Time for an update. 5 months (to the day) after receiving the NXR, it is finally installed. I ran into issues with cabinets and after exploring all options I could think of, finally gave up and installed the NXR as is. No range hood at this time until a kitchen remodel can be done and that is simply not in the budget anytime soon. The space I had to fit the NXR in is 30 1/8 inches wide. So I was a bit nervous about that. The main problem we ran into was the rear legs digging into the linoleum and stopping rearward progress. The guy helping me had a great idea and we dry soaped a couple of yardsticks, put them under the feet, and slid the range into that tight space. The adjustable feet were not very cooperative. We removed the toe kick and sorta had access to the front feet and no access to the rear feet. We could get one side to adjust, but not the other. The feet would not budge. The mistake we made was sliding the range in place before testing the foot adjustment. So we ended up shimming the left side feet. And finding a level reference was challenging too. I ended up using the oven racks as they seemed to be different from the front lip. I see no signs of any damage to the porcelain. The range was well packed and arrived without incident. I ran the burn in process. That is definitely stinky! And I am amazed at the burner control. From high, there are 3 steps ending in a simmer that looks barely enough to warm your hand. I had to turn off the kitchen lights just to see the flame at simmer. I bought a ChefAlarm and rack clip from Thermoworks to calibrate the oven. I hope to have time to do that soon. Testing oven accuracy Here are some pics of the burners. In the 4 burner shot, the lower left is high, then 1 click down going clockwise until the bottom right is at simmer. So far, I'm quite pleased with the NXR. I just need a new kitchen to go along with it! Edit: one thing I noticed (and it may be entirely normal) is that 30 minutes or so after doing the burn in process for the oven, the top of the oven door and the lip remained too hot to touch. Is that normal?

Dcarch, I've been considering ordering an infrared thermometer for a long time, thanks for providing a few uses for it that I hadn't thought of! (a little extra justification never hurts!) Jadeite, thanks for pushing me over the edge by providing the link to the sale at Thermoworks. I've purchased a few items from them, and I'm on their mailing list. I don't know why I didn't get that email! DebraK, I had and threw out a number of digital thermometers because I couldn't trust them to be accurate. I asked for, and received, my Thermapen for Christmas a year ago and I use it all the time. It's accurate and reliable, and best of all it has a very slim, very sharp probe that can be used on thin things, like a steak, thin pork chop, or pounded chicken breast or even fish (though it's easy to tell when fish is done). I have also used it to find out how hot foods are in a warming tray on my Thanksgiving buffet--and also how cold a salad is, so I know when to put it back in the fridge. I've also used it to measure the temp of hot water for brewing green tea or coffee, and the temperature of the water going into the fish tank, and various other things. It's one of the most used things in my kitchen, and I count it very much worth the money spent. Cj

Okay, I've finally managed to read all this thread. I love the idea of that portable timer, but of course, a lot of timers are portable. The stove in my Tahlequah house has a timer that only beeps once, so if I don't hear the one beep, I'm out of luck. Having a timer that goes with me wherever I am would be cool. Early in this thread someone mentioned a bench scraper. I love mine. I actually ordered my Christmas present, a dough rising bucket. Since I needed to order some ingredients from KA anyway, it made sense for me to go ahead and order what DH was going to give me anyway, to save shipping. :) As for the above mentioned microplane with a tray - I learned an obvious trick from a Bobby Flay show once. I felt silly for not thinking of it myself. It's simply to turn the microplane so that the blades are at the bottom and the sides are pointing up, like a U. Then you can grate and catch the zest or whatever in the microplane. I've done it that way ever since. I lucked out at an estate sale the other day and found a 8" Henckles chef's knife for $10. I missed out on the Le Creuset they had. As I walked into the kitchen, a woman was laying claim to the entire set they had for sale. Oh, well, she saved me a bunch of money! Still on my list for Santa is one of those scraper paddles for my KA mixer. Sally

The glowbar igniters are a really old and proven technology. You'll find it in lots of gas appliances (e.g. water heater, furnace, ovens, ...) as they are so safe. Whenever the thermostat calls for heat, it turns on the igniter. As a first approximation, a glowbar igniter is the same thing as an incandescent light bulb without the protective glass shell. It draws a couple of hundred watts and uses that to produce heat. Right next to the glowbar is a temperature activated gas valve. As long as no heat it produced (i.e. glowbar doesn't call for heat or glowbar is defective), no gas flows. This is very safe. But if the valve detects sufficient amounts of heat, it opens and gas flows over the glowbar and ignites. This is damn simple and there is very little that can fail catastrophically. So, it is inherently a safer design than using click igniters. Those are good for the stove top where a person can supervise the burners. But the oven has to work even when it cycles on/off without human intervention. The downside, of course, is that this glowbar behaves just like an incandescent bulb. Some bulbs live for decades, most live for a couple of years, and a small number dies within months. Same is true for glowbars. Nothing much you can do about it. Fortunately, they are cheap and standardized components. Every appliance manufacturer buys from the same factory. And yes, gas ovens always cycle on/off completely. There generally isn't a great way to modulate heat output. This is a noteworthy difference when compared to electric ovens, which frequently can keep constant temperatures much more easily. For many dishes, that doesn't actually matter. But there are some that do in fact cook much better in an electric oven. And I guess the reverse is true too.