My ranges 炉灶
It has been a long journey to acquire this third cooktop, in less than three month, to complete my indoor kitchen.
Oddly, the builder doesn’t offer electrical range and I don’t want gas range any more. So we opted the default gas range – the builder has to furnish a cooktop to get the CO.
Once we moved in, I went to Home Depot for an electrical range. Of course they deliver and install but the knowledgeable salesman said, they won’t touch anything gas. In another word, I’ll have to disconnect the gas range for the delivery.
Whom do I call?
An electrician, they suggested.
“$250 to come out, plus $89 per hour labor cost, and actual part if needed,” one electrical shop said.
Just then, a neighbor on FB said they’re having an electrician over right at the moment and could send him over … Heaven. In about an hour, the electrician came and charged me $95 to disconnect the range.
At the time, I didn’t know there isn’t a market for resales, so when he mentioned that he sold all kind of appliances, I didn’t ask him to take it with him. Afterward, when we try to sell it on FB, there is NO takers. The HD deliver guy said sure he can take it, “it goes to junk yard, to be trashed.” A brand new gas range goes to junk yard, holy moly!
On my first outing to HD, I set my mind to a Samsung electrical stove top, which is simple and beautiful, and under $900. I though I found my utopia. It was Nov 1, and delivered four days late. Then,
- the oven won’t stop
- the surface is scratched
I pride myself as a careful user, how could I have scratched the surface so quickly when I hardly used it? I went to HD and ask to return the stove because the oven worries me. Between HD and Samsung, it took a month and half – 44 days plus two group of repair men, was I able to rid of this troublesome appliance. The first repair team came and they said, the range isn’t working well, but they couldn’t take it without an order. The second repair man came, said, he was authorized by Samsung to replace the ceramic top only. “It’s useless, the same inferior top will get scratch again very soon.” He urged me not to accept the replacement, “fight it out…”
In the end, HD agreed to take it back and picked it up a week later on Dec 15.
I then purchased the current range on Dec 8, 2022 and it was delivered on Jan 13, 2023. So far so good – I can only pray.
When I shop for the cooking set on Amazon, on the account without Prime membership, the same Frigidaire set is $69.99 and with Prime is $82.17. An accidental discovery.
ON the free standing stove ranges – what are the designers thinking to eliminate the shoulders on both sides? Don’t they ever cook? The two gaps are so easy to trap food drops and inviting roaches and ants… I have had four ranges in the recent years since 1996, and am horrified with this new design.
To cover the gaps, I purchased the counter gap cover (wondering if the designer’s spouses or family members/friends are in the business making these wide and unsightly gap covers … ) For my last range, right side fits fine with the gap cover but left side is way too right … which
- I’ve to use hammer to loose the gap, in order to insert the cover.
- I’ve have to cut it narrow, for esthetic reason.
… which is, just one damn thing after another.
