Uh huh. I think we renovated kitchens about the same time, EL. We have the same refrigerator you do, but we held onto our ancient dishwasher because it is old enough to have a ceramic interior. It still works, but I have since learned that if anything goes wrong with it we will have to replace it, because you can no longer get any parts for this model.

We did spring for a Wolf dual fuel range, which we adore. It also has a clock, but I never bother to set it because there is a clever little compartment in which to hide it away. Problem solved--only the microwave clock needs to be reset each time we descend into Third World powerland.

How about putting a piece of black electrical tape over the range clock? Alternately, keep one on DST and one on EST. Or one on Baltimore time and one on wherever Gailor is living this week time.

Conformity makes kitchen appliances grumpy.

What not stainless steel?!?! If you watch any of the home appraisal shows on TV that is the worthless part of your appliances. According to them, apparently no one wants anything but stainless steel anymore.

Not everyone wants stainless steel kitchen appliances. I have a friend who recently got a new stainless steel refrigerator, but it must be stainless plastic because her magnets won't stick on it. She hates that refrigerator because of that!

A kindred spirit! I'm printing this out and putting it on Mrs Zevonista's living room chair. See, I'm not the only one to insist that the range clock and microwave clock turn over at precisely the same second!

Of course, there's also the clocks on the two bedroom nightstands. Gotta synch those up as well.

Some say I need help. Others agree...

Magnets don't stick to stainless steel. Ever.

Besides the trivial details of money and the fact that my kitchen is smaller than most bedroom closets these days, that is why I don't have stainless steel appliances. Where would I put my collection of magnets?

Magnets don't stick to stainless steel.

Magnets don't stick to most stainless steel, but there are some alloys that magnets will stick to. Appliances don't seem to be made from those alloys, though.

Isn,t this some sort of Compulsive Disorder that those clocks have to be at exactly the same time?
As the old saying goes"I got bigger fish to frry"!

Geeze, I log on and before I even take a sip of coffee, I've learned something: magnets don't stick to stainless steel.

The Only Blog You'll Ever Need.

Hal, granted that "stainless steel" describes a lot of alloys, but, in general, for kitchen purposes (and this includes pots and pans to be used with induction burners), if it is stainless steel, it isn't magnetic.

Bucky, drink up. Don't want you believing things, now.

Viking! That's the one and only oven/range I want. And since I can't afford it, I make do with my Whirlpool which is too small and is a single oven and doesn't have a grill but overall, does the job.

"Flip the breaker and leave it off for 20 minutes."

20 minutes? I love how people think electricity hangs around.

Who's cares? It worked. I don't care if it was sympathetic magic. However, 20 minutes seemed a bit long to me, too. :-) EL

Four years ago, when my old stove quit, the Longo's salesman asked what I wanted in my new stove.

"Well, I guess I need an oven. I'd hate for the Grands to look back on their childhoods and say, 'We never went to Granny's for holidays. She didn't even have an oven!' "

Bosch appliances are just pretty props. A big hoax that seems to keep sucking people in. The house I bought had a beautifully renovated kitchen with Bosch ovens and dishwasher. The ovens do not ever arrive at the temp you set them for and they take 30 minutes to get to this erroneous temp. Trying to reset them is almost impossible and wastes another 45 minutes or so. There is nothing on the oven to indicate the current temp. Even with thermometors in them I can't count on a successful outcome. I have mostly given up on them so I purchased a miracle of a convection toaster oven by Cuisinart in which I bake pies, cakes, meats, pizzas, everything. It takes 5 min. to heat and doesn't heat up the kitchen.

The dishwasher takes 4 hours (I timed it) to wash (yes, very quietly) and there are no shorter cycles. I have to rewash many of the dishes. The Bosch guy who came out to inform me that it's working as it should says it's quiet because it only uses like a gallon or two of water "to save water." What about the 4 hours of electricity!? If I could afford to replace them I'd go back to the great Kenmore dishwasher I had that actually washed dishes and the GE stove that behaved itself.

20 minutes? I love how people think electricity hangs around.

20 minutes was not doubt longer than necessary, but it can take some time for capacitors to discharge.

"20 minutes was not doubt longer than necessary, but it can take some time for capacitors to discharge"

Hal..doesn't take long for my capacitors to discharge..certainly less than 20 minutes:)

EL, sounds like you need a subscription to Consumers Report. Back before I became an apartment dweller I would research an appliance purchase for weeks before making a decision. Now I just call the office and say my (fill in the blank) is broken.

EL - I'm glad you took back the nasty comments about Pandora. Now she will serve you well.

Quick painless shill: The Loading Dock (building materials not liquor store) has quite a few appliances for dirt cheap. While some need minor repairs others are ready to roll. This includes Viking, Sub-Zero, etc for dirt cheap.

Hal, Hue,
I just checked, 17 seconds: capacitor discharged. Subsequent dizziness lasted only a couple minutes. But now my bio-clock is flashing 12:00. I guess the lesson here is .... oh crap! I can't remember what the lesson is!

EL, did your previous electric range actually vary the power of each element? I don't think I've seen one like that - the ones I've had for many years all do the on-off thing. with the proportion of on to off varying with the setting. Apparently it is easier (read: cheaper) to build them that way. The mass of the element tends to average out the ons and offs to get the desired setting.

Electronics, especially if memory is involved, can take longer than a capacitor to lose their settings. Maybe not 20 minutes, but I always let something sit unplugged for 5 minutes before repowering. I believe computer forensics people take advantage of this.

Honestly, I don't know, but I think so. The stove was old though. If it didn't, the on-off thing was much more subtle and I never noticed it. EL

My in-laws splurged for all Bosch appliances when they redid their house. The dishwasher never gets anything clean and the stove doesn't seem to work properly. I like my generic white GE stuff just fine.

RiE, how long a capacitor will hold a charge depends on the capacitor and the circuit that it's in.

Some of the capacitors in high-voltage vacuum-tube circuits can hold enough juice to zap you for quite a long time.

My old "regular" electric stove (with the exposed heating elements) didn't cycle but just went from steady gray to steady pink to steady bright red depending on the setting. My current one with the elements underneath the ceramic cooktop does that cycling thing, and I don't like it either. Probably is a cost issue.

Exactly. Thank you. EL

I hate electric stoves. I hope I never have to have one again.

I'm with you, Hal! One sabbatical (actually our only sabbatical) we rented a very nice house with all electrical appliances. I thought I would go insane.

You have to have been brought up with electricity to appreciate it. EL

You have to have been brought up with electricity to appreciate it.

I was brought up with electricity. But we had gas, too. :-)

Actually, my parents had electric ranges some of the time (we moved several times). But once I was on my own I definitely developed a preference for gas.

I don't mind electric ovens (well, may I mind the broilers just a little), but electric range tops are awful!

I was brought up with an electric stove. The first time I cooked on a gas stove, I swore I'd never go back.

I miss gas stoves. Down here, gas service is a luxury as most places are electric only.
That being said, the electric coils on my stove work really well. My clothes dryer though, keeps cutting out on high heat. So I have to dry everything on medium or lower heat. Its a bottom-of-the-line unit so my next dryer will (hopefully) do a better job.

Um, Elizabeth, didja ever hear of an invention called "kitchen timer"? I have one (made by Polder?) that can time three different foods at once. It might be worth the investment to keep you ffrom losing your sanity when the clocks go out.

I will say it's a pretty stove, but I dfon't like electric ranges -- all I ever do is burn stuff. I'll stick with gas, thanks. On the other hand, an electric convection oven is a-whole-nother story -- I'd kill for convection anything, even a toaster oven! here's a big commercial convection oven at church, and I LOVE that thing!

Hal has it - electric ovens are fine, but give me gas on the stove top.

Yes, I'm in oven paradise here with a gas cook top and choice of regular or convection cooking in the oven. I especially like the "roast" setting on the convection side. And the big red knobs are just sexy.

You don't have to go electric to get convection. Our gas oven also does convection.

I covet convection!

I'm never sure what to do with the convection feature.

Hal, I'm no expert, but I like convection for roasting. If I am baking or broiling I prefer the regular settings--the food seems to get less dried out that way.

I like an electric convection oven, great for roasting and a nice even heat for baking, but I HATE electric cooktops. Give me a gas cooktop and a car with a manual transmission - I want control!

Induction cooktops are the cream of the crop when it comes to stoves. Yet that will come with a hefty pricetag and custom installation for the electricity.

When we lived in Baltimore, the electric cooktop died [okay, it was murdered by overambitious cleaning] and we replaced it with gas. No more cold dinners when snow storms knocked out the power.

Our first house in FL was all-electric because, like Rob in the Panhandle, our community didn't have gas and we had to learn to cook all over again. The current [last?] house has gas so we don't fear living on Nabs during hurricanes anymore.

For you Northerners, hurricanes and tropical storms are the blizzards of the South; they are what keep the TV weather people excited. And Nabs are peanut butter crackers [think Nabisco].

Back to the picture: I have a theory about tea kettles. I think that water boils quicker and tastes better if the kettle has some dents and dings in it. The one of the range looks too new to make really good tea.

We have had an electric auto-off kettle from the time the kids were small. I pretty much quit using it when I discovered the thermostat actually shut off at 190°. I like my brewing to start at 205°.

bra1nchild,
Well put! Some communities have gas available but where I am now and where I am moving do not. So I'm stocking up on the Nabs. And pistachios too.

Yes, after a lifetime on gas stoves, cooking with electric was quite different.

Lets hope this season is a mild one!

I was brought up with electricity AND indoor plumbing, and I'm very attached to both.:-)

? Shill at 12:08

Bear with me, I'm new to this game.

You're doing great. I would have missed this one. Unfortunately he put the URL in the comment, so I had to kill out the whole thing. EL