Forgot to include a pic.

That's a truly horrible layout, even with just one picture to judge the kitchen by. Most of a kitchen's action occurs between sink and range, and that space is non-existant. If you like to cook, you'd really enjoy having the more functional kitchen that a gut remodel with moving things around would give you. I would increase the value of your home as well to address that dysfunction. Just not as much as the remodel would cost you.

That was a common layout several decades ago. I would be inclined to do do a major re-arrangement, but I would be doing most of the work myself and I would have to consider budget, as well. We work with the budgets and spaces we have.

I'll offer some considerations about the existing space and the questions you asked.

Is 17.5" too close for an OTR over a gas range? No. People put all kinds of gas ranges beneath OTRs including "pro-style" ranges. There's a photo of one over an NXR in the discussion that I've linked below. Note that the base of this one was only about 4" higher than yours -- maybe 22" above the range.

While your OTR could be easily (well, relatively easily) vented to the outside, swapping in a higher powered gas range presents a couple of things to think about. One concern is "coverage." It isn't very good with an OTR. Basically, an OTR is mostly venting just the two back burners. This is not a fire hazard concern but, rather, an annoyance, It means more heat and more goo in the kitchen than with a dedicated vent hood.

The other concern with OTRs over gas ranges is a suspicion that waste heat from a gas stove may contribute to eventual failure of the microwave part of the unit. Frankly, though, microwaves are such a commodity product these days and often so cheaply made that it can be hard to determine how much havinga gas range contributed to or accelerated a failure. Also, consider how often you will be using all the gas burners on the range on full power at the same time.

Also, you don't avoid waste-heat problems by going with a radiant electric stove. They just make somewhat less waste heat, but not hugely so. IIRC, radiant smoothtops put 50% to 55% of their energy into pans, so roughly half of the energy can go into the room as waste heat. . With gas ranges, the rating is 33% to 40% going to pans. That's about a 20% difference, which is not huge. Coil burners are closer to 70% to 75% of energy going into pans and induction is rated at 85% to 90%. The latter differences are significant and may affect your planning about what to do with your kitchen and range replacement choices.

The 30" height-above-the-stove recommendation for hoods is mainly to get them out of the way so cooks don't bang their heads when leaning over to stir or look into a pot.

Another consideration that may affect your planning is that In your current kitchen layout, a hood is going to project out at least another 10 to 14 inches fruther from the cabinets. In the present location, that that could crowd (or seem to crowd) into the space expectations of folks using the sink.

You can get a relatively shallow venting appliance --- can we really call them hoods if they don't have a canopy? --- which may mitigate the distance from stovetop to hood/vent somewhat. Not ideal, but workable. For example, my old house kitchen layout is such that I went with a 5" tall Zephyr hood.

There is another 30" minimum clearance requirement that sometimes gets confused or mixed in to these discussions. That is for when you don't have a hood, and then the unobstructed distance above the range to flammable upper cabinet bases is generally specified as being at least 30 inches. An OTR or range hood are regarded as non-flammable surfaces so they can be closer.

If you swap in a hood, what to do about a microwave? Apparently, you use the convection features a fair amount? (Otherwise, I'd suggest a cabinet hung MW unit elsewhere in the kitchen.) Do you have room for a cart someplace to hold that GE convection mw? Is there any kind of a pantry space where you could put it? If not, then maybe you just vent the existing one to the outdoors.

Then give your self some time to plan and budget for a more extensive revamp.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread with photo of Nunyabiz's OTR

Holly,

I completely agree. Unfortunately, it doesn't make investment sense to truly overhaul the kitchen.

This is by no means our dream home, but the location and schools are fantastic.

We've already redone the lighting and put 3/4" maple throughout(years ago), so the footprint is a lock. Countertops / Backsplash / New Range will satisfy nearly anyone in our market, if and when we find that other house.

I'm in a similar boat. We bought a house about 9 months ago that also has a reciruclating OTR MW, but the MW function quit working about 6 months ago. I know it's an unpopular choice on this board, but after weighing the replace-OTR-MW vs. hood, I've just decided to replace the MW with another OTR. I'm not crazy about them, but I don't want a MW on the countertop, and have no other good place to put it (not willing to give up any cabinet space). Even though I'm going back with an OTR, I'm going to vent it out. Our range is on an interior wall as well. My cabinets don't go up to the ceiling, so we're going to go through the upper cabinet above the range, hang a 90 degree left and go straight to the exterior wall. I have crown molding on my cabinets, but I have spoken with the cabinet company and can get a taller (or somehow double) the crown molding to hide the vent piping that will lay above the cabinets. BTW, I have a gas range too. Who knows if that caused our current OTR to kick out early, but then again, 8-9 years is probably a decent life for such an appliance.

JW,

Your posts are very well put together. I very much appreciate the insight.

After reading your advice, and the other thread you provided... Relocating the microwave isn't something we will try just yet. We also have a toaster oven (countertop) that we use it in place of a toaster, among other things. We do have ample cabinetry, but thanks to the jack wagon architect that designed the OTR mw kitchens, there is no comparable spot for function without a redux.

We have used the Sharp microwave drawer in a base cabinet of our last two kitchens and it has worked out very well. It is actually a lot easier to put food in and out than a microwave that is mounted up at eye level. However, you do need to have a cabinet that has space to install the drawer.

Bruce

bcarlson: As a point of interest, how close to the rim can you fill a mug with liquid and have a reasonable expectation that the liquid won't slosh over the edge when the drawer opens or closes?

kas

We'll cross that bridge if the current layout doesn't work as we hope.

Onto ranges...

There are a lot of ranges I like, so I need help to eliminate some choices off the top. Our budget is going to peak out around $3k

Styling:

We prefer a modern (clean), pro style with limited if any electronics.

Grates:

We prefer full grates with no margin between.

Burners:

5 seems to offer more flexability, but isn't necessary. We'd like to have a usable griddle or at least a wok ring that fits.

Oven size:

It seems to me that bigger is better, but a few of the ranges we like have smaller ovens. Like the Fisher & Paykel, Bertazonni, and there was another brand that looks similar to the Berta (can't remember the brand name)

They are very attractive, but I don't think these can handle Thanksgiving with a large family. We have 15-25 most years and usually opt for a 20+ lb bird. Unless there is something I'm missing, I think we'd prefer to keep a similar volume to what we have currently. (4.5)

Self Clean vs. Manual:

Never had a manual clean before, but I don't mind if the cleanin' is easy. Are there times where even with regular cleaning that manual becomes more work ? I've heard that self cleaning might contribute to electrical problems down the road. Any truth to that, or is it oven specific?

I also quite like the Bosch Benchmark, but I haven't found a place locally that carries them. It has the appearance(aside from the touch controls) and the functionality we'd enjoy.

Electrolux Icon is also on the list, but it's a bit over the peak budget.

We don't care for the appearance of the GE Cafe' line, due to it's rounded corners.

Any thoughts or ranges that fit a similar profile in appearance and options?