Jenn-Air JGC8430 30 in. Gas Cooktop

I was looking for a replacement cooktop for my 20 year old Kitchenaid cooktop that was acting up. Repair costs did not justify the effort. I was really looking for a Thermador, but did not want to pay the price ~$800+.

This Jenair had 90% of the features I was looking for at 1/3 the price. It has the high output burner, 15,000 btu gets pasta water boiling quickly, and it has the low output burner for simmering sauces at 200 btu. Plus having the full surface grates looked like a plus. In practice they leave a bit to be desired, since the spacing is quite large, some of my smaller pots are hard to slide across, but no big deal. Clean up is easy and it looks great too. It comes in various finishes, luckily I could use the bisque finish and it saved me money over the stainless version.

Depending on your installation this unit may or may not present a problem. The size of the cut out is a little bigger than my previous cooktop, though the overall size is about the same. Previously I had a glass cooktop with sealed gas burners that sat above the surface, these are recessed. That being the case it is a bit deeper. I had to move my oven down a bit to accommodate it, so look at your current setup and decide if it will need to be modified.

All in all after 3 weeks of use I am very satisfied with the unit. The controls are easy to use and give a wide range of cooking temperatures. It looks great, and cleans easily -- all in all a very nice product.