Help my mom! Please recommend a cooktop/vent.
(I'm crossposting this in Kitchens and Appliances.)
Hi everyone!
My mom remodeled her kitchen about 20 years ago. It's aged
remarkably well (she was ahead of her time on a lot of current trends),
and she's still very happy with everything except the gas cooktop with
downdraft.
That thing is such a phenomenal pain to clean. Takes hours of
soaking and scrubbing to clean it with all kinds of ridiculous
chemicals. Stays clean for 4 seconds. My mom does not have the
personality to just give up and let it be dirty. This means the cooktop
has really, really, really bothered her for about 19.9 years.
My sisters and I have finally convinced her that life is too short. She is now on board with swapping it out.
I have suggested, and she is very interested in getting an induction
top primarily for easy cleaning reasons, but also because it has nice
cooking control the way gas does (the reason she installed gas in the
first place).
However, she has been informed that the city requires some kind of
venting. Her current cooktop has a built-in downdraft vent that is
incredibly loud and next to useless and nobody uses it, but I guess the
city considered that plenty of venting back when the kitchen was
remodeled.
The cooktop is in front of a pass through (so there's no wall behind
it), on the first floor of a two-story house, and nowhere near an
exterior wall, so it's not an easy matter of just adding
a normal range hood over an induction cooktop.
The lack of venting hasn't ever really been a big deal for my parents
because they mostly use the cooktop to steam vegetables and to cook
pasta and oatmeal and to make soup. Minimal cooking with oil and no wok
cooking or anything like that. They're not fundamentally opposed to
proper venting, but they have not missed it in all these years, and they
wouldn't want to tear up their whole kitchen that they like to solve a
problem they aren't having.
As far as their needs go, they could replace the gas cooktop with
useless downdraft with an induction top with no vent and be completely
happy.
But the city would not.
So, what cooktop/venting situation would you recommend here?
The only requirements are:
- It has to vent somehow.
- It has to be easy to clean.
- Decent heat control (among its other failures, this gas cooktop can't simmer either).
Budget is basically unlimited.
Thank you in advance for your help!
My mom is sending me pictures/measurements soon of their cooktop
situation. Unfortunately for the time being, I have only these
incredibly unhelpful photos that I just happened to have on my phone and
happen to include the cooktop:
(Incidentally, that second photo is of the ingredients for this recipe, which is VERY tasty, easy, cheap, and healthy: http://www.spiciefoodie.com/2012/08/06/ejotes-con-huevos-or-mexican-green-beans-with-eggs/)
Comments (22)
amg765
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Help - Cooktop vs. Range vs. Downdraft vs. No Vent!
Comments (8)Your analogy seems to fit my vibe about the BlueStar (Top Gear fan?) - powerful enough and OMG fun, but a little rough around the edges, vs. solid, polished and expensive (Mercedes/Viking, maybe?). My Jenn-Air is more like my old beat up VW Rabbit -- which was also prone to spontaneously bursting into flame. It got me from point A to point B . . . eventually. But I hated it. Which now has me thinking of the last just-good-enough compromise, practical car we bought. Which I still hate to drive. It's not a bad car, it's just not *my* car. (Of course now I'm getting too far into the metaphor -- I just traded my beloved VW Passat in for a Mazda CX9, 'cause I needed the AWD and more seats -- it's not as nice of a car, it's not as powerful, but it has most of what the 'ssat did plus the things I needed at a good price, without sacrificing *all* the fun. And it won't cost $$$ every time something breaks, which was increasingly common. What does that say about my stove preferences? It's not that I couldn't afford a Mercedes, I just don't see the point.) I do find the BlueStar *really* attractive -- DH and I dig the cast iron, the open burners (because I spill stuff everywhere when I cook), the low simmer, etc. -- and the thought of having a range with an oven I could actually bake in makes me positively giddy -- even if I do have to build a new island. DH got a nice grill last year that gets wicked hot; we're now prone to all-season use -- in *Seattle* -- because the only other choice is to do without little things like "searing" and "roasting" and "broiling". But maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that the extra money is really worth the ride ;-) (BTW, does that make Lacanche the Rolls? So gorgeous, but wah!)...See MorePlease help with my cooktop/vent lineup dilemma!
Comments (3)I see no problem with having the cooktop back a couple of inches from the counter edge. As long as you can comfortably reach the back burners and controls, I don't think it will matter much at all. My pro-style range has a stainless steel edge across the front that is a full 3 inches deep. Suggest that you do a mockup with a cardboard counter and tape off where you are considering the cooktop to go. Then hang something where your fan will be (like maybe also cardboard, or a couple of cereal boxes or furnace filters taped together). See if you are OK with how it looks in the space. Seeing it will help you get the proportions in your mind....See MoreKitchen Design Help Needed - my Mom's Kitchen
Comments (39)I can't imagine that putting a door to the DR would be very expensive--it's a DIY project if ANYONE in the family could do it in a weekend. The two houses I've dealt with that had pass thrus to the DR drove me nuts. It would be so much nicer to have a door there! That, and having a 1/2 bath would be absolutely top priorities for me, but the 1/2 bath could add more cost than she might be able to pay for. If you use a small corner sink, the pocket door will be fine. Since she wants electric, I would STRONGLY encourage her to look at the positives of induction, and get a range with an induction top. It is SO much better than regular electric--easier to clean, much safer, absolute and immediate control of temperature, boils water faster, doesn't heat up kitchen, it's energy efficient, etc. My induction cooktop is by far our favorite feature of our kitchen! Even though it cost more than we'd planned on, it was definitely worth it. It's not that difficult to learn how to use. (I'm only a few years younger than she is, and I don't usually like learning how to use new stuff, but this was easy.) Of course, that might mean new pans, but maybe the family could go together for a present of one of the more inexpensive sets that works with induction. Also, you may have the extra expense of running electrical to accommodate the induction, but from a safety standpoint alone, it might be worth it to have the induction. It seems like plan #8 might work best, especially if you switch the double sink with the prep sink. That way, your mother could also use the prep sink (make it a large one) to work with her plants easily, since it would be right by the back door. Also, this end of the kitchen could have her tea materials, beverage cups and glasses for the rest of the family, the MW, toaster oven, and she'd have the large window view and lots of natural light to do these pleasant daily tasks. The double sink under the smaller window would put it, the DW, and the dishes closer to the DR. If she wants more storage, I'd get rid of the curved upper shelves (in one of your plans) by the smaller window, and add 3-6" to each upper cabinet, unless she has lots of knick-knacks that she wants to reach up and dust as she gets older. Obviously, an island would give her more storage than a table. If you make the island 36" w x 48" l, you could have two 24" wide cabinets opposite the range, and a 12" deep "table" overhang on the dog dish side. Anne...See MoreHelp my mom! Please recommend a cooktop/vent.
Comments (20)This is a case where marginal to no ventilation meets the performance requirement (until someone else has to cope with the result of more aggressive cooking). High recirculating hoods and pop-up downdraft vents meet that standard. In this case, the existing vent appears to be a mere slot in the cooktop, basically useless for capture and containment. A separate pop-up downdraft vent appears to be difficult to install because of the short distance between the cooktop and the riser. Pop-ups at the sides of the cooktop would be too confining. Another possibility is modifying the riser itself with a grill connected to some part of the existing vent ducting. Modifying the riser, if structurally possible, would likely be a big deal, granite wise. It might be necessary to remove all of the granite and have it revised where the proper tooling is available. If this is quartzite or one of the methylmethacrylate based composites like Corian, then in-situ fabrication is feasible. At this point both the material of the countertop and the size of the existing cooktop cutout need to be defined. If the countertop is granite, I would lean toward the high recirculating approach, for which I believe both Broan and Vent-a-Hood have configurations. This assumes that the code being enforced doesn't require external venting. If so, then the long duct to the wall approach seems to be required unless an acceptable second floor pass-through is feasible. kas...See More
cpartist
8 years agoJillius
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago@fishcow
They are investigating adding ducting in the ceiling, but it will be the miracle for the century if they can manage something.
Here is a really quick layout I just drew from memory (not to scale) that shows better why it's so unlikely:
The joists run parallel with the hallway.
Jillius
8 years ago@bb
I think that was some kind of soup stock. The things wrapped around the spoon are actually attached to little mesh balls with spices in them, like this:
The ones she has originally came with a kit for making mulled wine, hence the Christmas flair.
Jillius
8 years agolharpie
8 years agoamg765
8 years agoJillius
8 years agoJillius
8 years ago@lharpie
I am also surprised the city has been involved at all, but now that they have been, here we are.
The downdraft in her cooktop is in the center, similar to this one:
badgergal
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoIf a ducted vent is too difficult to install perhaps your mom could use a recirculating hood instead. This Frigidaire Island hood has the option of converting it to a recirculating vent.
I imagine there are other recirculating vents available. This particular one is available on several websites. Here is the link for it on AJMadison: Recirculating hood
Found this photo on the web of the hood installed in someone's kitchen
amg765
8 years agowestsider40
8 years agoamg765
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
rebunky
8 years agopractigal
8 years agoJillius
8 years agoSorry, everyone! It took me longer than expected to get the rest of the information everybody needs. However, here are pictures and measurements of the whole situation.
Here is the cooktop wall. It's dark now, but through the pass through is the combination living room/dining room with a whole wall of windows with a really pretty view that you can see from the kitchen pass.
Here is the top of the cooktop, so you can actually see where the downdraft is now:
Measurements:- The counter is 24.5" deep (from the front edge to the backsplash).
- There is less than 1/4" inch between the back edge of the cooktop and the backsplash.
- It is 2 3/4" from the front edge of the cooktop to the front edge of the counter.
Here is the inside of the cabinet immediately below the cooktop (the ovens are elsewhere in the kitchen) -- you can see the down draft ventilation:
More measurements:
- The interior depth of that cabinet is 23".
- The interior height of that cabinet is 34". (My mom is 6' tall and had her counters raised to be much taller than average.)
- The interior width of that cabinet is 34.5".
Jillius
8 years agopractigal
8 years agorebunky
8 years ago
a2gemini
8 years ago
funkycamper
8 years ago
sheloveslayouts