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Miele Induction Cooktop 30' or 36'

13 years ago

I am struggling between these choices. The 4 hobs on the 30" top are: 6-5/16",7-7/8", 7-7/8" and 11". The 5 hobs on the 36" top are: 6-5/16", 6-5/16", 9", 9" and 11".

I drew a 7-7/8" and 9" circle to see if subjectively it made a difference, and I must admit, it kinda did.

I have read that it is not good to put a larger pan on a smaller hob, so is it ok to put a smaller pan on a larger hob?

The extra cost is not really a factor. The concern is that I only have a 30" cabinet below, and the 36" may cut into 2 drawers. The product info says it is 1-3/4 deep, but the Miele at the store appeared to be 2-1/2" under the counter. If it is really 2-1/2" deep, it MAY cut into the drawers. Since we have to run more power to the 30" cooktop, it shouldn't be anymore of a hassle to do 50 amps vs 40 amps right?

Also, the kitchen counter is 9 feet long. Will it look out of balance to have a 3 foot long cooktop (compared to 2-1/2 foot)??

I don't want to be "swept away" by the allure of "bigger is better"....but the 36" sure looked sleek and sexy in the showroom, and there was not a 30" for comparison.

Does anyone out there know what I am going through???

Thanks all!

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Comments (5)

cotehele
13 years ago
I choose the 36'' because of the power difference as well as the hob size. At times I wish there were more than 3 hobs that can handle a larger pan or skillet. So if the middle size hobs were 1-1/8'' smaller it would be worse. There are times all 5 hobs are in use at one time.

Now about the depth. Miele requires a plywood base under the cooktop. It is 5'' from the top of the cooktop to the underside of the plywood. There is not way those drawers will be untouched. Could the cooktop be slid down so you cut into only one drawer?
westsider40
13 years ago
Yes, I do. I went to the Miele showroom to see the 30" induction which I liked. I have no room for the 36 but I strongly vote for the 36 for you.

I don't know how it works if the pan is smaller than hob, and by how much. Induction users said that an 11" pan works fine on a 9" hob, with an inch on each side. Fori and Natal, I believe, have used 11" pans on hobs of 9.

You need to read the spec page to find the required clearance underneath. Measuring the cooktop won't work. Specs will tell you the required clearance. For example, the very nice GE induction requires 12" clearance underneath.

I might HAVE to spend an extra thousand for the Miele because it does not require much clearance under-I want a shallow drawer above two pot drawers.

I spent lots of boring time, reading the specs, making a chart of induction tops and their clearance requirements. Clearance, hob size and position, power and existence of power sharing were the criteria.

Miele inductions are beautiful and highly regarded.
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Just a note about my experiences re power sharing on induction cooking. On a 36" wide, there are 3 power sharing zones. On a 30" wide, there are 2 power sharing zones. Power sharing only comes into play when using the Boost feature. Boost is the extra heat above levels 1 through 9. You use boost to attain a boil but not to maintain a boil. Once the pot has the bubbles you want, turn the heat down to 7.5 or 8 or 8.5, whatever you like to keep the bubbles at the ferocity you want. It will boil over if you do not lower the heat. On my Bosch, 'boost' automatically will shut down after ten minutes but as a practical matter, I shut the boost off after it gets up to boil, to prevent a boil-over. You can have all five or four hobs at full power-at any heat level, except boost and not power share. I have been using my Bosch for 3.5 years now. Power sharing is something I read about but simply doesn't come into play. By the time I get the next pot ready to boil, putting water and food in, it's time to shut off the boost to prevent boil overs. To summarize, you can blaze every one of your hobs at the same time as long as boost is not engaged. Power sharing only applies to the boost feature. Use boost to attain a boil but not to maintain a boil. fini
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country_smile
13 years ago
I had wanted 6 hobs so it was easy for me to choose the 5 hob over the 4 hob. Last summer when I was canning with my 21 qt. stainless steel water bath canner I called Miele directly to ask if it was ok that the bottom of pan was about 1" larger than the hob outline and they said it was not a problem. I've never asked about the smaller pans.

I have a 30" oven under the 36" cooktop so the cabinet maker adjusted the top drawer fronts on either side of the oven so you cannot tell they are reconfigured on the inside. I had posted pics last year but if you'd like to see them, it's no problem for me to post them again.

What other appliances or cabinets/drawers are on your 9' counter/cabinet run? Are you considering not centering it over the 30" and aligning one edge and having the other edge 6" past the cabinet below?

I definitely understand your statement about not getting "swept away" by the bigger size - so easy to do. But with Miele, at least in my experience thus far, you can't go wrong and in my case, bigger was better because I'm like cotehele and many times use all the burners.
sochi
13 years ago
We had a 36" five burner gas in our last kitchen, and we so rarely used the five burners I decided it wasn't worth it this time. I'd prefer the extra six inches be counter space. Just be honest about how you cook, how often you actually need extra burners. I now have the 30" Miele and am very happy with performance. I haven't had a need for another large burner, but as I said, it depends on how you cook.

We have a usable drawer under our cooktop, we keep shallow glass dishes in it.

This picture shows the drawer space directly under the cooktop - my cabinet maker waited until everything was installed before finishing the shallow sink under the cook top and the sinks under the prep sink. You can just about see how far the cooktop descends into the drawer.
patti55
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you all! I decided on the 36" cooktop.

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