Customer Reviews

Nesco American Harvest JS-4000T Jet-Stream Oven

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the third Jet Stream we have owned. They generally last 2 years or so. Ours gets at least daily use. The food cooked in it is terrific, usually in 1/3 the time. We like it because it cooks the food quick and without heating up the kitchen. We like the way it stands up to conserve counter space. However since we use it on the daily basis - its like the toaster, remains out and ready to use.

This model is nice and quiet, however we have noticed that they have done away with the interior light, the base, and amber shell are lighter than predessors. It would be nicer if they would improve the racks to make them easier to clean. They are not the hardest thing to clean, but it would be nicer if they improved upon.

Since the unit is lighter, I don't know if this unit will last the two years typically our Jet Streams last.

CAVEAT EMPTOR. While my jet stream oven was great while it lasted, the motor or "control arm" for it BROKE less than a month after the 1 yr. warranty expired-- and this with only very moderate use during that year, maybe 3 or 4 times a week. When I called Nesco, I was told that one year's life expectancy was about "normal" for small appliances, which basically meant that they don't expect their product to outlast the warranty. There was nothing I could do short of buying an entirely new oven (you can't buy a replacement "control arm"). How many of us would willingly spend $130 for an appliance whose manufacturer thinks this way? My GE microwave had a 1 yr warranty, too, but it's been working over 10 years without incident. I would advise all those who are willing to spend $130 on a disposable item to go ahead. Everyone else should wait until they offer an extended warranty.

I should have taken the advice of all of the negative reviews, but I figured that the average person treats their appliances with so little respect, that most of the problems they had were probably their own fault.

We went ahead and bought a Jet-Stream Oven from Amazon and it got here much sooner than we thought. Amazon is great. We had such high hopes for the Jet-Stream Oven, but the various things we cooked in it didn't taste any better than cooking it in a regular oven and it took much longer to cook than expected.

The Jet-Stream Oven was a disappointment, but since it's much easier to clean than an oven, doesn't heat up the whole house, and doesn't stink up the place, we thought it was still worth the money. Then on the 5th day, it just stopped working. The display light went out, it was dead. We treated that thing gently too.

I was worried by all of the reports about the plastic cracking, but I didn't even expect it would die on us in less than a week. We only used it a few times, so it wasn't overworked. We were shocked, but at least Amazon sent us a free shipping label by e-mail, and it's now on the way back to them. Amazon said it might take a couple of weeks before we get our money refunded, but that's not so bad. At least we are getting our money back.

Before you buy the Jet-Stream Oven or any other product, make sure you read through the reviews and don't discount them. I know there are some negative reviews about various products sold by Amazon that look suspicious as if they are employees of a rival company or they are ham-handed oafs that destroy everything they touch, but those reviews are pretty easy to weed out. In this case, it seems like the Jet-Stream Oven won't be worth the money until Nesco makes more improvements to it. The Jet-Stream Oven is a great idea though and I hope Nesco fixes the problems before their reputation gets so damaged that they won't be able to recover no matter how much they improve the product in the future.

I bought the Jet-Stream Oven about two weeks ago and am generally pleased with its performance. I'm glad that the 4000 has a direct-drive motor that avoids the problems with their previous model, the 1500, that was plagued with drive belt failures. My intent was to replace an old Welbilt Convection Oven that has lasted almost 10 years, except that the control knob fell off years ago and I have to use a butter knife to turn it on and off (but then, that's another review). On the plus side, it does indeed do things like cook fish sticks in 8-9 minutes versus 30 minutes in a standard oven and it cooks a frozen pizza in 12 minutes instead of 25-30 minutes. On the down side, the fan is so powerful that it rips pepperoni and sausage off of the surface of a frozen pizza and eventually throws them onto the base tray where they get burned after they are thrown, loudly, all over the interior. And, don't even think about putting toast or a bagel in this oven; anything that isn't heavy is thrown all over the oven and ricochets off the fan and heating element while it cooks (even on low fan speed). So, yes it does cook heavier foods much faster than even a convection oven, but don't even think about putting bagels, frozen waffles, or anything lighter than chicken into in. Overall, and this is based on two weeks of use, it's just acceptable. Beware of high prices for any accessories. Accept it for what it is and don't expect to cook anything taller than 2-3 inches without expensive accessories and turn up the TV when you cook: this thing is LOUD.

I had one of the original Jet Stream's when they first came out, which over time gave up the ghost. Then they were hard to find. The newest incarnation is very good. It has the digital timer and temp control. Direct drive motor so no belt to worry about, and the cleaning is the same as the original. I wish Amazon would carry some accessories like the lid extenders. The Jet Stream cooks chicken like nothing else, the skin gets paperthin and crispy, but the meat stays moist. If you want crisp outsides on frozen convenience food (ie eggrolls, fish sticks, chicken wings) this appliance will to it. Like a deep fryer, but no frying necessary. It also does a great job with refrigerator biscuits and cresent rolls. They get fluffier in the Jet Stream. The instruction book is easy to follow. I also think it is an energy conserver because you are not using a big heated oven for smaller jobs.

UPDATE: This version of Jet Stream did not last a year (it died twice with light usage), even with one trip to Nesco for warranty service. The electronics seems to fry easily. Skip this one. Buy a vintage one on eBay, the worst repair you'll have to do is a belt. Wish I could change my 5 stars to 0 stars. Hot air convection cooking still rates 5 stars, but not the JS-4000T.

I bought my jet-stream way back when it just came out in the early 1990 or '91. I used it for 3 or 4 yrs. then I had to move out of the country and I put
it in the storage. I took it out ( looking forward to using it again) 10 yrs. later and viola! It is working great like it was the last time I used it. I love this thing. Infact, I just bought the Flavor Wave oven and I have to say this, I am disappointed with the Flavor Wave and will box it up this PM and return it. My old American Harvest Jet-stream is far way superior when it comes to cooking. I just finished cooking sausages just now using Jet-Stream and I put both of them to the test (Flavor Wave). The sausages came out juicier and beautiful brown with the Jet-Stream cyclonic cooker. The Flavor Wave does not cook evenly, gimmick! Too bad I bought two Flavor Wave as I was going to give the other one as a gift to my sister, never mind. Now I have to box the two Flavor Waves and return it. I am giving the Jet-Stream by American Harvest 5 stars! Thumbs up!

I have had 3 of these now in the last year the fan motor died in each of them they're great while they last but need a new fan design.

We have the original model thru a thrift store. I had to get a new belt over the internet, but since that it's been GREAT! I see some down reviews below, but we love it and use it sometimes 2 times a day. 8-10 times a week. No more waiting for the oven to heat, the jet stream only takes 3 minutes to preheat. And most items you can cook in 1/2-1/3 the time. We've done frozen/fresh pizzas - 6-8 minutes. 3/4" steaks - 11 minutes (medium). Stuffed Chicken thighs - 12 minutes. BBQ chicken (2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 legs) - 20 minutes. Egg rolls/butterfly shrimp - 6-8 minutes. Long story short, WE WOULD BUY A NEW ONE OR REPLACE THE BELT ANYTIME!

I realy love this appliance but it does not seem as sturdy as it was originally. Maybe because I use it every day, it only lasts a year or so. I am anxiously waiting for a new one. It is more convenient than the glass pot variety and I have also purchased an oven style which has no way to clean it and is only realy successful for pizzas or food that does not loose fat. Please hurry with the new batch.

This latest NESCO oven is now being made in China, and the quality has plummeted. The plastic now used to make the oven is second rate. You should expext the oven to last no longer than the warrenty. The units I purchased before Nesco bought the company lasted seven to ten years. Old units were a little more expensive, but were top quality. I use my oven every day, so quality is important.

This last model has broken twice in warrenty, and although the curtious customer service honored the warrent, it was inconvienent now to have use of the oven for a couple of weeks. Now the unit is recently out of warrenty and the plastic cover has cracked, the drip pan teflon coating has flaked off, and the bottom hinge has cracked. The replacement parts are so expensive it is cheaper to purchase a new unit. But even as wonderful the food cooked in the Jet Stream tastes excellent and is healthy, $130 a year is too expensive.

I'm going to look on the web for a old model Jet Stream Oven made by American Harvest before the Nesco bought the company.