GE Self-Cleaning Electric Range, Use And Care & Installation Manual

SURFACE CONTROLS

How to Set the Controls

Push the knob in and turn in
either direction to the heat 
setting you want.

Be sure you turn control to 
OFF when you finish cooking. 

The surface unit “on” indicator light will glow 
when ANY heat on any surface unit is on.

At both OFF and HI the control “clicks” into position.
You may hear slight “clicking” sounds during
cooking, indicating the control is keeping the unit at
the heat level or power level you set.

Switching heats to higher settings always shows a
quicker change than switching to a lower setting.

Cooking Guide for Using Heat Settings

HI—Used to begin cooking or to bring water to a
boil. Reduce heat setting after water boils.

Medium High—(Setting halfway between HI and
MED) Maintains a fast boil on large amounts of food.

MED—Sauté and brown; keeps food at a medium
boil or simmer.

Medium Low—(Setting halfway between MED and
LO) Cook after starting at HI; cooks with little water
in covered pan.

LO—Used for long
slow cooking
(simmering) to
tenderize and develop
flavors. Use this
setting to melt butter
and chocolate or to
keep foods warm.

NOTE: The surface unit “on” indicator light may
glow between LO and OFF, but there is no power to
the surface units.

8

HOW DOES THIS COOKTOP COMPARE 

TO YOUR OLD ONE?

Type of Cooktop

Description

How it Works

Electric Coil 

Flattened metal

Heats by direct contact with the pan and by heating the air under the pan. For best cooking 

tubing containing 

results, use good quality pans. Electric coils are more forgiving of warped pans than radiant 

electric resistance 

or solid disks. Heats up quickly but does not change heat settings as quickly as gas or 

wire suspended

induction. Electric coils stay hot enough to continue cooking for a short time after they are 

over a drip pan.

turned off.

Radiant 

Electric coils 

Heat travels to the glass surface and then to the cookware, so pans must be flat on the 

(Glass Cooktop) 

under a glass

bottom for good cooking results. The glass cooktop stays hot enough to continue cooking 

cooktop.

after it is turned off. Remove the pan from the surface unit if you want cooking to stop.

Induction

High frequency 

Pans must be made of ferrous metals (metal that attracts a magnet). Heat is produced by 

induction coils 

a magnetic circuit between the coil and the pan. Heats up right away and changes heat 

under a glass 

settings right away, like a gas cooktop. After turning the control off, the glass cooktop is

surface.

hot from the heat of the pan, but cooking stops right away. 

Solid Disk 

Solid cast iron 

Heats by direct contact with the pan, so pans must be flat on the bottom for good cooking 

disk sealed to the

results. Heats up and cools down more slowly than electric coils. The disk stays hot  

cooktop surface.

enough to continue cooking after it is turned off. Remove the pan from the solid disk if 
you want the cooking to stop.

Gas Burners

Regular or sealed 

Flames heat the pans directly. Pan flatness is not critical to cooking results, but pans 

gas burners use

should be well balanced. Gas burners heat the pan right away and change heat settings 

either LP gas

right away. When you turn the control off, cooking stops right away.

or natural gas.

Your new cooktop has electric coil surface units. 
If you are used to cooking with gas burners or other
types of electric cooktops, you will notice some
differences when you use electric coils.

The best types of cookware to use, plus heat-up and
cool-down times, depend upon the type of burner or
surface unit you have.

The following chart will help you to understand the
differences between electric coil surface units and any
other type of cooktop you may have used in the past.

Medium
Low

Medium

High