Please advise re: fitting new pro-style range into existing kitch

15 years ago

Hi, I need advice from the kitchen/appliance experts on this forum. We are currently looking to replace the entry-level electric coil-top range (UGH!) in our beach condo with an LP-gas range. We are in the process of having the kitchen plumbed for LP as I write. We spend about 3 months time here each year at most but I really look forward to cooking on a gas range here as I do at home. Because the kitchen gets limited use, we hate to make a huge investment and would like to keep range cost at around $3K. The condo is located on the southern Outer Banks of NC; service on the more exotic brands will also be an issue so I'd like to choose a somewhat trouble-free model. We have slowly been remodeling the kitchen, painting existing cabs, replacing hardware, replacing existing appliances, and adding new countertops. It is a galley kitchen, small but efficient.

I've slowly narrowed the choices down, based on internet shopping, to the following units on which I can get a price in the $3K range:

DCS range (specifically LP) with 5-burner top ($3099)

Bertazzoni (LP conversion) ($2599)

Thermador Pro-Harmony (LP-specific) $3299

Of course my first choice based on this list would be the DCS. It is available at an overstock price with free shipping and no tax and provides five burners. However, I am now looking at the range's dimensions and its depth is deeper than our cabinets/countertops. The same issue would also exist with Bluestar or American and these brands are more exotic to NC. Either the Thermador Pro-Harmony or Berta would be a flush installation (counters are 25" deep). The range will be located at the top of the U-shaped kitchen if that makes sense. The DCS range doors would extend 26.75" (1.75" beyond counter) and the handle adds another 2". We have measured the surrounding drawers/cab doors on the perpendicular walls of the kitchen and all door/drawers would be accessible, albeit tight to open.

I guess my question is this: will the DCS look bizarre sitting forward from the cabs by this much? It is our first choice but it does have to fit into the existing space. Replacing cabs/countertops is not an option. Has anyone ever seen a kitchen set-up with a protruding range? Will it make the kitchen feel "tight"?

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Comments (9)

palomalou
15 years ago
We have had two "protruding" ranges, both Wolf 6 burner AG. Doesn't look bad at all because there is a line where the bullnose is attached to the front of the range and that line lines up with the cabinets. Incidentally, I initially worried about the same thing, and was delighted with the result.
You can see it pretty well in the sixth pic down:

Here is a link that might be useful: palshouse
zoenipp
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, Palomalou, your range installation looks wonderful but your kitchen appears to be much larger and airier than our little galley kitchen. BTW, I have a Wolf AG range at home which I absolutely love. Thanks for the pic's; I'll show them to my DH. He says go ahead with the DCS but then he's not worried about aesthetics so much and just wants an infrared broiler for finishing steaks and cooking his "catch of the day" - he's gotten spoiled at home with the Wolf!
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Adding to what deeageux said, I will add that the reason CR testing downgrades the likes of Blue Stars may be as simple as the pans they used. This was something I happened on when I first got my NXR range and tested out its "dual stacked" 15k-btu-hr. burners (which are sourced from the same manufacturer that Wolf uses for sealed burners). Like many "pro-style" burners, these are set-up to favor using larger pans when you want maximum heat. CR does its tests using what they think of as a standard set of commonly used cookware. So, when you look at the time to boiling 6 liters of water (one of the CR tests for rating high-heat performance) you will find that CR reports the larger "pro-style" burners are often much less efficient at heating that stock-pot than the smaller "power burners" from the major manufacturers. A larger diameter pan can change this and possibly significantly. Here is a concrete example. One of the first things I did with my new NXR was to boil 6 quarts of water to make some pasta for dinner. (There is an old thread here from 10 or 12 years where several dozen GWers reported on doing their own tests and in which I participated, so I repeated what I remembered of those tests.) The first time I ran this test, I used my trusty old Kirkland 12-quart stockpot which is 8 inches in diameter. I suspect that it is very much like the pots that CR uses in its stove testing. On my previous stove, a GE dual fuel range with two 12k-btu-hr burners, it used to take just under 18 minutes to bring the water from tap temperature (about 50F) to just starting to boil (195F at my altitide). On my new NXR's 15k-btu-hr burners, it took over 22 minutes with that pot. However, with a different and wider stockpot --- this one with a 10.5" diameter base, the time dropped to just under 15 minutes. Another run used a 25 quart stockpot/canning kettle with a 13.5" diameter base and took only about 14 minutes and a couple of seconds to boil that same quantity of water. My recollection is that my old GE took 17 or 18 minutes to do that boil with the same big pot. What is going on here is the tried and true maxim that matching pan to burner size will enhance the efficiency of heating. The first test would say that my new NXR performed much worse than the more common major-makers' stoves in high heat. But, with a pan better matched to the burner size, my new stove significantly outperformed the previous stove. This does not mean that CR's testng is necessarily bad. It only means that it may not tell you what you want to know about the products you are looking at. It can be hard to decipher the preferences in the testing because CR does not give more than the most bare bones description of the tests and it reduces everything to graphical buttons which cannot provide the level of detail that some folks may want. For that, you have to come to sites like GW and sort through the threads. Here preferences and biases are forthrightly stated, sometimes, and, other times, you have to do your own assessing. Hope this helps. This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Dec 6, 12 at 15:14
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bluekitobsessed
15 years ago
So far I love my Thermador 36" range. I think you saw pix on the kitchen forum. The wall is 10', including a doorway. I just don't have room for a blingy 48" range. We originally had problems getting it in, and it protruded 2 inches, which really bothered me, but eventually got it to fit flush against the wall. I bought mine on Ebay, saved $3K, and Thermador was very good about UPS'ing one missing knob asap. HTH.
weissman
15 years ago
Most ranges extend slightly from the cabinets - very few are flush - they look fine - I have a small galley kitchen too although my DCS range is on the bottom of the U. As long as the door can open fully you should be fine. You can see pictures on my home page or the Finished Kitchens Blog.
zoenipp
Original Author
15 years ago
Weissman, actually I guess it is the bottom of the U - when I said top, I was thinking of an upside-down U as it's at the top of my kitchen. Does that make sense? You walk into the kitchen and the galley is on the right with the range at the top of the upside-down U shape. I'm one of those spatially-challenged left-handers!

Thanks for all of the input. We also have to find a range hood that will work well and fit in the existing space above the range. We will be removing an OTR MW and installing a vent hood - more complications and space/ducting limitations. We are trying to hurry to finish all of this by the end of July when my cooking buddy from New Orleans comes for a week - he and I always have a seafood cookoff while they are here.
eandhl
15 years ago
If the measurement also includes your oven door must be 1 1/2 inch. I just installed a DCS between standard cabs and it looks fine in my galley kit with dark red cabs and soapstone counters. I will admit there is 4 1/2 feet between sink wall cabs and range wall cabs.
ci_lantro
15 years ago
I wouldn't mind the ranging protruding because I'm be so darned happy getting more range-top real estate that I'd not notice. I have a Wolf rangetop waiting to be installed for that very reason--larger surface area, specifically front to back. If you do lots of seafood then you probably use large pots & will like having more space.
zoenipp
Original Author
15 years ago
I measured the kitchen tonight so that I could describe it more accurately. It's 8'W X 9'D not including the refrigerator space. I guess my only fear is that it would make the space seem even smaller or more crowded. However, it would sure be nice to have that 5th burner on the DCS when I needed it. We sometimes spend New Year's Eve down here and have come for Easter week before and it would be great to have a big oven to cook for holidays. Heck, we could even do Thanksgiving with DCS's big honkin' oven!
paul_ma
15 years ago
If the range doesn't protrude the depth of the door, then when you open the door you will be exposing the wood sides of the adjacent cabinets to the oven heat. I don't think codes allow that.

Most of these ranges are *designed* to protrude and look good when doing so. Its part of "the look". So I wouldn't worry.

Please advise re: fitting new pro-style range into existing kitch

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palomalou

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Please advise re: fitting new pro-style range into existing kitch

Comments (9)

palomalou

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