How often do you have all four burners going and wish you had more?

Almost never... But I do often wish for more space to fit pans. That said, I have a really old electric coil range right now.... I would think newer models would use the space better....
Guess I need to haul my pans to the store. lol

I guess I would like to hear from
- someone who also decided between the two
- someone with a 36" range/rangetop :what do you love? Do you notice the difference with space? Do you use the middle burners? Do you like /use your big oven, if you have a range?

Etc!

Here's my conversation with myself:

I would probably use all 6 burners, but only on holiday cooking.
So the space the other 360 some days is just more to clean. Lol..

I do on occasion for weekend cooking have all four going, but it's hard to balance all my pots and pans around each other. My range also has a 5th little simmer burner right in the middle..you can't use it with 2 or more pots/pans on the stove..

So for me..I could see myself with 6 burners...but my family is shrinking quickly..and I won't need to cook the volume I do now..and in say less than 2 years with only 1 of 3 boys still at home, it'll be even less need for lots of food.

So I guess I just talked myself out of the 36". Lol

I was in the same boat as you in making this decision. We have five children and cook almost every meal at home. Plus we entertain a lot, because its easier having people to our house.

Anywho . . . I decided on a 30" range and one, possibly two, induction hubs for occasional use. I read a TON of posts here about 36" ranges and then decided to really pay attention to my cooking habits. I do have four burners going occasionally, but definitely not every meal. What I see that I need is extra space, not extra burners. And with a 36" range the burners are closer. i like the space between the burners on my 30". So I decided on a 30" bluestar rcs and and then the portable hubs. What sealed the deal for me was a truffle making class I took. They used a burton induction plate and I fell in love. I can see using it on my island and then throwing it in a drawer when I don't need it. And I'm comfortable letting my older daughter use the hub, more than the gas range.

My thought was, if I had a larger budget, then definitely a 36" or larger is what I would do, but I didn't want to pay for the larger oven and I did not want wall ovens. That's a separate story, as I have another oven close by of my mother's if I need it. I did invest in a 36" zephyr tempest hood, because I definitely make bacon and such and wanted that smell out of my house.

Hope that helps. I felt very overwhelmed, but this site helped a lot and I think taking the time to evaluate your usage is invaluable, especially if you are on a tight budget.

Forgot to say, I took my pans to the store and paper cut outs. I felt like the 30" with island trim was the way to go, as far as what fit best. And then the portable induction plates, which are less than 200. Closer to 100, for the ones that the professional kitchen had us use.

So... I have never heard of/seen these portable hubs! This could be a game changer in my self - talk. lol Let the googling commence....!

Thank yahoo much for all the feedback so far.... This is all really helpful!

Nyc, I do wonder if I would miss the chance to have one of those 23" griddle accessories!

*thank you so much
Autocorrect!

I think it depends on your cooking style. I have a 30" now. It's great when only one person cooks. But when both my husband and I cook, which is often, we frequently use 3 burners at once. We'd probably use 4, but getting the pots and pans to fit can be tough. And two people cooking next to each other on a 30" stove leaves no room to move. He and I are always standing off to the side to cook b/c right next to each other we are too squished. So, we are going to get a 36" range when we remodel this summer.

Here's a link to the portable induction cooktop that I used in the class I took. Now, I don't know how great it'd work for searing, but I have read how great they are for low temps and figured I would use it for sauces, chocolate, etc. or even boiling water. I like that it can move with the cook, and it's not a huge investment if its gets broken. Although, the pro kitchens was cracked and still worked great. This one doesn't need a special plug for 220v. There are some really great ones for over 200, but at this point the other should be sufficient for my needs.

http://www.amazon.com/Max-Burton-6000-1800-Watt-Induction/dp/B000MVN1M6

I decided to go with a 30 inch range because this is my forever home and in the future, when it comes time to replace appliances, I felt that I would find more options with a standard 30 inch range.

Now here is the part where most would think I'm crazy. I also have double wall ovens, 30 inch. So my kitchen actually has 3 ovens. When I cook large meals, I always need more oven space not more burners so it works for me.

We struggled with this in the past few weeks, between 30" vs. 36" with a grill in the middle. We decide to go with 30", for the following reasons:

1). The 36" range with grill costs about 45% more than the 30" range. We figured it's much cheaper (and probably easier) to use a grill pan across two front burners rather than use a built-in grill.

2). The oven in the 36" range is probably too large for us. The largest oven we've had so far is 27" wide (exterior), and even that is a bit too large for us.

3). We don't have much trouble fitting pots and pans on our current 24" cooktop. The 30" range we are getting has an extra 6" in the middle, so there should be plenty of space for large pots and pans.

We never considered 6 burners, so our struggle was more about the grill, rather than two extra burners.

We got 30" double wall ovens, but were also trying to decide between a 30" and 36" cooktop...we ultimately settled on the 30" because, although I could frequently use more oven space, I rarely am cooking 4+ things on the cooktop. Also, I prefer having the knobs on the side, and that's not a common feature on larger cooktops.

JSpann said: "So... I have never heard of/seen these portable hubs! This could be a game changer in my self - talk. lol Let the googling commence....!"

You and me both, sister! I have a 30" range and have never considered a larger one but boy howdy, every one in awhile I need big pots and four burners and that is mightily inconvenient. A portable induction burner would be just the ticket!

I learn so much here. Now I have a new thing to add to my wish list, lol!

Max Burton (portable induction hob) got me through our reno! He was rather noisy so I wouldn't want him around long term, but I'm grateful to have had him in my life.

Now I have a 36" 6-burner range and a single 27" wall oven. This setup works so well for me. The 36" oven takes really long to preheat, so I use it only when I need the space or when I'm doing smokey cooking or burner-to-oven transfers. The rest of the time the 27-incher is the workhorse, and it heats up quickly.

As for the cooktop, I've never used (I think) more than 5 burners at once, but use 4 not uncommonly. I could not fit 4 pans of a reasonable size on my old 30" 4-burner cooktop. So even though there are only 4 people in the house at the moment I depend on the 36" top.

Seriously... I love gardenweb,... unabashedly. :]

Meanwhile, while I have no doubt people love their 36" ranges, my husband sure is going to love that this thread is convincing me a 30" (plus HUB! Love this. ) will work just fine.

And give me more money to put towards other fun things :)

I decided on the 30 Blue Star RNB rather than the 36 -- 4 burners are plenty, the oven is fine especially paired with the Miele speed oven. The 30 just made so much more sense. But. the scale of the 36 would have looked better in my kitchen. For this rather silly reason, I do regret I did not get the 36!

Sayde, I don't think that is silly - I totally understand what you mean! It does effect the overall "look" for sure.

... It also sounds like I need to do some reading on the Miele speed ovens....!

I went with a 36" cooktop. It's not that I ever use all six burners at once, but the fact that it is very hard to cram 2-3 large pans on a 30" without being cramped, or the flame off-center. I love the 36".

I LOVE my 3/4 size sheet. I FILL it to full capacity. Meat or roasted veggies. It is a quick and efficient way to cook-I can cook our potatoes, veggies, and meats, all on 2 sheets, in oven at same time(just staggered when I add what), and using these larger sheets cuts cookie making time too. I cook for 8 people nearly every night, so having more oven space and free burners has been so nice. :) I could not go back to a 30 inch!

I cook scratch meals every night for a family of 4 and lots of breakfasts and lunches too. I love my 30" Bluestar RNB. I do like having the unheated space between the burners for warming plates or resting a spoon on a plate, etc. I could not pull off managing stuff on more than 4 burners - hats off to those who can! I also use all-metal pots with lids and I have gotten into the habit of putting items that need a slow simmer into the oven - that avoids scorching if I am not paying enough attention, and it frees up burners on the stovetop.

Another consideration is that - ideally - range hoods should be 6" wider than your range width for optimal function. Pro-style range hoods are expensive and huge...so IMHO that should be a major consideration in range selection.

I would pick the range size that your family needs, but I would never pick a larger range just for looks - JMHO.

Go as big as you can. I went with a 48" range and many people told me I was crazy. I LOVE COOKING on my range!

I realize you're getting a rangetop where the knobs are on front....but for those deciding on a regular gas cooktops, 36" is better than 30"...you're not crowding your pots/pans and with the knobs on the surface, it gets crowded as knobs take up space in the cooktop design.

I had to decide the same thing in my reno. I decided to keep the range at 30 inches.

With the range oven, the 240v Advantium, and the warming drawer, I felt that I had plenty of oven space available to me. I also realized that I rarely use more than 3 burners at a time unless it's the holidays, and then my portable induction burner will fit the need. I had to buy the induction burner to keep me going during the remodel anyway.

Moving to the 36 inch would have been a real sacrifice for cabinet space and would have increased the hood costs as well, so for me, it ended up not being worth it. If I had a huge kitchen, maybe the tradeoff would have been different.

It wasn't even a debate for my household of one - 36" BS all the way - love it! I also have a 27" electric wall oven, which I use for every day stuff when it's just me.

Actually, I have the "Koolaid" house, so holidays, birthdays, events are always at my place. One of the reasons I had to remodel - that, and my kitchen was a dive.