We’re Getting Along Just Fine With Our Whirlpool Gas Kitchen Range

The final last new appliance that I had to buy was a new stove. I dearly wanted to switch over to electric, but in an effort to downsize the cost of the replacement I ended up buying another gas range. The Whirlpool SF114PXS Gas Kitchen Range was my choice for a few different reason. The main reason was price, costing about $450 dollars I was looking for a low end model. The other main factor was the fact that the stove does not have a self-cleaning feature, something that I feel in ineffective and unnecessary.

A Bare Bone Stove…
All I needed was something plan and simple and that’s basically what I’ve ended up with. The Whirlpool Range features your normal features that you’ll see on most ranges without any “extras” included.

What it looks like…
This range is black and white in color. The only one thing that I didn’t like about it was the black coloring, but a comparable model that was in all white had the self-cleaning feature and I just didn’t feel like shopping around for a stove. This range is free standing and that’s how it is placed in our kitchen. The sides of the unit are white, the broiler door is white. The over door is black and has a glass surface with a window in the center. The control panel is done in black with a very glossy overlay. The stove top is white, with black surface burners and grates. The backsplash and oven controller is done in black also.

The Features…
This unit features electronic igniters. This is something my old stove did not feature. You simply press in one of the knobs located on the front control panel and turn it to “Lite”. The electronic igniters are very quick and have a flame going within a matter of seconds.

This unit also has the enclosed burners so particles don’t easily get down into the stove. I’ve dearly enjoyed this enclosed feature and much prefer it to the older style. The burner caps simply sit on top of the alignment pins, which is part of the assembly that includes the igniter and gas tub opening. The burner base encloses the whole thing so spills and crumbs have no where to go.

The burner controls are located on the front control panel like on most ranges. You have to push in a little to turn them and they offer three different levels of cooking Lo, Medium and High and you can pretty much move the dial to any desired location to pick out the perfect flame height if so desired.

The most complicated feature on the range is the electronic oven control. This located above the burners on the upper control panel or backsplash. This part contains nine different buttons plus a small display screen. When not in use the screen displays the time. To the left of the display are three buttons. One simply operates the oven light.

The oven light comes on automatically when you open the oven door but you can use this button to turn it on when the door is not open.

The next button is a clock button. You only use this button to set-up the time on the display. The button below that is the timer button. To set the timer, you press the timer button and set a timed amount with the Temp/Hour arrow buttons on the opposite side.

Below the display are two buttons, Bake & Broil. To turn the oven on you must first select one of these and then set the temperature with the Temp/Hour arrows to the right of the display screen.

On the right side of the display we have the Temp/Hour arrow buttons which I’ve already talked about a little bit. We also have the ‘Start’ button which pretty much has to pressed to finish anything done on the electronic panel from setting the time to turning the oven on. The final button is the “Cancel/ff” button which is primarily used to turn off the oven.

You can also lock the controls on the electronic oven control by pressing and holding the start button for three seconds.

The inside of the over features 4.4 cubic feet of space and the oven comes with two racks. The oven features four different positions for the racks. The interior of the oven is porcelain in a black color with white speckles.

Installation…
The installation of our stove top was entirely handled by my father who simply had to connect the gas to the range and seal the pipe. This took all of five minutes to do. Aside from that all you have to do is plug the range into a power source so your electronic igniters and electronic over controls will work.

If your placing your unit into a tight spot this unit does require some minimum areas. The opening width should be at least 30 1/8th inch wide, while the range is only 29 7/8 inches across. The range requires also requires thirty inches from the top of the cooking surface to the bottom of any unprotected cabinets above. Cabinets located above to the side should be at least eighteen inches above your countertops. The range itself is 24 ¼ inches deep, the cooking surface is 36 inches high and the overall height of the unit is 46 ¼ inches high.

My Cooking Habits…
I don’t cook tons, but usually on a daily basis I have to use my stove for one reason or another. I’ve found that this range has been a good replacement to my much older model that I had previously.

I had to make a few adjustments in my cooking. The one major thing I’ve noted is the burners and the burning level. I was a regular “high” setting user before, but I’ve found that this stove burns at a much higher temperature on the high setting than my older stove. For mot general purposes there is no need to go over the high end of the medium setting, unless your boiling water.

The other major adjustment I had to make was to the electronic over controls and particularly the timer. My range before had a dial for a timer and dial clock so this was a major switch. The fact that I tried to figure out on my own instead of reading the instructions made it a bit harder. Now that I’ve learned all of the tricks I can easily turn my oven on, turn the timer on, turn the timer off and turn the oven off without going button happy.

I didn’t notice much if any difference between my over temperatures from switching to the new range. This was a major worry for me because I know my mother had a hard time adjusting when she bought a new range. My baking has gone along as normal however and I haven’t missed the old range at all.

I also like the grates on this model. They aren’t as heavy as more expensive models but they are double grates. One grate fits on one side covering both burners, ditto on the other side, so there are only two pieces on top of the stove instead of four. The grates are also easy to clean even though you have to put one side down in the water and then the other for full coverage.

Overall I’ve been nothing but pleased with our new range. We have had it since May and its still functioning as it did then and its very easy to keep clean. This range is definitely a good buy, especially if your looking for something that doesn’t have a self-cleaning feature.