Replaced previous GE smoothtop cooking surface after 23 years of trouble-free service. (It blew its' circuits and would have cost more to fix than to replace.) I ordered this one and it arrived two days later. Although I was nervous about it, I managed to install it myself successfully. It looks good and it works fine. If I had never had the previous one, I would think the new one is perfect. BUT, having had the earlier one, I have two minor complaints. First, the new one definitely takes longer to heat up than the older one. Whether it is cooking an omelet at medium heat or trying to boil a large pot of water, it seems to take longer. (I have no documented measurements, only my subjective feelings.) My second minor complaint is that trying to keep this shiny black surface looking clean is difficult. The previous one was a speckled grey color and that masks a lot a surface splatter and streaks. This one shows every drop of oil, water, etc., so it need to be cleaned much more often. Nevertheless, this is a great price-performer.
I wanted one of these (sleek flat stoves) forever. I thought it would be the solution to all my problems as far as keeping my stove clean. But boy was I wrong!
This thing gets food "seasoned" onto it like it's nobody's business. It does it in seconds, before it has time to cool so you can wipe it off. It does it with anything and everything. Like, If you are boiling potatoes, god forbid they should boil over (which seems to be a ritual practice for my family), the water will instantly evaporate and what you are left with is caramelized on potatoes starch.
If you get hot sugar on it or leave an empty pot heating, it is possible to warp the glass. I use cast iron which I used to season right on the stove - can't do that anymore. I am actually afraid to use cast iron at all, since I could potentially drop it and crack the glass.
It is impossible le to regulate temperatures since the burner stays blistering hot once it is hot because, well, it is glass and that does not cool as rapidly as metal. So if you bring something to a boil and then want to lower it to a simmer, it will continue to boil for longer than you'd expect.
Someone in a comment had said that this is not for someone who cooks a lot and my first thought was "psh, they just don't know what they're doing!" But now I know what they meant. If you want to run your kitchen like a restaurant chef, then this is not for you. If you are a fast cook, this is probably not for you. This is for patient people who take a lot of care not to spill or shake their pans on the stove.
But now I'm stuck with this, so I will deal.
I still love the flat surface, though. I wish there was a way to incorporate that and the sturdiness of an electric or gas stove. That would be perfect.
All that said, this works just as good as other glass cooktop and it looks pretty when it is kept clean (may the force be with you). I also love that it is not digital but has knobs.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the glass cooktop. Nonetheless, as renters, we inherited a damaged cooktop that had a broken glass top. For safety and aesthetic reasons, we decided to go ahead and replace it.
This unit was just what we needed. It fit the dimensions of the outgoing cook top just right. It was easy to install and the process was complete in under one hour by my husband who is not a professional at such things.
Each of the heating elements seem to come to temperature fairly quickly. Additionally, each has its own function beyond straight cooking. These include settings for power boil, keep warm, and melt. Being the holiday cooking season, I'm looking forward to trying them all. It also came with a scraper, cooktop cleaner, and a scrubbing pad which were unexpected but nice additions.
We ordered this unit one day and it was delivered the next. So far, we've been very pleased with the whole process. Thank you from two happy consumers! :)
When our cooktop died I was torn on buying another glass one because the one that came with our place was all scratched up, and these have a reputation for scratching. But so far, it hasn't scratched at all, and has been awesome to use. The power boil is great, and we've had no issues with it. It was easy to install, easy enough to clean, and I love that it has knobs instead of buttons - that was a 'must' for me since I didn't want to push a button 10 times to get to the highest heat setting.
I was very happy to find this item at this price; it is over $200 more at Home Depot and Lowes. I was looking for a 36 inch cooktop that would enable me to use 3 large pots at a time with room between each pot and this one fit the bill.
Pros:
price
fairly easy to clean
If damaged, easy to replace with GE's easy fit system (not sure if that's what it's called but essentially it means that if it needs replacement you can easily remove it and pop in another of GE's cooktops in the same size without having counter issues.
3 large burners, unlike other brands that only have 2
Power boil, melt and keep warm features, along with 2 burners that you can use either the inner smaller burner or outer ring larger one
child lock
cons:
Plastic knobs look cheap
gets dirty easily (but that's most glass cooktops)
Pro and con:
knob placement - easy to know which burner you are using (I find the side and rear placed knobs somewhat confusing at times), however, gets dirty easily from drips and spills
Feature Product
- JP3030DJBB
Description
30 Inch Smoothtop Electric Cooktop with 4 Radiant Elements, Knob Controls, Keep Warm Setting and Melt Setting.
It's great and a great buy. Inherited an expensive name plate stove-top that didn't work right anymore. Factory rep quoted $ 900 to repair, or @2,000 to replace.
Got this for $400, looks the same, boils the same water and cooks the same stew. Highly recommended.
This is a great value. I read the reviews about the white lines coming off but I have had no problem with it. Probably because I use the recommended cleaner (daily!) which doesn't scrape or damage the stovetop. Only small issue is how cheap the knobs look. This can be fixed with purchasing new stainless steel or higher quality ones.
Item arrived a day early in perfect condition. This product fit the cutout for a previously installed Jenn Air cooktop. Once installed, everything functioned designed. This cooktop looks attractive in all black finish with black burner dials. Excellent price point for this product.
Works well, but largest burner is only 9 inches and I have a lot of larger pans and it just doesn't work well for them. If you tend to cook for an army like I do, spend the money and invest in one with a 9/12 burner in the front, it will be well worth it.
I'm so glad my son suggested this stovetop while we were remodeling our kitchen recently. It looks very classy and is such a huge improvement from the old one. It cleans easily and really gives the countertop a chic look. Heats up quickly, I would highly recommend.
0 comments:
Post a Comment