I bought one of these GE cooktops with downdraft. When installing it, the thin glass top cracked with very little pressure. I had the black one. Is the stainless steel cooktop actually reinforced with stainless steel? Because without some metal around the top this thing is FRAGILE. Also, is your downdraft duct or ductless with the charcoal filters? Thanks.
I've had the similar model without the SS trims for 14 years and the downdraft feature works great. But it is not perfect. I have had a couple of issues that are real bad ones: 1- the top left burner died about 2 years after initial installation and that is part of a triple unit (upper, bridge and lower left burners) which is over $300 just for the smallest burner. So I modified it in such a way that I could use a standard 6" or 7" burner, which is just about $80. the problem is that the frame of the original three burners does not let you put a new burner with frame so I had to cut part of the frame that keeps the three burners together to make space for the new burner. GE does not sell a burner of the required size so I had to install a non GE burner that has different connections so I had to modify the electric circuit as well. Being an electrical engineer that was no issue for me but I do not recommend that for DIYers without proper knowledge. OTOH accessing the burners is a pain in the butt since you have to lift the whole unit out, to open it by separating the glass top from the frame of the whole unit. That would not be a problem if the vent fan was not connected at the bottom of the frame, but it is so you have to separate the vent filter housing attached to the bottom of the frame. That proved difficult to do during reassembly as the fan is supported from that housing and it took me a while to align the holes of the fan housing and the vent filter housing since the fan was resting on the exhaust duct so it went down a little. Alternatively you could uncouple the vent exhaust duct from the fan discharge. In my case that was not easy given the weight of the exhaust fan although the exhaust duct was just connected by duct tape . If you hire somebody to do it he will charge you a ton of $ to do all that work 2-I have a couple of control switches failing and replacing them is also a nightmare since you have to do that from the bottom (inside the kitchen cabinet), while laying face up, and your access is partially obstructed by the vent fan and exhaust duct. 3-A few days ago the glass cracked (probably someone hit it on the edge) so I looked for a replacement glass. Unfortunately GE has discontinued its manufacturing and the ones available have one additional button for the lock switch, which my unit does not have. Even if there was a replacement glass I do not want to go through the nightmare of going under the cabinet to do all the work indicated in (1) above, so I am buying a regular non-vented glass cooktop and a vented hood
Yes it's very efficient at expelling smells/moisture. As long as the unit is properly installed, the exhaust is vented through a series of duct work outside of the home.
I bought one of these GE cooktops with downdraft. When installing it, the thin glass top cracked with very little pressure. I had the black one. Is the stainless steel cooktop actually reinforced with stainless steel? Because without some metal around the top this thing is FRAGILE. Also, is your downdraft duct or ductless with the charcoal filters? Thanks.
I've had the similar model without the SS trims for 14 years and the downdraft feature works great.
But it is not perfect. I have had a couple of issues that are real bad ones:
1- the top left burner died about 2 years after initial installation and that is part of a triple unit (upper, bridge and lower left burners) which is over $300 just for the smallest burner. So I modified it in such a way that I could use a standard 6" or 7" burner, which is just about $80. the problem is that the frame of the original three burners does not let you put a new burner with frame so I had to cut part of the frame that keeps the three burners together to make space for the new burner. GE does not sell a burner of the required size so I had to install a non GE burner that has different connections so I had to modify the electric circuit as well. Being an electrical engineer that was no issue for me but I do not recommend that for DIYers without proper knowledge. OTOH accessing the burners is a pain in the butt since you have to lift the whole unit out, to open it by separating the glass top from the frame of the whole unit. That would not be a problem if the vent fan was not connected at the bottom of the frame, but it is so you have to separate the vent filter housing attached to the bottom of the frame. That proved difficult to do during reassembly as the fan is supported from that housing and it took me a while to align the holes of the fan housing and the vent filter housing since the fan was resting on the exhaust duct so it went down a little. Alternatively you could uncouple the vent exhaust duct from the fan discharge. In my case that was not easy given the weight of the exhaust fan although the exhaust duct was just connected by duct tape . If you hire somebody to do it he will charge you a ton of $ to do all that work
2-I have a couple of control switches failing and replacing them is also a nightmare since you have to do that from the bottom (inside the kitchen cabinet), while laying face up, and your access is partially obstructed by the vent fan and exhaust duct.
3-A few days ago the glass cracked (probably someone hit it on the edge) so I looked for a replacement glass. Unfortunately GE has discontinued its manufacturing and the ones available have one additional button for the lock switch, which my unit does not have. Even if there was a replacement glass I do not want to go through the nightmare of going under the cabinet to do all the work indicated in (1) above, so I am buying a regular non-vented glass cooktop and a vented hood
I’m just impressed with the kitchen. What’s on the post it notes?
Model numbers of the appliances I'm reviewing
What magic eraser do you use?
Does it also capture the smoke when cooking steaks ok high heat on the cast iron? And where do the smoke and moisture travel too?
Yes it's very efficient at expelling smells/moisture. As long as the unit is properly installed, the exhaust is vented through a series of duct work outside of the home.
$2,000 + $400 = lol hahahaha when did scamming got acceptable lol 😆 😂 🤣 😄