I love my smooth top. It is so easy to clean and much nicer looking than coils.
I do use a cast iron skillet on it; it is a very old Griswold with a flat bottom. I have read that you shouldn't use a pan that has porcelain enamel coating on it but I don't own any. Also, the pans do need to have a flat bottom. I replaced one 40 year old Revereware pan because the bottom wasn't flat any more. otherwise I didn't get anything else new for it.

I had always used electric coils - 40 plus years. 2 days before Thanksgiving my stove went out. We went to 7 different stores and I was amazed that there were only a couple electric coil stoves out there. We were forced to go with a flat top but we got an enormous stove. I to cook with cast iron and my mom cooks with enamel. We have not had any problems. It took a little while to get used to but nothing that bad. With the cast iron I do set it down softly and no I don't move it around. Hasn't been a problem yet. If you don't have an even pan bottom, that can be a problem though. As for your popcorn, we eat popcorn almost nightly as well. We use the presto microwave popcorn popper. Makes great popcorn. If I'm in the mood for kettle corn I simply add a tbsp of sugar to my tbsp of oil. Works like a charm.

I think that only a very few ranges will have coil tops these days. You'll probably be stuck with the flattop, so get used to the idea. Or what about induction?

You can go to Sears' website and sort by feature and get a good look at what's available.

A good coil top can be a little hard to find. This kitchen has a Jenn Air glass top, and most, but not all, of my cookware works fine. I did give a way a Dutch Oven that had been my go to for cooking pasta/water, it wouldn't heat....

My problem with the cooktop is I do some pressure canning and it's not so great for that. Part the weight of a fully loaded vintage canner, and the fact that the heat cycles up and down (built in safety feature in the stove) causing slight fluctuations in pressure.

So I'm cooking on the glass top, canning outdoors over propane crab cooker element. Not ideal but OK.

I don't slide pans on it, and clean it with Weimans cooktop cleaner regularly. 15 months and no scratches or stains yet and mine is white.

I absolutely Hate my flat top stove! I would give it away to get a new one that is not flat. It was brand new with the house is the only reason I still have it. The only thing good I can say about it is it's easy to clean. It is a top of the line Kenmore so I know that it wasn't cheap. I cook a lot and have never had a stove that was so hard to control the heat it's constantly suddenly going up and burning stuff then it takes forever to drop back down to a lower temperature. I have had many brands and types and never had this kind of problem, I have never disliked an appliance this much. My husband has been wanting to buy me some other one but I hate to spend the money since this one is so new. But I think I am going to go for it. We have gas in the house and might have it behind the stove no matter where it is we can get it to the stove and I will be going with gas on the new one.
I guess I will either sell this one or give it away.

I will never have another flat top.

I would consider an induction.
My jenn air that I had in my Oklahoma house I had the modules which had solid sealed cast iron burners. I loved them. I don't see them often here but in European countries they are more common. They are super easy to clean since they are solid and the heat control is very similar to gas. I would gladly have those again. This is what they look like.

Here is a link that might be useful: Solid surface elements

My stove allows me to have both. I wanted a downdraft stove. It came with a grill on one side and a choice of a smooth top unit or coil burner unit on the other side. I don't use the grill at all, so I bought the coil burners separately that just plug in where the grill was. (I could still use the grill by just unplugging one or the other burner units.) So now I have the best of both worlds. I do cook mostly on the smooth top, but can still feel safe to use my cast iron skillets on the coils when I want. And pots that aren't flat on the bottom do work better on the coils.

I will never ever own a coil top stove again. Nor an oven that isn't self clean. I've had my stove for 14 years and when it breaks down, the only difference I want is a double oven stove, with the ceran/glass stove top. But both ovens must also be self clean. The amount of hours I've saved cleaning alone, is amazing! Just push a button for the oven, and in a few hours it's done. Just has to be wiped out. The stove top takes five minutes and a little polish and voila! It's done. No elbow grease!

eta: Mine is a near the bottom of the line Kenmore. I don't think we paid more than $800 for it 14 years ago. I've never had a problem cooking anything on it, from eggs, bacon, pancakes, steaks, soups..... I even make jams and jellies without a problem.

This post was edited by debby_ab on Mon, Mar 10, 14 at 17:29

After 30 years with coils, I am in love with my smooth top stove. Yes, I had to discard my Revereware because it wasn't a flat bottom, but it was worth it because the flat top isa breeze to keep clean. I've had no trouble with it. I would never go back to coils.

Add me to the list of NEVER getting a smooth top again. I hated it. No, you can not can on them. Clean up was a mess in my opinion. I got so lucky with this house. No stove when I looked at it, and I requested and got gas! Yeah.

In two houses I lived in, I had gas brought to the area for the stove. No regrets on that, as I love the gas stove.

But, like Raven said, there are solid electric burners on European stoves... I knew, cause that is what I grew up with. What's up with that anyway, how come we can't find them here? I would use electric with one of those.

Moni

When we moved into our former apartment 2 years ago we were only there a couple of months when the landlady realized how much cooking and baking I do. The stove was a vintage green one! She told me to go and pick out what I wanted, and she'd buy it.

There were only about 3 coil stoves, and the rest were glass/flat tops. The one that I got was also cheaper than the coil stoves. Any black smooth top ones I saw at friends looked like hell after a short period of time; fingerprints, dust and smears. The one that I chose had the speckled finish, and it was great for hiding any dust or dirt.

It was easy to clean for sure, any spills cleaned up with a damp sponge and some baking soda; I never had to use the sample bottle of cream cleanser.

I was worried about my cast iron skillets but I used them; just had to be very careful not to drag or drop them.

My fear, is that I'm a bit of a pan-shaker when cooking and stirring, so of course I couldn't do that.

The landlady sold the bldg last fall, and we had to move as the new owners wanted our apt and the one below us for their kids (a triplex). So we're back to using a coil top and I don't miss the glass one one little bit, surprisingly enough.

I shake my skillets and make popcorn in a stainless pot with glee!! I'm back to buying the aluminum things for the drip pans but that's a small price.

I was always in fear of wiping my glass stove with a cloth that was too cool or wet, and shattering the top (a common complaint, which isn't covered under warranty). Also while visiting my girlfriend I commented on the cutting board that was on one burner, and that is to remind her not to turn it on. While washing dishes she heard a bang, and for no reason her burner cracked (glass top). Again, warranty won't cover.

I really like my smooth top range and would never ever want to go back to a coil range.

Sue

I have a stainless Jenn Air coil burners cooktop that I would get rid of in a minute.

I spend more time cleaning it up after cooking, than doing the cooking itself. Especially those steel burner pans. If you do any frying, microscopic droplets will cool and collect on the burner pans and the stainless housing for he burners cools so fast (I have a downdraft exhaust), you have to wipe it off very quickly, because it's a bugger to scrub off with a plastic scrubber (can use brillo, cause it scratches) .

I guess that's why Jenn Aire sells replacements.

I would love to have a flat top.

My plan is to replace my coil cooktop with induction cooktop. It is said to be as quick as gas as to adjusting heat level and that it is so easy to keep clean. Another thing that is enticing me is that you can put paper towels under whatever pan you are using so that any boil overs/splatters go on the paper towel. Everyone that has induction says it is a dream to clean. Additionally, it appears that when a pan starts getting too hot, the thing turns off automatically. I think I need this because recently I have forgotten I had items cooking on the stove top and everything burned up - including the pans.

I really dislike my flat top stove, too. Everything others have said about it being hard to keep clean, pots spinning around--which I REALLY hate!--heat not being consistent, etc., I totally agree.

Gazania, you have the best of both worlds, IMO.

I have a Jenn-aire with a downdraft. One side has coil burners and is built-in. The other side is removable and has the solid burners. I cook mostly on the coils because that side heats up quicker. My stove is from the late 80s but it works great and I have no complaint with it. When the time comes to replace it I hope I can get something similar. I have to have the downdraft and there aren't that many choices these days. I don't think I'd like the smooth tops. I don't want to have to be careful about the stove.

Mwheel mentioned something that drove me crazy is that my skillets would spin around!

Unless your pots and pans are absolutely flat, they won't heat properly either. I sold an almost new large nonstick skillet because it didn't sit flat on the glass, so only part of it was in contact with the heat

I replaced it when we moved here and it sits no problem on the coil top.

I also got in the habit of wiping the bottom of every pot I put on the stove.....any bit of water would sizzle and burn on the glass. Wiped the stove top as well, to make sure nothing was on there that would burn onto it.

This post was edited by jasdip on Mon, Mar 10, 14 at 18:44

I've had smoothtop cooktops since we remodeled the kitchen in our old house about 35 years ago. I still use the flat-bottom cookware that came with that Corning Cooktop. (I'm not sure whether they still look so good because they are good, or because I'm no cook. I clean the cooktop and the pots with Bon Ami and a damp paper towel.)

This topic interests me because we are planning to replace appliances at our Maui condo -- all new in 2001. I have a black smoothtop there, and guests/cleaners have nearly ruined it. Until I read this thread I was sure I would replace that slide-in stove with one with coils. Sure wish I could find one with the solid cooking elements Raven linked to -- but maybe guests would sabotage those too.

I know gas is much easier to cook with, but then... I'm no cook. When we built this house (also 2001) I had it piped for gas as well as electric -- then I wimped out because the smoothtop is so much easier to keep clean. (Lazy? Me?)

I'll be keeping the white smoothtop I have at home, but have to make a decision soon about the vacation rental condo -- no gas available there. What I *would* like to replace here is the electric built-in microwave/oven. Neither part is satisfactory! (Think twice before you 'build in' anything; replacement can be a bear.)

Given those two choices: glass cook top..

And I even canned on mine..not sure why you can't!

But I love my gas range...I was not going to give it up with this house hunting...but...if I have to I will get induction.

I am probably the exception, not the rule, but I kept my smooth top exactly 2 weeks, and returned it for a coil top. There is not one single thing, that I can say that I liked about that smooth top. Mine happens to be just the cooktop, not a full stove, since my oven is built into the wall. I do believe though, that a lot of it is personal preference. Some like gas, some like electric (I can honestly say, I really hate anything gas near my house, after seeing a gas explosion years ago). I hope you find a stove that you will absolutely love. If I could have used a full sized stove, I might have checked into convection.

When I bought my house, I was disappointed to see an electric stove with a smooth top. I had always wanted gas. A couple of years ago I sold that smooth top and had a gas line run into the kitchen. I like cooking with gas but cleaning the stove top was much easier with the smooth top.

I had a smooth top in GA and the kids hated it, because it was such a bear to clean!!! Here in AL I have a gas stove that I LOVE LOVE!!!! When this stove dies I will replace it with another gas stove...

I had coil in our old house. (And grew up with coils). This house we have now had a smooth, white ceramic tile cooktop, as in, they were like square ceramic tiles you would see on a floor. I despised that cooktop! Took forever to heat up, and cool down and you could not get it clean. It was permanently stained.

I shopped forever, and ended up getting a black smooth top from Craigslist. I like it. I do have to be careful with sliding pans, etc. like everyone else said. It is easy to clean, and it looks more modern I guess. Yeah, I like it.

Having said that, I could easily go back to coils and be just find about it. I really like the European ones Raven posted. The sealed ones? They would be great.

Good luck!

Love, love my glass top stove. I was really hesitant when I got it and actually didn't cook on it for a week but I think it is so much better than having coils. I love to cook and I have never had a problem with mine. I don't use my enamel Dutch oven on it and now use it for oven cooking only. Clean up is a breeze. Love that you can use a razor blade to clean up the mess if a pot over boils and cooks on. I love the oven too because you don't see the bottom element and clean up is a breeze. I also love the 5th burner which is a warming burner. One burner is a fast heat burner and one you can set for a small pot or a large pot. Mine is a Kenmore. The only thing I really detest about my stove is the sound of the timer when it goes off. It's horrible haha.

Sis - tell DH you want gas!! Problem solved!! :)

I like my glass top stove fine. But if I were you, I'd get a coil burner stove. I just bought my flat top last June and Sears had both the coil burner and the flat top. I'd say check with them. They were very good about explaining the pros and cons of both. They did not pressure me to buy the glass top and in fact they said that for some people, a coil burner would be the only way to go. So, I say shop around and get the coil burner stove. I dot not use cast iron but I know when I asked about it, they said that if you use mostly cast iron, they would recommend the coils.

I'm surprised only one person mentioned induction cooking. I remodeled our kitchen a few years ago, and was trying to decide between electric coil, electric smooth top, or going all out and installing a propane tank and a gas range. The pre-remodel kitchen had an electric coil range which I didn't like the look of, and which I cursed at frequently. I had once tried a electric smoothtop, and while it looked better, it really didn't cook any better and I had heard many reviews like those above where people hate their smoothtop range.

So I was leaning in toward getting propane, but wasn't excited about it because I have never really been fond of cooking with gas, and the expense was going to be quite large. However I then learned of induction cooking from the kitchen forum here, and installed one, and just love it. Heat output, ease and speed of control, ease of cleaning, and it looks good too.

I know they cost more, although not as much as changing to gas if gas is not already available. And the aluminum corn popper would need to be replaced. But you should at least look into it.

If you get an electric jenn air with removable modules you can choose which kind of modules you get. Like gazania shows in her picture. I had a bunch of different modules, those solid sealed cast iron ones, coils, I had the grill module which we used a lot, I had the flat griddle module, I had a rotisserie module, possibly more that I don't remember. I always liked my jenn airs, I had the full slide in range in one house and the cook top only with double wall ovens at another. I actually have 2 complete jenn air cooktops in the garage. I was planning on using them in the outdoor kitchen when we get it done. I miss my grill, it made great steaks and chicken. It was messy to clean down in the downdraft area, it would catch grease.

I did mention induction and would definitely consider it depending on the cost difference. One of my best friends got one and loves it but she ordered hers from France and it was pretty costly.

If anyone is interested in the solid burners I think they are called French plate burners, you can Google it there are some brands with them, and of course they can be shipped out from Europe. Vulcan makes them and of course they are very expensive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vulcan

I like my smooth cook top. I had to replace some pans because they were no longer completely flat on the bottom, causing them to spin, wobble and not heat adequately on the smooth surface. I occasionally use a cast-iron skillet with good results.

I've replaced electric cooktops with gas ones in three different houses. One time was 6 months after moving into a house we'd just bought that had a Jenn Air unit. I really disliked that one, especially the downdraft vent it had that was useless.

Maybe there's a knack to cooking with electric cooktops that we've never figured out. When gas is available, I think most people choose that. If I lived in a rural area without natural gas service, I'd probably use propane (much as I hate propane).

I see the Vulcan has that old timey shelf above the cooking surface -- just like a stove my mother had.

One summer my mother and her best friend got it into their heads to make piccilili relish and spent a whole morning working until they had a huge vat finishing on the stove.

Both of them smoked, using an ashtray balanced on the shelf above the stove. Oops! The ashtray went into the boiling relish. They were not going to dump their long labor of love, so they picked out the butts and went on canning it.

Guests raved about this particular batch. They didn't see Mom carefully eyeing the contents of each jar as she dished it out for the table.

My brother and his wife bought an induction burner stove. My sister-in-law had to replace some pots and pans and was walking around the stores with a magnet testing each pot bottom. Surprisingly the magnet did not stick to a good number of pans that were quite expensive.

This is as clear as mud. Still not sure what to do but I know the family will not give up the popcorn popper. Its the best! It looks like people either love or hate their stoves, no in between, Maybe I'll bring the popper with us on spring break. The rentals usually have flat tops. I remember the flat top in a house we rented for a year was awful to clean. Others on here say how easy to clean they are. Maybe it depends on the age.

Interesting, I just saw a Mr Clean commercial and the stove top they were cleaning was the sealed cast iron burners.

Back in the 80's an apartment I was renting had those burners. They took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to heat up but kept the heat well when they did. I turned the burners off early to finish cooking. Can't say I'd ever buy them, based on my experience back then.

Yesterday when this question popped up I was excited to hear the opinions. I am currently shopping for a new stove. Gas would be my first choice--but after much realignment, I don't see giving up the under oven drawer. My kitchen is just too small. I would disagree that coil stoves are few to find. I hear all the down sides and can't say I experienced any of them with my MIL's. She had hers for 10 years when she died. The top stains, I am guessing that is unavoidable. Still that seems cleaner than the rings/drip pans/under burner ICK and mess that comes with a coil stove. I agree with Lisa--this thread IS NOT HELPING!! bummer.

Lisa, if your house has one during spring break, that will be the perfect time to experiment. Take a skillet from home maybe, and see if it sits flat, or spins. The spinning drove me crazy! :)
Our schools are on spring break now, when is yours?

My first preference is a gas stove top....but the kitchen in this house was an addition, and when it was built, they saved $$ by not bringing in a gas line.

Gas burners are the best, because You can adjust the heat IMMEDIATELY.

I don't like electric stoves so I can't say I love my smooth top but certainly like it much better than the coil. I'd much rather have a gas stove but that's not an option here. I don't find nearly as difficult to clean as the coil. The one thing I would do differently is to get a speckled top rather than the black - it does show dust, etc.

People always say: "Gas burners are the best, because You can adjust the heat IMMEDIATELY. " but that is also true for induction cooktops. I can have a pot on high, that is seconds from boiling over, and press the heat down button and prevent the boil over, without needing to lift the pot. People also tout the wide range of control you get with a gas stove, and while it is true, you can turn the knob any small amount to make the flame visibly slightly smaller or larger, in my experience with gas stoves, the lowest possible setting would equate to a 3 on my induction cooktop, and the highest setting might be equal to 7.

On its highest setting I can bring a pot of cold tap water to full-boiling in an uncovered pot in less than 5 minutes, whereas my fathers-in-law's run-of-the-mill gas range can never bring an uncovered pot to a full boil.
On its lowest setting I am able to melt baker's chocolate, directly in a pan, without needing a double boiler, and without scorching it or causing it to break.

My biggest complaint about cooking with gas though is that much of the heat goes up the side of the pan heating the room and also heating the handle burning hot.