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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Nov 17 2008 at 2:04pm | IP Logged
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I need one...and fast. Any recommendations?
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Nov 24 2008 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Oh dear - are all the 4Real member appliances dying at once??? Seems a number of people are in the same boat, Angie!
Did you find a stove?
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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Milehimama
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I don't have a recommendation, but I DID have a flat top for a while and HATED it.
I even blogged about it:
3. A few years ago, I saw a flat topped stove in a store and decided that was the perfect solution to a messy kitchen. I always wanted one, and now I finally have one! And the are terrible. I hate it. If I spill anything while cooking, it instantly sears to cooktop. Heaven help me if I let the noodles boil over! There is nowhere for the water to go, so it covers the entire stovetop before dripping to the floor - boiling hot.
It stays hot for a long time. Flat surface + hot surface = not safe around little kids.
You also can't use cast iron on them.
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Milehimama in Houston
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SuzanneG
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We bought a new one a couple years ago. We went with the Coil.
I knew of several people who dropped things on their flat top and broke it, and they are quite expensive to replace. And, since I have cupboards over my stove that I use A LOT, that is a very real possibility for me....I drop stuff all the time.  Cleaning the drip pans is a pain, but worth it for me.
With the coils....you just want to make sure you get MORE COILS, which equals better heat distrubition. My small ones have 5 lines of coils, the big one has 6. It's a GE...standard white...nothing fancy....does the job.
Probably something like this one at the GE website.
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Suzanne in ID
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MarilynW
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Milehimama wrote:
I don't have a recommendation, but I DID have a flat top for a while and HATED it.
I even blogged about it:
3. A few years ago, I saw a flat topped stove in a store and decided that was the perfect solution to a messy kitchen. I always wanted one, and now I finally have one! And the are terrible. I hate it. If I spill anything while cooking, it instantly sears to cooktop. Heaven help me if I let the noodles boil over! There is nowhere for the water to go, so it covers the entire stovetop before dripping to the floor - boiling hot.
It stays hot for a long time. Flat surface + hot surface = not safe around little kids.
You also can't use cast iron on them. |
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I want to  I was really hoping to get a flat top - I really hate my coil one - cheap metal pans which cost $150 to replace and which have been impossible to clean. Now I am not so sure about the flat top with all the little ones about. Plus I drop things on the stove top all the time!!!
Is it possible to get a coil one with burner pans that clean easily? What material should the burner pans be made of?
Aagh - I have to start all over again with my decisions.
Please would you link your blog post
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Marilyn
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SuzanneG
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Marilyn~
ARe you talking about the metal drip pans???? They cost $150?  I thought they were just bought OTC. I'm pretty sure I've gotten replacements at target, walgreens, etc. But maybe i'm not remembering correctly.
I clean them 2 ways:
SOS pads or...
Put them in a large container with a couple tablespoons of ammonia , put the top on and let the fumes eat away at the grime overnight. In the morning, run under water and wipe off. Most of it comes off. Not a lot of scrubbing req'd.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mackfam
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Jumping in here on the flat top stoves - I have one, but not by choice. It was here when we bought the house. We've always said when it dies we will run a gas line and install a gas cooktop. My flat top cooktop and I have had a love-hate relationship.
Here's what I've learned in the last 6 years...
You *can* cook rice on a flat top cooktop. I'm Cajun, so rice is at the top of my food pyramid...ask a Cajun girl what she takes from her burning house - it's her rice pot!! Anyway, it was really hard to figure out how to cook rice 'cause you can't just turn down the heat and expect the stove to be lower - the ceramic cooktop retains the heat. That means if you have something on the stove that you need to turn down to a simmer you're going to have to move it to a totally different eye with a lower simmer setting.
They actually are easier to clean. Miracles have been wrought on my cooktop with the advent of the Scotch Brite Cooktop Cleaner. You can find them at Target, Walmart... I've burnt on, cooked on, spilled on, boiled over - the cleanup pads and handheld thingy make quick work of the really, really stuck mess. Don't skimp on the handheld thingy - you need it if you buy one of these cooktops.
I do use cast iron and enameled cast iron on my cooktop. The key is that you can't drag anything over the surface of this cooktop or it will scratch. The only thing I've found is that the heavier the pot and the flatter the bottom of the pot the more surface it makes with the cooktop and thus the better cooking performance you get. Cheaper pots and pans don't work at all on this type of cooktop - the heavy stuff does. Changing my pots made a world of difference in my cooking ability.
Now, I will say that I haven't ever dropped anything on my cooktop, but I have used it for just about everything besides cooking. My ridiculous kitchen was clearly designed by a man who had no idea how much countertop space was needed in meal preparation  - I have about 4 feet total counterspace! My flat top cooktop is right smack in the middle of my sparse countertop and if I'm not cooking on it I'm spread out all over it preparing something and using it as an extension of a countertop. Let's just say - we're not delicate and it has held up well.
So - I didn't really want to defend the flat top because if I had to replace and had the $$ we'd replace with a gas cooktop...but...since we don't have the money and we don't have to replace...I've learned to get along quite comfortably with the flat top and it can be an asset in the kitchen. Just thought I'd share in case it might still be an option for some of you.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Milehimama
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I copied and pasted the relevant part, but here's the post:
http://milehimama.blogspot.com/2007/10/8-random-things.html
We've lived in a lot of rentals with lots of different stoves, and some things to consider:
The range lifts up so you can clean underneath it.
The knobs are on the back instead of belly-level (for houses with pregnant ladies and littles, LOL).
The knob for the BACK burner is not directly OVER the back burner so you can turn the back burner off without risking your life.
My mom had a stove with porcelain or enamel drip bowls - she put them in the DW!
Like this, I guess:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productI d=169219-46-MER5552BAS&lpage=none
No-Drip� porcelain-on-steel smooth gloss drip bowls contain spills and can be removed for soaking away baked-on food
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Milehimama in Houston
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: electric stove recommendation?
