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These freestanding and slide-in options will fit almost any kitchen. smt vacuum reflow oven
In the mid-2000s, I pressed pause on working in restaurants and ran a small personal chef business. I did catering and meal preparation in clients’ homes. Many of these homes were new construction or recently remolded, with high-end kitchens. Because of this, I experienced a wide range of gas ranges, from plain and highly functional to extravagant and... not so great. I developed strong opinions on the usefulness of these ranges, particularly because I was fully utilizing them — every burner full and the oven chugging away — in ways that many home cooks do not.
Of course, technology has leapfrogged from where it was 20 years ago, and a new crop of gas ranges now occupies the market. In addition to looking to the best kitchen appliance brands, I consulted industry pros to tell me what seperates the best gas ranges from the rest. These are the brands and models worth investing in.
This range has a large oven capacity and is full of features with smart connectivity.
The five-burner configuration can make using all the burners when making large meals difficult.
This five-burner slide-in range has a 20,000 BTU double burner for high heat searing and boiling and four burners for less heat-intensive cooking. The control knobs have white LED lights that illuminate when the burner is on, indicating which burner(s) is currently active. The stainless steel finish is easy to clean, and the oven has a self-cleaning feature. The range is WiFi compatible, allowing you to control the oven, monitor cooking, and send diagnostic information for technical support — which the owner can easily opt out of. Oven features include an easy-viewing door, convection, air frying, and air sous vide.
Type: Slide-in | Oven Capacity: 6.3 cubic feet | Number of Burners: 5
This Whirlpool range provides good flexibility and easy-to-use controls.
The oven space and burners aren’t as large or strong as other more expensive models.
When value shopping, you have to strip away some of the bells and whistles of higher-priced models and look at what a basic model delivers. This 30-inch freestanding range offers four burners, with outputs between 5,000 and 15,000 BTUs, covering the range from low simmer to full boil. The 5.1 cubic-foot oven is large enough to cook for a small gathering. The porcelain enamel-coated iron grates fully cover the cooktop, allowing you to arrange your cookware in ways that work for you. As a basic model, you sacrifice air frying, convection oven cooking, and self-cleaning features. Still, the overall performance, considering what’s there rather than what’s not, is a good value for the price.
Type: Freestanding | Oven Capacity: 5.1 cubic feet | Number of Burners: 4
The smart connectivity, convection, and air fryer features are nice additions.
The cooktop requires extra attention to clean.
This 30-inch slide-in range offers a spacious cooktop and a sizable oven. Grates fully cover the cooktop for ease of pan arrangement, and the burners range from a 5,000 BTU simmering burner to a 21,000 BTU triple-ring burner for boiling and searing. It offers “no preheat” air frying and feature-rich app connectivity compatible with Alexa and Google Home. The manufacturer boasts a “fingerprint-resistant” stainless steel finish, but the cooktop requires extra care when cleaning, so there’s a tradeoff between the two. Both the cooktop and oven distribute heat evenly, and the manual and digital controls are easy and intuitive to use.
Type: Slide-in | Oven Capacity: 5.6 cubic feet | Number of Burners: 5
It has six powerful burners and a large dual-fuel oven.
It’s a functional range and lacks the bells and whistles of many residential ranges.
Don’t confuse “professional” ranges with “commercial.” Commercial ranges are utilitarian beasts, made with function over form, and most wouldn’t want a piece of commercial equipment in their kitchen simply based on aesthetics. A professional range is typically larger than standard residential ranges and has a hotter assortment of burners. This model from Viking has six burners, ranging from 12,500 to 18,500 BTUs, and individual grates cover each. The Viking doesn’t have much in the way of contemporary features, save a self-cleaning mode and convection settings on the oven. It does have brightly-lit temperature controls with easy-to-read numbers. It’s an efficient range with good looks to boot, and it’s configurable in two cooktop designs. One option is all open burners, and the other is a griddle occupying the center two. It’s also available in 12 colors.
Type: Slide-in | Oven Capacity: 5.9 cubic feet | Number of Burners: 6
It’s versatile in cooking configurations and has powerful burners.
Because of the double oven arrangement, you lose the bottom drawer that other ranges have, and accessing the lower oven requires more bending.
This range has a combined oven space of 6.8 cubic feet, with one smaller oven sitting above a larger one. The smaller oven is useful for cooking when you only need one rack and don’t need to use as much electricity, and the larger oven is big enough to cook a large roast for family gatherings. The upper oven is traditional heat, while the lower has convection and air frying options. The stovetop has five burners, one with a 20,000 BTU triple-ring configuration for high-heat cooking and the others ranging from 5,000 to 18,000 BTUs. A reversible griddle/grill occupies the center burner, and full-length grates cover the others. There are also GE smart features that integrate with home digital assistants.
Type: Freestanding | Oven Capacity: 6.8 cubic feet | Number of Burners: TK
The KitchenAid offers great versatility in cooking options thanks to its multiple burners and convection oven.
Fitting this range requires precise measurements for depth, width, and height.
This large-capacity KitchenAid range has our vote for the best dual-fuel range. It has four conventional burners, ranging from 5,000 to 19,000 BTUs, and an oval-shaped center burner at 8,000 BTUs that fuels the included griddle or can heat casserole dishes. The oven offers a powerful convection setting and has a feature that converts non-convection recipes for optimum cooking time and temperature. A baking drawer acts as a food warmer, or you can use it for slow-cooking items. The range offers considerable cooking versatility but carries a higher price because of it.
Type: Slide-in | Oven Capacity: 7.1 cubic feet | Number of Burners: 5
Because of its wide array of features, large oven size, and smart connectivity, the LG 6.3 cu. ft. Smart Gas Slide-in Range stood out from the rest of the pack, especially considering its pricing at the lower side of the spectrum.
Freestanding and slide-in ranges are very much the same, except for the control placement, according to Sharon Sherman, a certified kitchen designer in Wyckoff, New Jersey. They both typically have ovens at the bottom of the range, but a freestanding range “generally has the controls on a backsplash, for lack of a better word,” she says. “A slide-in has no backsplash, and you’ll generally have the controls at the front of the range. A freestanding range can fit into a cabinet nook or stand independently. A drop-in range fits in a pre-cut opening in your countertops, typically doesn’t have an oven, and the controls are front-mounted.”
While this choice comes down to preference, back-mounted control panels can be a safety concern, according to Sherman. “If you're cooking something in the oven at the same time [as on the stovetop], you’re reaching across the burners to control the oven,” she says. Such actions are a matter of course with electric ranges, but gas comes with the bonus of open flames, which could cause burns or ignite clothing.
Because gas ovens generate excessive heat, they require extra insulation to protect the exterior, according to Sherman. That insulation comes at the expense of oven space, so you’ll frequently find smaller oven capacities on fully gas ranges. To circumvent that capacity loss, many manufacturers now make dual-fuel ranges, with a gas cooktop and an electric oven, which doesn’t require such drastic insulation, giving you a large space to work with.
Gas ranges have four or more burners. You want one powerful burner and at least one lower-powered one, according to Matthew Bellerose, the founder of Lobster Order, who has vast experience with residential ranges. “Top-notch models boast burners pumping out 18,000 to 20,000 BTUs for rapid boiling and searing. But raw power isn't everything — look for ranges with at least one low-BTU simmer burner, around 5,000 BTUs, for delicate sauces,” he says.
Why not make all the burners the same power and turn them up or down as necessary? The strength of newer gas stoves, combined with people’s tendency to turn burners on full blast and then turn them down, presents health hazards, according to Sherman. The higher output requires stronger exhaust ventilation (kitchen fans) to remove carbon monoxide from the kitchen. Older HVAC units that lack make-up air features pull air from wherever they can, and sometimes, that’s chimneys near the exhaust fan vent. They inadvertently pull carbon monoxide back into the home, and the HVAC spreads it throughout the house. So, stove manufacturers offer many lower-powered burners to combat this potential.
Burner materials vary, but Sherman and Bellerose recommend brass construction, as it is longer-lasting and more heat-resistant than aluminum.
Each feature increases the overall cost of a gas range, but you can select from basic items like a convection oven, an air fryer (which uses the convection oven and a combination of burner elements), or an air sous vide system. Sous vide formerly relied on water as a heating medium because it was the most reliable for maintaining at precise temperatures. Range and oven technology caught up, and it’s now possible to achieve precise temperature control via airflow. Many newer ranges now offer WiFi connectivity, which allows you to remotely turn ovens off and on, set temperatures, and monitor your food.
Alexander Hoehn-Saric, chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, made a statement acknowledging that gas stoves can pose a health and environmental risk, saying, “Research indicates that emissions from gas stoves can be hazardous, and the CPSC is looking for ways to reduce related indoor air quality hazards.” Hoehn-Saric went on to say the CPSC has not banned gas stoves and, as of now, has no plans to do so.
Additionally, open flames are hazardous by nature and can cause burns or ignite clothing, towels, or cooking utensils. Also, most gas stove burners have a cast iron grate over them, which retains heat for a considerable amount of time and can be a source of burns or fires, according to Sherman.
The biggest advantage of a gas range is that even if you lose electricity, you still have a range to cook on. Sherman notes that many people see the perceived advantage in gas ranges in the ability to see the flame, which they equate with greater temperature control and responsiveness. Natural gas is cheaper than electricity, and people see cost savings in their utility bills with gas ranges.
Gas ranges create more heat when running multiple burners, increasing the kitchen temperature if proper ventilation isn’t present. Also, many locations don’t have natural gas lines installed, and the added cost of bringing gas to the home can negate the monthly cost savings.
Gas ranges range between 20 and 60 inches, with 30 inches being the most common size. Most countertop and cabinet range cutouts accommodate 30-inch ranges. But always measure your available space for width, depth, and height. A wider range will gain more cooking and oven space but at the sacrifice of counter space.
Many cooks used to prefer gas stoves over electric stoves because of the precision and reactiveness of the burners. But with induction stoves becoming common, that’s no longer true, according to Sherman. When you adjust the flame of a gas stove up or down, there is some immediate reaction, but the pots and pans sit on top of a thick metal grate, which retains heat. So, there’s a faster reaction than an electric stove, but not as fast as induction.
digital laboratory oven Induction stoves rely on magnetic contact to transfer heat, and the controls precisely regulate the intensity of the heat. If one turns off an induction burner, the heat stops instantly. The glass top may remain warm, but it isn’t producing heat or dissipating stored heat like electric burners or cast iron grates. Likewise, if one turns up the heat on an induction burner. In that case, the heat intensity increases almost immediately, and if one removes the pan from the burner, breaking the magnetic bond, all cooking stops.