We did it!

[dreamshark]

That was easier than expected. Of course, it isn't HERE yet. But if all goes as promised, by Wednesday evening we will have a fantabulous new stove. We bought a Frigidaire PLGF298GC from Warner Stellian. The neighborhood store that everybody recommended on Nicollet and Diamond Lake turns out to be the outlet store. While they have good prices, they didn't have much of a selection. So we went to the Edina store and found just what we wanted. It wasn't cheap, but if you're only buying a new stove once every 30 or 40 years, why not get something you like? It was a hefty $1,400 including tax (delivery included). We might have found a better price elsewhere, but we need it right now and Warner Stellian seems to have a good reputation for service.

I couldn't find our model number on line, but our stove looks exactly like this, The two coolest features are not obvious from the picture:

1) The 5th burner in the middle is actually designed for a griddle (which is included, although not shown here). I see myself using that griddle for pancakes and French toast, and warming tortillas on it. I'm sure there are other uses, but that's what leaped to mind.

2) The drawer at the bottom is not a storage drawer but a second, fully functional oven! On some of the models the second oven is only a warming oven, but for a mere $100 we could upgrade to a fully functional baking/warming oven. So it is possible to, say, bake pies in one oven while the turkey cooks in the other. Is that cool, or what?

Other must-have features: sealed burners and self-cleaning oven, one high-power burner and one simmer burner. Not only that, you can change the temperature setting on the oven without requiring a pair of pliers! The clock will work! And presumably you can light the right front burner without firing the self-igniter for 20 to 30 seconds!

Richard finally located the gas turn-off valve under the present stove and, with some difficulty, got it turned off. Without breaking the frozen-in-place valve handle, thank goodness. So, other than waiting and hoping for the service people to show up on time, all that's left is the hardest task - cleaning out that side of the kitchen.

Since I took the day off for this, there's time left to get in a little Christmas shopping. I think we'll go out to the MegaMall, someplace I wouldn't want to venture during prime shopping hours.

Comments

[mle292.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

Also very impressive that you were able to take care of it in just a few hours. That has got to be quite a relief. :)

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

"Also very impressive that you were able to take care of it in just a few hours. That has got to be quite a relief."

I won't feel complete relief until the stove is here and installed, an event that is dependent on not one but TWO service people showing up at the house when they said they would and doing their jobs.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! It looks like it will serve you very well indeed.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am so envious! All I got this week is a boring hot water heater! That stove looks wonderful (ours is...not so wonderful).

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I'm envious of an uneventful hot water heater replacement. Ask me sometime about our $5,000 hot water heater.

Ooooh... stove geekery

[barondave.livejournal.com]

but if you're only buying a new stove once every 30 or 40 years, why not get something you like?

I feel that way about almost any capital expense, like a mattress or a stapler. Sounds like you got a fun toy as well as a useful appliance.

Stoves

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I really know very little about most household appliances, but Louie and I have had good results with Warner Stellian. I am glad you found something that works so well for you. And I'll see you at the caroling party.

Nate

[pameladean]

Now I wish our stoves would break. They persist in hanging in there. (One probably original to the house, or at least not much younger the other probably from, oh, maybe the 1980's, and extremely basic, also battered from being taken out so the kitchen floor could be refinished.)

P.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

You are allowed to retire them. If you wait until something is really wrong (as we always do, alas) you risk suddenly having no stove at all because you had to turn the gas off. Or worse, if you don't turn it off in time.

Original to the house?? Don't you live in a house that was built before 1920?

Glad it was easy.

[mizzlaurajean.livejournal.com]

I don't think any stove you buy now days will last 30 or 40 years.

Re: Glad it was easy.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Well, who knows? Check with me in 2037.

[mmagidow.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Coveting your stove. Is that a sin? We have been casually looking (ogling, really) all the latest stoves. They have gotten quite wonderful and heavy duty now that foodies are in abundance and not every house has room for a Wolf Range. I noticed that if you get black or white instead of stainless steel, you can also save about 300-400 bucks. That thing's a butte - and right purty, too.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Well, come to the caroling party this Sunday and you can see it up close. In the price range we were looking at, stainless steel added about $100. This particular model, however, came in just one color: mostly stainless with a black top. I thought that was the prettiest, anyway. This one has lots of the high-end features, but it's just a standard 30-incher. We looked at the ginormous $4,000 models just so we wouldn't feel so decadent buying the one we bought. Honestly, I don't see why anybody would want a 4-foot wide firebreathing all-stainless monster like that in a single-family kitchen. Fine for the commune in the country, though. :-)

[mplsvala.livejournal.com]

Lucky you. That has all the features I faunched after. I got a new microwave and stove for my BD and Christmas this year, but mine is nowhere near as fancy. But I'm just as delighted to have one where everything works!

[beccal.livejournal.com]

Um, I think we own the younger sibling to your stove. Ours is only 19 1/2 years old. The clock works, and the oven temperature knob is intact. Of course, if you need an -exact- oven temperature, well.... I thought the usual way to light a burner was to turn on it's neighbor so that the one functional self-igniter sets off both plumes of gas. It isn't?

When the time comes to buy a new stove, I intend to shamelessly steal your research and your model number. Of course, that may have to wait, as the equally aged refrigerator has started grumbling and mumbling and occasionally quaking a bit. Is that bad?

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Actually, our refrigerator (which is only 5 years old) has recently started rattling. I've had lots of fridges that rattled and it never seemed to affect the actual operation, but it's irritating. Since this is a practically new fridge, it would be silly to replace it. However, while looking around the applicance store we noticed that they now sell exactly the type of fridge we were looking for 5 years ago but could not find....

No, we didn't buy it. We asked the salesman if they repaired fridges and he recommended calling the local GE service center. Which I suppose we should do. *sigh* Why does everything fall apart at once?

I spent at most 2 hours researching the stove purchase, but I actually spent a LOT of time researching the fridge. If you want more info on that, let me know. ;-)

History

[nancymcc.livejournal.com]

Warner-Stellian did right by us, lo these 21 years ago!

There's one portion of our range that we don't want to replace. The base stove is an ancient Jenn-Air downdraft with both sides accepting modules. We love our modular inset that cooks by magnetic induction. Probably now irreplaceable... I hope we can replace the range underneath it.

Of course, I just determined that the induction module is old enough to drink. Sigh.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I'll look forward to seeing it on Sunday.