Gas Ranges, Induction Cooktops & Other Reviews

When it comes to kitchen appliances, most customers care primarily about one factor: VALUE. Gone are the days where consumers will just hand over a wad of cash merely for a brand name or a particular look. Customers now want their dollars to travel far in terms of value and high quality. Kudos to GE Appliances for meeting this trend, simply because their GE Cafe line of appliances have proven to be house runs in terms of fulfilling the new consumer sentiment. In specific, the GE Cafe CGS980SEMSS 30″ gas range has been a particular hot seller.

The CGS930SMSS is appointed in sleek fashion, and sports a ton of features:

• top quality stainless steel body
• five sealed burners going up to 18k BTU
• Convection baking system
• Recessed cooktop to contain spills
• Self-Clean oven
• Lower oven adds an additional 1.0 cu ft of cooking capacity

These features and looks have transformed the GE Cafe CGS930SMSS gas range into the very best seller in the cooking lineup of the Cafe line. The range has actually sold so well that it has cut into the sales of GE’s highly rated (by Consumer Reports) Profile line of gas ranges.

PROs:

• Five burners. GE has done a good job here. Each burner puts out a different amount of heat, with the two back units having lower outputs than the front. Adjustment is precise enough to allow a true, very low simmer on the two back burners. The fifth burner, an oval unit in the center of the cooktop, is great for a fish steamer, a large oval pan, or the included non-stick cast aluminum inset griddle. NOTE: I found no evidence of the problem one reviewer noted regarding matching the size of the cookware to the size of the burner. You can fry over the smallest burners and you can braise over the largest ones if you want to. You DO have to think about what pot you’re using to cook your food and then match the pot to the burner, but, then, you have to do this with every stove, don’t you?
• Easy to clean. The stainelss steel burner deck is easy to clean up with a sponge after each use. It’s better to hit spills with a quick cleanup as soon as you’ve completed cooking, but as long as you don’t allow grime to build up (i.e., clean up after each use), you’ll have no problem.
• Looks sleek and smart. The range is stylishly designed, with three coated finish lack cast iron grills (the center one is different from the two identical outer grills) that form a single-height cooking surface over the burners. The front panel showcases all touch-panel controls, and is pretty intuitive. The rest of the front is flat, with a chunky oven door handle.
• The main oven is very versatile, with a large array of features (i.e., convection baking and roasting, timed start/finish, probe cooking, broiling, etc.) that provide endless flexibility with baking. The three racks have six height positions. The racks are enameled so that they can stay inside the oven for automatic cleaning. And, for the most part, the auto cleanup is effective.
• The drawer below the main oven is a small second oven.

Notwithstanding these accolades, there are issues with the GE Cafe CGS930SMSS:

CONs:

• You have to stretch your definition of an oven to call the bottom oven an oven. First of all, even on the “all-gas” model, the bottom oven is electric. And it’s not 220 volt electric, its 110. So “cooking” in it is like cooking in a toaster oven. GE should be honest about this, and not put a control on the oven that implies that you can get it up to 450 degrees F. You might be able to pull off getting it to 450 (with a tailwind), but the element is far too wimpy to sustain that temperature with food in the oven and with opening and closing the drawer. GE should instead call this oven what it is: a warming drawer. The lower oven works acceptably well in that limited role, although you need to allow at least 15 minutes pre-heating to even achieve that use. This is a serious unmet expectation.
• The brushed stainless finish on the panel in front of the surface burners is delicate and scratches VERY easily. You have to be very careful in removing the heavy burner grates for cleaning that you do not contact this panel with the grate. The slightest contact between the grate and the flat stainless panel WILL produce a noticeable scratch.
• The knobs are plastic and feel cheap — too cheap for a $2,400 stove. The shaft of the knob is terminated in an incredibly flimsy plastic ring which won’t last. You’ll be replacing these knobs in time.
• There is no battery backup for the clock, so any power bump will cause you to reset the time.
• The automatic cleaning does not clean up the inside of the oven glass very well. You have to figure out a way to clean the glass, or over a year or so, it will turn opaque from burned-on spattered grease that inevitably accumulates if you use your oven frequently.
• The large array of features is large, but actually below what you’d expect for a model in this price range.
• Looks. Though the GE looks good, the models listed below, which are in the same price range, are even more attractive, and very trendy as well.
• Medium burners. The GE maxes out at 18,000 BTUs. The NXR below goes up to 22,000. If you’re into black and blue steaks, this is a big deal.

Recommendation

If you’re going to spend nearly $2000 or more on a gas range, it better be super-special. This gas range is not. If this is your budget, I’d rather you see you spend your money on a Bertazzoni, for example. Check out this review of the Bertazzoni X304GGVX Gas Range. Or, just as good, this really great looking pro style gas range from NXR: NXR RGB3001 30” Pro-Style Gas Range 4.2 cu. ft. 15,000 BTU sealed gas burners. 4 Sealed Burners with 16,500 BTU infrared broiler and 22,000 BTU oven burner:

Related posts:

1. Viking Induction Cooktop: Pros and Cons Review
2. GE Profile JGP975SEKSS Gas Cooktop – Independent Review
3. Fratelli Ranges: Fratelli Evolution 36″ Pro-Style Dual Fuel Range
4. Samsung Induction Cooktop Stove Review: A Hybrid
5. Frigidaire Slide-in Gas Range – What You Need to Know