vintage Jenn Air cook top for mom!!!

[vintagekitchen]

Well, my mom, ( my real mom, the aunt who raised me, not the jackal who birthed me), finally admitted it was time for a different stove and a kitchen redo this week.

She had a POS frigidaire gallery smooth top slide in, the oven circuit board was failing, and had become so dim you could no longer read it, she set the oven by remembering that it starts at 350 when you press bake and every press on the up or down arrow is 5 degrees. But, she wasn't ready to part with it yet.

Wednesday the control for the right front burner went out in a blaze of glory, literally. Fireworks, puff of smoke, loud noise, and it is no more. Now the control is loose, wiggles, and spins freely as a top, but if you do spin it you get the firework show again. The burner can not be used of course, but does randomly turn itself on and off for moments at a time, without anyone touching it.

Enter her good son, who jumped on craigslist and found a beautiful vintage Jenn Air cook top with both a smoothtop and a coil burner cartridge, in addition to the built in coil burners. It was still connected, so we were able to see that it works, and it came with a new backplate for behind the knobs, and a new spare knob. And the price? A whopping 50 bucks.

Mom of course is thrilled, we are going Monday to get new countertop, then I will install the cook top, and in the space below I am installing a large deep drawer for her pans.

As for the oven, there was no place in mom's kitchen to install a wall oven. Nowhere at all feasible. So her smart son remembered how much she loves her toaster oven and uses it most of the time instead of the oven, always has. And he remembered how she wanted a new stainless steel microwave. So back to the internet, and I find a cuisinart microwave/convection oven/broiler. Normally 270 dollars, on sale at one site for 150 with free shipping. It will be here in about 10 days.

Mom is thrilled, and I cant wait to get it installed for her.

 

[ronhic]

Well done!

We had one of those in this house when we moved in....I know they were a quality appliance, but this one hadn't been looked after.

 

It was ditched within 6 months....and a 5 burner 3' gas hob installed.

 

[sarahperdue]

Wonderful

I love that Jenn-Air. What an incredible find. I think it is wonderful that you've been able to make your mother so very happy. I know that she will enjoy it.

Sarah

 

[retropia]

I've always liked the concept that you could switch out the elements for something different. It will be nice to have the big storage space underneath.

 

[vintagekitchen]

switching the element..

She already has me on the hunt for the grill set up, and possibly the rotisserie set up since her new oven won't be big enough for a large ham or turkey.

 

[rp2813]

Are you going to hook up the downdraft system, or is there an existing hood over the cooktop area?

 

[xraytech]

That's a nice cook top
An aunt and uncle had a Jenn air drop in with that top, theirs was configured with the grill and 2 encapsulated steel burners, in the late 90s they replaced the burners with the smooth top burners.
I had enjoyed that stove. Last I knew they still had it

 

[vintagekitchen]

downdraft venting

Actually I will hook up the downdraft system. To mom it is one of the bonuses, since due to the way her house is built, there is no way to vent the hood outdoors, so hers tends to blow right in the cook's face when used. Because of that, I will have to use the indoor venting kit for the downdraft system, with both the regular and charcoal filters it should work better than a basic wire mesh hood filter. And either way, hot steamy air on your feet is better than hot steamy air in your face.

 

[retropia]

Just be sure to educate her about the glass jar underneath, if she uses the grill or rotisserie setup.

I didn't read the instruction manual on ours, so I found out about it the hard way.

 

[vintagekitchen]

educating mom..

Actually she had one when I was very young, and has missed it ever since, so she actually knows more about the cook top than me I think, lol. Her old one came with a house we moved into, and of course it stayed when we moved.

She is particularly happy about the 2 spare burner inserts, as the one she had when I was younger only had 2 burners on one side and the grill set up on the other side. She used to turn the grill wide open and use it as a huge burner. It was actually sort of handy, since she could fit more or larger pots on it than 2 burners, and the griddle was marvelous, but it did heat up the kitchen a good bit.

 

[combo52]

Vintage Jenn-Air Cooktop

These are very good CTs, but they MUST be vented outdoors if you ever wanted to use it with the grill feature, you can get away with using it unvented if you only use the burners and maybe the Teflon griddle.

When venting these to the outside you should only use the JA vent hoods which have a good seal and a SS spring to keep the damper closed, otherwise you will have a lot of cold air backing up into the kitchen during the winter.

I have about any parts or accessories that you will ever want or need for these CTs.
JA even sold an induction cartridge for use in these cook-tops, keep your eyes peeled for one of these.

John L.

 

[chachp]

I have the Expressions model

The big difference aside from the look of it, is that the plugs are on the sides of the inserts instead of the ends. I have the coil inserts, the glass top inserts, griddle, grille and rotisserie. I use the grill almost everyday and I love it. The griddle is great for pancakes, french toast and I have used it to fry burgers too. My version has an element built into it. I think the ones with the plugs on the ends come in two versions. One that sits on top of the grill element and one that is powered. At least I think that's how they are. Someone else will know for sure.

And John is right. You have to vent it outside if you are going to grill. I had originally purchased the Jenn Air Vent kit to vent it into the kitchen because of the location I wanted to put the CT. The electrician talked me out of it. He said they just don't work as well so I had to have a hole busted in the wall which is brick. Not much fun for the guy doing it.

The induction cartridges pop up from time to time on eBay with the plugs on the ends but I have never seen one for the expressions line. Did they make them for that line?

 

[combo52]

Jenn-Air Down-Draft ELECTRIC Cook-Tops

Nice CT Ralph, the expressions line was a less popular but much improved DD CT. I am going to install the single version of your CT at my partners house next to a 36" GE Monogram Induction CT, I am doing this to get the indoor grilling and two regular electric elements so I can use the occasional vintage pressure cooker etc that will not work on the induction CT. Unfortunately JA never released the induction cartridge for this later series DD CT.

I also use my JA DD grill feature often on my single convertible JA CT. I think it is really a shame that so few people have enough common sense about how to use an indoor grill and have reverted to standing in the back yard to grill food. I had a TOL gas grill for over 15 years permanently installed out on my back patio [ connected to natural gas ] and it was ok if you wanted to stand out back and watch it, but the electric JA cooks MUCH BETTER than the gas grill ever could. With its RED HOT element it is much more like cooking on charcoal, and if you are cooking IN the kitchen you can keep an eye on everything else that you are cooking as well. I ruined a lot of food on that Gas grill because of the lack of good heat control.

John L.

 

[chachp]

Gas Grill - not in a couple of years!!

I honestly can't remember the last time I used my gas grill for all the reasons John mentioned above.  I love having this in the kitchen so I can keep an eye on everything else as well as be a part of everything else.

 

However, anyone who has grilled inside knows it can be a little messy.  I have tried everything from pan lids, to pieces of foil to lower temps to try to keep down the splatter.  Nothing really worked all that well so I just delt with it and did a lot of cleaning.   Then I discovered this little gem at an Estate sale.  I saw it sitting on the counter and commented to my friend that this would be perfect for the grill.  I picked it up for $3.  When I got home I did a little research and discovered it was designed for frying.  I have been using it on the grill since and LOVE it.  

 

It really keeps down the splatter and I think helps cook thicker cuts of meat.  The thing I like best is the little chimney effect.  You see the smoke coming out of the top.  I made a video the other night so you can see how well it works.  I don't know the history of this device but anyone who does messy frying or grilling indoors should have one.  It is called a Borner lid.  I saw a few of them on eBay but they did not have the handle.  They were only the replacement glass.  Best part of it - I can throw it in the dishwasher and it cleans up beautifully.  If I can find a source for them I will post.  I had never seen one of these and I thought I was pretty current on kitchen gadgets!!

 

 

 

[kb0nes]

Borner Lid

A little Google sluthing turned up this

http://kitchenadventures.co.nz/product-catagories/ktchen-joy/kitchen-joy.htm

They call it a Kitchen Joy Lid and it appears to be vented to allow steam to escape.

Of course it would work to eliminate spatters on your grill. It's cool being clear so you can view the food under it. Use over the direct heat of the grill scares me a a bit. Glass can be fickle and we don't know what kind it is. A skillet does get hot though although its probably a bit more uniform then a grill.

 

[chachp]

Handle says Max 250C

I thought about that too but the glass is pretty thick.  According to a C to F converter that's 482F.  I'm not sure how hot the grill would get but I'll keep an eye on it.  So far so good.

 

[retromania]

Kevin

That's exciting about the new cooktop you're putting in for your mother.

 

[chachp]

I think this will work for you.

Kevin,

 

Here is a grill assembly and griddle at $55 right now.  I think that is a great deal of the grill and griddle and I am pretty sure these will work on your CT.  Shipping is a little on the pricey side but I think those griddles are a bit heavy.

 

 

Ralph

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[dhruv]

Replace or keep

We just bought a house and have dropin vintage jenn air with 4 coil burner with downdraft. My wife thinks it looks really old and she doesnt like coil since its hard to clean and she wants flat top.

Any suggestions on what we should do? Keep the one we have or get new stove.

what is the glass jar for underneath we do not have manual.