Top notch range with a few flaws
JCMPLS
4/6/2019
I bought this range without much detailed information to go on - mostly just a positive rating by Consumer Reports. With this review I'd like to add some first hand observations for those who are interested. Overall I'm quite happy with this range. The design is clean, and as far as cooking is concerned, it functions as advertised. Both the oven and the cooktop can generate a ton of heat - it's critical to have a good vent hood to use with it.
The Dual Power burner is amazing. Super hot - works great with a wok, or boils a pot of water quickly. Beyond that I love the way it evenly heats the entire bottom of a pan, not just the outer edge. There is a "bump" when turning the knob past medium heat - this indicates that the outer ring of flame is turning off when going down in temperature, or on again when going up. The other 3 burners work fine, but don't sit very securely in place. Not a problem while cooking as they sit below the grates, but when wiping down the enameled surface below, they frequently get knocked out of place, especially the smallest one. Seems like an oddly missed detail on a range that's otherwise so well designed.
The oven has both a "Bake" and a "Roast" setting, and it appears that they do exactly the same thing. I've attempted to get clarification from Samsung on this and no one seems to have an answer. Same goes for "Convection Bake" & "Convection Roast" - probably identical function, but nobody knows for sure. I will say that convection roast at 450˚ makes amazing roasted vegetables. The oven chimes a 3 note trill when you turn it on. When the set temperature is reached, it plays a slightly different 3 note trill that repeats 6 times. An interesting detail is that if you leave the oven door open for more than 30 seconds, it will automatically turn the oven off until you close the door, and then it resumes heating.
Control Knobs - the blue LED glow around the knobs is awesome - my favorite detail, and a great visual reminder that a burner or the range is still on. The knobs are real metal, with a nice solid feel. Unfortunately, like even the cheapest ranges, they press onto a thin shaft, and this flimsy connection makes these big knobs feel loose and wobbly.
There's a "cooling vent" fan at the back of the range that appears to be designed to dissipate heat around the range. The manual says "Proper air circulation prevents combustion problems and ensures good performance". The fan starts automatically when you use a burner or the range, with no option to control it. It's fairly loud in a quiet kitchen, but with music playing or conversation in the room, you don't really notice it. The most unfortunate side effect is that it blows the heat/smoke out into the rest of the house - our smoke detectors get triggered frequently now. Using a powerful vent hood is pretty much a requirement with this range, and remembering to turn it on right away is critical. Samsung also sells a vent hood that uses a bluetooth connection to turn the hood on automatically - I can see why this would be a good idea.
The Smart Connect feature appears to be a gimmick with no actual function. I installed the Samsung Smart Things app, connected my range, and the most it will do is show me that the status of the range is either "ready" or "cooking". Any further action in the app results in a message saying "network error occurred". Also, when Smart Connect is enabled the corresponding light on the range is irritatingly bright, and stays on until you disable the connection. Overall a completely worthless feature in my opinion.
Like most ranges in this class, there isn't any trim included to cover the side gaps between the range and countertop. If you go to that big online retailer and search for "Stainless Steel Stove to Counter Gap Cover", you will find a perfect match to the Stainless version of this range, and they cover the gap perfectly. If you have the matte black version, there's no matching gap cover that I'm aware of.
Finally, Samsung's customer service is helpless. They can only tell you what's in the manual or online, and have no actual familiarity with the product. My emailed questions got answers that were completely nonsensical, and calling wasn't any better.
Originally posted on Samsung.com
Yes, I recommend this product
Design
Features
Performance
Value
