GE Profile : JES2251SJ 2.2 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave with Child Lockout and Extra Large Capacity
by GE Profile
Our Price: $250.36
Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days
Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: GE ProfileBrand: General Electric
Model: JES2251SJ
Color: Stainless Steel
Product features:
- 2.2 Cu. Ft. Capacity - 1200 Watts (IEC-705 test procedure)
- "Inverter Technology - Delivers constant power, even on low settings such as ""melt"", ""soften"" an
- Sensor cooking controls - Automatically adjust the time and power for exceptional cooking results
- Auto and Time Defrost - Automatically defrosts for a specified amount of time
- Warming Oven - Keeps prepared foods exceptionally warm and fresh
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of GE Profile : JES2251SJ 2.2 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave with Child Lockout and Extra Large Capacity
Customer Review: Very uneven heating; cooking sensor is useless; totally not worth the money
Summary: 1 Stars
Like other reviewers, I bought and tested the General Electric JES2251SJ (in March 2006), at the recommendation of Consumer Reports, which listed it as "top pick" in various areas, including heating evenness.
Consumer Reports doesn't detail their test procedures and how they determined this "very good" evenness. As far as I know, they could have heated water in a cup and marveled at how even the temperature was. So here is how I tested:
I bought a big bottle of tomato juice. Tomato juice is thick enough so it won't circulate inside the container and equalize the temperature, but thin enough you can suck it through a straw and see how hot or cold it is. I kept the bottle in the fridge a whole day.
Here's how I tested vertical heating evenness: I poured tomato juice in a plastic cup, placed it off-center on the turntable, so it will be even more uniformly exposed to the microwaves, and heated it at 100% power for 90 seconds. Then I sampled with a straw the temperature of the tomato juice in various places. I was careful not to let any juice flow back from the straw and mix in with the surroundings (I ended up drinking half a liter of tomato juice throughout the whole process).
The results for heating evenness: SURPRISINGLY POOR. There were hot and cold zones throughout the glass, without much of a discernible pattern. The surface was generally warmer than the bottom.
OK, maybe actually you're supposed to place things dead in the center of the turntable. So here's how I tested horizontal heating evenness:
I cooled the tomato juice in the freezer for half an hour, poured it in a paper plate, placed it in the center of the turntable, and heated it at 100% power for 1 minute, then sampled with a straw the temperature of the tomato juice in various places. Again, I was careful not to let the juice reflux.
The results: POOR. Temperature dropped as you went from the rim to the center. The juice at 1" or less from the rim was warm, the rest of it was colder, and the center of the plate was coldest.
OK, so maybe it just needs more cooking time (and hope that somehow the already hot areas won't get hotter) .
So I decided to go for 2 minutes, and back to vertical evenness (or lack thereof). I poured the juice in the plastic cup, then placed it in the center of the turntable and heated it at 100% power for 2 minutes.
The results: POOR again. Unacceptable, in fact. The juice at the surface was hot, and the juice at the surface near the rim was super-hot, while the center was cold and the center bottom was coldest. Generally, along the rim the juice was about twice as warm as in the center. I know it's a subjective opinion, but I didn't have a thermometer, and a subjective opinion is what you'll have when you drink the stuff, unless you get your thermometer to drink it for you.
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Other thoughts:
- this oven, besides being green, only comes in "stainless steel", which means all your fingerprints will show up nice and crisp on the door opening button.
- the power cord is only 4ft long but that seems to be a common trend among microwaves.
- The cramped LCD display is viewable only from below its level, not from above, so you must place it at eye level or above, or crouch to distinguish the display. If you place it above eye level, though, you won't see the state of the food inside the microwave.
- The user manual is surprisingly scarce. This oven does have presets for some foods, but somehow for most things I wanted to heat, there was no preset: chicken/poultry, *beverages*, lasagna (there is a preset for pasta, though). The first thing I wanted to do was heat up some milk. As I said, there is no "Beverage" function (something I've seen on, I think, all microwaves).
A few days later I tested the "Omelette" "Breakfast" preset, with liquid Egg Beaters, ham and cube cheese, in a 500mL paper bowl. The results: FAIR. The sensor was active for about 4 minutes, then displayed 1:30 left, but when it was done cooking, 30% of the liquid eggs was still liquid. I did some other tests of the cooking sensor function, and it turned out to be mostly useless.
Maybe no microwave is doing a decent job of heating my omelette concoction, and you can surely learn the times for your favorite foods, but then I'll just pay $70 for a random microwave, not $230 for a supposed "best in its class".
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So much for my trust in Consumer Reports. I didn't have a very good opinion about them anyway: if you are knowledgeable about some topic, their recommendations are often naive. If you're an IT professional, go look at computer recommendations. Their ratings and recommendations are very amateurish.
More GE Profile : JES2251SJ 2.2 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave with Child Lockout and Extra Large Capacity reviews:
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Description of GE Profile : JES2251SJ 2.2 cu. ft. Countertop Microwave with Child Lockout and Extra Large Capacity
Weights & Dimensions Approximate Shipping Weight: 51 lb Cavity (W x H x D): 17 1/11 x 11 1/2 x 18 31/32 Overall Depth: 19 13/32 in Overall Height: 13 25/32 in Overall Width: 24.09 in Capacity Capacity: Family-Size Total Capacity (cubic feet): 2.20 Features Electronic Digital Display with Clock: Yes Electronic Touch Controls: Yes Variable Scroll Speed: Yes Wattage (IEC-705): 1200 W Power Levels: 10 Delay Start: Yes Soften/Melt: Yes Warm Mode: Yes Breakfast (Sensor): Yes Dinner Plate (Sensor): Yes Lunch/Snack (Sensor): Yes Reheat (Sensor): Yes Turntable: Glass Turntable Size (in.): 16 Defrost Type: Auto & Time Display On/Off: sub-pad w/ zero Sound Volume Control: 4 levels Time Cook: I & II Time Preference: Yes Timer (On/Off): No / Yes Child Lock: Yes Appearance Case Color: Stainless Steel Color Appearance: Stainless Steel Door Color: Stainless Steel Power / Ratings Electrical Input - 120V Amperage: 13.9 Accessories Cookbook: Cooking Guide Label Warranty Parts Warranty: Limited 1-year entire appliance; Limited Labor Warranty: Limited 1-year entire appliance Warranty Notes: For models produced on or after January 1, 2006; See written warranty for full detailsMicrowave Ovens
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