Educate me on smooth top electric ranges

[Marilyn Michetti]

O.K., here's the thing........we need a new stove. So far, not earthshaking? We are wired for electric - no gas.

The problem.......DH LOVES to cook, and is really good at it. Since I don't walk or stand well, I really appreciate him doing this. Only thing, he's not (cough), exactly tidy. He NEVER cleans up after cooking, so hey, that's my job. We're looking at a deal from Home Depot that offers free financing for 12 months, and free delivery through July 27th. DH wants to get a smooth top, but I KNOW what it will look like after a time.

How do you care for them so they don't end up looking like, well, you know? I'd rather get one with the coils. They can be taken out, and the wells cleaned, but these others look like they can be ruined easily, and that would break my heart.

Help me out here. Now you know our "dark" secret, so advice, not judgment. He's not housebroken, but his good points far outweigh the bad ones.:blush:

[DisneyWhirled]

I love my smooth top stove, and would not go back to coils-ever!

I ususally just clean with soap and water. Occasionally, if there is a mess, I will use a razor blade and some Ceramic Stove Cleaner (available at Walmart or HD) first. It really is not hard at all---and beats removing the coils and cleaning the pans.

Just my two cents!

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

[disneydrmr]

I wipe mine down with Lysol kitchen wipes, or just soap and water and my dish cloth. I've also used the 'special' cleaner from time to time, but really don't find much need for it... just be sure to clean it shortly after cooking so the 'mess' doesn't set in. I will NOT go back to the old fashioned coil stoves! I love my smooth top!!!! (I got mine from Lowes using their 12 month same as cash deal...)

[Tink-N-Me]

I love my smooth top stove also. Mine is about eight years old and shows very little after much abuse. Originally, I would buy the ceramic stove cleaner previously mentioned, but now I just use Soft Scrub. When I have horribly burned on gravies and spills I squeeze some Soft Scrub on and use a little elbow grease with a soft cloth and it comes back beautifully. If you get a little cloudy looking residue, Windex makes it shine.

[JessicaRabbit]

I LOVED it. Once our current stove goes, I will replace it with a smooth top.


I love my smooth top stove, and would not go back to coils-ever!

I ususally just clean with soap and water. Occasionally, if there is a mess, I will use a razor blade and some Ceramic Stove Cleaner (available at Walmart or HD) first. It really is not hard at all---and beats removing the coils and cleaning the pans.



Ditto!

[faline]

Glass tops are so much easier to clean and keep looking great. Generally, I try to wash mine after each use and I do use the special cleaner each time. Splatters sometimes take a little more elbow grease but, for the most part, clean up really well.

You do need to be careful not to drop things on the surface. I know someone who accidently dropped a glass baking dish on their top and the top shattered. That repair can be quite expensive!

[sgdisney]

Another vote for the smooth top range. I've only had mine (a Kenmore) for about 5 months and love it. My DH doesn't cook much, but when he does, he has a tendancy to make a mess and never wipe it up, the smooth top is so much easier to take care of than a coil burner range. I use a razor blade to scrape off the really bad stuff and usually just wipe with a cloth, but also use the stove top cleaner every now and then. Another thing that works good is Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I love those things!

[gauvin4]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my smooth top stove!!!! :D You will NEVER get me to go back to coils!!!

I, too, use soft scrub if I have a tough spot to clean!!!

[PeterPanFan]

You cant go wrong my DW loves to cook! and loves to clean :sick: its pretty easy and always looks nice

[Mufasa]

There are 2 types technology used in smooth-top electric cooktops and if your budget can afford it (and you have compatible cookware) it's definitely worth it to take a look at induction cooktops.

Induction cooking instead of using a heating element- uses an electromagnetic coil. What this means is that your cookware is the actual heating element, and the cooktop itself stays cool (except for picking up whatever residual heat from the pan).

You have to use pots or pans that are magnetic. You can't use copper or aluminum cookware or stuff like pyrex on an induction cooktop- but what it offers is precise temperature control.

You can achieve consistent results since temperature is measured in relation to the electrical resistance of the cookware and the induction coil and it's a very efficient method of energy transfer which means your pots or pans heat up very quickly- even faster than gas cooktops. Induction cooktops can also automatically adjust to the size of the cooking vessel you're using on their cooktop surface and when you remove a pan from the surface, they instantly shut off and as mentioned before are cool to the touch.

Because the cooking surface itself stays cool- if you spill something, the food won't burn onto the cooktop's surface.

The drawbacks- induction cooktops are expensive, and you have to use compatible cookware- cast iron, or some types of clad cookware are ok but you can usually simply test this by seeing if a magnet will stick to the bottom of the pan, then it's compatible.

I don't have a full induction cooktop installed but have a small, portable single induction burner that I use frequently because I get faster, more consistent temperature control than using a gas range.

[merlinmagic4]

Marilyn,

I think the smooth top is MUCH easier to clean and holds up very well :)

[DizneyRox]

We really like the ceramic top ranges. A couple of things:

It doesn't take long fir it to get dirty. It seems there always a couple drops of spillage. It clean up easily, but we found that if you want it to be clean, you will need to clean it every meal.

We were also told to NOT use cast iron on the cooktop. It scratches the surface VERY easily, or that's what we were told. We still use cast iron, but once placed on the cooktop we don't move it at all.

I wouldn't say that it's easy to break it, BUT if you do, be prepared for a large repair bill, approaching the cost of a new range. We've had our for years and it looks brand new for the most part.

[Jeff]

We've had ours for several years. No complaints and it still looks great. We also use the ceramic cleaner every now and then but, on a daily basis, just clean it with soap and water as we are cleaning up.

[GreenBeetle]

We love ours too. Have had it since 2001 and it shows no signs of wear/tear on the top. Like others have said it wipes clean very easily and only occasionally needs the special cleaner. I'll never go back to coils again.

Good luck with your decision.

[TheMartellFamily]

I love ours. We had one in our condo and moved and left it there. The house we bought had one in it so we were so happy. Clean up is so easy. Soft scrub and water for the caked on messes. Just windex or that orange degreaser for every day cleaning and that is it. I will never have another coil top electric stove again!!!

[rodeosweetheart]

I have had mine for about a month now. I was worried about keeping it clean as well. I love it. It is so easy to keep clean.

[sassafras]

Mr. Clean Erasers--that's the easy way to clean the thing. My hubby is always dribbling stuff across ours when he tries to cook. Once the stove cools down where you can touch it without burning yourself, these things work wonders!!! We've had a regular electric range and the wells always end up looking like something else. Had to continually replace the pans under them, so I like the smooth tops much better

[JohnnyJayhawk]

I'll echo the above sentiments. I'd prefer to have a gas cooktop, but this is the next best thing.

[Dsnygirl]

Okay, after reading all the other posts, maybe I'm the only one who noticed this, maybe it was just our stove - but one thing I will say about our smoothtop stove was that it cooked HOT!! Very pretty, VERY easy to clean -- much nicer than coils --but for someone who loves to cook, I found it hard to monitor the temperature of the stovetop - I boiled stuff over and/or burned it for awhile until I got used to the intensity of ceramic. But I still think you'd like it -- I'm sure your DH would get used to it! :thumbsup:

[crazypoohbear]

I love mine but, there is some wearing/thinning of the "black" where the pots sit. it still looks good but if you look closely you will see what looks like "wear spots"
It's still very good and looks good and is easy to clean!

[Minniemouse27]

I can't help you.

I abhor electric cooking and my first thought would be to get natural gas installed so I would be able to cook again!

[MsMin]

Marilyn,
When we lost our house in Camille in 1969 the kitchen was replaced w/ the new corning stove- I'm guessing this was 1970, my mom had lost her pots so replacing everything was not a problem. The old ones were white and hard to keep clean, they seemed to always have marks even if you boiled water. I think they have improved that in 37 years. When my parents built a new house my mom, an avid cook, wanted a kitchen with one of each and she used the electric range top more and eventually quit using the corning top unless she needed another burner -- I think it was b/c that was in 1979 and she felt she couldn't brown things in the corning pots like she could in a cast iron skillet or alum. pot.
Since you clean, I think clean up should be easier, it's your hubby that should be concerned if he can get the same effect cooking as he had w/ electric. Lots of ppl sound happy and I'm sure it's improved. Enjoy your new stove!


I can't help you.
I abhor electric cooking and my first thought would be to get natural gas installed so I would be able to cook again!
I hated the gas stove when I moved in but found since that the regulator was bad- I had only high and not quite as high. I shall see what the repair does to my opinion on cooking but I miss temp. control of my electric range.

[Minniemouse27]

I hated the gas stove when I moved in but found since that the regulator was bad- I had only high and not quite as high. I shall see what the repair does to my opinion on cooking but I miss temp. control of my electric range.

Ya see that is what I miss on electric stoves, temp control. I burn things all the time on electrics. And forget about baking... that's even worse for me using an electric!

Maybe it is just what you are used to.

[jedigrrrl]

I hate to clean and LOVE TO COOK and, though I was skeptical at first, I have come to absolutely love my "smooth" stove! It is sooooooo easy to clean, even if you let the mess set in, like I sometimes do out of sheer laziness. A razor blade works wonders. It is sooooo easy to clean. MUCH MUCH easier to clean than the coils, especially when stuff boils over. I've let a week's worth of meals cake on to the stove and spent 10 minutes cleaning it with a razor blade and some Barkeeper's Friend powder.

I went back and read some other replies and would like to add that My stove cooks things perfectly and I think I have sufficient heat control. I cook A LOT and everything comes out delicious. I cook all kinds of recipes, from easy to complicated, and have never had a problem with my stove or oven.

[RedSoxFan]

I have the GE Profile smoothtop cooktop. I love it. I had it in VA too. Would never go back to coils and I hate cooking with gas. Very easy to clean up -- I just use the ceramic cleaner and scrubber that comes with it (and you can buy at Lowes, etc).

[Donald A]

We just replaced our stove a few months ago. We got a smooth top with convection oven. My wife loves it. Probably a lot easier to clean then a coil top.

[DisneyDog]

I love my smooth top stove! They are the best!! I had coils in my first house, and they would always catch on fire! So we got a smooth top and I loved it. Then we sold the house and moved to Florida. We had an apartment for a few months and it had coils. I was miserable. It is impossible to go back to coils once you have had smooth top.

We bought a house down there and it had a black smooth top. Loved it again. Then we moved back up to PA and the house had coils. It was all rusted out and it fell apart the first week we lived in the house. So, we bought smooth top in white. It's the kind that fits into the counter top. The white is definitely more difficult to keep clean looking than the black. We are about to renovate our kitchen (bring it out of the 70's in into the current century!) and I am getting a new smooth top range, and insisting on black or preferably gray top. Much easier to keep looking clean.

As far as actually cleaning it, I was told you shouldn't use anything except for the special cleaner, which is what I always use. A razor to scrape will clean up everything. Very easy to clean!