1) I don't know for a fact but I would strongly suspect it is porcelain over steel. Enamel and porcelain are very similar no need to use both coatings on the steel. AR has many custom options and I think they would make a custom SS piece but the price would be exorbitant.

2) There are no leg risers. There are leg caps like this

There are two leg caps underneath range.

And this is the curb base. If you order neither you would have exposed legs. I can't find a picture of that.

Then there are the risers on the top rear of the range.

This is the 4" riser

This is the high shelf.

Then Island trim.

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3) As far as I can see and tell all AR residential ranges have the Innovection Convection Bake system which means two fans. Of course it is not necessary as I believe AR is the only one that has a two fan system.

In any event if looking at American Range you should be looking at the Performer Series. The open burners will provide even heat( instead of the ring of heat provided by the sealed burners) and those power burners will deliver much more top end power which can be used to sear,saute,boil,stir fry more effectively and even quickly recover temp when dropping cold food into hot oil/pan.

Ring of heat

Even and optionally very powerful heat.

1) Porcelain is a type of enamel. It is glass powder fused to a base metal. You could email them if you wanted to know the base metal.

3).Yes there are two different convection configurations on the american ovens. The electric ovens have a single fan with element and the gas ovens have dual fans no element.
This is a product brochure. P. 32 is a comparison of the different models.

p 15 Medallion has one fan in the picture. also p 21 titan does
p 32 describes Straight ConvectionTM with a single high-speed convection fan, 2,200 Watt convection ring heater and proprietary, stainless air flow directors"

Also description of Medallion from AJMadison site
"Straight Convection Technology
American Range is pleased to introduce Straight Convection Technology. Borrowing from the aerospace industry, they've circled their convection bake fan with a powerful ring heater - and straightened out the hot air stream using proprietary air directors. The result is shorter cooking times and more uniform heat transfer for multiple rack cooking - saving time and energy!"

Not sure straight line convection is a good thing though. It seems the opposite of the dual fan convection on the gas oven

"Innovection Convection Oven Technology
Balanced turbulent heat distribution is essential when baking, roasting, and dehydrating food. The American Range Innovection convection oven technology features dual convection motors and louvered side panels to enhance uniform heat distribution throughout the large oven cavity.

The strategic placement of the dual Innovection convection fans ensures consistent heat distribution even when challenged with cooking the largest turkey, ham or roast."

Based on their own descriptions, I would think the gas oven would be better. I would be afraid of hot spots on the other. I would usually pick electric but the features on this electric oven are limited for the price and when comparing to Wolf, Gagg, Meile and even Electrolux or its Kenmore cousin.

The engineering and combination of these things will determine how evenly your oven heats but the presence of these things does not guarantee the oven will be even. You need to hear from someone who owns a particular oven and how they use it. Someone who sticks one thing in the middle will not have the same requirements or experience that someone who bakes and fills the oven has.

---the general build which determines the radiant heat from sides, top and bottom

---fans-Dual fans should be a good thing because you have more movement of air coming from two different fans and a better chance to keep the temperature even. It will depend though on the amount of air they move.

---additional elements, like 3rd element (true or european) convection can help to keep the temperature more even when an oven is full. I had one oven with this where it produced hot spots and another with dual fans and elements that baked very evenly when packed out. Their own description would worry me a little.

Many have the idea that convection makes the oven a speed oven. The last number I read said it cuts about 10% off of the cooking time, but his varies quite a bit. The real benefit for me is that it makes things crispy. It is not good for anything that has to rise until the rise is complete. It is a learning curve, even if you have used it as they are all different.

Check out the width of the broiler Some do not like that the infrared broiler is narrow. Others don't care.

p 11 There is a picture of the burner with a pan. This particular open burner looks wide on high but you do have additional smaller burners. I have sealed burners but they are not that wide on high. I would try to see them live or maybe someone could post a video of their burner on high with a pan on it to see.
If simmer is a consideration, I would also email them and ask them what the low end of the BTU ratings is for their ranges. A great low rating is 325-350 BTUs to provide a low simmer. Some manufacturers give a rating as a temperature but there are too many variables for that to be meaningful.

I would search American on this forum just to see what people have to say in general especially about service.

Wolf ovens have dual fans.

Wolf ovens have dual fans.

All Cuisine and Performer Series are Gas Ovens

I should specify I don't know of other gas ovens with dual convection fans. Wolf electric has two convection fans. Others have a cooling fan in addition to convection fan. Maybe there is but I have not seen it.

Titan and Medallion offer electric ovens.

Thank you everyone for the helpful replies! Much appreciated!!

I found the search for a gas range to be quite consuming and confusing. It's been several years since I purchased a range and this time I took more of an interest in what I was going to chose because it will be going into my new kitchen! I was clueless how many variations of BTU's and burners and convection systems, etc. there are out there! Holy crap why so many choices and what do they all really mean... and are any of them better or worse or necessary?? My husband, bless his patient soul, compared it to the stress of buying a new car!! Can you all picture the joy we had in doing this?? :>

I thought I went into this journey with an advantage because I knew what I didn't want. However, NOT so because even some of the pricey ranges offer nothing more mechanical than some of the much less costly ones... at least that is what I found to be true. I also found it not unusual for sales people to have their own favorite brand and that is where they would try to steer me.

After much research, physical shopping, and help from folks like yourselves.... I felt the AR Cuisine series would fit my needs. So we purchased a 30 inch range with the 5 burner configuration. I chose this one for the dual convection system with a large capacity oven which appears to be fairly "easy?" to clean, the configuration of the BTU's were good, the sealed porcelain cook top for "easy?" clean up and the look is bold but not as commercial looking as their other series of ranges.

I had contemplated the Performer series with the open burners... but shied away from it for 2 reasons. One is the power of the open flame with those high BTU's .. whoa, have any of you seen them in action?? I can definitely see the advantage to having those but the way I cook.....my omelets were doomed to be crispy and my curtains on fire! I'm exaggerating, I don't have curtains :)

Two, the clean up of the stove top on the Performer would be so cumbersome and time consuming for me due to the heavier than heck grates and multiple heavy burner parts. I just could not think about having to do that every time I made a stir fry! My poor husband just looked at me in horror, for multiple reasons, when I initially said let's consider this range!!

So my new Cuisine is being delivered tomorrow but the kitchen is not ready for it.... so it will sit wrapped up in the garage til....?
A side note.... the store I purchased it from told me they temporarily stopped stocking AR due to a conflict with their distributor. So they sold me the range floor model at $1000.00 lower than I could find it anyplace.... it is in pristine condition! I was ecstatic and turned to my husband and said..... this is great because if I decide that I don't like it.... we can sell it for at least what we paid for it and buy a different one!! Especially now that I am such a knowledgeable range snob :>

Thanks again everyone for the input! I love this site and hope to be of help to one of you sometime! Take care!

We would love to know how you like it and generally how it works out so if you could review it for us it would be great maybe after you cook on it a little and after you have had it for awhile.

I will definitely post a review of the range after I have used it for a bit. Absolutely!

I would also like to hear from others who have purchased the Cuisine or similar AR ranges to see what their experiences have been like :)

renoz Heres to a quick kitchen turn around for you! Really I'm selfishly waiting to hear how you like the cuisine range.
We are trying to decide on the cuisine or heritage. The performer is too powerful for my vent hood and I cant change the ducting to larger so no open burners for me.
Please let us know if you can light the burners with a match?

Lol we have differing opinions Renoz!

I went with the Performer. Just bought this week, being delivered in 2 weeks. Very solid build on all American range products. One reason I went with it over Bluestar is it has a semi open burner type configuration as the covers around burners look like they would catch spills.

I just hope 700cfm hood is good enough!

I will review it in another thread or piggy back on this one. We can compare our experiences

ppbenn... it will be awhile yet before my kitchen is done... so please don't wait for me to help you make your decision between the two ranges! I liked the heritage model also as it is very similar to the cuisine but I preferred the configuration of the 5 burners on the cuisine and I didn't want a griddle in the middle. But I have no idea if I will like it when I go to use it! Why are you stuck between those two models? Also, I believe any gas stove can be lit with a match... no??

duffman... Have you used an open burner range before? I can remember using them a long time ago, but the BTU's were much less. I loved the performer series and the idea of the open burners for more direct heat and faster cooking.... I even thought I could eventually adapt to the power. :>
I was equally impressed with the configuration of the burners and all of the removable parts for "thorough" cleaning. However, when I took the stove top apart... and I disassembled every little removable part... I just felt like it might be a real work out to clean the stove. Perhaps I over thought it.... I've been known to do that from time to time. ~:/
My husband loved the performer aside from the possibility of me setting the new kitchen on fire! He also had no problems with all the heavy grates and parts, etc.... but he is not the one who would be cleaning it!

I'm not so sure what the recommended hood cfm's are for the performer. I bought a range hood with 500 cfm for the cuisine.
Please let us know how you like it!!

renoz I will probably be ordering the Cuisine six burner in the next few weeks. I think I'm getting it in black.
The owners manual for the Medallion (DF)said you could NOT light the stove top burners in a power outage. Not sure what the cuisine says. The appliance store said you could lite it with a match, but it could be a CYA deal in the manual.
I have a zephyr DCBL 715cfm for the range hood which is probably not enough if all burners are aglow (that will never happen - I just need the real estate for large pots/pans)
We wont look to install til later in the year so I cant wait for your detailed review with pictures maybe?

I have the Performer and it is not for everyone, the heat cannot be too high for me. I also got their wall oven and as a result discovered how terrible their customer service is. It has broken 4 times in 3 1/2 years and they don't know why, plus they cannot understand why I am upset. I hope yours does well because if things go wrong you are up a creek.

For those who have the cuisine 30" --- is it taller than standard? My countertops are 36" and this range is 37.75" tall. Would an additional 2 inches above the counter top look weird?

I believe they are all standard height, mine is. Make sure you have very good records of everything that happens because if you get a good stove you are fine, if you get a lemon it is a nightmare. My gas range is great, my electric oven was a total loss and never worked properly. These people understand gas, avoid electric from them. Also I agree if you are going to buy from AR get teh performer series, if you do not want that kind of power, but from a company with better customer service. I love my performer and luckily I did not know how bad they were to deal with when I bought it. No one else has burners that hot and I use them at full heat frequently because I used to be a chef, most people do not really want high power and can save money and just get a regular stove.