Kenmore Elite  36'' Electric Cooktop

Only 13 months after installation of this unit the finish of the two black surface rails (front and rear) started peeling, revealing the rusty steel strips underneath. Our usage of this unit (2 people) has been relatively low, care of the unit high. A call to Sears/Kenmore (actually multiple bounced calls: Kenmore, Sears, Tech Support, Warranty, Recall, Service) revealed that a fix required replacement not just the rails, but of the entire glass top unit at a cost of some $436. There has been no recall of the product for this manufacturing defect. They offered to send out a service technician ($75) who could look at the unit and either order the referenced glass top (at my expense of course) or perhaps could bring some paint. I acknowledge that my cooktop is out of warranty. But a $436 fix to a an inferior finish job on the visible surface of an "Elite" series product should at least be clear warning to others to AVOID this product. Or, buy the additional protection agreement

The Kenmore Elite 36 inch Electric Cook top is powerful. I REALLY like the 5 burners. The middle back and the front right have several sizes to fit different size pans. I am having a little trouble adjusting to all 3 small burners being in the back. I find that it is a distance that I will need to adjust to. It is beautiful and classy while being a great servant.

Love my new cooktop, (not liking having to clean it each time I use it. ) Looks great in my kitchen. Powerful cooking, heats up fast.

First, the demo model I saw in the showroom was not the complete unit, which includes a power cable and an additional smaller metal box that sits under the right side of the unit.  This meant I had to sacrifice one kitchen drawer beneath the right side of the unit.  Bottom line, take all measurements for the opening in your kitchen cabinet/island carefully, and pay attention to the clearances listed for the unit itself.

Also, I had to have my granite countertop cut a fraction of an inch on each side to make room for the vents and spacers located around the unit.  Sears installers do not cut granite, and professional granite countertop installers may charge well over $200 to do this unbelievably dusty and messy job.  If you need to widen the opening in your granite countertop, move everything from your kitchen that you can, seal off kitchen entrances with plastic sheets, open all windows and have fans blowing outward, run your HVAC fan, close all cabinet doors and drawers, and be prepared to spend a few hours vacuuming and wiping down all your cabinet doors and countertops, as well as sweeping, dusting, and mopping your floors.

The unit is very sleek and stylish, but if you want it to stay that way READ THE MANUAL FIRST!  A small bottle of cooktop cleaner (available at Sears) is included as well as a nonabrasive scouring pad--you and your cooktop's new best friends. Follow the directions to avoid spills.  Note the part about cleaning sugary spills immediately while the unit is still hot--the opposite for any other kind of spill.  Use only water and dishwashing soap on a nonabrasive sponge to clean the cooktop.  Then use a damp towel to wipe off the soapy wet cooktop and dry the cooktop with a towel.  A razor blade can be used to scrape off burned spills but be extremely careful. The cooktop cleaner, nonabrasive pad, and paper towels--as well as elbow grease and repeat applications--will remove almost any other stains that remain if the first two steps are insufficient and will restore your cooktop to a nearly new appearnace.

The cooktop has a good assortment of different sized burners, and a 9 inch diameter turbo boil burner that can boil a large pot of water in about ten minutes--pasta lovers dream!  Again, read the manual thoroughly regarding matching the size of pots and pans to the burners--especially if you have never had this kind of cooktop before. Also, this type of cooktop can be easily scratched by certain materials especially if you slide them aross the surface.  The touch controls are easy to understand and use.

All these details may make glass cooktops seem "high maintenance," but this type of cooktop, espcially this Kenmore Elite with touch controls, is so much nicer looking than older style electric ones with coils or gas cooktops.  It has no difficult to clean "nooks and crannies," and no parts to remove for cleaning.  It's actually fairly easy to clean once you learn the routine and use cooktop cleaner.