That is exactly what I did when we made our kitchen larger. I wanted a chimney hood for above the range and had gotten a great deal with a rebate on the OTR. I put ours in what I call the breakfast section...there is a mini fridge, kuerig, breakfast items and the otr is above. It works out great & I think it looks great.

We are planning on doing this. Our upper cabinets will be 15" deep and we're going to pull the base cabinets out 2" so the counter space doesn't feel too cavernous. I'm a little nervous about getting the height right. I don't want it hanging below the line of adjacent cabinets. My builder assures me he will get it installed so that it will have the same lightrail trim below it as the rest of the cabinets.

This is a good idea and we did it -- but we did not use an OTR microwave because they make one specifically for this application without the vent fan. We did this with the Sharp R-1214-T that fits the bill perfectly. It even has lights underneath.

See photos below and link at the bottom.

Billy

Here is a link that might be useful: Sharp R1214T Over the COUNTER Microwave

Yeah, I did the same thing with the OTR Advantium. Our doesn't vent anywhere and we rarely turn on the light underneath but we could if we wanted.

For me, it came down to price. The built-in Advantium was $800 more than the OTR model and they were almost identical. The OTR is slightly smaller but still certainly large enough for anything I cook in there. (I made 4 mini loafs of banana bread in it last week.) Just be aware that it sticks out further than the 12'' cabinets above it and it needs some clearance on the left side (I think) as a buffer so the door to be able to open - not much though, just like 2''. (The specs tell you what the GC needs to know though.) HTH.

We have an OTR over the counter in the basement kitchenette before we found out that we couldn't have a cooktop due to code (can't have 2 full kitchens in a single family home). If you are not going to need the venting don't do it. There is definitely some cold air leakage through the vent into the kitchenette, best to avoid if never used.

One of the reasons I like the Sharp R1214T is it is specifically made for this application. It is NOT an OTR microwave so it does not have the wasted space and expense of the vent fan and vent and filter.

And it fits perfectly under the cabinets without sticking out.

I don't know of any other microwave model that is made for this application, although I wouldn't be surprised if someone else makes one.

Billy

We did that too -- but I wouldn't do it again...

In our case, our renovation was about 7 years ago, and our OTR microwave died last year. Because of the way it was built in (*perfectly*), we needed to find another OTR microwave of exactly the same measurements -- which turned out to be a bit of a PITA... We didn't have even a 1/4" leeway.

With better planning though, you can minimize that disadvantage by making sure your space is more adaptable than ours was. PLAN some trim pieces into your design so that when the MW gives out (and it will) you'll have decent options.

Of course, in your case, you're getting an Advantium out of the deal. Ours was just a bigger MW. (I don't even know why we did that anymore...)

Don't bother hooking it up to the vent piping. There is nothing to vent. Just close off the vent and set the OTR to recirculate (which you'll never use).

It doesn't vent the inside of the oven. The fan you'll hear is for cooling the magnetron.

Yes, we did just that. When we first were planning the kitchen, we thought we wanted an OTR microwave, so I purchased one online. I decided that I didn't want that after all; I wanted a larger cooktop and a real hood. We now have the OTR microwave mounted below a cabinet away from the cooktop. It has worked out well for us.

billy_g - Does it worry you about having to find a replacement to fit the space in the future? I'd LOVE to go with that MW, but what if it breaks in a couple years and the same Sharp one isn't made? Even if I had to hire a carpenter to fix the trim molding around a traditional OTR MW, at least it can be replaced without replacing cabinetry. I'd love to only go with a 24" wide cabinet for my MW. Just wondering how other people deal with planning for replacements. MW tend to break more than other appliances.

GE also makes some 24"w microwaves that can be hung underneath a cabinet (the Spacemaker II line), and they've been available for decades, so I wouldn't worry about replacements should Sharp discontinue theirs. Unlike the Sharp, the GE isn't exclusively designed for being hung from a cabinet - it can also be built into a trim kit or sit freestanding on a countertop, so the buttons aren't conveniently spread across the bottom and the bottom isn't as smooth, and there are no lights on the bottom to illuminate your countertop, but it works fine. If you know it will be hung from a cabinet, the Sharp is a better choice IMO.

I've used an OTR Advantium without a cooktop below. They show up on Craigslist frequently, typically much cheaper than new ones. There are basically three types out there:

a) 120 volt, 15 amp
b) 240 volt, 30 amp, old design
c) 240 volt, 30 amp, new design

All function as a microwave. All can be used as a high-speed oven that combines halogen lamps, sometimes a ceramic heater, and microwaves. Only the 120v model and the new-design 240v (don't remember when the switchover was, about 8 years ago) can be used as a regular oven though (actually a convection oven, but it works the same basic way, by setting the temperature and using conventional heating elements to cook). If a 240v Advantium doesn't have a means of setting a temperature by degrees with the knob, it's the old design. The old model also was smaller inside than the others, didn't have a (removable) shelf inside IIRC, and didn't light up inside unless you pressed a button.

If you plan to use the speedcook function frequently, the 240v models work MUCH better than the 120v ones do. That's because they run on twice the amperage as well as twice the voltage, and thus have 4x as much power available to it (7200w rather than 1800w). The microwave draws nearly 1000 watts by itself, so the 120v Advantium has only 500 watts max left for the halogen lamps. The 240v, though, has several thousand watts available for the halogen elements. GE makes clear that the 240 speedcooks twice as fast as the 120; what they don't make as clear is that the 120 relies much more heavily on the microwaves to attain even those speeds, and thus your food won't quite be devoid of that soggy-microwaved texture. I've used both, and the 120 speedcooker is still preferable to a standard convection/microwave and a very nice, versatile appliance, but if you want fast cooking that may fool you into thinking it was cooked in a conventional oven for 40 minutes rather than in a speedcooker for 5, you'll want the 240, even if you have to hire an electrician to run a new circuit.

The convection-oven cooking is the same on either the 120v or new-design 240v Advantiums. The microwave is slightly more powerful on the 240 but not by much.

If you're thinking of using a portable induction burner below, might as well take advantage of the external venting. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

Contrary to what someone upthread wrote, wall-cabinet mounted Advantiums with the drop-down doors (except some old ones) are several inches deeper inside than the over-the-cooktop Advantiums, since they fit into a 24" deep cabinet rather than between 12" deep wall cabinets.

We built in a development and the Whirlpool microwave that came with the house was an OTR model. We tucked it under a cabinet next to our refrigerator and put a range hood over our stove, and we love this arrangement. Due to our layout, the refrigerator juts out and obscures your view of the microwave when you enter the kitchen, just like in your images.

I did it. I was considering the MW that billy_g has. But over time, I decided that I wanted the Advantium. So I got the 240V Advantium OTR. I find that it's a great, versatile appliance. What I also like about the OTR nature of the appliance is that the bottom side is relatively tolerant to heat and moisture. So underneath it I use a coffee maker and anything that might generate heat and moisture like a rice cooker.

LEE676 is wrong about the GE Profile Microwaves. Those are BUILT IN microwaves not Over the COUNTER microwaves. There's a difference. Built ins are more expensive, they are not finished on the bottom (because it's a countertop model with a built in option) and the space has to be more exact as they are designed to fit in a prebuilt square opening. You also have to purchase an additional trim kit at $250 a pop. Yes that option has been available for years, but expensive. Over the COUNTER microwaves need no trim kit and as was already said, Sharp right now is the only who makes one at $275. It comes with everything you need to install and hangs on the back wall (you do need two studs available. This is the next new thing since under the counter can openers! A great appliance we just need more choices. A great way to really answer all of your questions is to look up and read the manuals for the appliance before you buy it. Here is the one for the Sharp Over the Counter Microwave R1210 http://files.sharpusa.com/Downloads/ForHome/HomeAppliances/MicrowaveOvens/Manuals/mic_man_R1210_1211_1214_install.pdf?_ga=1.156964671.527108065.1474684752