less expensive 30" induction range + otr mw/vent

9 years ago

Hi all,

We're finally finishing our basement, and we're adding a very small kitchen.

This kitchen will likely only be used:
1. by our parents when they visit (my mom is usually here at least one night/week, but she insists she's doing no cooking!).
2. And then our office will be in the basement, so we may use it when we're too lazy to walk up two flights to the main floor of our house where the kitchen is.
3. For parties when we need more oven/cooking capacity.
4. For parties when we use the basement level (has a game room and access to the backyard).

So, not a main kitchen, but not too infrequently used. But not frequently used for heavy cooking or prepping.

Our plan is to get a 30" induction range, but it's hard to find good reviews. Based on my searching on here, it's Electrolux or GE, but the reviews seem to be dated.

Can anyone point me to new reviews or are these still the two best options? We're not looking to spend a lot here, so Viking or a cooktop are out.

And we're planning to get an OTR microwave + vent (to the outside). While we'd love to do a separate vent/hood and microwave, we don't have any room for it. We have very limited counter space (and we will NEED a coffee machine and espresso machine, which will take up nearly all the counter space). And we don't have any cabinets (uppers or lowers) that are big enough to house a microwave. Nor do we have a pantry or storage or closet nearby. And we want a microwave, so OTR it is. Any recommended budget OTR microwave and vent?

Since neither of these appliances will see heavy use, we probably care most about reliability.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

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Comments (7)

westsider40
9 years ago
A very important factor in an induction is the clearance required underneath. Less is better. Old specs for GE asked for 12inches of clearance. Space is primo in your case. Most ppl are very happy with each brand. I love my Bosch 30 wide model 500. Unique here, except for very pricey brands, are shutoff timers. Set a pot of rice and water , set timer for 18 mins, walk away, done. Mumsey will love.

My Bosch Otr is trouble free. Perfect.
hvtech42
9 years ago
Electrolux and GE are both well respected manufacturers in the cooking area. In terms of induction ranges, I think GE has gotten slightly better reviews in terms of long term reliability, but there are plenty of people happy with their Electrolux. GE refreshed their Profile line not too long ago with a new look, so you may not get as many reviews if you search the new model number, but people really liked the older version. As I understand it they're mechanically identical.

I assume you're looking at free-standing ranges? If so the Whirlpool built induction range becomes an option. It's sold under the Whirlpool, Maytag, and KitchenAid brands. There's also the less expensive Frigidaire freestanding made by Electrolux.

If on the other hand you are looking at slide in ranges another option to look at that is very new (so not many reviews) is the new sharp looking Bosch Benchmark series. Besides Electrolux, GE, and Bosch the only other slide in induction to my knowledge is Kenmore, which is made by Electrolux.

OTR microwaves are pretty much all the same. The brand doesn't matter so much as whether you're venting it outside (which you are). They mostly come out of a small set of Asian factories where many different American brand names are slapped on them. Most people just buy the one that matches their range. I think Sharp is going to have to have the edge in quality in this area though, and as far as I know they're the only one making these in the US. I don't know if that's true of all models though.
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Q
Comments (9)
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
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Mine, over 30" induction cooktop, is a 36" Kobe in the CH191 series. It has max 720CFM, although the long run and multiple turns in my duct means the effective CFM is less. I usually run it on the second lowest setting anyway. It's quiet and easy to clean, and the corners are curved so no one can impale his head by accident. Mine has halogen bulbs, but I understand that they come with LED now. I thought ventingdirect.com had pretty good prices, although others have found even better deals on other sites. I think I read that there is a more affordable Kobe-made hood sold at Costco. Maybe the Brilla? Marcia's right - it's better to have 36" hood over 30" stove. But if you aren't changing the cabs and you're replacing a 30" MW, I don't know that you can avoid having 30" hood. Not the end of the world. Still much better than OTR MW. There are more discussions of hoods over on the Appliances forum. Try googling "gardenweb hood recommendation" or something similar.
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Yes, plenty of reasons to really really dislike the dang thing! It's a MONSTER! You can see from the elevation below (sorry for the hand drawing) that there are only about 12.5" of wall before the South-facing window begins. From GardenWebPics The OTR thing blocks a lot of light, and now I am completely flummoxed as to how to design the uppers. Am very close to going back to ditching the vent entirely and just using the window and old fashioned through-the-wall fan which is over the back door. From GardenWebPics
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Nope. I mean, sure, it won't melt the microwave, but as has been said before, OTR microwaves are dangerous just from being OTR and have woefully insufficient vents, especially if they're recirculating. And that's the good ones. :) What free means is that they have to give them away to get rid of them. :) To be fair, it is also possible that it's just a way of stimulating sales by giving a freebie, the way Thermador gives away dishwashers. Easier than doing a price reduction. People are a lot less sensitive to the end of a giveaway promotion than a return to regular price.
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crl_
9 years ago
I'm very happy with my free standing Frigidaire induction range. I eliminated Electrolux on price, ge on price/styling and whirlpool because their self cleaning oven technology got terrible reviews. That left me, at the time, with frigidaire and samsung in my price range. I can't honestly remember how I decided, but I really like how my frigidaire functions!

(Not a stainless steel fan so I'm not crazy about the looks--especially the dreadful black sides--but there was no way I was going up to $7k for a Viking to get a different color.)
scrappy25
9 years ago
Just mentioning if you don't already know, that you may not be allowed a 2nd permitted kitchen without an exception. That is important in that if a fire starts in the basement kitchenette, insurance will not cover the house damage if the work has not been permitted.
In my county, can get exceptions for an in-law suite if you tell them your parents are coming to live with you.

For a basement, a "wet bar" is allowed. which includes in our case full sized appliances- fridge, sink, microwave,and dishwasher. We left a cabinet for a future cooktop and electrical that could be changed easily to 220v , but no cooktop or stove is currently installed or allowed in the "wet bar". The coffeemaker now sits on the counter where the future cooktop could be. We have a portable induction one burner cooktop and an electric skillet for anyone that wants to cook in the basement but that has not happened yet. If you want an OTR microwave you will may have to pass inspection without it first and put it in afterwards .
MizLizzie
9 years ago
My sister recently installed the Whirlpool freestanding induction range with the double ovens and topped it with a matching Whirlpool micro vented to the outside -- the most basic version since they do not micro often. She has been very pleased with both.
jebrooks
9 years ago
I can't review it because it hasn't been delivered yet, but I just bought the GE freestanding induction range. I chose it because I wanted two same-size hobs on one side, and because the hobs are an inch bigger than the Electrolux.

The GE and Electrolux were almost even in my evaluation, and if I had not received a great price from a local appliance store I would have happily gone for the Elux. From my research they are both fine choices.
miniscule
9 years ago
Had my heart set on a slide-in induction range and chose the GE as it looked most likely to fit my existing cabinet and counter set-up, the tie-breaker over the Electrolux. There are a number of configuration challenges in this kitchen, including counters much higher than standard height, but I just want to get rid of the gas stove and back to induction, which we had in our previous home

Sadly though, my granite counters are not level from one side of the range area to the other and the slide-in won't sit right without significant effort.

So I will be ordering the freestanding GE induction range, and look forward to trying it out!

less expensive 30" induction range + otr mw/vent

Comments (7)

westsider40

hvtech42

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