Finally! I'm going to get my new cooktop. Anyone have experience with the electronic

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
touch pad controls? This is what I want but I know they haven't been around too many years and wonder if there are any kinks.

I finally found a JennAir with black glass surface that will fit the existing hole. I was all set to buy one 2 years ago but the pre-cut hole was too big. I have a 30-year old Corning one that I bought on a lark to throw away, and never did.

Sandi, I believe it was you who was quite thrilled with the smooth surface??

Thank you in advance, for any feedback.

 
Hi Marg - I have a Maytag glass cooktop, and I love it! The controls for the cooktop...

are on the front, and are regular dials. I do have electronic controls for the oven, and only had one problem in the past nine years.

I had an ant infestation, and the ants shorted out the electronic board about two years ago. We had to replace it. I remember thinking it was fairly expensive (maybe a couple hundred dollars?), considering you could probably buy a whole new stove for a few hundred dollars more.

However, when we replaced the board, there's one control (the "cancel" button) that is a little hard to press, like I can't find the exact spot to press to make it turn off.

However, I do love the cooktop, and love how easy it is to clean. I have radiant heat, and use all types of cookware (Circulon and Calphalon hard anodized, All Clad stainless, Le Creuset enameled cast iron, Lodge cast iron, etc.) I'm just careful with the cast iron pieces, and make sure I don't drag it acros the cooktop.

Not sure what kind of heating element is in the Jenn Air - if it's induction, you'll have to make sure your cookware is magnetic, if it's radiant, you can use anything.

Only other thing you have to consider is the size of the largest pot you're ever going to use. If you use a huge stockpot, make sure it'll fit when centered over one of the burners. Since the burners are not raised above the surface, your pot has to fit within the outer frame of the cooktop, if that makes sense.

Hope this helps!

 
Thanks Sandi. You made me think of trying the 'buttons' before I choose. That

hadn't occurred to me. Good idea! The more arthritic I become, I can imagine this might be a problem.

Onward to new stove...............

 
Glad to help! That's a good idea to try the buttons - sometimes the old fashioned dials are faster.

For example, when I turn the oven on to preheat, if I hit "Bake", it'll default to 350º, and I have to push the "up arrow" button, to increment up to whatever temp I want. (It defaults to 325º for convection bake.)

Which is good for most baking, but if I wanna roast something at 400º, you have to hold the up button down, until it hits 400. Or hold the down for lower temps.

As far as my funky "cancel" button, the original board didn't have that problem - only the replacement did.

Have fun choosing your new kitchen equipment!

 
A vote for old-fashioned knobs

In the past 10 years I've built 2 kitchens. We put in built-in ovens and separate cooktops. Both cooktops have the old-fashioned knobs, and we've had no problems with them. Both ovens have the electronic pressure controls, and both circuit boards have been replaced or repaired - and they are quite expensive. Our friends who have put in cooktops with electronic circuitry have also had all kinds of problems. Our stoves are Dacor, theirs are Thermador. I think the new circuitry looks great, but old-fashioned knobs are less problematic and more long-lived.

 
Oh dear. Expensive to replace and problematic. Just when I thought

I had a decision made.

I really did want to know. Perhaps a consumer's report will be a good idea now.

Thanks KC.

 
Marg, I've used consumerreports.org for all my high-ticket purchases...

You have to pay for a subscription, but it only costs $4.95 US for one month, which is about all the time you need in order to read their very thorough reports. Definitely worth it. When I was shopping for ranges, refrigerators and dishwashers they had a special section on models available in Canada and I found it very useful and it did influence my decision.

http://www.consumerreports.org/

 
Thank you for the tip Mimi. These things are expensive enough to begin with. Maybe I could use the

library for the second time in my adult life as well.

 
Actually the $4.95 is for ONLINE access to their reports, not for the printed mag

Not sure if I was clear on that.

 
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