Why You Can Trust CNET GE PB911SJSS review: A surprisingly good appliance worth its moderate price
The $1,100 GE PB911SJSS can connect to some GE microwaves via Bluetooth, but it's the cooking performance that really makes this range a winner.
First impressions have led me astray in the CNET Appliances Test Lab. There was the cherry red wonder that was more of a lemon, the stainless-steel tank that stumbled through cooking tests and the plain range that concealed just how impressively it deployed induction. I've been fooled into thinking that some appliances would be better (or in some cases, worse) performers just because of how they look. Now, I've added the GE PB911SJSS freestanding range to the list of products that prove how wrong first impressions can be.
GE PB911SJSS
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
On the surface, this $1,100 GE electric range looks like an appliance that would be easy to pass by. It doesn't have any burner knobs to control the cooktop, a feature that's sure to turn off traditionalists. It doesn't stand apart from the glut of stainless steel ranges on the market. But the GE PB911SJSS is a reliable, consistent appliance that executes simple cooking tasks like roasting and baking while adding the right amount of flourish with components such as Bluetooth connectivity and a convection fan.
The GE PB911SJSS transcends first impressions -- this is a simple range without much flash but with solid cooking chops. And it's a better investment than more expensive, garish models that can't live up to the initial promises their appearances make.
Knob-free, yet easy to use
I gave this range a hard side-eye when I first cut away its cardboard box. The control panel is completely flat; it doesn't have any knobs to control the five burners on the smooth cooktop. I documented my distaste for knobless ovens in my review of the Kenmore 97723 double-oven electric range, a decent product marred by complicated touchpad burner controls. When I saw a similar feature on the GE, I anticipated days hunched over the cooktop, frustrated and fiddling with counterintuitive controls.
I won't go as far as to literally eat my words about knobless ranges (and besides, we're an online publication), but I'm woman enough to admit how shortsighted I was to write off all ranges without knobs. GE showed me that it's possible to deploy a streamlined look while making it easy for old-school cooks like me to adjust to a new design.
Rather than using a numbered scale to show a burner's heat levels, the GE range uses a semicircle surrounded by lights to control each burner. You press the on/off button in the middle of this semicircle, then press the plus and minus buttons to set your burner temperature. The more lights go on, the hotter the burner gets and vice versa. It sounds complicated, but these had a much quicker learning curve than the similar Kenmore model.
Bluetooth is a frivolous, but functional accessory
The lights and the fan on the microwave turn on automatically when you turn on a burner thanks to the Chef Connect feature.
GE uses this range to dabble in the world of smart large appliances without creating a product that is too complex or expensive. The company equipped this range with its Chef Connect feature (a proprietary way to say, "This oven has Bluetooth") that syncs with GE over-the-range microwave ovens. Sync the two appliances, turn on a burner, and the microwave's exhaust fan turns on automatically. The lights beneath the microwave that illuminate the cooktop also turn on when it detects that a burner is on.
This connectivity is responsive -- the lights and fan turn on right away after you start to us a burner. Plus, the Bluetooth will sync up the clocks on the range and microwave. But there's nothing else you can do with the range's Chef Connect if you don't also have a compatible GE over-the-range microwave, which start at $500. GE should explore giving Chef Connect more usability that isn't tied to having an over-the-range microwave.
This oven knows how to cook
Cooking test revealed the best parts of the GE PB911SJSS: fast boiling, superb roasting and an overall consistent performance that matched or outpaced similar ranges.
The GE range made the most impressive showing when it came to boiling 112 ounces of water. It took an average of 9.32 minutes for the water to come to a boil, a time that blew similar ranges out of the water.
Large-burner boil test (electric models)
The convection fan did impressive work in the oven, especially when it came to roasting a chicken. The bird came out with a skin so crispy you could hear it crackle as I cut into the breast. Both the white meat and dark meat were succulent. This skin/meat combination is what every oven should aim to produce.
The GE PB911SJSS cooked a delicious chicken on the convection roast mode.
Other cooking tests produced solid results, though they weren't as monumental as the rapid water boiling or roast chicken. The oven broiled six hamburger patties in an average of 15.27 minutes, a respectable, middle-of-the-road performance when you compare the GE to other ranges:
Hamburger broiling test (electric models)
The oven also did a decent job of baking two sheets of biscuits while the convection fan was in use. Though the biscuits on the top rack were darker than the rack below (with a couple of biscuits even getting a bit burnt on the edges), the biscuits were all close to the same color, which showed me that heat is being evenly distributed throughout the oven cavity. However, you might need to cut down on the time you leave food in the oven when you're using the convection bake mode (unless you like very brown biscuits).
Final thoughts
The GE PB911SJSS is more than just another stainless-steel range. This appliance cooks as well, if not better, than ranges that cost twice as much. The range excels because of a streamlined, easy-to-use profile and a consistent, reliably good performance. It would be easy to dismiss the GE PB911SJSS after a quick glance. But this range is worth a longer look.