As far as I know, these are your two options. You should really go into a store and compare the two. The Dacor will give you more BTU, a simmer BTU, glide rack, flashy lighting on the knobs. Also, the downvent is telescopic with a pellum that rises above the range, therefore; via physics, will work better because smoke, steam, heat, odor, and such all rise.

The Dacor is a much more versatile and better unit; however, the Dacor costs OVER twice as much as the Jenn Air and will be deeper. Since you are doing a remodel, you can adjust for the depth of either model.

I cant believe they are still making this range! As some here may remember, I too owned a Jenn-Air and wished I hadnt! This gas top - downdraft Jenn-Air question comes up quite often. You are by far not the first and probably wonÂt be the last!

Reports from people that they have used or currently own a Down Draft Jenn-Air and have no problems with it are either referring to an all-electric version, have an inefficient ducting system for the downdraft that will allow the burners to function, or they donÂt cook a lot. Five or so years ago, a poster here was told by Jenn-Air Customer Support the downdraft worked too well because their ductwork was short and suggested placing some restriction in the venting to get the burners to function better!

A little history: Jenn-Air got a good reputation by being first to market with the electric grill and surface downdraft, allowing the placement in islands or peninsulas, and therefore keeping an "open" kitchen design. They were built with reasonable engineering, decent quality, and they worked Ok, but they had no competition and quickly set the standard of "up-scale" kitchens. Check out any kitchen design book for the early 80Âs and you will see many. The electric grill worked because the element covered a wider area and had little "bricks" that effectively spread the heat even more. The electric burners worked Ok because the object you were heating, a pot or pan, sat directly on the heat source and achieved a mechanical heat transfer. There was some drawing of heat away by the downdraft, but the system functioned and there were no products to compare performance against at the time.

Then came the Jenn-Air gas cooktop and Dual Fuel range versions of the 90Âs and when, unfortunately, we acquired a 30" Dual Fuel Range. The downdraft pulled the flame off the burner, and what you are trying to heat, because of the "air gap" between the gas jets and the grate, making the anemic burners worse. The gas grill did not work as well as the electric because the C shaped burners heat very unevenly, there are no devices to spread the heat, and the problem is compounded by the downdraft pulling the heat off to the side, much the same as the burners. Over the entire two-burner grill there was only one small spot, about the size of a large hamburger, which would get hot enough to actually "grill" something. The engineering and build quality had taken a major decline as well, and doesnÂt seem to have gotten any better today. It is a very difficult range to keep clean. MaytagÂs acquistion of Jenn-Air has not improved the situation, and by some accounts, made it worse. Letters I had written (real mail, not e-mail) to both Jenn-Air and Maytag have gone totally unacknowledged, but it has only been about ten years so IÂm still hopeful.

When discussing the workmanship and engineering of our Jenn-Air, the appliance parts store "old-timer" referred to it as a Ford. While amusing, I wasnÂt expecting a Cadillac, but I did maybe expect a Buick!

Do I regret buying our Jenn-Air? YES! Did we replace it? YES!!! With a Dacor, but not a downdraft! WeÂve a 36" Epicure with a 42" hood and couldnÂt be happer!

A downdraft is a compromise at best, but I would trust Dacor to do a much better job of it. Keep in mind: If using a pop-up vent, the higher, the better; the higher the CFM, the better, & the bigger the duct/shorter the run, the better.

Best of luckÂ

We replaced a Jenn Air 30" dual fuel with a Dacor 36" cooktop and seperate telescoping downdraft ventilation unit 4 months ago and couldn't be happier. This was all triggered by the death of our 7 year old Jenn Air unit. The control panel died and Jenn Air said they no longer made the part. Scoured the web but, apparently, these things broke so often that whatever stockpile of parts that may have been out there were gone. Jenn Air offered us 15% off a new JA unit. That's it.

Good luck.