Design a beautiful commercially styled kitchen around the Kenmore Pro 36-Inch Stainless Steel Gas Cooktop 30503 and save a bundle. Sears is offering this high-quality gas cooktop at less than $2000 -- that's sure to inspire a whole new group of homeowners to consider commercial styling for the kitchen.

The good news is that while saving a bundle, you give up very little in terms of performance over the big name brands. The Cooktop 30503 offers six burners, three of which are power-packed, high-output Btu elements. The most powerful of the three has a maximum output of 17,000 Btu; one pumps out 16,000 Btu; and the third offers a solid 12,200 Btu of gas power. With three such powerful burners, you'll never be at a loss for a fast, high heat.

At the other extreme, the lowest output burner with 5,000 Btu, is promoted as a simmer burner. What Sears hasn't released is the minimum output of this burner. When it comes to simmering, what's important is this minimum output. We can only venture a guess, but our assumption is that this minimum is on the high side -- otherwise Sears would be promoting its performance.

When it comes to burner grates, the Kenmore Pro 30503 stands up to the best models in the category. Each grate is constructed of durable cast iron and is dishwasher safe. Each one also butts snugly against the other to create a continuous cooking surface. A continuous cooking surface is desirable and will allow you to safely and easily move pots from burner to burner, without lifting or potentially spilling the contents.

Each burner on Kenmore Pro is sealed, making for easy cleanup. There's never a need to disassemble the top or lift to clean spillovers, like on an open burner model. We can't emphasize this easy cleanup feature enough. Leave the complicated open burner cleanup to the restaurant chefs and their extensive staff.

Since the 30503 is so powerful, you'll want to consider purchasing a powerful vent or hood to use with it. We would recommend a hood with a minimum of 350 cfm. A lower draw fan is likely to be insufficient, while a much higher draw has the potential to pull heat out of your home and draw in pollutants. See your builder or contractor for recommendations for your particular installation.

An excellent value, the Kenmore Pro 30503 is well designed, durable, attractive and priced to sell.


Pros: Excellent value for high output burners, continuous cast iron grates, electronic ignition and sealed burners
Cons: Undisclosed minimum output of simmer burner

Warranty
1 year