Grrr, I’m noticing a decided lack of performance in major appliances around the 15-year mark! Two years ago, we had to buy a new dryer. This winter it was a new washer. Now we need a new stove. The problem? We haven’t decided yet if this is our Until The End of Time house. So when we bought the dryer, we went for the cheapest unit we could find, the reasoning being that we have finished our major laundry years with one son away at university most of the time and the second heading that way in another year. Sure, it would have been nice to buy the new, fandangled washer and dryers out there, but until we know how long we’ll be in this house (and I can’t imagine we’ll decide that for another 5-10 years at the minimum), it doesn’t make sense to me to buy fancy-smanchy stuff.
So…the stove. It’ll cost so much to rebuild that we might as well buy new. Today, while shopping for computer items, I realized the store also sold appliances, so I had a gander at the stoves. I need a self-cleaning model. It’s like air conditioning. Once you’ve had it, you can’t imagine living without it. I’m completely undecided about coil elements vs. a ceramic cooktop. Well, I’m not completely undecided. I’m leaning toward coil, which is what we already have. Why?
- It’s cheaper.
- Cats tend not to walk on coils they can easily see are burning bright red.
- I need a white stove to match the kitchen, and every ceramic top I’ve seen so far in my extensive search (all two models of stove) have black tops, which I think would look major yuck against my counter tops.
- It’s cheaper.
- My mother has a ceramic cook top on her cottage stove, and it seems to me that they’re very finicky to clean, although the salesman assured me that boiling over (which occurs quite often in our house) doesn’t create anywhere near the mess as it does with coil elements.
- It’s cheaper.
I do believe it’s time for one of my infamous surveys (not so infamous, I guess, considering this is the second one I’ve conducted). Have you ever had a ceramic cooktop, and how do you think it compares to coil elements? Would you ever get one again?
Don’t talk to me about gas stovetops. I might have to clout you. My Liege and I had a propane stove when we lived together before marriage, and I totally loved it. I know I would love a gas stove. But it’s not feasible for our circa-1960 house. The cost to get the gas to the stove faaaaaaarrrrrrr outweighs my desire to play with that cute little dancing flame. As it is, you don’t want to know how the electricity gets to the stove. It’s different, I’ll give you that.
So…coil elements or ceramic cooktop? Which would you recommend?
P.S. In case the title of this post escapes you, it’s a little nod to Twitter.