If I were you, I would start saving for my excellent new gas range ASAP. In the meantime, most pots except glass ones can be used, none of them heat up too well and the heat is even harder to regulate than an electric (can you tell I don't like to cook on them?) It IS OK as a giant crockpopt sort of thing...

Do not "slide" pots or pans around on the ceramic top, you must pick up the pots or pans and place them where you want them. Sliding them can cause cuts or scrapes on the glass.

Always use proper pan size for the cooking area you are using...to determine proper pan size, it would be the size of the pan compared to the size of the cooking area, always try to match the pan as close as possible to the size of the burner.

Never operate the cooking areas without having a pan on them.

Never allow a pan or pot to boil dry.

Always keep utensil handles turned inwards towards the stove, not outwards where they can be bumped.

Do not leave food or utensils in the oven during self cleaning cycle

NEVER COOK ON A BROKEN RANGE TOP, if your top is cracked or broken contact your service dept.
immediately.

Then if something goes wrong, you can small claims them under your warranty. Then it is their money!

My cookware was a gift from my in-laws and was very expensive for them to buy and I cannot believe I'm going to have to stop using these over this relatively 'inexpensive' cooktop.

sonali, I have been told the stovetop should not be used if even one of the burners is exposed.

I just got a new Amana smooth top range delivered today (Weds.) On Saturday, I had bought myself an All Clad double griddle. But now I find that I am not supposed to use pans that are bigger than the burner size. Plus, the griddle has kind of a raised middle part -- definitely not flat!

Thanks for sharing the creative cleaning idea! For my non-handy readers, a Dremel is a small hand drill/ tool for jewelry making and for fine woodworking and model building, sort of like the drill your dentist uses. It comes with LOTS of interchangeable tips for drilling, buffing, etc.

I wonder if a plastic container could have a hole cut in it and be used to make the skirt or cup to catch the flying polish?

Most major appliances that are built in, have the warranty that transfers to the new owner if the house is sold. If you have the paperwork on the appliances it will probably tell you. If you know where they were purchased, the sellers might be able to help. Or you can call the manufacturer, but you may have to be persisitent and keep calling back until someone helps. (Don't take no for an answer and keep track of who you called and what they said.)

The bigest advantage is that after all the hard work to clean it, it actually looks clean. Every time. I'm pretty lazy so I dont clean it as regularaly as I should. When I do become a slave to the cooktop it looks good. All the time. When I dont I am rewarded with burnt on rings and lots of elbo grease.

There is not magic bullet, but I have found some cleaners work better on some things than others, so I try a few on my problem areas. Some times the only option is to try something a little more abrasive or a razor blade, I havent managed to damage mine yet.

After reading all the cleaning tales, I wonder if this is the best choice after all.

We have gas connections, so that option is open. But she just loves the look of those shiny new, unstained, smooth cooktops, and thinks that's how it'll be forever.

Is cleaning them really that bad? My wife boils food over the saucepan all the time, which is why she's so often trying to clean under the burners. She thinks the new smooth cooktop will mean just mopping up, like on the countertop. Not really so?

Any advice before we spend some big bucks getting one?

Electric ranges really do heat up twice as fast on high, but you should turn them down to medium before you put the pan on- Or if you are really trying to do temp, turn one on to medium and the other to hiogh and move the pan to medium as soon as it begins to simmer.

Love the cleanability of the product, but maybe one shouldn't use it. Also noticed a reduced amount of heat when needed, always had used electric coils before. We don't have gas here so that option doesn't work unless I have propane delivered.

Had a stove prior, not even an option these days to buy, but lasted until now, 1975. This one acts as though it may be booted out within 3 years. I'm not impressed!!!! So unimpressed that I'll probably buy a $200 electric coil unit next time assuming that all are poorly made! I'll just keep replacing with least costly because they all are poorly made.

I used to be a software quality engineer and I always went after engineers who decided they knew better and force the customers to bend to their demand. We need to be more demanding as customers and tell GE and other manufacturers of ceramic/glass stovetops off when they say you must use this size pan of this type of material, smooth bottom, blah de blah. LUDICROUS!!!! Don't put up with it!

As for the cleaning, we haven't had any problems.... YET.

Anyone know how to override the stupid software in the product that shuts the burner off every time you take the pan off the heat?

I do not 'baby' this cooktop, or clean it as often as some people think I should, but when it comes to cleanup the following works well.

a. Use a good sharp razor type knife to scrape the majority of the spills off. No chipped blades, and they're so cheap you can toss them each use.

b. Use one of many cleaners designed for these tops to do a final clean/polish.

I've used cheap T-Fal pans, nice Calphalon pans, even made gravy in my huge roasting pan on top of the stove, and loved it. Temperature control doesn't seem to ben an issue. Heavy-bottomed pans (like the Calphalon ones) heat evenly and cook evenly. I've never given a thought to whether the pans are smooth or ridged. Ridged bottoms "hiss" a little but cook just fine.

Clean up is a breeze. I use a damp paper towel first to wipe up basic "crud," squirt on some ceramic cooktop cleaner (bought at WalMart) and wipe down the surface with another damp paper towel. Buff dry with a clean kitchen towel and it's done! Beautiful, clean, shiny . . . If there's a particularly stubborn spill, I use a damp nylon "scrubby" sponge (came with the range) and some extra cleasner to scrape up the spill, then clean as normal.

Yes I do mean really crack, as in split the glass top and see bare electrical stuff (and then replacing the top, of course). Yes, heating without a pot can really crack it, so can setting a hot from the oven casserole on the room temp top, also, setting a very hot pan on a normal or unheated part of the stove top, or on a wet dish towel on the top. These tops are glass not metal.

Have moved around quite a bit and have had mostly electric coil top stoves with drip pans....and hate them with a passion.

Current GE stove (original in 20 yr old house we bought) only has 2 working burners, so I just purchased a Kenmore Elite black smoothtop-- as a replacement...but it hasn't been delivered or installed yet, so there is still time to change my mind. I chose black over white because I thought white would be too hard to keep clean-looking.

After reading these messages, I'm wondering if I should cancel my order and get a different type of stovetop. I have All-Clad pots and pans, and as wonderful as they are, I've probably warped them by pouring cold water into the hot pans in the sink in my rush to clean up....

Pretty much all the suppliers agree NO aluminum directly against the glass cooktop, so use a hotplate for your Expresso pot. I got the free-standing electric Krups for this reason.

Re: replace cooktop

I also think gas is the way to go. waterheater, stove, heat. Its the best thing if your electric goes out you still have those things to use.

I got a new set of pans as a gift and I was searching the net for info on if they are ok to use on my stove. They have the ridges that a couple people here described. I think I will return them and get flat bottomed pans however.

With iron pans, you have to have a smooth bottom and like the aluminum DO NOT slide or drag across the top!!! pick up and put down.

Several readres have not had good luck with copper bottom pans.

I am looking at replacing my old coil avocado green stove with a ceran top range. I have totally been freaked out by the comments I have read. My husband will have a fit if the thing ends up more work than not. I like the clean look that this stove gives and my pots are just analon no copper although I do have an old aluminium roaster which I use at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do you recommend I get rid of this if I decide to get the smooth top range?

Thanks!

Jan, The ONLY thing I suggest to place on the stovetop is the 600 degree heat safe silicon pad that can be used in the oven, ANYTHING flammable is unsafe- just a disaster waiting to happen.