JES9800A fine but overpriced

A few months ago the Kenmore Classic Grille downdraft range that came with the house finally kicked the bucket (or more accurately, my repairs didn't hold up and it wasn't worth getting it professionally fixed). There were a few options: Put in an overhead vent and get a plain old slide-in range, put in a separate cooktop and oven with a new popup downdraft vent, or get a new downdraft range. Since we didn't want to spend megabucks remodeling the kitchen, the downdraft won.

I was disappointed to find we really had only one option, a Jenn Air. From there the only 2 options were a modular unit with a grill/griddle side and a burner side, or a smooth-top with 4 glass burners. Although I liked the griddle on the old clunker it just wasn't attractive and not that practical, so that left us with the JES9800.

We paid $1750 for the range and had it installed by Sears for $350 - awfully steep installation cost, but considering he had to saw away some of the tile surround and install the new vent fan it was probably worth it. It's very attractive - sleek and elegant, with nice controls and a nice smooth design.

Finally - time to play.

1) Ease of cleaning: This is a big selling point, and it's true. All the surfaces, including the control panel, are smooth and sealed, with nary a nook or cranny to trap gunk; even when you pop off the burner knobs for cleaning there's a smooth, beveled, sealed surface underneath. A quick swipe with a rag is all it takes for everyday cleaning. At first I was reluctant to invest in the special glass/ceramic cleaner, but it really does work. Not being a fanatic about having a mirror shine on the top every day, I usually give it a polish with the cleaner once a week or so and live with a few water spots the rest of the time. A razor blade is included to scrape up the worst spills.

2) Stovetop: There are 2 6 inch burners and 2 dual 5/9 inch burners. The burners heat quickly and evenly, and the 9 inch especially are plenty powerful enough to bring a big stock pot to a boil. On Lo heat you can almost lay your hand flat on the burner, great for things like egg sauces or melting chocolate. I read all the dire warnings on multiple sites about not using cast iron, or woks, or non-flat cookware - you'd think the stove was made of eggshells. Since I'd horribly abused my old glass burner module with all of the above and more, and it was still working after 7 years, pooh-pooh on the Chicken Littles. My Le-Creuset enameled cast iron works great, a flat-bottomed wok works fine, and I've occasionally used an indented-bottom enameled pot without ill-effect, though I am a bit more careful about dragging or banging pans. However, the copper-bottom Revereware kettle does not do well and the copper leaves marks; fortunately the glass/ceramic cleanser picks those up without a problem.
My biggest complaint is the little 5 inch burners; even with a little tiny pot it's high heat or no go.

Because it is a glass top with a hole cut out for a vent it is somewhat fragile. If I do use a heavy pan I'm a little more careful about putting it on the burner, but generally it seems sturdy enough for normal use. The top is also easily replaceable for about $200 - not cheap, but not unreasonable.

One very minor annoyance - it's very hard to see the actual burners, so it's not easy to get the pan right in the center unless the element's on.

3) The oven: Oh, the joy. Convection mode is wonderful - cookies bake evenly on 3 racks and roasts come out perfectly. There are also warming and dehydration modes, and even a little magnetic spacer to keep the oven door ajar if you decide to use the dehydration feature. The plug-in temperature probe works great too. The insulation is terrific; the oven holds heat for a long time after it's turned off.

My old oven thermometer shows that the convection temperature is spot-on but standard bake is about 25 degrees cooler. I'm not reading too much into this until I determine if it's the thermometer, the oven, or the fact that I keep baking tiles on the bottom rack.

Now, the broiler. Being used to the old style element with a couple of curves in it, I nearly set the house on fire trying to broil burgers the old way. The element has about 10 times the surface area, is very hot, and is embedded in a steel frame that catches every spatter and promptly flames up. I'm still working on how best to use it, but I'd rather have too hot than not hot enough. Unfortunately, the way the vent is designed it is completely useless in dissipating any smoke from the broiler. This is the only thing I miss about my old clunker; it had vents on both sides running front to back at a 45 degree angle and could pull in fumes from the oven. Oh well.

4) Venting: This is my major complaint. As mentioned earlier, the old stone-age range had angled vents on either side that pulled in steam and smoke remarkably well. In the new Jenn-Air, there is one vent opening that is set about 1/3 of the way back on the top of stove. It works quite well with low pots and frying pans, but anything from a tall pot or the oven goes straight up into the air. I was chagrined when I found that the outlet for the oven vent is a little slit that exits vertically at the top of the vent opening. I dread running the oven cleaning cycle, knowing I will likely set off the smoke alarms even with the fan on. I imagine the old slanted side vents take up too much space, but certainly for $1750 a little better engineering could have been done on the new model. I will say that it is quiet compared to the old one, but I certainly would trade a bit of noise for more efficiency.

One thing I haven't quite figured out: The vent fan automatically turns on when the oven is used, supposedly to keep the electronics cool. No big deal, but how do they keep the electronics cool on the nearly identical slide-in model that has no vent fan? Hmmmm.

5) Controls: The smooth touchpad is very nice and easy to use (and keep clean). The manual is quite good, and it's easy to change options like the volume of the beeps. It's even possible to calibrate the oven temperature from the keypad. Overall, well done without being overdone - even without the manual I think just about anyone would find it easy to use.

UPDATE - 6-06: The longer I use this range, the more I feel I didn't really get my money's worth. All the above comments still hold true, but I can't help feeling that for $1750 the oven temperature should be a bit more stable and the cooling fan for the controls shouldn't blow oven fumes out the front. Still works fine, but I think I'd have been just as happy with a nice $600 coil stove - if it would work in my kitchen. Oh yeah - don't EVER use a pan with OUTSIDE nonstick coating (in my case, a Farberware Platinum griddle). I've got 2 cloudy burners now because I didn't read the tiny print on the inside of the label when I peeled it off the griddle.....