most important thing I suggest to all my customers is first, apply the cleaner that comes with the stove when you first get it. It will provide some protection from some of your food that falls on to it while cooking. Next thing is if you do spill food on your stove grab a warm wet sponge( reason y warm is because hot glass and cold sponge does not mix! You may crack your glass top.) and wipe it off before it gets the chance to settle into the glass( The glass does breath in air so food can enter the pores of the glass believe it or not. I would have never thunk it till I started working at Sears.) Other then that, depending on how often you cook on the stove, clean it once a weak with the cook top cleaner which we do sell for 5.99 for a nice size bottle.
Now what I believe to be important is the warranty, ask to see the manual and read what it offers for it. It should have a one year manufacture warranty for workmanship defects and one year labor coverage. I do suggest looking into the protection agreements we do offer at Sears for couple of reasons.
First is for your glass top. If you do have a micro hood above it. Think about this; It is a microwave, and i know every one has put something in there and nuked what ever you had inside of there and when you reached in for it, you got burned and dropped what ever it was. Now if your not a a person who's not into physics here is a simple explanation. The hot coffee cup you nuked in your M/H for 1 min. too long, it will burn you of course and you will have the tendency to drop it. And for those who have a big heavy mug like me......heavy mug + 18" plus drop + glass smooth top of stove = a big crack and an expensive service call.
Second is your hidden bake element and broiling element. They do have a tendency no matter what brand to stat to fluctuate a little bit too much after the second or third year. And you always want to check it every so often with a oven thermostat. It should have a normal fluctuation of 30 degrees(15 above and 15 below the set temp since the elements are always turning on and off). Now the broiling element is easy to replace but the baking isn't. You do have 2 screws in the back that you can take off to access it but it is a pain to get the plate back on correctly( I'm a very handy person and love to take things apart and put them back so I can instruct customers how to do things, and trust me, changing the element on a hidden bake oven and the smooth top sounds easy, but it has the tendency to become a pain in the rear.) It is better to have a tech to come out to replace the baking element and cook top elements so you don't void the any warranties that come with it or added on.
Third and final reason is just for the yearly check up.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600-750
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Epinions.com ID:
luistm24
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Member: Luis Tapias
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Open minded, out going and fun person always up for new ideas.
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