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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Range-top

  • Upper Oven

  • Lower Oven

  • Cooking Performance

  • Range Performance Overall

  • Water Boiling

  • Low Temperature Cooking

  • High Temperature Cooking

  • Overall Oven Performance

  • Target Temperature Accuracy

  • Temperature Fluctuation

  • Secondary Oven Performance

  • Broiler Performance

  • Broiler Features

  • Overall Efficiency

  • Range Efficiency

  • Oven Efficiency

  • Features

  • Controls

  • Cleaning

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Range-top
  • Upper Oven
  • Lower Oven
  • Cooking Performance
  • Range Performance Overall
  • Water Boiling
  • Low Temperature Cooking
  • High Temperature Cooking
  • Overall Oven Performance
  • Target Temperature Accuracy
  • Temperature Fluctuation
  • Secondary Oven Performance
  • Broiler Performance
  • Broiler Features
  • Overall Efficiency
  • Range Efficiency
  • Oven Efficiency
  • Features
  • Controls
  • Cleaning
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Front

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Range-top

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Upper Oven

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Lower Oven

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Cooking Performance

The {{product.name}} was a mixed bag in our tests, achieving good scores for oven temperature consistency and range top temperature range, but disappointing scores for both boiling water and the broiler heating tests.

{{photo_gallery "Primary Oven Keep-Warm Ramp-up", "Primary Oven 350F Ramp-up", "Primary Oven Max Ramp-up", "Secondary Oven Convection Ramp-up", "Oven Temperature Variance", "Range-top Water Boil", "Range-top Temperature Range"}}

Range Performance Overall

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We found mixed performance from the 5 burners on the range top of the {{product.name}}. On the good side, the burners were capable of producing a wide range of temperatures, from high to low. On the downside, these burners were rather slow at boiling water.

Water Boiling

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One of the basic tasks of cooking is boiling water, and a good range will help you get going by quickly boiling water in a pan. Unfortunately, we found that the {{product.model}} was rather slow here, taking a frustrating 16 minutes and 49 seconds to boil just under 4 fl oz of water. Two of the burners (the right front and right back) were unable to do this: after the 35 minutes we let this test run, they still had not boiled the water.

Don't try to boil with the back right simmer burner.

Low Temperature Cooking

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We found the boilers of the {{product.model}} were capable of producing a nice low temperature to simmer food, though, with the lowest temperature of the burners in our tests at 101°F for the left rear burner, and between 127°F and 137°F for the other burners. That's a nice low temperature which would be good for cooking a sauce or slow-cooking a stew over a matter of hours.

Range-top Temperature Range

Maximum and minimum heat settings for each burner: The hottest burner reaches about 400F.

High Temperature Cooking

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The burners of the {{product.model}} were capable of cranking up the heat when required: we found they were able to produce temperatures of up to 402°F in our tests, which is hot enough for most tasks. Other grills could go much higher (such as the incredible 796°F maximum of the LG LDE3017ST ), but this oven produces temperatures that should be adequate for most users.

Overall Oven Performance

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There are two ovens on the {{product.name}}, and we found that they both had good performance, producing a nice and hot maximum temperature and keeping the temperatures very steady while running. Our only major issue was that the lowest oven setting (the keep warm setting) was rather too hot, which might mean that your food stored in here to keep warm could dry out quicker than you might think.

{{product.manufacturer_specs['Primary Oven Photo']}}{{photo_gallery "Primary Oven 350F Ramp-up", "Primary Oven Keep-Warm Ramp-up", "Primary Oven Max Ramp-up"}}

Target Temperature Accuracy

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The {{product.model}} struggled to keep a nice low temperature: we measured the average temperature with the oven on its lowest setting at a rather warn 168.6°F. That is higher than we like to see: most ovens have a keep warm temperature of under 150°F. This could mean that food stored in here after cooking to keep warm could dry out and get a little burnt, which is not a good thing.

At the other end of the range, we found that the oven was capable of producing a nice warm 574°F average on its highest setting, which is very close to what we look for.

Temperature Fluctuation

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We test the ovens running at their lowest setting, at 350°F and at their maximum temperature, checking the temperature at multiple points inside the ovens every five seconds. For the {{product.model}}, we found that it did an excellent job of regulating the temperature to keep it nice and even, with only small variations over time and across the internal space of the oven.

Oven "Margin of Error" in Temperature Variance: The oven is consistent at cool and mid-level temperatures, but inconsistent when operating at its warmest.

Secondary Oven Performance

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The second oven also offers a convection mode, where fans blow the hot air around inside the oven to regulate the temperature. We found that this also did a good job of smoothing out the falls and rises of the internal temperature, keeping the temperature very even.

This is the upper divided cavity. After overshooting 425°F, it is ridiculously even.

Broiler Performance

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A broiler is supposed to cook food by quickly heating it. Unfortunately, the broiler of the {{product.model}} was rather slow, raising the temperature of our test plate to 421°F after 16 minutes. Contrast that with broilers such as the one on the LG LDG3017ST, which brought the same test plate to our desired 608°F temperature in just over 5 minutes, and you see why we this was a disappointment.

Broiler Features

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The broiler is located in the top of the upper oven and is rated at 10,000BTU. That is significantly less than the broilers on other ranges, and goes some way to explaining the disappointing performance.

Overall Efficiency

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The lack of power from oven and broiler does have one advantage: this range uses a bit less gas than others.

Range Efficiency

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The range top was not overly efficient, with burners rated at 16,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 7,500 BTU. That's a wide spread of power levels, which does not make for efficient cooking.

Oven Efficiency

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The ovens of the {{product.model}} have rather low-powered burners, rated at 16,000 and 10,000 BTU. This low power did not seem to overly affect performance, with the oven still performing well in our tests.

Features

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There are five burners on the range top of the {{product.model}}, ranging from the small 5000 BTU burners on the right side to the 16,000BTU front left burner. Most of these are on the low side, and the small output of the two right burners explains why they were unable to boil water in our tests.

On the center is an oval burner (often called a fish burner) that can be used to heat a hotplate or fish pan. This is rated at 7300BTU.

The big news in the oven is their size: the top oven has a size of 2.1 cu.ft, and the bottom 3.9 cu.ft. Combined together that makes for an impressive 6 cu.ft, which is bigger than most of the single ovens on the market. The upper oven is where the broiler is located, while the lower oven has a convection feature that uses a large fan to circulate the air for a more even temperature

The timer offers the standard features, with an interval alarm, delayed cooking start and the usual clock display.
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Controls

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The range top burners are controlled by the five large dials on the front of the range top. These are large and easy to turn, but they are also well latched: it takes a lot of inwards pressure before you can turn them, so they are unlikely to be accidentally engaged.

The oven and broiler is controlled by the touch buttons on the top panel. These are a little confusing to use, as there are separate buttons to set the mode of the upper and lower ovens on one side of the LED panel, while the start and stop buttons are on the other side. However, the labelling and fact that there are more buttons between them does not make it obvious that they are connected, so you have to think before you realize that the top stop/start buttons work on the upper oven. The LED display is also a little difficult to read in direct sunlight: you have to shield it to be able to read the numbers.

Cleaning

Conclusion

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The {{product.name}} has a lot of pros, with two large ovens, five burners and a clean, elegant design. But it also has some problems, with lackluster performance from the small, underpowered burners and the slow broiler. And we don't expect that from an expensive range like this.

This underpowered burner lineup does have an upside, though: the burners produced a nice low temperature for simmering, and they don't use as much gas as their more powerful cousins. But that's a poor trade off for a product at this price point.

Meet the tester

Richard Baguley

Richard Baguley

Contributor

@@rbaguley

Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.

See all of Richard Baguley's reviews

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