"Sandy" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Vox Humana wrote:
> >
> > "Sandy" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Buying a house with 10 year old Jenn Aire 2 burner plus grill gas top
> > > with downdraft, no hood. Have read the Google history of discussions.
> > > Conclude from that the grill is too cool to be useful, and we need
more
> > > burners anyway. Some say the downdraft may suck the flame away from
the
> > > burner area, others say it works "ok".
> > >
> > > Would it be better to buy a 2 burner cartridge unit (about $200) to
> > > replace the grill cartridge, or buy another brand without the
downdraft
> > > and install a hood?
> >
> > I have a JennAir gas range. I find the grill to be underpowered and the
> > downdraft inadequate. I put in a new over the range
convection/microwave
> > oven last year and vented it to the outside. My previous OTR microwave
was
> > not vented because I assumed the downdraft would be sufficient. That
was a
> > mistake as the smoke detector went off every time I tried to grill. The
> > additional overhead ventilation (300 CFM) solved the problem. I would
> > recommend that you use the JennAir a few times and see if the burners
and
> > grill meet your needs. If so, keep it and get the left-side burner
> > cartridge. Also, get the a hood installed as the downdraft isn't going
to
> > get rid of all the smoke. If you don't like the JennAir, then simply
> > replace it without spending additional money on the extra cartridge. I
have
> > two burner cartridges and the grill cartridge. I seldom use the extra
> > burners and simply keep the gill set up all the time except for large
> > holiday meals. You can put pans on the grill side. It works fine for
> > heating things like vegetables and making sauces.
>
> Thank you Vox, and thanks to Arch , Louis, and David for your input. I
> think Vox has an excellent cost effective approach here. We will
> definitely plan to put in the hood immediately as our first improvement,
> and then try out the existing unit without using the downdraft feature.
> That will give the Jenn Aire the benefit of the doubt. If it is
> satisfactory, a new cartridge should finish the job. If not, we will be
> back to see what the current thinking on the best replacement would be.

Just one observation. If you have the grill burner and grates installed,
the downdraft comes on when you turn on the gas for that side. There is an
override switch that is activated by the drip pan for the burners. Unless
you have the burner and drip pan installed, the downdraft will operate when
using the left side of the range. Of the two problems (flame defection and
smoke) the smoke is the bigger problem and the hood will solve that.