I had lost track of this thread. Pasture, I have a Gaggenau combi-steam oven over a Gaggenau single convection oven because they're designed so specifically to be stacked that they look totally ridiculous side by side. I'm tall enough that the big oven is only a little too low, and the steam oven, while technically too high, works because it's quite small and isn't meant to have things tended in an oven. The center of the big oven is more like hip level for me, and I really hate that. I still have to stoop to baste, lift up to counter level to bring things out, etc. I'm all for bending for bending's sake, but the stoop, bend, twist of using lower cabinets, rather than drawers, is magnified by dangerous heat with a lower oven. Rollout shelves probably help lower ovens a lot. A drawer set-up would be even better, so one wouldn't be burning the legs on the door trying to reach over it. I grew up with two counter high ovens in different locations in a tiny kitchen, and if I could have done the same without it looking totally goofy I would have done it in my current kitchen. That's one thing I do love about my Advantium on the other side of the kitchen. It's at the right level!! That said, lots of people love ranges! I think Follykid's wife's choice of the big gas range and 30" Wolf wall oven sounds like a great choice for her usage. CAROL, if your friends and family don't have ranges, ask them if any of their friends and family do. Ask the neighbors whose kitchens you don't know. And, for sure, find showrooms where you can try out the Bluestar and Capital, preferably installed and cooking. If you're nowhere near a showroom, it might even be worth a little trip to Eurostoves or another place that has both installed. Just don't guess!! Approximating from whatever range you can get to plus user experience here is fine, but don't be so enamored of the look that you don't even check to see if you're compatible. :)

Technically a fryer is a smaller bird in the 3-5lb range. A roaster can be quite a bit larger, 6-8lbs. Roasters are a little plumper (fattier, I think) which makes them good for long cooking in the oven. You could probably use either one in the recipe. The birds in the grocery stores are on the smaller side indicating fryers.

A 4.5 lb. chicken is 1.5 lbs. heavier than the 3 lb. chicken used in the recipe that I posted. You should definitely NOT cook it less than the 5 hours and it may take MORE time because you are cooking a bigger bird. To be safe, you should check the bird with a meat thermometer after 5 hours at 250F in the meatiest part of the thigh. The temp should be up to 180F and if it is not up to that temp, I would put it back in to roast for another 30 minutes, then check the temp again. Poultry should always be throughly cooked and have no pink juices flowing when stuck with a fork or tip of a sharp knife. Please be careful to check the temp of the bird before you take it out of the oven and pronounce it done.

I also am trying to make this decision, but I have restricted the argument (for myself) to induction versus gas. I have lived with gas and currently use an induction hob (underpowered and featureless). Nevertheless, I have come up with my own list of pros and cons for gas, induction, and radiant electric and would love to hear comments on their validity and on where I am misinformed. (I am leaning towards induction despite my long list of cons--cleanup and quick, even heat are so important to me!) GAS PROS: 1. easily adjustable--continuous control from simmer to boil 2. intuitive to use--small flame versus big flame 3. familiar to most repair services--cheaper and easier to fix (parts not ridicuolously expensive) 4. can use the same pot on all burners (not always true--some ranges have different size burner heads which dictate small or large pots) 5. can span burners with griddle or roasting pan 6. no need to buy special pots 7. cooktop will work in a power outage (may not be true for oven) 8. heats the kitchen in the winter 9. cooktop/range makes a statement unlike a flat piece of glass 10. can char a pepper CONS: 1. difficult and time consuming to keep clean 2. knobs, if too close to burners get hot 3. requires vigilance to avoid burning/melting equipment (plastic pot handles or utensils) that gets too close to flame 4. some burners cannot achieve a true simmer, so sauces can burn since the flame is not evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan (a simmer plate can help with this) and hot spots at higher temps depending on the pot/pan 5. heats the kitchen in the summer 6. depending on btus, may require a high level of ventilation 7. some electric wall ovens cannot be placed under a gas cooktop INDUCTION PROS: 1. easy to clean in seconds 2. spills don't burn onto the cooktop 3. cooktop doesn't pose the same burn hazard as does gas or radiant electric 4. doesn't heat the kitchen 5. easily adjustable with a finger 6. easy to maintain a constant low temp with no hot spots--evenly heats the pan 7. doesn't melt the handles of neighboring pots or equipment 8. ventilation requirements are less due to less residual heat from cooktop 9. efficient in terms of power to the pan versus lost to the surrounding air 10. fast to heat CONS: 1. May require expensive wiring upgrade 2. Won't work in a power outage 3. Requires pans that the cooktop can recognize (i.e., magnetic and flat on the bottom) 4. Size matters when it comes to recognition of pot or pan and the hob--can't switch pots around easily 5. Not intuitive when deciding 'levels of power'--no visual on the differences between the levels 6. Restricted to the levels of power of the cooktop--"some may have various 'steps' and 'halfsteps' to create a broad range, others my not have as many levels, so you don't have as much control--not continuous 7. May have difficulty getting the cooktop to recognize finger presses (learning curve for the 'right' touch 8. Cookware may buzz even if magnetic 9. Cooktop may buzz and click as it cycles off and on--some are louder, longer, and more annoying than others 10. Power sharing can limit when you can use boost on the different hobs 11. Special requirements for install clearances and ventilation in the cabinet 12. May require for warranty purposes that the same brand of wall oven be used under induction cooktop 13. Sliding pans may scratch the cooktop as will salt 14. Controls on the actual cooktop surface reduce the available space for pots 15. Often expensive to repair due to electronics involved 16. Not as much of a statement in a kitchen--just a piece of glass on the counter 17. Cannot span hobs with a roaster or griddle on most induction cooktops (unless cast iron to radiate the heat but may risk damaging the electronics under the cooktop by doing so)--few cooktops have a griddle feature 18. Cannot char a pepper--or light a candle! RADIANT ELECTRIC PROS are similar to induction EXCEPT no special pots required CONS 1. food burns onto the cooktop and is difficult to clean if left 2. surface gets hot and can burn hands or items on cooktop 3. don't have immediate control over cooking temps (i.e., can't reduce temp without lifting the pot due to the residual heat of the cooktop) 4. Slow to heat 5. Sliding pans can scratch cooktop