You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Maybe it's me - maybe I'm incredibly clumsy and bang my pans too hard on them, but I really don't think so. Nevertheless, they're less than six years old and these grates are pitted, cracked and chipped - and have been for about five years. They're also INCREDIBLY hard to keep clean (why bother scrubbing them when they look so bad anyway??? I run them through the dishwasher, and whatever comes out is "clean enuff" at this point. I'm not going to hand scrub them for hours when they look awful anyway.)
I'm so disgusted. I LOVE gas ranges - I'll probably never go back to electric, at least not willingly.
I didn't do stainless appliances this time around (the price range of this neighborhood, the age of the home, and the size of the kitchen ruled out the granite countertops, cherry cabinets and stainless appliances we put in our last home.) But what I miss most is the tough-as-nails black cast-iron grates on my last (stainless) range - those things NEVER showed a trace of dirt and certainly never chipped or cracked.
Has anyone else had this problem with the gray enamel grates? I looked into replacement grates and just about CHOKED - they wanted $50 per grate. Sheesh! For slightly more than the $200 it would cost to replace them, I can buy a "builder's quality" NEW stove to replace this one when we get ready to sell the house (whenever that will be ;o)
I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. Mine aren't gray but bisque colored. I can boil water on them and they turn black. They sure looked great and matched the tiles behind my cook-top when I got them. I love cooking with gas but I'm with you. I've given up on keeping them completely clean. DH told me to get a second set and put them out when we have company but I cook when we have company so they'll be dirty and chipped too. I look at it as a live and learn experience. At least you have the peace of mind of knowing you didn't select them. I picked the cook-top out myself and only have myself to blame. Just hope this post can warn others. Black cast iron has been used for years for a good reason.
I know this is extremely late, but I had the same experiences with the enamel grates on my gas stove. Sears actually replaced them TWICE because they would crack (and flying pieces were found everywhere in the kitchen) within days of buying this new appliance, and still continue 8 years later. I am convinced that enamel grates were not meant for gas stove tops and would love to have the cast iron back from my old house. I will be more selective if ever buying a new stove again.
Did you ever come up with a less expensive alternative? Are the grates from other stoves "one-size-fits-all"?
Well, my ultimate solution was to ditch the stove and go with a dual-fuel range with plain-jane cast iron grates.
I've had one very similar to this: http://salestores.com/frigid466.html for a couple years now (I didn't pay anywhere near $1200 though ;o) and I've never looked back.
Occasionally I grumble at the work involved in caring for the black "well" under the burners, but no matter how much elbow grease is required to get it clean and shiny, it beats the smelly process of soaking the enamel grates in ammonia. And when I'm done cleaning it, this stove is truly back to like-new condition, unlike the grates that still had cracks and chips, even though they were clean(er).
Absolutely!!! I'm checking the appliances forum because once again I need to replace a stove and I put it off because I get angry when I go to see what's available. I bought an Amana 12 years ago and the oven never would work right, so they took it back (finally)...then I got a Maytag which I suppose has been allright until now. But...I'm of an age that when you bought a stove, it would last pretty much forever. Not so anymore. So I've been putting off dealing with it, and going without an oven (which we suspect will blow up if we use it again...LOL...)So, this a.m. I go to look at stoves and nothing has changed. I can't find what I want without paying $400 extra to NOT get those enamel grates. Yes, I soak mine in ammonia for a day just to be able to clean them and if you want them clean, you'd have to do this every day. I keep a large container with a lid filled with ammonia and kept beneath a cabinet just for this purpose. Who designs these stoves, anyway? I don't think it's a good marketing tactic to have to pay extra to get the grates you really want. Now that I've grumbled, I'll go take a look at the link you've provided, Terry. Thanks...I'm actually glad that the oven no longer works just so I can get rid of those enamel grates. I'm afraid that I pretty much snarled at the saleslady...though she must be used to it by now...
Sherry
Well...it's a slide-in also which is what I like. We have propane and I've never used an electric oven...wondering which is more expensive in use for an oven...electric or gas? I think I'll check into the Frigidaire...thanks...
I have a GE with the big black enamel grates...what a MISTAKE it was to buy that stove...I did try the ammonia trick and it didn't work to well...:(
I looked into replacement ones and they are "each" well over $100.00.
We bought brand spankin new GE appliances and we've had them since 2002 and they all have needed to be repaired numerous times...No more GE never again...
Sherry, I bought mine online (I paid about $850 for it, with shipping). I like it for several reasons:
1) the grates (they fit in my dishwasher--big plus; they clean up great with a squirt of dishsoap or Dawn "power dissolver stuff"); the continuous grates mean more usable surface area (I debated on the 5th and/or 6th burner configuration, and decided I really didn't need it, especially when I saw what it added to the price.) But the continuous grates mean I can pull something out of the oven and set it anywhere on the stovetop without delicately balancing it over a couple grates. I can slide a pan off a burner and let it set. It's just a really nice use of the middle of the stove.)
2) the oven: it cleans nicely, it heats up fast; (it's quasi-convection, so I can cook things a little faster and more evenly) and the broiler is nearly instant-heat. (I don't know why, but my old gas oven seemed to take longer for the broiler to get hot, and when it did, it didn't broil things evenly.)
For now, I'm sold on the stove; if/when we move, I want another one just like this one. (I love the bigger commercial-style ranges, but my family is rapidly shrinking as kids grow up and move out; other than a few holiday meals each year, a 4-burner stove meets my needs with a burner or two to spare, so I just can't see any way I can justify the pricetag on a high-end model.)
Thanks, Terry. I also liked the idea of the continunous grates for the reason that you mentioned and don't need a center burner either. Don't know about the convection part as I'm not real interested in learning new methods/ timing, etc, but think we'll go backout this week and see about the Frigidaire. I don't enjoy getting new appliances, cars...anything that involves 'shopping around'...LOL...I don't have time for it so I end up getting annoyed. I just like to know exactly what I want and go get it. Even better, I can tell the DH what model and see if he'll go get it.
I would encourage you to do some clicking around on the internet. I found mine online at a price that none of the local stores could touch, and it was delivered to our door (DH had to set it, and pull out the old one, so that meant we had to dispose of the old one--a drawback.) Frigidaire was offering a $50 rebate at the time, which brought the price down even more.
Terry, what brand did you buy for the dual fuel oven? My Jennair convection(which I never even used that feature) oven has just "crapped" out on me after 10 years and will require about $400 min. to get it working again. I could not keep the grates clean on mine either mainly because I'm very fond of my old-timey cast iron skillet. I've researched online and Jennair seems to be the only option since I need a downdraft gas oven. I noticed an Amana model but, I think that is a Sears item and I refuse to ever buy from them again.
After talking with the repairman, decided to go with the repair rather than another $2k for a new one. Glad I read about cleaning the grates with ammonia in another forum, going to try that as new ones cost about $50 ea.
