There was nothing wrong with the old stove. Shown here in 2011 when it was brand-new. It worked well. Baked at an even temperature and the self-clean feature was a gawdsend. But aesthetically it was a nightmare. And the more I looked at it, the more I hated it until I couldn't stand it any longer.
What was the problem, you ask? The glass door front. Specifically the inside layers of glass. Of course, the problem was one of my own making. Somewhere along the line, I got over zealous with cleaning. It doesn't happen often but when the cleaning bug bites, it bites hard. Either I over enthusiastically sprayed the cleaning fluid so that some spurted through the door vents and ran down the inside of the glass leaving a white streak or I slopped or spilled something greasy while cooking. Oh, 🤬 what do do?
Well, it seemed like a simple solution. But a quick check with YouTube to see if it could be done. Yes, I thought so. See? There are a series of screws holding the glass to the door frame. Take it apart, simple. Clean between the layers and put everything back together again. Easy peasy.
Wrong! The door came apart quite easily. And cleaning between the glass panes was easy, too. The door didn't go back together as easily as the YouTube videos showed. 🤬🤬🤬
I called the repairman and even he had a tough time getting the door put back together again. 🤬 And he yelled at me! In my defense, if the manufacturer didn't want the owner to take the door apart, then the screws should have been hidden! He told me next time, to hang a dish towel on the handle to hide the streak! Next time.
Shortly after, because the door wasn't put back quite like it came from the factory, the screws on the handle would loosen up and I'd have to tighten them before baking or risk grave injury. And then the damn cleaning fluid or grease or something that found its way through the door vent, streaked the inside of the glass, again!
Another feature I didn't like was one of the burners was sized for a giant lobster pot. I had a lobster pot once and used it on the first stove we bought in the house in order to cook
Mr. Pinchy. After that, if we wanted lobster, we went out to eat it at a restaurant so I gave my lobster pot away. Without the giant pot, the burner was useless.
As I said, I couldn't stand to look at that dirty door any longer. It mocked me and of course, it showed my poor skills as a housekeeper.
So on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I dragged Himself to the appliance store to look at 3 models I had researched. I was actually looking for a model that didn't have the gaping vents on the oven door. Seems they all came that way.
Did you know that a lot of the ranges now communicate via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to your phone? What is is it with all things and appliances that have to be controlled by a phone? Those models were out.
One of the ranges I looked at had 15 different cooking modes. 15!!! I don't want to go to the moon, I just want to bake brownies, loaves of bread, roast beef, and the annual turkey. So that model was out.
The model I bought was an upgrade of the same model I had. It does have bake, convection bake, air fry, broil, and self-clean features. Bake, broil, and self-clean were a must. It doesn't connect to my phone, either. It also has a frozen lasagna and frozen pizza mode. The frozen mode is a bit like having a teat on a bull, if you ask me. And the giant burner is now a dual burner. So you can use a big pan or regular size pots and pans. People must have complained.
Anyway, here is a picture of the new oven in all its shiny glory right after the delivery guys set it up and tested it.
And I found the best way to keep it pristine, is not to cook.
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