We moved into a home that had this already in it and we love it. Cooking with gas is great because it heats your food much faster than electric. I would certainly recommend this product to a beginner cooker or expert it is very easy to learn how to use and I have cooked many great meals in mine so I know you will too. Heat Distribution The heat distribution is great, everything I have cooked in the oven has come out perfectly and is never cooked more on one side more than the other. I certainly recommend this product for this reason. Design The design to could be a little better it is not very stylish at all but it does what it needs to do when it comes to cooking. Ease of Cleaning It has self cleaning on it which is great you just turn the knob to clean and lock the door and it heats up to the point that it just turns everything in it to ash so that when you open it all you have to do is wipe the ash out with no problem at all.

zoeymeeks1987

USA

Overall the GE Spectra Gas Range is a fine addition to your kitchen. It works well and gets most jobs done. It is easy to take apart the cooktop to clean and the range itself cleans up nicely. The warming drawer is a good size and if you are like me and don't use it often you can easily store your cookie sheets in there for easy access. (This is a great plus for me as I had no place to put them) Having a gas range was a blessing when we had Superstorm Sandy and no power for several days. My main complaint with the unit is the electric panel for the oven. You can not cook at very low heat. I wanted to make my daughter homemade fruit roll ups but I could not because you can not set the heat low enough. Really? Why you can't program the oven for whatever heat you want is beyond me. The range top light is nearly useless. It is more of a nightlight than anything else. Also the control panel for the oven is a bit annoying. If you set the timer after you preheat the oven you have to put the oven back on to the temp you want. Not a big deal but it seems like an minor oversight. All in all it is a fine Range and it works well.

KirstenWendland

Bedminster, NJ

This oven works fine. The top is gas, and heats just fine. The two back burners are for simmering only, which can be a negative. There are not many fancy features, but your basic oven and gas range combo! Temperature Control The oven tends to run a little high at times. It may just be mine, but I always have to check recipes as they cook to make sure they are not too browned. I added an indoor temperature checker and it is off by around 5 degrees, and I now adjust. Heat Distribution This seems to work fine as a gas oven/stove. Durability We have had no problems with this stove and it is close to 9 years old Design We have young kids and I was disappointed with the features of the gas stove top. The front two burners are the only ones that heat at a high level. The back 2 burners are for simmering only. With young kids this is a safety hazard as I would prefer the boiling water to be at the back burner. Ease of Cleaning No problems. Have used the self clean just fine.

kpayne1027

Tucson, AZ

The GE Spectra Freestanding Gas Range XL44 is the kitchen range that was provided in our rental house. I haven't used a gas stove/oven in a long time, but I've been mostly pleasantly surprised. I've been meaning to buy an oven thermometer because I'm pretty sure it cooks about 50 degrees hot, but it does heat up quickly and hold temperature well. The burner grates just rest on top of the stove top and are easy to clean under/remove. The stove knobs work well, but the high/low marks on them are not accurate: the burners will often turn off in about the middle. To judge, I just look at the size of the flames and judge for myself whether they're high/medium/low.

elledent

San Antonio, TX

GE XL44 is a decent gas range and will last for at least a decade. I have owned this for around fourteen years now. It has a very good clock display located in the middle so you can keep track of time. The four burners are closely located with each other, so you might not be able to place four big pots on them at once. In the beginning, it is very easy to ignite the burners. All you need to do is to press and turn the knobs to the left until the fire are lit, then you turn them to the right to control the fire level. After 14 years of heavy use, I have to repeat that process a couple of times before the burners are lit. The oven is still going strong though. I have baked some really nice cake and ribs with it in the past. It also has a self-clean feature which is very nice too. Unfortunately, most of the labels on the stove has faded, including the oven temperature levels. Without those temperature readings, I haven't been using the oven for quite a while.

junrocket

New York, NY

When we moved into our current home, the GE Spectra was already in. It is a pretty oven--white and has a nice appearance. It has stovetop burners on top and a sliding drawer underneath that is nice to store pans in. It has a couple of nice features (but not so many that it is overwhelming) It has a nice timer that can do hours and minutes. It also has a timer that you can start at whatever time you choose, I love that for when we are going to be out and I can set it to start so the food is ready when we get home. It also has the light which makes it nice to see as well as the self cleaning feature. Overall, this is a great oven. Perhaps it doesn't have many special features, but it gets the job done and I have never needed more.

jslewis

West Jordan, UT

Although we didn't choose this oven ourselves (moved into a house that already had it), it's quickly become my favorite compared to all of the other ones I've had experience with. It's perfect for all basic cooking needs. It has several options for baking configurations (bake vs. convention bake, boil, roast, etc), which has absolutely satisfied every baking need I've had, and I really do think that gas-top ovens give you more control over the quality of your food than electric ones do. The unit is very durable as well. We've only had to have one part replaced in the last five years, which was essentially a standard maintenance procedure (there's a piece in most ovens that has a limited lifetime of exposure to heat). The adjustable settings are very easy to use. The only problem is that as with most gas stovetops, the burners can get shifted enough to block the ignition, but that's easily fixed by rotating them.

tulch

Gaithersburg, MD

We just moved into a house with this oven.  Having moved out of a house with a top of the line gas range with all the bells and whistles, I expected to find nothing I liked about this basic model oven.  I have been surprised at how quickly it heats up and the quality that it is.  There isn't much by way of extras on this, although I do appreciate the self cleaning feature and the digital temperature display.  The previous homeowner did say that she used the self cleaning feature once a month and after only four or five uses the entire top handle turned brown from the heat.  She was able to get that peice replaced at her expense but cautions to use the self cleaning feature sparingly.  The large drawer under the oven is extremely difficult to clean but offers lots of storage for cookie sheets and other large pans so they have a place in your kitchen. I would certainly recommend this to a friend, as I have not had any problems with it at all.  The cooktop cleans easily and the features are sufficient.  However, if I had the money again I would get an oven with more features and extras than this one.

JoannaSeigneur

Williamstown, WV

The GE XL44 gas range is very easy to use. It is an electric ignite which makes it really nice that there is no constant pilot light burning. The burner and oven knobs are also child proof. They must be pushed in as you turn to get them to work. It came with a very good instruction book on how to calibrate the oven temperture and adjust the flame on the burners. It did take me a couple tries to get the oven temperature correct. I have owned this range for eleven years now. I do have to say that I have never liked the fact that the burners are to close together. You have to watch what size skillet you put on a burner, to large and you can't fit a pan on the other burner. Also found that if anything gets spilled down the front of the oven door it will go between the glass panels on the see through oven door and there is no way to clean it.

Mamie3

Bloomington, IN

I purchased this range three years ago. I have been very satisfied with it so far. I enjoy the ease of operation. A feature I enjoy is the preheating operation. The display panel will show PRE while the oven is heating and change to the temperature when preheating is finished. There is also a chime to let you know when the temperature is reached so you can hear it even while you are doing other things or in another room. The oven heats to a perfect temperature and all my baking comes out evenly cooked. The self-cleaning feature works well. It also works in less time than previous ovens I have owned. The full cycle takes approximately 4 and a half hours. Every time I have used it, it has worked well and removed all stains from inside the oven. It does not emit a lot of heat into the room while it is cleaning and it also does not emit over-powering odors. It leaves small deposits of white film that can be easily wiped out with a damp cloth when finished.

mickeymom28

Scranton, PA