Jenn-Air Induction cooktop review JIC4536XS

10 years ago

When I first overpaid for this unit I tried to use the 'so called' bridge element that sales person told me would heat up across the two smaller elements into one larger element by connecting the two elements with a bridge. My understanding was that the centre part between the 2 smaller elements would also heat up to make for even grilling. but this is not the case. The elements only heat up at the same time and at the same temperature. which is kinda useless to me since I like to use a rectangle wrought iron pan to grill sandwiches and specifically bought this unit having being told that they connected in the centre to create even heat. Then...

12 inch centre element:

the centre element doesn't heat up as fast as it should and is temperamental. One day it didn't even turn on and I had to use one of the smaller elements to cook my dinner. the day before that it cooked for short periods and would cut-out so I never really reached the temperature I need to get a fried coating. The smaller elements heat much faster than the centre element which I thought was the more powerful element. Also when boiling water the element only heated in the very centre and did cover the entire circumference of the 12 inch pot (which I checked was flat to the cooking surface). The Jenn-Air repair people sent out a repairman to fix it and he only made it worse. He came several times (the first couple of times they told me that there was nothing wrong with the unit) before they eventually agreed that I had a faulty unit and replaced it. This took 6 months.

My new unit works a little bit better, but I still cannot use my centre 12 inch element. I even bought a special induction disc to see if I could start to use the element but again it works for a while and then starts to cycle on and off. So you cannot get a continuous heat in order to cook a meal to completion. I know it's not my pans, as I tried many different ones and the same thing keeps happening on the centre element and not to outer smaller ones.

One more thing, the store where I purchased the cooktop agreed to replace the unit with another brand, but unfortunately for me the Jenn-air cooktop requires a smaller opening in the countertop (which I had made to fit) than ALL the other brands. So even thought I could have changed my cooktop, I couldn't because I would have had to cut my countertop to make room for another brand.

If I had my time again, I would never buy Jenn-air.

Featured Answer

lepages

10 years ago

Sorry to hear that the cooktops isn't working out for you! I have this one and have had no problems at all. I can't comment on the bridge element as I haven't tried to use it. The center ring works fine for me, I don't notice any difference from the other rings. I'm really happy with the cooktop. It sounds like you've been stuck with two lemons...so disappointing!

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Comments (11)

cpartist
10 years ago
Personally I'd spend the money to cut a larger hole and get something you'll be happy with.
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shalieanna
Original Author
10 years ago
That boat to replace the unit has passed unfortunately. Plus after all the reno's I was emotionally exhausted and couldn't handle anymore (dust to be precise). So I decided to keep it. At least I know what to get next time I do a kitchen reno.

I just cooked pasta on the large element in one of my large stainless steel pots and it seemed to be working great up until I used one of the smaller elements to cook the sauce. It just doesn't seem to want to share the power. I hate to think what would happen if I decided to use a third element...
Vincenzo Pasquantonio
10 years ago
Hi....I am having the exact same issues as your describe. have you been able to get to a final conclusion? We've had the cooktop for 2 years, had a service guy come out a year ago who said everything was working fine. We just dealt with it, but it is getting annoying.
shalieanna
Original Author
10 years ago
Not really. I still don't use my large burner that much. After much searching I finally found a non-stick pan that triggers the large burner to cook somewhat evenly but it cost me $300.00 (of course). It was the ALL-clad 14 inch non-stick D5 fry pan. I really cannot bare the thought of having the service guy come and check out why my large burner wasn't cooking evenly so I have done the same and just dealt with it. I will never buy anything from Jenn-Air again. As you would know, every time a serviceman comes out, they don't seem to know anything about the unit, they pull it out of the countertop, they disrupt your day and they usually leave without any resolution. My guess is that after about 3-4 visits they give up and ask the company to replace the unit. My fear was that it's just a faulty design and this would fix nothing. So I would have wasted all the time and energy for nothing. good luck
Vincenzo Pasquantonio
10 years ago
I think I may have found out the problem. My cooktop is hooked up to a double 40amp breaker, which I was under the assumption meant it was on an 80amp circuit. This was a wrong assumption. My electrician installed the unit wrong! The 36" cooktop needs a 50amp circuit, so we need to replace the breaker with a double 50 amp breaker. I have an electrician coming to change this, and hopefully it fixes the problem.
shalieanna
Original Author
10 years ago
I hope this resolves your issue. I would love to hear how it goes. I was actually using my large element this morning to fry up some potato patties - I used 8 as my temperature choice and the unit overheated. I give up! I would go back to gas in a heartbeat if I could have my time over.
C Dyer
8 years ago
This cooktop needs a 40 amp circuit. Most others only need 30 amps. Is it possible you dont have a big enough circuit?
J Corn
8 years ago
Be careful. The wrong breaker can blow out your control panel and break the cooktop. Happened to us. But first the cooktop had major issues with temperature and performance.
jmurphy42
7 years ago
WARNING WHEN REPLACING CIRCUIT BREAKERS!!!! Be very careful when changing circuit breakers as the right size wire has to be paired with the size of the circuit breaker. Installing too large of circuit breaker than a wire can handle can easily cause a house fire! Make sure that you don't make that mistake!!
C Dyer
7 years ago
DONT buy this cooktop! It has the WORST interface. Same with the JJen-Air micro-oven combo. Sheesh! It is so annoying you cant try these out ahahead of time. I cant wait until these (ridiculously expensive) appliances break so I can replace them with something more user friendly. If they dont make us crazy first...