Tundraco's Daily Living Guide to Home & Garden Tips for Buying a New Stove

On a basic level, your choice of a stove will be dictated by your cooking needs, your décor, and your pocketbook.

For instance, if you do a lot of entertaining you may want to invest in a double oven that will allow you to bake in one and at the same time grill in the other. You may also want to consider a six or eight burner stove.

Conversely, if you seldom cook, a standard four-burner freestanding range may be your best bet.

Gas or Electric?

Choosing a gas or electric stove should be based upon personal preference. If you prefer gas, but natural gas is unavailable in your area, you have the option of using bottled gas (propane).

Dual Fuel Stoves Several companies now sell dual-fuel stoves. These stoves come with gas powered burners, and ovens heated with electricity.

Designs and Finishes

Most stoves are available in a range of colors and finishes. This variety enables you to coordinate the color of your stove with your other kitchen appliances and overall kitchen décor.

Stove Styles

• Ranges

  Ranges combine both surface burners and one or more ovens and are available in the following style:

  • Free Standing Ranges are independent of the surrounding cabinets.
  • Slide-in Ranges: When installed, they slide into position and they have edges that overlap the countertop.
  • Drop-in Ranges stand on a cabinet base and have edges that overlap adjacent countertops.
  • Professional Ranges often feature extra burners and have two ovens. They can be either freestanding or slide-in.

• Surface Burners

  Burners can be incorporated into a range or they can be separate units.

  • Cooktops are burner units that are installed in a countertop. They are usually used in conjunction with a separate oven.
  • Grills: Many countertop and range burners are also available with built in grills or griddles.

• Ovens

  Ovens cook by conventional radiant heat, convection, halogen lights, or with microwaves. Ovens can be incorporated into a range, built into a cabinet, sit on a countertop, or be installed under a cupboard.

  • Halogen Ovens cook with halogen lights, and will cut your cooking time to about a ¼ of what it takes to cook in a conventional oven. Many halogen ovens also function as microwaves.

Ventilation Requirements

All stoves require some form of ventilation in order to remove fumes, steam, and odors from the kitchen area. Whenever possible, the vent should vent outside.

• Updraft Vents: These vents pull the air upwards, often through a ventilation hood. This hood can be vented outside, or it can pull the air through a filter, recirculating the air back into the room.
• Downdraft Vents: These vents pull the air downward, into the stove, and are vented outside. Downdraft vents are often used in stoves that sport indoor grills.

Special Requirements for Gas Stoves

In addition to a vented hood, some gas stoves may require the instillation of a flue to vent the gas. You also need to ensure an adequate air supply, to the room, to prevent asphyxiation.