Exciting times are happening in our home as we are looking to purchase the best slide in range that we can find which will suit our kitchen remodelling job. The whole kitchen is being redesigned, but the only drawback is that we are working with limited space. The slide in range we felt was the best option as there is not enough room to incorporate a built-in.



We haven't previously owned any of the slide in ranges before and at first were a little hesitant about whether this was going to be the best choice. Our kitchen designer was correct when he said that this was the only way that we would be able to free up bench-top space, which was a priority for me. We have very large windows in the kitchen which makes it difficult to incorporate a wall oven into the planning.

Our designer told us that he felt the best slide in ranges were the electric downdraft models. With these we don't need the ugly overhead ventilation hood because the downdraft ventilation system pulls the steam and heat downwards and then it is removed through special ducts. Evidently they have a hidden blower under the vents which are on the center of the cooking surface.

Our new kitchen is going to consist of a kitchen island which is where the slide in range will be installed. We don't want to have to install overhead ventilation here, so the electric downdraft model will suit perfectly. All the reviews that I've read say that people who have these types of slide in ranges are really happy with them. I have been a little concerned that they would really do the job of removing steam and grease well, but obviously they do.

We know that buying the best slide in range that we can afford is still going to set us back around $2,000. We will get a good warranty with it though, which is five years for all elements and electronics plus the actual cook top. Even though we could get an electric slide in range a little cheaper than this, we chose to pay more for the downdraft feature.

The new slide in range models have plenty of features which are going to take a bit of learning and will make for an interesting time in the kitchen. The ones that we are interested in have a convection oven but come with an automatic conversion setting to help prevent accidents. The wipe-clean cooking surface is going to be a bonus and one very interesting additional feature is the food drying cycle.

It seems that the Jenn-Air slide in range is considered to be one of the best around. From my research it also appears to be the only one that offers the downdraft feature. Even though it is on the expensive side it has rave reviews by customers, so the money is obviously very well spent. They do offer a dual-fuel model which we considered, but in the end the flat cook-top won. It is so much easier to keep clean.

Remodelling a kitchen is certainly proving to be an interesting experience. Choosing new appliances, bench-tops and of course the slide in range that we think offers the best choice, has been fun. Now the difficult part is being patient and waiting for the workman to get their job finished.