I would lean GE, they get better reviews in general than Whirlpool for cooking products. Sounds like the JGS650 would make the most sense for you.

Thank you hvtech42. I was already kind of leaning towards GE but it helps to get another opinion.

I stopped quickly by an appliance store and I am afraid I am starting to fall into a trap of spending more money than originally budgeted for. :( Now I like the look of the GE with SS top and wondering if it also would be easier to clean than black enamel. When I looked on Appliances Connection the difference in price was "only" $330.00. If I could get my local appliance store to match the price it would be very tempting. Now I have to research convection ovens in case I want to convince my husband to get the more expensive one.

My brain tells me to stick with the budget by my heart and desire for "pretty" says go with SS :)

GE makes very good ranges. If you lean toward getting the GE, I'd get it quickly. With Electrolux buying GE, I doubt the GE products we know today will be what's going to be their product down the road. Electrolux will probably scrap pretty much everything that's true GE and just put GE's brand name on Electrolux products like Whirlpool did with Maytag products.

^I highly doubt that will be the case. Maytag had gone stagnant in terms of innovation and was about to go out of business. GE just poured over a billion into their appliance biz and while I'm sure there will be some merging, it's very unlikely Electrolux will throw all that away. Plus one of the reasons they bought GE was their better quality appliances in certain categories (such as french door fridges). Also Whirlpool did not scrap ALL of Maytag's stuff, there was a lot of press about the closing of their headquarters in Newton Iowa but they still had several other factories in the country, some of which are still open and producing appliances for Whirlpool to this day.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Sat, Sep 13, 14 at 22:37

Some additional considerations.

1. Surveys of Consumer Reports membership who bought gas ranges in the last five years (approximately 18,300 responding) reported that 14% major problem rate for Kitchenaid gas ranges where GE ranges had a 7% rate. This seems curious because most of the other brands in Whirlpool's lineup did significantly better than KA.

2. My church has a stainless-topped GE Profile gas range in the kitchen. I am not 100% sure, but believe the top is identical or very similar in design to the stovetop of the GE JGS750SEFSS that you are considering except that it has four burners rather than five. I've found that stainless top much easier to clean than the enameled gray burner pans on my former GE dual-fuel range.

OTOH, the concern with stainless tops is that they eventually scratch. Some care about this. Some do not. (I'm in the latter category, myself. I've had a stainless topped NXR range for over two years and it has been the easiest cleaning for me of anything other than induction. It is mostly spritz with a cleaner like Windex and wipe off with a microfiber cloth.)

There have been some threads here on on cleaning If you haven't already seen them.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0323525719115.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cleaning/msg0213091615516.html?10

http://ths.gardenweb.com//forums/load/kitchbath/msg0521574128830.html?6

I recall more than these including one in this forum within the last year which discussed getting gas ranges without black-tops. I haven't found that one, though.

Another problem with some stainless range tops is that area around the burners can sometimes get a bluish discoloration from high heating over time. (That is "can" not "for sure will." The GE Profile at the Church hasn't had this problem. My NXR "pro-style" range hasn't shown this problem either.) The recommended fix is polishing with BarKeeper's Friend or Bon Ami. They work like polishing compound so you have to pay attention to the grain. GE usually uses a matte, brushed finish around the burners so scrubbing marks and surface scratches are less likely to show. That's certainly been the case with the GE Profile at the church.

3. Control-knob location seems like a six-of-one-and-half-dozen-of-the-other kind of trade off. Having knobs on the front of the stove does not avoid cooking spatter, they just collect somewhat less than the knobs on the angled panel of the JGS750/JGS650. OTOH, having the knobs on the angled control surface makes them much less likely to get heated from the oven during extended baking and roasting sessions.

4. Convection features are an oven convenience. You use the features only when you want to. It is like having an additional power tool in the kitchen. Most useful when baking multiple racks of small items like cookies or biscuits. Can make it a bit faster and easier to roast things (and they may look great, too.) . The learning curve is not steep. Most folks who have convection, like it.

5. The central fifth burner on the JGS750 looks like an extra simmer burner. What I recall from past discussions here and elsewhere is that some folks found them useful when holding food in multiple smallish saucepans while others thought a center simmer burner useless. Do you find yourself making different hot cereals for each of three or four kids?

6. When it comes to long term product support, I understand boba's concern, but I share hvtech's views. I don't see there being a long term difference is product support in this instance.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 12:31

Can make it a bit faster and easier to roast things

The faster baking speed of the convection oven is of less concern to me than even baking. - not having to turn cookie sheets around and switch racks mid-way through baking in order to get even browning. It's not only easier, it's more likely to come out right.

I was already leaning strongly towards GE and I am leaning towards the range with SS and convection. The price is still a deterrent on SS but I will try to see if I can get it for less than originally thought. I checked Appliances Connection and will see if local person will match it for me.

JWVideo - thank you for all the info and taking the time to spell it all out for me. Repair rate was definitely already my consideration some other things I did not think about. I would much rather have scratches on SS (don;t think it would bother me) than smudges and dust and possibly chips on black enamel. Convection and extra burner is still not a big deal for me as in a year it will be just me an my husband at home and I do not bake much but it might be nice to have and I;m sure I will get used to it once I have it.

sjhockeyfan - When I do bake, swapping those cookie sheets around sure is a pain - I think that is part of the reason I don;t bake much. Another plus for SS with convection - could end up being a big minus if I bake more and I gain weight :)

hvtech - I was looking for GE profile counter depth refrigerators and was told by one store that the new model is coming out in about a month or so and no one has an old model for me to see. Supposedly the new model has just reconfigured some internal space to comply with how they calculate internal cubic space. Do you know anything about it? Right now I have KitchenAide KFCS22EVMS on my appliance list. I need counter depth and I do not want external water and ice and people seemed to have been happy with it.

Thank you all for the wealth of information. Unless my husband vetoes the SS because of the price I am quite sure I will be getting SS with convection.

^You're correct about the new Profile fridges, the new ones are effectively the same as the old with some interior changes. The old model was PYE23PSDSS, the new is PYE22PSHSS (notice the cubic foot decrease in the model number). I have had the standard depth version of that fridge for 2 years and am very happy with it, but they are not to my knowledge currently making any Profile counter depth models without external ice and water. Sounds like the KA would be the best choice for you.

hvtech42 - I was pretty much set on GE SS range and just this morning I saw posts about Bosch slide in HGI8054UC seem to also have SS, convection and 5th burner and is priced better than same type GE. I did not even know Bosch had those as my search on AJ Madison did not bring those up for some reason and the appliance store did not have those.

Any thoughts on the Bosch range?

That is a brand new design so there isn't much feedback yet. I bet it's good though, as people liked the older version.

thank you hvtech42. No one around seems to have either older or newer model. I'll call couple more places but don't like to buy expensive items site unseen. If I can't see it I will probably stick with GE.

I previously had a Bosch wall oven (does that help?) that was 20 years old and still worked excellently when we removed it because it didn't fit under out new cooktop.

I haven't read all the posts above, so if this has already been said, please forgive me. DO NOT GET A GAS OVEN!! I have the GE Cafe double oven slide in range. The gas oven sucks! If I can't bake someone on convection, I can't bake it. Horrible hot spots! My kitchen in my new house has two humongous disappointments: the oven on the GE Cafe range, and the Kitchen Aid dishwasher. We have only been here 6 months and I'm already planning to jettison them both as soon as I can. (P.S. I picked them out, so I have no one to blame but myself.)

^Maybe your range has a problem, or maybe GE Cafe has a crappy gas oven, I don't know which. But saying to avoid ALL gas ovens because of that is ridiculous.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Mon, Sep 15, 14 at 17:26

hvtech42, since this is my first experience with a gas oven, and because it cooks unevenly, as Mother warned me it would, I am very displeased. Should I call for service?

>>>Should I call for service?Yeah.

Some suggestions for things to check and to discuss with the servicer.

First, I'm wondering if you have preheated the oven enough? Before baking or roasting, try giving the ovens twenty-five or thirty minutes to fully preheat.

The symptoms you describe are consistent with starting baking while an oven is still heating up. (Also consistent with other things, but trying a longer preheat may help eliminate this as a possibility.)

Please note that I'm not talking about triggering the so-called preheat signals. I'm telling you to disregard those because they are usually grossly misleading about the ovens' actual readiness for even baking. We've had numbers of threads on this subject, but, briefly summarized: think about how the oven heats up.

Many ovens fire both the upper and lower elements during preheating. (Don't know if the Cafe double-ovens do this -- does your owner's manual say anything about that?) If the top burner is still heating the cavity or is still very hot when you start your baking, you can get burned spots and such.

But even if the top burner isn't being used, the pre-heat indicators only measure air temps to give manufacturers some bragging rights about how quickly their ovens preheat. It actually takes much longer to get the cavity itself hot and radiating as opposed to just having hot air in the cavity. The radiant heat from the cavity walls is what actually does most of the work in baking. Also, until the oven walls and floor are fully preheated, the burners will cycle a lot and produce some pretty wide swings in temperature. Turn the oven on, and the burner(s) stay on until the air temp may goes some distance above the set-point, maybe 50F above the set-point or more. At that point, the burner shuts off. It comes on again at, maybe, 50F below the set point and continues to heat until nearly that far above the set-point. This process continues for a number of cycles, with the variance lessening with each cycle as the walls start radiating an even heat. Eventually, the oven temperature will stabilize around the set point. When it does, you are much less likely to get serious hot spots and burned baked goods.

A second possibility, is that the oven wasn't properly calibrated at the factory or got shaken out of calibration in shipping. You would not be the first person to find yourself with an oven display that is reading too low. Check it with an oven thermometer. If you've set your oven for 350F but the oven thermometer shows 425F, you may well find hot spots and burned patches on the baked goods.

Maybe you've already tried this? If not, go to a hardware store and get a dial face oven thermometer. (IIRC, CDN, Taylor and Cooper-Atkins have been recommended brands.) If you find your oven is running hotter than the setpoint, you've got something to discuss with your servicer. Again, this is something a servicer should be able to handle but advance knowledge is power. (The GE manuals will tell you how to recalibrate by yourself, but the service folks should be equipped to do this and you are entitled to warranty service.)

Also, bear in mind number 2 above, too. Don't let the servicer try to claim they fixed things by running the oven for a mere five or ten minutes.

Third, against the possibility that the service person might turn out to be the kind of idiot who says "they're all like that," I suggest a search here, on chowhound and anywhere else that might have threads on the double-oven GE Cafe ranges. If you find that most users report the ovens being fine, then they're not "all like that." You might also point out that Consumer Reports rated the GE Cafe double ovens as good for evenness of non-convection baking and that is hardly the case with your oven.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Sep 15, 14 at 19:45

JWV, I already have a good oven thermometer. I don't know the brand, but the repairman who came to my old house told me it was what I should have. Link to a similar thermometer below. I also know to allow at least 30 minutes for the oven to pre-heat, although I'll have to admit, if the precision of baking isn't involved, I often do not wait the full 30 minutes.

My prior range was a dual fuel Viking. I absolutely loved it. I know some think Vikings are unreliable, but I didn't have that experience.

I was prepared to buy a dual fuel GE Cafe, but a friend who has the same range said she had had no problems. I failed to take into to consideration that she does not cook. Cooking for her is heating up prepared food. Nevertheless, I did some research here and even started a thread about GE Cafe with gas oven. I came way feeling good about having a gas oven. Reality hasn't been as kind.

Here is a link that might be useful: oven thermometer

It is not gas range ovens per se --- mine and many others do a fine job.

Apparently, stuff burns in both of your stove's ovens and not just the smaller top one?

If stuff is burning in burning in both of your GE stove's ovens despite them holding the correct temps, sounds like pretty good evidence that you either received a lemon of stove or these stoves have a design defect. Either would be frustrating, but at least you are still within the one year warranty period. In your situation, I would be inclined to make some photos of the burned baked goods and build a case for a buy-back from GE or the vendor.

15 minutes at 350, which is actually only 320, on middle rack setting

T

UNDERSIDE FLIPPED OVER

Looks pretty uneven to me. What do you think?

Any ideas for how to use up 15 pieces of very well toasted (some might even say scorched) bread? :-)

Hmmmmm. This is the smaller top oven, right?

To me, that oven looks to be running way hot and with the top (broiler) burner running, too boot. If I put a slice of bread on the middle of a middle rack with my stove's gas oven at 320F for 15 minutes, the bread crisps up but does not really brown top or bottom. I'd say a service call is warranted.

Let me suggest you take this topic to its own separate thread, Your issue is far enough off the title topic of this thread that your question may be getting overlooked by others who might be able to help. Maybe from some who also have a double oven all-gas GE Cafe range.

As for the toast, maybe run them through a food processor and store the crumbs in a tightly sealed freezer bag. Or use them for croutons for onion soup or fish or chicken bouillabaisse with rouille or aioli topping. :>)

This post was edited by JWVideo on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 19:16

JW, I agree, this needs its own thread. I hope you will follow me over there because this is NOT the top oven... I'll have more to say in new thread.

Apologies to OP for highjacking your thread.

bbstx - No problem about hijacking. :)
I will be getting a gas oven, always had one and it always worked fine for me.

good luck with your oven.

Margo - what oven did you get? Realize that this is a very old post but I’m in the same spot - GE JGS760SELSS or the Bosch or LG.....it a tough decision!