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Tip of the Day: When ordering appliances, carefully check the specs
 Carpenters live by the adage, Measure twice. Cut once. The same advice can apply to ordering appliances and equipment for a kitchen remodel, says one New Jersey homeowner who recently undertook a top-to-bottom makeover of the 300-square-foot kitchen at her 1960s Cape Cod house.
Because Helaine W.’s new kitchen includes a bank of windows on the exterior wall, the plans called for an island vent hood—a wall-mounted hood with through-the-wall venting wouldn’t fit the design. What’s more, the hood had to be 24 inches deep or less so it wouldn’t overhang the counter.
To find the right-size hood, Helaine, her kitchen designer, and a salesperson from a local appliance store searched the Web sites of several major manufacturers and found the Franke FDF 367 1XS 36-inch-wide island hood. The Franke site indicated a depth of a little more than 19 inches, ideal for the application. An order was placed for the unit.
When the hood arrived four weeks later, the contractor notified Helaine that the Franke [...]
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Initially introduced in the United States in 2003 by Cook-N-Dine, the premium stainless steel, teppan cooking surfaces by CDS have been re-examined recently by the scrutinizing eyes of their inventor and patent-holder, Mr. Paul Schacht. To suit the demanding American customer even better, all built-in teppanyaki grill models have received a major technical makeover, resulting in improved heating element size, which led to almost double the actual hot cooking surface. These new models are already rolling out for the Holiday Season 2009.
The intriguing teppanyaki cooking style makes for effortless delicious, healthy eats. The secret is the intense heat of the solid 304 stainless steel surface that seals in all the juices on contact. Paired with its patented sink-down-in-the-center feature when on, a CDS teppanyaki grill can replace bulky pans and woks, and perfectly complements any traditional barbeque grill, while freeing up storage space and doubling as additional work top when not in use for cooking. Main features include:
- Worldwide patented feature: center bows down slightly when on to keep the fine juices in place; reverts back to flat when switched off – Accurate temperature control from gentle 120°F up to 430°F, even [...]
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Maytag offers two dual fuel ranges, the 90cm wide single SOV90GRC and 100cm wide SOV100GRC double oven range, both featuring ergonomically designed and easy to use control knobs, timer with delay start function and stainless steel single sheet hob surface for easy cleaning. The versatile six-burner dual fuel ranges have two 3.5 kW triple ring wok burners, two 1.7 kW burners, a 3.0 kW and a 1.0 kW burner. The 90cm range has 75 litre oven with 8 functions including defrost, grill, fan grill, fan assisted, conventional, top heat, bottom heat and turnspit. Interior light, grill pan and trivet, two five-position shelves and bottom storage drawer. The 100cm dual fuel range has the main, 61 litre oven with 8 functions that include defrost, grill, fan grill, fan assisted, conventional, top heat, bottom heat and turnspit as well as the secondary 35 litre oven with 4 functions including top heat, bottom heat, grill and conventional oven. Both ovens come with light, grill pan and trivet. The main oven offers two five-position shelves while the secondary has one. A bottom drawer offers convenient storage place. Both Maytag dual fuel ranges come with [...]
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Gaggenau new ultra slim electric cooktop, the CE 490 is 36 inches wide yet only 13.5 inches deep, transforming the traditional cooktop and creating new installation opportunities for innovative kitchen design while opening up valuable counter space. The sleek design of this slim cooktop does double duty in the kitchen, adhering to Gaggenau credo of timeless, modern design while offering the output levels of Gaggenau traditionally sized electric cooktop. Framed in stainless steel, the CE 490 electric cooktop pairs well with Gaggenau AT 400 ventilation table to fit a standard-depth kitchen countertop. 4 clearly marked cooking zones are operated with maneuverable and removable Twist-Pad control, a magnetic knob that selects the cooking zone and controls the output level and cooking time. All electric cooking zones are ergonomically placed lengthwise across the surface of the cooktop, increasing efficiency and flow in the kitchen. Two 1,200 watt 6-inch Super-Quick cooking zones, one Super-Quick cooking zone that flexes from 1,700 watts at 5 inches to 2,000 watts at 7 inches and one Super-Quick cooking zone that flexes from 1,500 watts at 7 inches to 2,400 watts at 9 inches give you unprecedented cooking performance and flexibility.
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One question that often comes up is, should you buy a range or a cooktop?
In short, it is really a personal choice, based on your budget, space limitations, looks, and needs.
Budget
Prices for cooktops, ovens and ranges vary a lot because the prices are changing constantly due to special offers and sales, brands are priced differently to start with, and they also depend on which of many different features they offer.
However, a separate cooktop and wall oven will always cost more than a range, and will also require electrical or gas plumbing to each unit.
Space Issues
With a cooktop and separate oven you are installing two appliances, therefore they will take up twice the space of a range. Building codes may also require you to install a vent over the cooktop. Also, you may lose some cupboard space to allow for the built-in oven.
Gas or Electric?
However, the first thing you should consider when buying a range or cooktop is whether you want the gas or the electric type. With the drastic increase in natural gas prices recently, many people are changing to electric appliances.
If you are simply replacing [...]
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