Jenn-Air was a great company until Maytag purchased the company. The company languished for almost a decade until new parent Whirlpool invested 300 million into the company in 2007. The slide-in is the last of three major cooking products with the first being the pro range and wall oven.
Is it dramatically better than the old slide-in? The answer may surprise you.
Older Model
JGS8850CDS - $2,099
This Jenn-Air slide-in gas range featured 4 burners, a stainless steel top, and a warming drawer. The oven’s dimensions were on the smaller side, being 37” in height and 30” in width.
The JGS8850CDS also featured several different burner powers – the left front burner was 15000 BTU’s; the left rear was 9500 BTU’s. The right side front burner was 16000 BTU’s; the right rear burner was 5000 BTU’s. This oven was their staple for almost a decade. All they ever changed was more powerful burners.
New Model
JGS1450DS - $2,599
Updated Features
Dimensions
Jenn-Air has two new models that are comparable to the JGS8850CDS. The updated designs include full-depth dimensions – with the JGS8850CDS, there was an additional back filler required to get the range into place. Often, there were inconsistencies, and the range was not a true slide-in. With the newer models, consumers can achieve the slide-in look without the additional back filler.
The new slide-in can also be retrofitted to a freestanding space without cabinet modification. You can use this for direct replacement unlike almost any slide-in.
Burners/Oven
The new ranges include 5 burners instead of 4, digital controls, a bigger window for the oven, and higher BTU’s. The BTU’s range from 5000 to 19000.The controls are now on the top rather than the face, so the volume of the oven is now 5.8 cubic feet. The Viking gas range, for example, is 4.0 cubic. Most are 1 cubic less.
Self-Cleaning
The newly developed “Aqualift® Self-Cleaning Technology” is safer, faster, and more efficient cleaning. The bottom base is made of special coating, and with the help of just water. The self-cleaning mode will break off any burned stain. Just a few swipe of a sponge will remove all cleaning mess.
The entire process takes about 40 minutes vs. the traditional self-clean is 2 hours+. Best of all? No smoke created, because water is evaporating instead of burning.
Broiling
Possibly the best update to the Jenn-Air range is the Halo Broil. The Halo Broil is a new broiler system designed to help increase broiling performance as well as coverage. Halo Broil includes an electric heating element in the sides of the oven, to create more even cooking. This new system gives you a dual-fuel broil system in your gas range.
Would I Buy?
I like the range. Its up to date and modern. The burners and oven modifications are all really needed improvements. It is available to the freestanding market without modification, and that market is 95% of all range sales in the US.
However, the price increases their packages over $5,000. The old range dominated that affordable luxury segment. More interestingly, the biggest competition to this range is their professional range. The Jenn-Air Pro is $3,999 plus a free $1,200 dishwasher, which may be more compelling.
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