My New Gas Range

Hotpoint RGB518PCHWH

+2

I finally went to buy a range today.  I wanted a gas range with no digital controls.  The gas stove that I have now stopped working repeatedly and needed the controls replaced every time there was a storm.  And I didn't especially want electronic ignition either, because then your even though you have a gas stove you can't use it if you don't have an electrical connection.  The electric has gone off around here for as long as a month, and why not be able to use your gas range in that case?  

Because then your choices are few.  Several years ago it became illegal in the United States to manufacture gas ranges with gas pilot lights.  They claim this is because some people have had the pilot light go out and turned on the oven and had the house blow up.  OK. Conceivably.  Except that I have a gas heater that has a feature that makes it so that gas won't come out if the pilot light isn't burning.  Problem solved.  

Yet the oven of a gas range in the US can only be electronically ignited.  But wait!  I finally found out that there are battery ignitions.  Still electronic but at least an option when the power is out.  

And that lead me down the road that resulted in the above gas range purchase.  

This range is advertised on several web pages like Home Depot for $377.  Some places charged $419.  

I spoke to the local furniture/appliance company and told them what I was in the market for.  "Oh, battery ignition is a lot more expensive!" they said.  Hmmm.  I had already priced them and that wasn't true.  

In fact, I started to buy it from Home Depot, but they refused to connect the range to the gas.  I called a plumber who wanted to make it into a $200 plumbing adventure, when it was only a matter of screwing on a $5 hose.  I had been to Lowe's and really had a very bad customer experience.  The current range is from Sears so that wasn't going to happen again.  So I stopped by the other furniture store.  

My shopping experience was nice.   There aren't many choices in the entire country of gas ranges such as I wanted for any amount of money.  They suggested this range for $595 and brought me a printout of the specifications.  Well, I knew they would want a premium.   I know that some of the bargains to be had at discount stores are due to the merchandise being factory seconds and also thought that the store would give service after the sale.  They wanted $75 for delivery and installation.  Well, OK.  I mentioned that I have propane, not natural gas.  "Oh, well, there's a $100 fee for converting to propane."  "Why is that?"  "It requires a special kit and extra labor."  "How much of that is labor?"  "Uhhh...."  I read the specs, and as I thought, the range already included an LP conversion kit.  I pointed this out.  "I'll ask."  She returned and said they had decided to knock off $25 and that usually the kit isn't included.  Well, yes it is.  I knew that from all the researching of gas ranges and reading reviews.  Cheesh.  I asked how much labor was going to happen for $75.  "I understand it's pretty involved...."  I made a face, and remarked that I doubted that it was $75 worth of labor. She brought the manager back who had a tattoo on his arm with a Bible verse.  Nice.  He began to explain that the task of converting over from gas to propane took two hours of labor and they would have to check it out there at the store to insure that it worked correctly.  With their dual gas/propane supplies at the back of the store??  Then he backed up a little.  "Not two hours, I mean a lot of labor."  He was a little uncomfortable with an outright lie.  Or at least on that scale.  Oh, I suppose they have a great big bathtub they put ranges in and see if any bubbles come out of the line when it's underwater.  

I finally agreed to pay all their big money, even knowing that a lot of it was a sham, because one way or the other this money was going to be rooked out of me.   I got a promise that they would one day soon deliver my range.  I'm happy with that.