Hello all...

My sincere apologies if this posting is off topic. It seems like it could
fit in.

I am working on moving into and renovating a new home...it's my first, and
I'm learning quite a lot. The new home has a GE natural gas stove with an
oven and four surface burners--my parents have an old electric Hotpoint
dual-oven and four surface element stove. I've cooked on the old electric
stove my whole life now and really like using it. So when I saw that the new
home came with a gas stove, I was unsure about how well it would work for
someone who has used an electric stove all his life.

Long story short, the gas stove seems to work reasonably well, at least as
far as the oven is concerned. However, the surface burners are another
story. I frequently cook things that involve a good rolling boil, and this
stove just can't do it with some cookware and has a difficult time with
other cookware. Copper bottom Revere Ware seems to work acceptably, if only
barely. I have some "Circulon" brand cookware that isn't even usable on this
stove if you need a boil.

The gas valve is as open as it can be, and seems to work fine...it's not
stuck or hard to move.

According to the plate under the cooktop, where the model and serial number
are, the oven is rated at 12,000 BTUs and the surface burners at 8,000 or so
BTUs. If nothing else, this certainly sounds like enough heat *could* be
available. It seems like that should blow the electric stove away, though I
have no ratings for it. (However, it should be said that this is clearly a
cheap gas stove. It's a 1998-era "made for GE by White Consolidated
Industries" unit that goes so far as to have a totally mechanical 'digital'
clock and timer. GE denies even having made it, as they say the model number
does not exist when I go looking for the owner's manual.)

What--if anything--am I doing wrong here? Am I expecting too much from this
stove? Do I need to adjust this stove or calibrate it somehow?

William