Need cooktop advice!

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I am renovating my kitchen and had previously decided on a 30" Jenn-Air downdraft cooktop (electric) because that was what was originally in the house.

I had considered running gas to the island where the cooktop is and switching, but time and a few difficulties with the gas run have stopped me short of making that change. I could still do this, but I'm just not sure whether I should go to the trouble.

I have more space available in the island for a larger cooktop if necessary, but I really think I want a downdraft model. I'm just wondering if any of you have had experiences with the latest Jenn-Air electric cooktops, or if you have another one you would recommend.

 

[Skatermom23]

I love my electric cooktop! Funny thing is that when we were building our house 3 years ago, the builder accidently ran a gas line to the middle island. (thinking that we had requested gas) On one of our visits, I nearly had a fit because I didn't want gas...I know...I am the odd one out there. But, I really prefer electric cooking. Especially with teens learning to cook and my DD's long hair. Anyway I still have the gas line that is capped off under the island but they also ran the electric wiring for me. I'll never use the gas line but if we sell the house I guess it could be an advantage.

 

[beachbunny]

I just replaced my ancient Jenn Air down-draft electric cooktop with a new one in December (not because I was remodelling but because one of the burners broke). The only difference is that I went from stainless steel surface with coils to a ceramic cooktop surface because it looks nicer. The reasons for my choice: I didn't want to install an overhead vent and I wanted something that fit into the hole I already had. Happy to report that it works fine. No complaints here.

 

[PlutoPony]

Just in case you do want to change to gas, I have a new Jenn-Aire 30" gas downdraft and am really pleased with it. This replaced a 11 yo builders grade JA downdraft and is a big improvement. I now have sealed burners (SO much easier to clean) and the downdraft seems powerful enough to handle about anything w/ a 2 speed fan. Plus I got a high and a low output burner and they're really useful. If I had a choice I'd DEFINITELY choose cooking with gas, but don't know how much I'd be willing to pay to make the change from electric (am guessing it's not inexpensive). Have you looked at GE to see what they have - they might have one also...

 

[rafiki3]

I've read that the placement of the knobs on the Jenn-air electric is not great; i.e. they're too close and tend to get melted by pots on the eyes. This swap is mostly for the purpose of upgrading the kitchen for an upcoming sale of the house, so I want to go with something fairly impressive without spending too much money. Hubby thinks he can run the gas line for less than $100 and a few hours of labor.

 

[bcsmom]

I have the Jenn-air gas cooktop/range w/ downdraft. I think it is great too, but I have had several problems with the oven. Some kind of board keeps going out on us. The unit is 1 year old, it actually broke a few weeks after we got it. Hopefully, they are about to replace it, because I think I just got a bad range. Other then that the gas cooktop w/ electric start is wonderful.

 

[PlutoPony]

I've read that the placement of the knobs on the Jenn-air electric is not great; i.e. they're too close and tend to get melted by pots on the eyes. .

Hmmm... that's interesting. My old gas cooktop had the plastic knobs but the new one has metal ones which seem really durable. Too bad they aren't using the same knobs on the electric version.

 

[PlutoPony]

Looking at the JA website.... looks like electric model 8430 has the metal knobs I have in my gas cooktop. But 8230 and 8130 look to have the plastic kind (at least that's my guess from the picture). Of course 8430 is more $$.... GE does have 2 models of 30 electric downdraft, looks like similar price points to the JA. May come down to how much you want to spend, and if you're not going to be using it yourself for very long I can see opting for the lower priced model.