Snap snap snap snap snap POOF!
Pros:
Works very well. No pilot lights to worry about!
Cons:
Had a design flaw... But easily fixed.
The Bottom Line:
It fits the bill when you need to fit the space!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Hi everyone,
Schlamozzel here with another Slumlord Brand (TM) review of a product actually used in his premier Slum. This is the Tappan MGF240G (Gas) Kitchen Range and it fits right in.
So a number of years ago when I first purchased my "premier slum" the units had very very old and inefficient natural gas stoves. Because the type that had been in the place had a "gas log" heater on the side I could do little to replace them. Gas stoves WITH a gas heater attached are now against the law in Massachusetts. If they pre-exist the law you are deemed "grandfathered" and have no worries. But if you have to replace the stove, you need to buy a stove AND a heater.
So, to meet the building codes and fit everything in properly I needed a 24" stove. I found the Tappan MGF240G (Gas) Kitchen Range to suit my needs!
The Basics
This stove is what is considered an "apartment sized" appliance. It has 4 burners on top, an oven, a "broiler" compartment, 4 adjustable feet to "level" the stove and is a "piezo" type ignition unit. This means to light the stove it uses an electric arc. This eliminates "pilot lights" and the use of more natural gas to keep it running all the time!
Function / Operations
This Tappan MGF240G (Gas) Kitchen Range works on natural gas. I am not certain, however I believe they can be "ordered" for use with Propane as well. There are 5 knobs on the front of the stove. This is important to mention because some stoves have knobs on the top back. I prefer the ones on the front because you are not reaching over a HOT cook top to regulate your cooking heat! Anyway there is one knob for each burner and 1 knob which controls the oven.
The oven temperatures range from "warm" to 550 degrees and BROIL. The 4 burners are all equal in size and configured in a classic "square" shape with removable pot rests for easy cleaning.
Being an "apartment sized" unit it should suffice to say that you will NOT be preparing a meal in the oven to serve 60 guests. Anything more than a 18 - 20 pound turkey is a VERY tight squeeze. However, the cooking of foods and baking of pastry is done very satisfactorily and, if mind you, the unit is properly leveled with the adjustable feet, cakes and such will bake nicely!
I enjoy cooking a lot. I have a larger skillet with which I saute (accent not on this keyboard) things like onions and chicken livers, etc. I find that it is difficult to use the skillet unless nothing else is on the stove top because of the size. But again, I could always go out and buy one that actually fits if I weren't a cheap Slumlord.
The stove top burners react well to the regulation of flame by the knobs. There really isn't any guess work to it. If you look at the flame, you'll see if you have it adjusted to the desired effect.
Schlamozzel Safety Warnings Time
This appliance uses natural gas. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO HAVE THIS ITEM INSTALLED BY A QUALIFIED, LICENSED GAS-FITTING PLUMBER! Do not allow children to operate this appliance unsupervised. There is a fire hazard, explosion hazard, asphyxiation hazard, poisoning hazard, burn / scald / personal safety hazard involved with this or ANY NATURAL GAS APPLIANCE. EXERCISE CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE WHEN USING THIS OR ANY APPLIANCE. DO NOT USE IF INTOXICATED OR UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ANY MIND ALTERING MEDICATION OR SUBSTANCE.
A "problem" I encountered
Due to a "design / manufacturing flaw" the wire that goes to the "piezo" ignition device was poorly placed / located in proximity to the outer oven wall. The result was that some of the wire coating "melted" off the wire and "shorted out" the "piezo". In short, the zappo thingy wouldn't "zap" to light the stove. I had a QUALIFIED APPLIANCE REPAIR TECHNICIAN come out to repair the problem. As far as I know, this issue HAS been resolved.
Final Thoughts
Well, me being the "re-tread" bachelor I have had first hand knowledge of how well this stove works. I'm a single guy who likes to cook. And I'll say that I've had no bad experiences that were caused by the stove. It's all been from my "experimenting" with cooking. Sooner or later I'll get over my last batch of chili...
