We had a pleasant surprise when we moved here. Our gas cook top is a Jenn-Air with modular burners that switch out to a grill, wonderful for grilling hamburgers or steak during our cold Michigan winters. We loved the grill!
We weren’t too thrilled with the cooktop’s regular burners. We have propane, not natural gas so the burners tend to be hot, hotter and nuclear fusion hot. We can boil big pots of soup on low. And after 4 1/2 years of our daily use, on top of 20 years of the original owners, the burners were wearing out. The blue flames were huge and full of yellow. Not good.
Since we’re re-doing part of the kitchen Dave researched a new cook top. Problems!
The local dealer told us Jenn-Air no longer makes gas cook tops with a grill module. We considered converting to a regular range but then we need some sort of hanging exhaust fan since the cook top is on a standalone peninsula without a hood. Our gas cook top has a down draft fan.
Kitchen Aid makes cook tops with grills and cooktops with downdrafts, but not a unit with both a grill and a down draft, plus they are not modular. And they are expensive. Ouch!
Dave got the brilliant idea to look for replacement modules for the burner and grill assemblies. Unfortunately the local dealer couldn’t help us. So he went online. Success!
We followed the Cleereman buying method, namely “if you like it then get 2”, and got 2 of each of the 4 burner assemblies and grill module, 4 sets of knobs, 2 under pans. The only parts we couldn’t get were the top for the fan and the down draft fan itself. We just have to hope the fan keeps on trudging.
I figure the first set of burners lasted 20 years or so, so the next two sets should last 40 years, after which time we aren’t going to care too much. Each module was pretty inexpensive, around $80 for a burner assembly, but they added up when we got 2 of each for 4 burners plus 2 grill pieces (and knobs and under pans).
Final verdict? The new burners work great. They burn blue, no yellow, and low setting actually is good for simmering soup or cooking rice. Plus the knobs are nice and clean, the grill works just as before. And we didn’t have to buy a new one.
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