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A no-frills workhorse for electric range buyers on a budget

A review of the Kenmore 30-inch freestanding electric range

Kim Girard
Kim Girard has written about business and technology for more than a decade, as an editor at CNET News.com, senior writer at Business 2.0 magazine and online writer at Red Herring. As a freelancer, she's written for publications including Fast Company, CIO and Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She also assisted Business Week's Peter Burrows with his 2003 book Backfire, which covered the travails of controversial Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. An avid cook, she's blogged about the joy of cheap wine and thinks about food most days in ways some find obsessive.
Kim Girard

It's no pro model, but this Kenmore 30-inch freestanding electric rangeis a more affordable, dependable workhorse for buyers who aren't seeking extras.

A no-frills, dependable workhorse Sears
This self-cleaning oven (retail about $499) has four coil elements (two 8-inch and two 6-inch) and accompanying porcelain drip bowls on the stove top.

The oven uses push-to-turn control knobs (located in the back, so you have to reach), and electronic controls and has a timer and digital temperature display.

With options for three time-based levels of cleaning, this oven locks to clean and unlocks after a cleaning cycle is finished.

There's a roomy 5.3 cu. ft. of cooking space in the oven and six possible positions for oven racks. A warming drawer, which now often comes standard on lower priced models, is also a feature, along with an extra-large window for viewing food.

This oven is a Consumer Reports Best Buy, earning 76 out of 100 possible points.

Reviewers have found this model has impressive heating and broiling performance, and good low temperature and baking performance.

"Nice range for the money," concludes one buyer who reviewed the modelat Sears.com, who noted he was going to buy top of the line, but found this model, which was half the price.

The oven is available in black, white, and bisque.

A stainless steel model is $549.99.