Glass Top Electric Range

[imoldernu]

I'd like to have back the hours spent on cleaning the glass top of our electric range. Not just the top, either... also the bottoms of pans. The tinest spill becomes a challenge, as whatever gets caught between the glass top and the bottom of the pan, turns in to black carbon, akin to coal... and if left for another cook session... turns into a diamond hard dimple, requiring hammer and chisel to dislodge.
Am not looking for a cleaner suggestion. Have tried every one on the market. The nuisance continues. We found that the Mr. Clean type Erasers work best.
Now the range is 11 years old. The top still looks okay (more or less), but some under-the-glass dark spots. Then, some of the pans with steel or silver colored circly target looking bottoms, have taken on permanent stains. Yes, maybe could be remove with a few hours of steel wool grinding, but easier to buy new. Only the Revere Ware escapes this.

Some other comments on these problems here:
New Glass Top Electric Range - Need New Pans? - Cookware - Chowhound

The next range (I should live so long)... will have the coil burners.

Anyone else have a "Glass Top"?

 

[JoeWras]

Yes. But it is a black top. Looks great in the kitchen.

Wanted gas, but it would have been a huge pain to retrofit.

We like the glass top. Black is probably easier than white to deal with.

Finally, I have a straight edge razor scraper we keep nearby. This works well to get rid of the coal and diamonds.

 

[Newventurer]

Yup. Couldn't have nat gas (my preference) as not available in my area, bought a new (2013) Maytag with Schott Ceran glass top, same issues. Was looking at Lowes for a cleaning solution and the 'kit' they sold had a razor blade and the gunk remover. Like you have found nothing that is worth the elbow grease to make it look like new.


Whatcha looking here for?

 

[pb4uski]

We did in our old house. It was fine. I found cleaner and a razor blade window scraper at a 30-45 degree angle did a good job cleaning it up.

We have propane now and I like the propane much better.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Glass top over white base, natural gas - raised burners - so no 'baskets' to have to clean out.


I can put up with cleaning the glass - 409 works great, but dang, those enamel base fittings require some caustic sprays like Easy Off to get the burnt grease and oils off.


I used to try and keep those clean all the time - but now it's more like how often I go to the dentist....probably not enough

 

[MRG]

We've had a black glass top GE for 9 years, still looks new. Never used a razor or anything harsh on it. Just the cleaning cream, with a pad, sometimes I'll let the cleaner sit wet for several hours, sometimes overnight, before even attempting to scrub. No problem with pans.

I'd rather have gas or propane any day. Just because of better control over the temperature.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I have a glass top. Trust me, if you think it is a pain, it is nothing compared to the coils and bowls electric models. Those are awful.

Mine is an old Kitchen Aid, probably from the 80s, that I salvaged from a tear-down, along with a matching old dishwasher. It has a crack in the top now, and the oven doesn't get "pizza hot" any more, but I'm loathe to replace it for some reason.

I use the Cerama-brite stuff on there every now and again, but anyone who knows me I'm not much of a housekeeper and my standards in most things is pretty low.

I use a cast iron pan for nearly ever meal, and it seems to work okay on there. I also have a few Calphalon pieces that get trotted out. I would have loved a gas stove, but no dice out in the country due to needing a tank and all that hassle.

 

[Big_Hitter]

We have a dacor 48" pro (with griddle) - super easy to clean

 

[Bikerdude]

I have a glass top and I would never go back to coils.

 

[W2R]

I still have the coils and bowls, and haven't ever had a glass topped range. I just assumed that those of you who do, didn't have to clean the range at all any more, other than just wiping off with a sponge. This thread has been educational for me....

 

[Katsmeow]

I would never ever go back to coils. Those things are a total PITA. Currently I have a gas cooktop (what the house had when we moved in). I don't love it.

I previously have had a glass top electric cooktop which was fine, much better than coils.

However, the best that I had in a prior house (and what I will get next) is an induction cooktop. The induction cooktop does require new pans as it only will work with something magnetic like iron or stainless steel.

Once very nice thing about induction is that only the pan gets hot, the cooktop itself does not get hot. When I had one I didn't have to worry about a cat walking across the cooktop after I had cooked something.

Also induction cooks very evenly.

 

[Sojourning]

When we moved from the UK to Canada, my wife found the differences in appliances surprising.

Here were her observations:
Why do some stoves/ranges still have knobs at the back which are hard and dangerous to reach when you have a steaming pot on top? I know some do have front knobs but a heck of a lot are the same as in my Mother's day.
Frigidaire® Freestanding Range, White, CFEF3014LW - Sears | Sears Canada
Why are one piece stoves/ranges still the dominant appliance rather than a separate cook top cut into the countertop and separate oven wall mounted at a convenient (no bending down to lift a turkey out) height?
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HiIKq4RkZ1M/maxresdefault.jpg

http://www.cnbhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lovely-mount-electric-wall-oven-iWRyt.jpg

What do people do with a one piece about all the crap that falls down the sides between the stove and counter?

She hadn't seen such an appliance in decades in the UK (or anywhere else in Europe). Cooktop set into counter and separately mounted oven is standard in any middle class home.

We renovated our kitchen and had to buy new appliances, so naturally we bought an in counter induction cooktop (there goes your problem imoldernu) and wall mounted oven. The prices were far higher (like double at least) than they would be in Europe. I suppose that is because they are not the norm and so economies of scale don't get to come into play.

Induction Cooking: Pros and Cons

 

[MichaelB]

Cooking food is messy. Always has been, always will be. It's not the stove or cooktop, it's the food. If you don't want to clean you have to stop cooking. There's no other way...

 

[Big_Hitter]

If you don't want to clean you have to stop cooking. There's no other way...

Sure there is - DW cleans up after me and I cook all the time.

 

[Sue J]

I've always had a gas stove so no experience with electric glass tops.

But I watch "In The Kitchen With David" on QVC, just because I enjoy it and they demo-ed this product last night. It's the Scrub Daddy sponges, they get soft in hot water and hard in cold water, pretty nifty and they showed how to clean baked on gunk on an electric cooktop -
http://www.qvc.com/Scrub-Daddy-Set-%286%29-Colored-Jumbo-Blocks-With-%283%29-Bonus-Yellow-Sponges.product.V33308.html?sc=V33308-ISRC

Scroll down a little for the video.

The video is 17 minutes, the part showing them using on the cooktop is at 3:48.

I've seen these for sale in Walmart, never bought them.

 

[Ronstar]

We have a glass top, and one with the coils. The glass top one is far easier to clean

DW uses Norwex envirocloth with water and Norwex window polishing cloth to polish the glass top stove. (and DW says no we are not Norwex dealers)

 

[LoneAspen]

I bought a house once where the builder had put in a glass-top halogen range. I hated it, for the exact reasons mentioned here. Any little spillover burns, smokes, dries on, and is hard to remove.

I hated it so much I was planning on replacing it with a coil model, but then I moved so I didn't have to worry with it.

When I started looking for homes to rent after my move, one of my "must have" items was a gas cooktop. I love them. They're incredibly inefficient, but I just like them so much better than electrics.

I would be willing to try an induction cooktop. Even though it's a flat surface, since the cooktop itself doesn't heat up, cleaning up shouldn't be as much of a problem.

But for now, I'll stick with gas.

 

[Chuckanut]

My glass top looks great. I clean in about twice a week with the recommended cleaners. Every once in a while I have to scrap a bit of gunk off with a dull razor blade. It's really not a big problem and I like the flat top much more than the coils.

 

[Katsmeow]

I would be willing to try an induction cooktop. Even though it's a flat surface, since the cooktop itself doesn't heat up, cleaning up shouldn't be as much of a problem.

When I had an induction, cleaning up was a breeze. It was very easy and could be done immediately -- even while still cooking if you wanted to -- since the surface never got hot.

Induction is a bit more expensive, but we bought an Kenmore and it was quite reasonable in cost (with Sears, it usually pays to wait until it is on sale).

 

[freebird5825]

Not sure if this will help out, but...when I used to volunteer at the Legion breakfasts, the solid top metal grills got pretty ugly and sticky. One of the guys would put ice cubes on the still hot surface, and the gunk would essentially "boil loose". When the ice was all melted, he would then use a heavy duty metal scraper (not a razor) to dislodge the gunk into the side drains of the grill unit. Picture below.
I don't know if the glass tops have a lip on the front and side edges, but perhaps a single cube dropped with a pair of tongs would have the same effect. There will be a fair amount of steam produced with many cubes, so turn on the exhaust fan. Wear protective gloves so the steam doesn't hit your bare skin.
I own a gas stove. I wash my grates and 2 burner catch basin plates in the dishwasher before they get too bad.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

When I had an induction, cleaning up was a breeze. It was very easy and could be done immediately -- even while still cooking if you wanted to -- since the surface never got hot.

Induction is a bit more expensive, but we bought an Kenmore and it was quite reasonable in cost (with Sears, it usually pays to wait until it is on sale).

Don't induction units require that all pots and pans be ferrous as well in order to work?

So that might be added cost to replace all pots and pans.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I think everything just has to have a flat bottom


I like my ng cooktop

 

[Texas Proud]

We have a glass top and love it.... it is black so those stains etc. do not show as much...

My preference would be gas, then glass and then the old electric coils... never have used induction, so do not know if I would like it or not...

 

[imoldernu]

We renovated our kitchen and had to buy new appliances, so naturally we bought an in counter induction cooktop (there goes your problem imoldernu) and wall mounted oven.

If I thought that renovating my kitchen would solve my problem... like insuring that I'd get 10 more years to amortize the cost... I'd do it in a minute...

FWIW, here's a picture of a Whirlpool range that's exactly the same as our Kenmore... (Whirlpool makes many Kenmore ranges, washers and dryers)... see this article to determine the manufacturer of Kenmore products by looking at the model number.

Appliance411 The Purchase: Who makes Sears Kenmore?

The top is a mottled black/grey. Over the years, underneath the glass, dark colored rings appear around some burners. Those do not come out with polish.
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A little bit of hijacking here... on a subject I tried to get replies on before... Has to do with the white eraser sponges... Since we couldn't live without them... all through the house, and with tools, automobiles and anything that has rust, dirt or lime. I just assumed that everyone... everyone... used these erasers. Was not the case! Just out of curiosity started asking friends and neighbors, and found out that half of them had never tried the product.
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[Another Reader]

I put coil ranges in the rentals and glass top ranges in the houses for sale....


I hate the glass tops. Too difficult to clean, too easy to crack. Gas for the cook top so you can do stir fry and get some easy to see temperature control (how high is the flame) and electric convection for the built in ovens is the only way to go.