The Cafe C2S950P2MS is a dual fuel range offering the best of both worlds, with gas cooking on the top and electric cooking on the bottom.
But is that combination better for you?
In this article, you’ll learn about dual fuel ranges along with with the best features, like output and capacity, along with few problems specifically with this range, including reliability based on 40,000+ service calls completed by a service team just last year.
In the end, you’ll know whether dual fuel, this range or another type, or even another brand might be right for you.
Table of Contents
What is Dual Fuel?
Before you look at the range and its features, let’s look at dual fuel versus other fuel types.
Dual fuel is advertised as the best of both worlds with the speed of gas and with a more even baking of electric.
Let’s look at the cooktop, first.
Without question gas is faster than traditional electric with its heating of the glass and then the glass heating the pan.
But gas is slower than induction, which uses magnetic heat by passing glass and using the pan to cook your food.
Induction is also better on the simmer, easier to vent and most child safe because the cooktop needs to sense metal to turn on.
Is electric really better? Well, that depends on how you cook.
For baking, the dryer, more even heat of electric is better. However, with gas, is you have a moisture heat better for roasting.
Gas broilers are also far better than the slower electric broiler.
So if you like to roast and broil, they have the same stove in all gas for a few hundred dollars less. If you’re intrigued by induction, they have the same exact range, in induction for $700 more.
Now let’s look at this range.
Best Features
Haer’s revitalized GE, especially Cafe with aesthetics and features.
The C2950P2MS is available in a number of finishes, plus their newer modernist mirror line as well.
You can also buy this as a single oven and the CGS700 as well.
Cafe is a powerful range with two high output burners at 21,000, 15,000 along with the 12,000, two 9,500 BTU’s, and a simmer at 5000.
For a total of 72,000 BTU.
Many professional ranges, for thousands more, don’t offer the same output. But you probably don’t need six burners.
However, you can use the griddle in the middle with two 9,500 BTU burners for even heat and still cook on the two power burners at 21,000 & 15,000 BTU.
Cafe is a true double oven. The Cafe unit breakdown is 2.7 cubic on the top, smaller oven and 4.3 on the lower oven for a total of 7 cubic feet.
It’s amongst the largest, only KitchenAid and JennAir are larger 7.1 cubic feet.
The C2S950 is also available in a number of finishes like black, stainless and their popular white, plus their newer modernist mirror line as well.
You can choose different handle packages in copper, brass and stainless so you can customize this range at additional cost. The cost of this range is around $4,000.
The handles and different color options will add $500 to the price. It’s a nice departure from a traditional stainless range.
Smart HQ will allow you to do the basics. You can turn the range on and off remotely and see the time remaining in the cycle.
However, SmartHQ is set up to remotely add additional cooking modes wirelessly at no cost.
GE is testing service, it can be huge. The product will diagnose its own problem along with the faulty part directly to the servicer, speeding up service time considerably.
Problems
Cafe has the air fry and I imagine they’ll be adding air sous vide. However, we can’t seem to fry anything under these modes for any brand, not just Cafe.
High speed convection only works in smaller appliances for now, perhaps when they evolve the broiling element for air flying, it’ll be possible.
First you have to decide whether dual fuel is right for you. As we mentioned, if you like to roast and buy this range, it might be a problem.
You also have to walk in the store and look at the lower main oven because the smaller oven is on top, you have to bend almost to the floor for the larger oven.
In other ovens, the smaller baking drawer is below, so you don’t have to bend as far.
The main oven is smaller than the other main ovens of the other brands, which can be as large as 6.3 or 6.5 cubic feet.
You do have the larger, second oven on top as well, but if you like that larger oven with a warming drawer, Cafe does have that option as the C2S900.
Reliability
Cafe is about the same as appliances in general, 9.1%. It’s 2.7% more than gas ranges in general. Many of them are far less featured.
When compared to KitchenAid, JennAir, Beko and other premium ranges, Cafe is more reliable statistically.
Conclusion
It depends on what you like and how you use your stove.
First question is whether you think dual fuel is right for the way you cook.
Next, make sure you like the smaller oven with the larger oven below combination, rather than a straight oven and a warming or baking drawer.
As a model, the C2S950 has a good combination of output capacity and evolving smart technology.
Whether you buy it, is really up to you.