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  • Design & Usability

  • Performance

  • Warranty

  • Conclusion

  • Design & Usability
  • Performance
  • Warranty
  • Conclusion

This GE has just four burners, but they all have the versatility to reach both high and low temperatures. Boiling speeds aren’t lightning-fast, but two burners are quick enough to satisfy all but the most impatient chefs.

If you’re looking for something highly stylized or feature-rich, the JP3030DJBB won't meet those needs. But if you’re just seeking an inexpensive ceramic cooktop that does what a cooktop is meant to do—cook—this one won’t leave you hungry.

Design & Usability

Just the basics

The JP3030DJBB isn’t much to look at. It’s not ugly, it’s just basic—which is fine, unless you’re seeking a flashy conversation piece. 30 inches of black ceramic glass house four electric burners, each indicated by a thin circular outline. The left rear and right front burners are labeled “Power Boil” in small print, while the left front and right rear burners are marked with “Keep Warm” and “Melt,” respectively.

The GE JP3030DJBB 30-inch electric cooktop
Credit: Reviewed.com

The GE JP3030DJBB electric cooktop

Controls are black knobs mounted on the right side of the cooktop. Each has nine temperature settings to choose from, and a small GE logo occupies the lower left corner of the cooktop.

Performance

Rock solid

{{amazon name="Farberware Classic Stainless Steel Teakettle, Brooklyn, 1.3-Quart", asin="B00CJAXTPM", align="right"}} This GE held its own in our tests, especially considering its low MSRP. All of the burners can reach very hot temperatures for searing, or drop to conveniently low ones for simmering. And while none were especially speedy to boil, the right front and left rear burners with Power Boil weren’t half bad.

The Melt and Keep Warm settings don’t actually help the burners reach any sort of extra-low temperature, but they were both serviceable. In fact, minimum temperatures fell around 125°F for every burner, which is respectable. Maximum temps were in the low-to-mid 700°F’s for standard burners and low-to-mid 800°F’s for the Power Boil variety. These are all hot enough for a good sear, but pay careful attention to those Power Boil burners, which can get a little hotter than necessary. If you're upgrading from a tired old electric cooktop, stay off of high temperatures—or else your food might burn and your oil might smoke.

Burner and control knobs
Credit: Reviewed.com

Burners glow red when in use, and a red indicator light switches on.

The Power Boil burners didn’t power right to a boil, but they managed to boil six cups each in less than eight minutes, which we’d consider good enough. (The best burners can get the job done about three minutes faster.) The other burners each took about twice as long, so we’d stick to Power Boil for making pasta.

Warranty

GE provides a 1-year limited warranty for the JP3030DJBB. For 12 months from the date of purchase, GE will replace any part that fails due to a defect in either materials or workmanship. The warranty covers both parts and labor during this time period—relatively standard for this kind of appliance.

Conclusion

A phenomenal deal

We’ll give it to you straight: We like the GE JP3030DJBB. We like it a lot. We’re fond of pricey, beautiful cooktops, but there’s nothing quite like stumbling on a particularly great deal. And with in-store prices under $500, the JP3030DJBB definitely fits the bill.

Your money buys you four burners with excellent temperature range, from mild lows to screaming highs, and two of them can boil in about 7 minutes. For the price, that’s extremely impressive.

If you value price and performance over fanciness and features, or if you need to replace an existing 30-inch electric cooktop that just can't get the job done anymore, consider scooping up this GE.

Meet the tester

Kori Perten

Kori Perten

Former Editor, Home & Outdoors

@Reviewedhome

Kori began her journalism career as a teenage fashion blogger and has enjoyed covering a wide variety of topics ever since. In her spare time, she’s an amateur poet, avid reader, and gluten-free cake baker extraordinaire.

See all of Kori Perten's reviews

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