Burners same or different: your preference

[Fat Guy]

In selecting a range, rangetop or cooktop, do you prefer to have all the burners be the same or different, i.e., some bigger and more powerful than others?

[DanM]

I would prefer a variety of different sizes to match the size of the pot or pan in question. I don't need an 18,000 btu behemoth when I am boiling a couple of eggs in a one quart pot. At the other end, I need the big burner when I am making a stew or braising meat in the biggest pot I have.

Dan

[weinoo]

Different.

[baroness]

No question here -- different!

[qrn]

I agree with different, that way you get different levels of "LOW" (My big burners "low"is to high for some things..

Bud

[Will]

Same. I find it too confusing (and, sometimes, limiting) when the burners are not all the same.

And, as long as the burner has a wide range, there's no reason you need to have multiple sizes.

[Paul Bacino]

Mine is 3 large and three small.. you get the big burners on small pots/pans and it heats the handles.. I know you can off set but, if your cooking on all burners.. its nice to have variety. ( For me )

Paul

Edited March 17, 2011 by Paul Bacino (log)

[OliverB]

never thought it would matter on a gas range, though I don't have one. Cooked on one recently and was surprised on how much hotter everything around the pots is, since heat comes up around the pots and pans much more than with electric it seems.

My inlaws have a gas range with a simmer function that actually turns the fire off and on by itself (not sure how it times that or measures the heat) that seems neat. I'm pretty sure they're all the same size and are also very easy to clean, no nooks and crannies anywhere. Don't recall the brand, but once I run a gas line to my kitchen, I'll be looking into those.

But in general, I'd prefer same size on electric and gas. Matters little if my pot is smaller than the electric burner, matters lots if it's larger.

There's actually an interesting new stove out (electric) that senses how big what ever is that you put on, even odd shapes, creates a virtual burner of the correct size (with a similar display on the front control) anywhere on the cooking surface. Kind of a neat idea, you can squeeze a small pot in between somewhere or cook in a large oval roaster, the hot area underneath is the exact size. No idea how well it works in reality, but the idea is sure interesting.

[KennethT]

There's actually an interesting new stove out (electric) that senses how big what ever is that you put on, even odd shapes, creates a virtual burner of the correct size (with a similar display on the front control) anywhere on the cooking surface. Kind of a neat idea, you can squeeze a small pot in between somewhere or cook in a large oval roaster, the hot area underneath is the exact size. No idea how well it works in reality, but the idea is sure interesting.

Do you know the brand of this range? I'd love to see more information about it. Also, is the cooktop an actual heating element, or is it induction therefore only heating the pot itself?

Edited March 17, 2011 by KennethT (log)

[heidih]

The stove before the current one had 2 "regular" burners on the left, then one on the right back that could be left on "super low" (to the point that I was comfortable leaving the house - my burner for stock) and front right was the high power attempt to stir fry one. Currently all 4 are the same. These are gas ovens. I think the only one I miss is the super low one.

[OliverB]

Found it, it's called The William, here's a video and google for william stove will get you more:

Not induction it seems, but an interesting idea.

Edited March 17, 2011 by OliverB (log)

[IndyRob]

We have a dual fuel range. Gas burners, electric oven. There are two regular burners, one 'power burner', and one 'simmer burner'. I like it. But I'd trade one of the regular burners (the back one) for an electric coil. It seems that those can get much hotter.

[LindaK]

The stove before the current one had 2 "regular" burners on the left, then one on the right back that could be left on "super low" (to the point that I was comfortable leaving the house - my burner for stock) and front right was the high power attempt to stir fry one. Currently all 4 are the same. These are gas ovens. I think the only one I miss is the super low one.

Good point. You should consider lows as well as highs. If you have a gas range with really high BTU burners, you'll want one to be a simmer burner.

[_john]

2 gas, one high power, 2 induction both 3kw.

[Mjx]

Definitely different, especially on an electric range. I don't want a full burner firing away under the mocca, but really do want the heat to be pretty even to the edge of a big stock pot.

[Will]

Good point. You should consider lows as well as highs. If you have a gas range with really high BTU burners, you'll want one to be a simmer burner.

Our (gas) stove has about the highest output burners on the market as far as ranges approved for home use (23k open burner), and the burners can still get down to a very low flame (I think around 150 F)... even with a 1 or 2 qt pot, should be possible to do all but the most delicate work without a diffuser.

[heidih]

Good point. You should consider lows as well as highs. If you have a gas range with really high BTU burners, you'll want one to be a simmer burner.

Our (gas) stove has about the highest output burners on the market as far as ranges approved for home use (23k open burner), and the burners can still get down to a very low flame (I think around 150 F)... even with a 1 or 2 qt pot, should be possible to do all but the most delicate work without a diffuser.

I have not used a wide range of stoves but what I found unique about the low burner was its ability to maintain that very low flame without blowing out such that I felt comfortable leaving the house.

[KennethT]

Found it, it's called The William, here's a video and google for william stove will get you more:

Not induction it seems, but an interesting idea.

Just checked out The William's website - it seems like this is not a production item, but just a concept. In theory, the concept is great - it turns a household range into "french top" style range... but in practice, if the whole top had access to full power, it would draw a ridiculous amount of energy - I have no idea how you'd wire it up as a household appliance...

[JAZ]

The best range I've used is a smooth top with one large burner, and three that have two sizes each. You can turn those on as "single" or "double" depending on the size of your pots. Similar to this one.

[paulraphael]

In a perfect world I'd want them all the same, all able to go from a low simmer to rocket launch, and to have grates that can handle a butter warmer or a stock pot. In reality, this is rarely an option, because home range makers need to limit total BTUs to make up for residential gasline constraints. They may also be limited by some residential codes. So mighty burners have to be compensated for by small ones.

Commercial ranges don't have these constraints, but they often suffer from grates that could swallow anything smaller than a 1qt saucepan. The quasi-pro ranges that use burners of all equal power don't impress me that much; their maximum output suffers. Having burners of unequal power is probably a good compromise.

[Will]

In reality, this is rarely an option, because home range makers need to limit total BTUs to make up for residential gasline constraints. They may also be limited by some residential codes. So mighty burners have to be compensated for by small ones.

Capital Culinarian has (in the current default configuration) 4x23k BTU/hr burners on a 30", 6x23k on a 36"; 30k would be nicer, but it's about the most powerful you can get on a home stove right now (they're clearly targeting Blue Star here). Blue Star can be configured for 22k burners on all slots, though this is not their default configuration. Even with the oven and all burners running, I think you're still Ok with a standard (1/2"?) residential gas line for up to a 36" range. With open burners, I think the issue of the size / shape of the area where the flame comes out isn't as significant as with sealed gas burners. I think there is some pressure from the regulating authorities to push for energy efficiency.

Clearly you're unlikely to be running all the burners at full blast much, if any, of the time. But, with a gas stove, I really like the simplicity of having everything the same on each burner. And, since we only had space for a 30" in our current kitchen, I like having the flexibility of going from super low to super high on each of the 4 burners.

With electric ranges, having different sized burners for different sized pans can be really useful. But I do find that it drives me crazy to have to deal with those wimpy burners on the rare occasions where I'm cooking a huge / complicated meal. I do like the idea of having induction burners which auto-sense the size of the pot.

[scubadoo97]

I opted for a Viking gas range top because all the burners are the same and can go from high the the lowest setting that just keeps the burner lit.

[paulraphael]

I opted for a Viking gas range top because all the burners are the same and can go from high the the lowest setting that just keeps the burner lit.

The question is how high is high? The range Will mentions goes to 23K BTU on each of the burners; that's the highest by far for any residential range I've seen. The Viking and Wolf residential ranges I've used are in the 16K - 17K range, which, while better than the thing in my kitchen, still feel like sheep in wolf's clothing. If you've ever cooked with a Garland or Wolf Commercial range or anything similar (typically in the 26K - 30K range) you'll know what I mean.

[Porthos]

Definitely different burners. My stove has a 16K BTU burner, a 12K burner, 2 9K burners and 1 simmer burner (my best guess is about 5K). I love the flexibility it provides. It does everything from hard-boiling 5 dozen eggs at a time to simmering sauces.

[technophile50]

I have a cheap Sears gas stove with equal burners, probably 9-12k btu/hr, and a 100k btu/hr Polaris gas water heater (which provides domestic hot water and heat for the house). There's no fluctuation in the stove when the heater cycles on and off, so I suspect that residential gas supply limits aren't an issue for burner outputs. In fact, a burner like the one in my water heater would make a cool wok burner.