I'm a happy gas stovetop user, but I also work at a kitchen gadget store that sells portable induction burners. I won't advocate any brand in particular, but I will say that I sell a lot of them at around $100 each. (There are also professional versions, marketed to restaurants, for a bit more.) I've enjoyed taking them home and testing them. They are every bit as responsive as gas, but safer. They are an awesome option for people who find themselves short a burner a couple times a year, or who would like an extra burner wherever they have electricity, like the back patio, or at a basement bar set-up.

Had I never cooked on induction, and if I didn't have the opportunity to take new products home and play with them (talk about benefits!), I think buying a portable induction burner would be a great way to test how I'd feel about cooking on it all the time.

There is no question that induction cooking has its benefits. If I have the space, I would have half of my kitchen with gas and the other half with induction.

As a personal preference and cooking style, I cook much better with gas fire. Perhaps that has to do with my pyromaniac instinct that has been instilled in my genetics from a million years of evolution of cooking with fire, flame and smoke.

My apologies to the creators of The Flintstones for borrowing their Fred and Wilma. :-)

And BTW, an electric emergency generator installation capable of supporting an induction kitchen can cost you around $10,000.

dcarch

Jaz, your statement, "I think buying a portable induction burner would be a great way to test how I'd feel about cooking on it all the time." is exactly what I did. I bought a Mr. Induction single burner portable induction unit and used it. I got used to the way induction works and felt a lot more confident about putting money towards a full cooktop. Of course, I was also on the Kitchen Forum daily, reading about everyone's adventures with induction.

Are there iron plates you can place under copper pots, to use on induction hobs?

What the eff is a hob?

"Hob" is British for "burner" which makes more sense since the induction hobs don't burn. Early adopters of induction were importing the cooktops from New Zealand.

Although I don't frequent Appliances much anymore, I was a regular reader for years and watched as people started importing induction units through "gray market" channels, and watched as the legitimate domestic market grew and more and more people made the switch.

Over those years I must have read every possible argument against induction and to my thinking the vast majority were indicative of people simply being resistant to change. To an overwhelming extent, those who made the switch report back with the enthusiasm of the posts above.

Having read probably thousands of those posts, I'm left with exactly one concern about induction: How much it buzzes and hums and if it would bother me. What I've read on that topic makes it seem like there is no clear "best combination" of brand and cookware. I suspect it's largely subjective, what bothers some doesn't bother others. Someone posted a youtube video of himself cooking in order to show that it's silent and to me that video is quite commical in that I hear the unit even over my computer. He must have worse hearing that I do!

John - Such "interfaces" exist but reportedly don't work very well.

Johnliu, "Are there iron plates you can place under copper pots, to use on induction hobs?"

I would assume you can use another induction-capable pan and put your copper pan on top of it, if you don't want to spend the money for an induction interface disk. But I would not use a good pan, the high heat can warp the pan.

Supposedly they are working on induction cooktops that can work with any metal cookware.

dcarch

FOAS, "----Over those years I must have read every possible argument against induction and to my thinking the vast majority were indicative of people simply being resistant to change. ----"

I am not sure I totally agree with you. Those who state why they prefer gas, like myself, do not mean they are against induction. I have not seen many people telling others, "Don't go induction, it sucks!"

Gas and induction are different for different people and cooking requirements.

Of the millions of restaurants, how many cook with induction? How many chefs cook with induction?

Regarding noise, induction operates above 24k hz, beyond human hearing range. What you will be hearing is probably the cooling fan for the electronic control board.

dcarch

dcarch - Go research a couple years worth of posts on Appliances and you'll see plenty of that sentiment!

Yes there are cooling fans, but the humming/buzzing that I'm talking about appears to be a resonance between the cooktop and the pot. For most it seems to be at higher power, and also seems to diminish when using heavier cookware like cast iron. But again, the results seem to be all over the board. See the linked discussion. Within it there's a link to the video I mentioned above.

Here is a link that might be useful: buzzing

Love my Kenmore induction stove. Previously had a KitchenAid smoothtop that was horribly unresponsive and a pain to clean.

My advice to you would be to pay attention to burner lay-out, not the brand of the device. I like my stove because the two large burners are in the front and I tend to use bigger pans.

Don't overpay for a high end brand when the the "cheaper" induction stoves will cook exactly the same and will be just as powerful and responsive.

Also, Ikea is a great place to find induction capable pans.

Cast iron works great on induction: if you need an 'interface' pan you can get a cheap cast iron griddle like the one at the link, and it'll get plenty hot if you absolutely need to use a non ferrous pan. You'll lose some efficiency.

And while it's a good idea to get a countertop induction 'hot plate' unit to try out (the Max Burton 6000 is an 1800 watt tabletop unit--1800 watts is about the max that a 15 amp 110 volt socket can handle--for about $75) bear in mind that the power difference between a unit like that and a built in cooktop is significant; you'd be comparing a Ford Fiesta to a GMC Suburban.

Here is a link that might be useful: cast iron griddle

Sound wave behavior is based on frequency, tension, and mass. Changing temperature and/or food in the cookware changes the acoustic response.

It is possible that harmonics to half-wave, 1/4-wave as well as "Standing wave pattern" happens even the driving frequency (24k Hz) is above hearing range.

Also, possible, the electronic board is driven by a heavy duty magnetic voltage transformer, which operates at 60/120 Hz.

dcarch

Not very important:

When you take a magnet to shop for cookware for induction cooktop, make sure you do not have the magnet near your credit cards, or any cards that has a magnetic strip or any security entry cards which has magnetic coding.

dcarch

Foodonastump: I don't notice the buzz anymore, it's just background noise that is obvious while you are waiting for the water to boil, but pretty well covered up by the sound of boiling. The buzz is a bit louder than the hiss of gas from a gas cooktop. It is pot, power and content weight dependent.

I just replaced two AllClad pans with similar Cuisinart pans. The AllClad hummed on my Kenmore induction stove but the Cuisinart doesn't. The AllClad will go on Ebay as soon as I do some pictures.

Like others above I got a induction cooktop based on information on the GW kitchens forum. I simply love it, for all of the reasons cited above: the power, the immediate control, the safety, easy clean-up, and no excess heat in the room. The only things I don't like about it are:

1. For my particular unit the touch controls are hard to use
   2) A had to get rid of my omelette pan, my crepe pan, my lobster pan and my asparagus pot, because none of them were induction capable.

Additionally when I try to cook somewhere else, my timing and planning is completely thrown off. I'll expect a large pot of water to start boiling in about 5 minutes and it may take 10 or 20 minutes, (or on my father-in-law's anemic gas stove, forever, it cannot bring a large pot to a boil.)

Beachlily,

I'm surprised to here about your pans. All-Clad works on my induction. The only pans I had to get rid of were my copper and 8 quart Cuisinart stock pot. I'm looking for a replacement now. Thankfully, I've got an AC 14 quart but it's overkill for many things cooking for two.

/tricia

I've had my induction cooktop for three years and love it. I think I had the same copper pans that Tricia had (based on pictures she posted years ago). I kept the ones that are casserole like and the round and oval bakers with two short handles since they can be used in the oven. The rest found a good home with my DIL's mom. I also bought a single hob to see if I would like it - it soon became the first burner I used (and often the only one, if subsequent foods could be kept hot in a low toaster oven).

I chose mine because it did not have a metal frame around the glass top, allowing pans to be a little over the edge of the cooktop if they were large, and easier to wipe clean than the glass with a crevice at the frame edge. It was really frustrating to discover how many pans I couldn't use with my previous stainless steel framed electric halogen cooktop modules.

I would definitely get one with a shut off timer, a feature I loved on the single hob. My present cooktop doesn't have a shut off timer, just has a time timer, and I miss the shut off feature.

I have found noise to be minimal, not bothersome, and definitely related to the weight of the pan and food. Yet the De Buyer pans which are a light/medium carbon steel, do not make any noise.

Induction would be my choice again, I love it. We were lucky that our previous electric halogen cooktop had the same wiring needs as the induction. It was still a little over $700.00 for the installation(of the induction cook top and new fan) because all the duct work had to be changed for the new downdraft fan and the tile and countertop had to be cut.

Lee

Tricia, the AllClad works just fine, but is slow to heat and hummmmmmmms and buzzes. The multiclad Cuisinart is heavier, makes no noise, and heats up faster. I hate the AllClad! I think it is best suited to gas.

I only hear the buzz when I use the power boost, and I only use that when I'm boiling pasta water. Not something I do every day. Once I turn the setting down one notch, the buzzing goes away. Even when it's buzzing, I don't mind it. I'm surrounded by all kinds of electronic noises, including TVs, heating & A/C units, music, computers, etc., that the noise from a cooktop just blends in with the cacophony.

I get some buzz when I use the power boost also. I think of it as a reminder to turn on the exhaust fan... :)

Today I needed to saute some apples for cinnamon rolls. I put the butter in the pan and turned on the heat to med high. It took me a little longer to get the apples ready for the pan than I anticipated and when I glanced over at the pan I saw the butter was melted. I touched the off spot and knew that as soon as I was ready with the apples, all I had to do was turn the hob back on. No burnt butter for me!
I didn't even have to move the pan off the hob, it reacts instantly. My cooking is much improved, faster and I use much less electricity.

Nancy

Bringing water up to a boil for pasta on power boost is the only time I get buzzing also. And the water boils so quickly it doesn't bother me.

/tricia

I have had my induction range for 3 years and it is used daily. I have a selection of pans that include KitchenAid, Berndes, 5 different Lagostina sauce pots, some Emerilware and those AllClad. The AllClad heat up slower so I would raise the temperature to get it heated up quicker (thus the humming), and then lower the temp to cook. My husband found it much harder to clean. We are both happy to get rid of it. Your mileage may vary.

"And BTW, an electric emergency generator installation capable of supporting an induction kitchen can cost you around $10,000"

Where do you get this figure? We consulted an electrician when we put our induction cooktop in. His ballpark figure to add a generator in case of power failure was around $800 for the generator, plus another $200 for installation. I lived in the Midwest and in Northeast, went through regular power failures and never saw the need for a generator, but now that we live in the Southwest, DH thinks we should have one. No idea why.

If you're really paranoid about power failure, get a propane burner for outside use. I got one for pressure canning for about $50.

I've read about the humming noises some induction units make. So far all I've heard from ours is the low hum of the fan when it's on power boost. We have a mix of bare cast iron, enameled cast iron and stainless clad cookware.

Figure a generator of 10,000 watts because it needs to support other appliances, (each burner of induction range can be over 3,000 watts) such as the refrigerator, microwave, house heating system, lighting, etc.

A generator of that capacity will need to have electric start and an automatic transfer switch/panel to your existing panel.

An 10,000 watt generator will need to be housed in a structure outside, because it can be very noisey. That will mean foundation work also.

dcarch

I've got a whole-house, stand-alone generator. We installed it four years ago after a horrific storm that toppled over a dozen oak trees on our property and left our neighborhood without power for over five days. We live in the eastern foothills of the Sacramento area. My daughter who lived in downtown Sacramento was without power for over 7 days. With my husband's health issues, we knew we didn't want to go through another storm like that without a generator.

The complete installation (the generator itself and the transfer panel, cement base, etc.) was expensive -- close to what Dcarch mentioned. It doesn't service the entire house, just the rooms and appliances that are necessary for the two of us. Generator costs depend on the size of the unit and the number of appliances being backed up. We've got the hot water heater hooked up to it along with our central heating and gas fireplace inserts in both the living room & master bedroom. Our fridge and garage freezer are also hooked up to the generator, as are our microwave and our Mr. Slim Mitsubishi ductless HVAC units in the living room and master bedroom. We didn't add the induction stovetop because we figured we could do all our cooking in the microwave.

Here is a link that might be useful: Generac Generator

dcarch and shambo: you're talking about a lot more than a generator to keep an induction cooktop going! Our quote was for a 7000W unit for emergencies. We would install it in the garage. My guess is that DH would want the furnaces and perhaps the refrigerator and freezer backed up.

When we lived in Massachusetts we had a big wood stove which kept us and the house warm during a big winter storm which took power out for 4 days. Our hot water was on gas, and we had city water supply. In some towns they had no water because they were on wells and they needed electricity to be able to pump. Cooking was a very low priority for everyone. We don't have health issues that demand power but I can see that being an important consideration.

I made my comment about a generator because I see this non-issue raised a lot when induction is compared with gas. Honestly, I don't see that being able to cook during a power outage would determine how I cook 99.9% of the time.

Cheryl

Tricia and Beachlily - Thanks for illustrating my point that what hums for one doesn't hum for another!

Cheryl - I'd assume that someone living in an area with chronic power outtages would be smart enough to take this into consideration. For the rest of the country there are simple alternatives for those few days a year (or in my case, a decade) you're out of power, from cold sandwiches to propane stoves and grills to restaurants that have back-up power. Ranks right up there with roasting peppers in my book.

Cheryl, I agree with you that needing generator is a non-issue when it comes to induction. A lot of people have all-electric kitchens and somehow survive and not starve during power outages without resorting to generators.

I honestly think the advantages of induction far outweigh any disadvantages -- or at least that has been my experience. I also believe someone could argue that using gas has its own unique set of disadvantages.

Our decision to install our generator was not influenced by having an induction cooktop. We do have an all-electric kitchen, but mainly we needed a consistent source of heating. We figured that as long as we were keeping the lights, TVs, and heaters on, we might as well make sure the fridge & garage freezer were covered and that we could use the microwave for cooking. It was a big project but one that will allow us to stay put until we're so decrepit our children need to move us into assisted living. (At least, that's our hope.)

My area is the "Lightening Capital of North America"; okay so that's recently been dispelled. Still we have many power outages and we just go with it.

After two years of Analysis Paralysis, I at least now know I want a bridge, power boost, timer, no trim. Next is to find a brand/model that has all the stated requirements.

We certainly are the Lightening Capital, aren't we, Mustangs! Even when we lose power with hurricanes, I just use the camp stove or the gas grill out back. Try not to stress. However, in 2004 when 3 of those nasty storms hit, the grill was our go-to. Worked just fine. Fed the neighborhood from a melting freezer, and kept additional heat out of the house. Luckily we still had water and took cool showers that really helped. Much different than needing heat during winters up north. We just got a portable generator that would power fans. It says it could power the refrigerator, too. Hope we never need to find out.

The last power outage here in my area of NY lasted 4 days. My neighbors spent fortunes staying in hotels.

The Generac generator is an excellent machine, but it requires the up grading of your natural gas supply because it runs on natural gas.

I do not think installing a generator inside a garage is a good idea even with the garage door open.

I do not think power outage problem alone should discourage anyone from considering induction range for cooking, but it is one of the many things you should be aware of.

dcarch

In 2004 the hotels offered free rooms to residents who needed a/c or just the conveniences. Our local grocery store brought in ice and water free of charge for residents. They didn't have electricity so they tallied bills by hand and took checks. They threw away fresh meat and frozen foods. We could buy whatever veggies and canned foods they had at 50% discount. To me, that store is absolutely fantastic! Publix has earned my business! This was during the time my husband was in chemo. We stayed home, got some ice from Publix and survived for 6 days without electricity and called ourselves lucky. Attitude has a lot to do with it! But it was certainly hot! August and September in Florida swelters.

We survived 4 days during a bad nor'easter in Massachusetts a few years ago. We had no heat and no electricity. The wood stove kept the house above 50 degrees, we cooked on the gas grill and both DH and I went to work as usual. Some people in the area moved in with friends and relatives, but these were families with small children or fragile adults. We moved perishables from the fridge into coolers on the deck. The freezer held up fine - it was December after all.

We knew 3 families with emergency generators, all in their garages. They were more comfortable than we were. We received offers to move in with them, but we wanted to stay in our own home. Power was restored after I left on a business trip. I had to get my presentation printed at Kinko's and I worked on my laptop in a coffee shop in a neighboring town where they had power.

I lived for many years in the Midwest with tornadoes and blizzards. It never occurred to me to get a generator.

I have visions of people rushing to cook on their gas stoves as soon as power goes out. It's as ridiculous as the hordes who descend on supermarkets and clear the shelves of milk as soon as bad weather is forecast. No, I don't do that either.

I can see having a generator installed for survival, but for cooking? When taking out the gas cooktop and installing induction, power outages never crossed my mind.

Cheryl

Generator should never be operated inside a garage, even with doors open. It is probably illegal and will void your home-owner insurance coverage. 334 people were killed from 1999 to 2006 using generators inside their garages.

Also the danger of explosion and fire each time you refill the tank.

Unless you have the money, having backup power for the sole purpose of cooking is not practical.

Yes, you can definitely survive an extended power outage without electricity. The satisfaction of having lights, (gas) heat in the winter, your phones operating, TV, you computers hooked up to the internet, no spoiled food ---------- is very gratifying.

One year I had two big parties planned back-to-back Friday evening and Saturday and the power went out. No problems with the parties, except everyone was very late becuase there were no trafic lights and the traffic was a mess.

dcarch

When the power goes out, cooking is about 423 on our list of important things. Sandwiches are fine. It's a forced way to clean out the fridge.

Bosch, Thermador and Miele are among the mfrs. who make inductions with shut off timers. There may be more.

An important consideration for me was to have very little clearance required under the cooktop-so to have a utensil drawer made for just under the cooktop. GE's manual says to have 12 inches of non combustible space under theirs, altho folks do disregard that.

Most brands cook very well and mostly all brands are cherished by their owners.

Hi. I'm new to the forum and have a question about portable induction hotplates. Seems there are a lot of induction cooks here, so maybe you can tell me what I need to know.

I've just bought a house with an in-law suite. I'm going to rent out the house and live in the suite myself. The suite doesn't have a kitchen, and I'm having a small one installed in a former sunroom. I don't cook a lot, so I figure I can get by with a microwave/convection oven combo -- something big enough to cook a frozen pizza in! But for a stovetop, rather than install something that will stay hot, that my cats might jump on (since the room isn't going to look that much like a kitchen, I'm afraid they may get confused and jump in the wrong place), I thought I'd try induction. I'm having an island built, with a working sink and I could drop in a real induction stovetop, but they are way out of my budget right now, so I'm thinking of the hot plate route.

There is, for a lack of a better term, a "cavity" in one wall where an older style TV (with the big back) once sat. Right now, to look at it, it makes me think of an old-fashioned dutch oven recess -- but no brick bottom, no doors, of course, just a cavity in the wall where a TV once sat.

I am thinking of installing my micro-convection in there -- making it a built-in, kind of high up in the cavity, and then placing my two-burner induction hotplate below it, to ultimately create a little "cooking cavity" in the wall where I can cook.

What I don't know is, although it is only the pans that get hot in induction cooking, what would be a good distance between the top of the pans and the bottom of the microwave? I'm not thinking just ease of movement, but also the heat that is generated off the cooking and if it is a lot, etc. I don't know much about induction but I'm thinking about normal kitchens that have the microwave installed above the range, and this doesn't seem that different. But if anyone experienced with induction cooking has any thoughts that would make this more clear to me, whether anyone thinks it would work, is or isn't safe, or anything at all, I'd really like to hear.

Also, I'm thinking of purchasing a BergHOFF Touch Screen Double Induction Cooktop - $399.99 -- but I've seen the NuWave induction cooktops advertised a lot lately for $99 (single burner; I'd have to buy two). I don't know what makes one cooktop/hotplate more desirable than another -- wattage? diameter? variety of settings?

Sorry if this is too rambling. I am in such a hurry, as contractors are ready to work any day now and I have to make decisions. Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me clues!!

csinclaire - We are in a similar situation. We are living in the in-law cottage while we are remodeling the main house. We have been living here since 2010 fall as we have had some delays. I just bought a portable max burton induction from Amazon for 99 bucks and it has been an awesome awesome unit. In fact changed my mind about cooktop in my new kitchen where I am doing induction again. I think you will be happy with any induction unit. I am not sure how much you cook but a single burner has worked OK for my family of 4 and we cook 3 times a day. Did take some coordination in the beginning but everything happens so fast on induction that I would day overall cooking time is about the same. Diva also makes 2 burner units. I am not sure if you are planning to actually install the unit by cutting into the counter. You should check code for that as it is prohibited in our town without a full kitchen permit. I have a sharp microwave convection combo oven, a portable dishwasher as well. Hope this helps

Hi, GWlolo. :) Thanks for the quick response. This does help. I had actually thought about cutting a small dip in the countertop to set my hotplate down into, to make it look more like a stovetop, but then decided not to, so that it would remain portable, should I decide I didn't want to cook where I started out. So I should be good there. I also appreciate hearing about the brand you purchased. I am still woefully uninformed re brands. All I'd heard was that wattage varied and that higher was better (don't know why unless it controls how quickly it heats things up??), but I didn't know what constitutes a mid-range cooktop or hotplate (either in wattage OR price) and was afraid if I bought too inexpensively (e.g., the $99 NuWave versus the $399 BergHOFF, just as an example), it might not perform as an induction was supposed to, but I might not even know for not having anything to compare to. So your info is definitely a help. :)

I am just one person, so can get by washing dishes in the sink, but I'd thought about getting one of the drawer dishwashers -- smaller than a full-size undercounter built-in -- but they are very expensive! I'd have thought them less than the norm, but it is the other way around. So I'll be waiting on the DW for a while.

However, I definitely need to scout out a micro-convec oven. That is something else I know next to nothing about, so I'd welcome info re that (brands you've liked, or if you even like the convection angle -- I've never used one, but I'm not going to have a "real" oven, so am trying to cover my bases this way).

And I would like to ask ... do you currently have your micro-convec sitting somewhere separate from your induction hotplates, like on a nearby counter? Or do you have the micro-convec oven mounted above where you cook on the burners? I'm still trying to figure out the safety and practicality of putting them both in my 3 wide by about 4 high space I have in the wall. It just seems like such a good idea to combine my cooking in that enclosed space, so as not to waste it since it is there anyway, and also so that the rest of my limited countertop can remain available for other uses, and I could put some fake brick or stone in the bottom to further the illusion of an Old World Dutch wall oven. Thoughts? Thanks again for your response and the help you've already offered. :)

This post was edited by csinclaire on Wed, Feb 13, 13 at 18:20

I have a similar small space issue. I moved into an old mobile home that has 7 ft ceilings in the kitchen area. I had 3 weeks before Thanksgiving to decide on a new stove. I picked up an Aroma brand induction hob at Costco for $49 to check it out. I loved it but my favorite pots and pans would have all had to be replaced and my breaker was only 40 amps and the stove I was looking at required 50 amps. We consider this place a knock down so I didn't want to invest. My next cook top will be induction. The hob is awesome but I have not tried a really large diameter pot yet. There is a learning curve since it heats so quickly.

About the size issue. I got a new electric stove and above the range microwave and this house already had cabinets above the micro, with 7ft ceilings. It looks really tight but it has worked fine. The stove top to the micro is 15 inches. My micro is 16 1/2 inches (not convection, those might be bigger) So that is less than 3 ft high and it works. My hob itself is 2 1/2 inches from the counter. I don't think you will have a problem with 4ft. There is no flame or heat so you only have to worry about tall pots and steam. I don't have any knowledge of the expensive units but this cheap one works great so far.

Thanks so much for the further info, Joanm. :) I think I should be able to manage at least the 15 inches, and the only time I do anything very big is if I make a pot of soup, and that would be a lot different than, say, frying chicken and grease spatters, etc., and would probably have a lid on it anyway.

With the responses I'm getting, I'm becoming more encouraged that I can outfit that small space in the wall as a good cooking "alcove." I have taken a ton of "before" pics of this house. It is in good shape but very in need of cosmetic updating, so I'm painting and putting laminate floors down (there are already hardwoods in the older part of the house). Maybe when it is done, I'll post before and after pics (if that can be done here; if not, maybe I'll put some at a URL somewhere), and I'll particularly post one of the "cooking wall." Thanks again. :)

I am a little busy now, I will respond more when I get a chance.

Where to locate the appliances - you need to find out the available electric outlet circuits/outlets, otherwise you can trip a breaker/blow a fuse. Convection/microwave induction all take a lot of power.

Sink - where you locate the sink, beside water lines, the sink trap/drain needs to have a vent line to outside of the house/roof. Make sure that can happen.

dcarch

Thanks so much, dcarch. This is all really new to me. I have some contractors/plumbers/electricians involved (still giving bids, etc.), but since I am still formulating where to put what, no one has really gotten down to the nitty gritty yet. But one contractor did say we had to figure out where the main house drain is. Re the electrical, I know there is a honking big lot of whatever (amps? watts?) on the breaker box, but I think you're right, wouldn't the micro-convec oven need it's own circuit just to be sure it doesn't trip a breaker? Is that what you meant? I'll definitely look into that.

Post a few before pictures here.

I am not evisioning a TV "cavity"/alcove/niche/recess big enough for a microwave/covection and an induction cook top.

dcarch

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the shape is one that would fit an older style TV, the kind with the big back on it. And it goes even a little deeper to accommodate the receptacle and cable connections that previous owners had installed. The opening is about 30-1/2 inches wide at the front, about two feet deep, plus a few inches, and about four feet high. The part of the wall that becomes angular toward the back center (following the supposed shape of the TV they must have once had) is pretty far back into the space, beyond where it would interfere with anything I'm trying to do, and I believe a moderate-sized micro could be mounted in the mouth of the opening with room to spare behind, for the cord to plug into the receptacle back there (which of course I will make sure is wired and circuited correctly).

There would still probably be something like a foot and a half of space below it. I am not planning on a full-sized drop-in induction cook top, only a double-burner induction hotplate. They are not too wide, not too deep. Just right, as Goldilocks might say. But the combination, with both these items tucked into the hole-in-the-wall, contained in a "cooking area," as it were, would 1) give me a use for the hole in the wall, 2) mimic the arrangement of the stove top with above-mounted micro commonly found in homes today, and 3) offer a decorating opportunity, such as if I put a faux brick or stone on the floor of the opening (which hits me at just about the same height as a stove I'd stand in front of).

I think the items I'm talking about will fit (at least one contractor thinks so, so far), as long as the basics of electricity and practicality of movement are addressed. The hotplates, while not dropped in like a cooktop, would still stay in the same place and, being relatively shallow, would, I think, convey the impression of a cook top. Enough to suit me, anyway. I'm not a gourmet chef or anything. That's why I want a micro-convec (instead of just micro) oven, because I am foregoing a standard oven altogether due to space constraints.

We have one that is getting ready to be replaced. I am thinking of going back to gas. Two of the four cooking areas are dead. It chirps and has a high pitched annoying steady pitch that drives me bats until you turn the heat down. If the pans are just a little off center they always chirp. There is a hot spot center ring that is most noticeable on the large pans. I hate the pans that were left with the unit. They were purchased specially for this induction cooktop but they burn everything but water. I probably need better pans. These were bought when induction was new. I was afraid of scratching the glass with cast iron. The person that had it before took very good care of the glass surface. I will say that cleaning it is very easy.

I just hate the annoying high pitched noise and the awful pans I have. I miss my beautiful set of Analon pans that won't work on this. During power outs, you can't use it as others have said. You can heat water fast but you have to choose between the settings they give you. I though gas gave more choices. I think the glass is still plenty hot after cooking and kids/pets could still get burnt if the pot was removed. I usually put a pot on the spot until its cooled off. At first, we were melting stuff on the glass because someone would cook and take the pot away and someone else might set a baggie down. You can't tell when it's hot. I would say ease of cleanup and quick heating of liquids are the things it has going for it.

kittymoonbeam

which induction range are you using??

gotta comment that my new ge slide induction range exhibits none of the issues of your induction cooktop.

no chirping or buzzing or center hot spot. we put paper towels under the cast iron pieces during cooking, so no issues with scratching the surface. 19 settings per hob with hot surface indicators. simmers great for the five hour chicken stock

also, the range seems very insensitive of the placement of the center of the pans

cooking on a combination of costco cuisinart multi clad pro pots and pans, various enameled cast iron dutch ovens and well seasoned cast iron fry pans.

csinclaire , how are you going to mount the microwave? not everyone can be wall mounted.

Also, do a search (Amazon, eBay) on Kitchenettes, compact kitchens.

They are space saving complete kitchen in one package.

dcarch

Thanks to all for the continuing posts. I'm learning a lot, and you're all bringing up points that I need to consider. Keep it coming!