I think its usual - or at least what I've had in my own kitchens. Any electric coil stove I've had has been that way, and my glass topped Jenn Air now is the same....larger front right, small back right. Small front left, large back left. My cooktop is a downdraft, no hood with fan. Combination convection oven.

I'm not crazy about the stove and I'd love to have gas. (I'd love double built in wall ovens too but I've priced those....Oh My) The house has natural gas radiant heat in the ceilings, the kitchen is not set up for gas. In musing over this kitchen, I think I'd lose the bank of upper cabinets on the range wall if I did convert to gas stove, I think the uppers are too close to give the proper clearance at the sides and directly over the cook top for flame.

My front large burner is on the left. It drives me crazy and in over a years time, I have not gotten used to it. For 25 years I have been cooking in this kitchen and now, because of the placement of the large burner, my normal cooking routine is out of whack. I hate this stove. It seems like the oven takes a very long time to preheat, too. I am thinking about giving it away and getting a new one.

So, in answer to your question, yes, you should have given the placement of the burner more thought. :)

Thank you Moonie....That is exactly what I am thinking after just one week!

I have always had electric stoves and my large burner has always been left front. On those stoves the burner in the right front has always been a small burner but saying that on the glass top stove I have now the large burner is still on the left front, the right front is a dual burner where you can choose either a large burner or small burner. I still tend to use it as a small burner

I have a similar issue with my 5 burner induction cooktop. The three front burners are medium-large, large and large, while the two in the back are medium-small and small. So if you are trying to use a small sauce pan to make a delicate sauce, you have to use one of the hard-to-reach back burners. If the front burners are being used for large stock pots, the manufacturer's answer must be, "too bad, learn to like getting burned."

This shows the burners on ours -- the largest is lower right, but it's a "power burner." The burner on the lower left is called the "large" burner. I'm also posting the burner explanations from the PDF manual. We love this range/oven. Two ovens, convection & regular in the upper oven. This particular model is no longer made (we bought it in 2009). Yes, it came with the griddle for the center burner.

I've purchased a number of stoves (both gas and electricity) over 45-years of marriage, and the newest (Maytag electric - purchased in 2012) is my favorite. It has 2 large burners on the front. The one on the left can be used for small/medium/large pots - which makes it the most used and useful since it will adjust to the small saucepan OR the large square griddle - and anything in between. The right one is for large pots only and is used for "super heat" to heat that large pot of water quickly for cooking pasta, or when you need to bring a large pot of anything up to temperature quickly.

The three burners on the back are all small. The one on the left is designed with a very low temperature for melting, which has been very handy, but will also go to a high temperature for regular cooking. The center burner is for warming only, and has been the one feature I would miss. This is the only stove I've had that feature. The third small burner on the back (R) is a normal burner - Low-High.

I also have an induction hot plate I use a LOT and I have a large oval griddle I can put on it, so I have lots of cooking options.

I wouldn't go back to a gas stove now that I know you're getting an added dose of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde every time you cook. If you cook with gas, be sure to turn on the vent hood whenever you cook because it will help reduce pollutant levels by 60-90%. It is also suggested you cook on the back burners of a gas stove because most hoods aren't properly centered over the stove, but more commonly over the back 1/2 or 2/3 of the stove. Gas also uses more energy because so much of the heat escapes to the air.

I also use a number of passive cooking methods, including 3 different styles of solar ovens I use regularly, a large Thermal Cooker (you heat the contents of the inner pot for 10-20-minutes (depending on what you are cooking - rice or large cuts of meat or a whole chicken), then place it inside the thermal portion to cook by residual heat for 4-5 hours. I also use a Wonder Oven (a cloth "bean bag" style oven I made myself). You can use them like a slow-cooker, or they will also keep cold foods cold, so I have made a number of these handy ovens. I also "cook" in a Thermos Bottle for small portions of grains and beans - as another passive method.

On my stove the large burner is on the right side with a small burner in back. On the front left is a small burner with the large one in back. The last two stoves (electric) have been like that & I like it set up that way.

On my glass cooktop, the two front burners are small; back left is a double burner; back right is a triple burner. You adjust the control for the size of the pan being used on the back. I like this setup.

My thinking on burner placement would be to have a large burner and a small burner up front. Currently my slide in downdraft stove has both large burners in back. My progressive muscle weakness has affected my back to the point that I am having difficulty stirring/tending to anything cooking on those back burners. So anyone with physical/medical issues should consider burner placement very carefully. My stove is 18 years old. I am looking forward to replacing it soon with something more user friendly like the newer ones that have the adjust size to what you need at the time burners.

I've never thought about the placement of the burners. Current stove is a glass top, with 5 burners. Two small burners in the back, with a 110v warming burner between them. I rarely use the warming burner, BTW. The front left is small or large, with the front right being large or extra large. The extra large burner is nice for my large stock pot, huge cast iron skillet, and canner, so I did like the idea of the extra large burner option.

I planned the wider landing zone on the right side, but I don't know if that was a conscious decision because of the size of the burners on the right side of the stove. If I need to replace the stove, I'll have to pay attention to burner placement. Thanks!

ETA, I find myself using the front burners for cooking, I think because it keeps most of the steam and grease off the control panel on the high back. My kids use the back burners for the tea kettle.

Wow, this is a subject I have never given any thought to. I don't cook that much. Can you tell? LOL Only just recently have I discovered a flaw in my stove. It's electric. All the control knobs, etc, are on the back panel of the stove. Big burner on the left front and little on the right front and then the opposite on the back burners. This works great for me as I usually don't have more than two burners going at any one time. But just recently I had the two front burners occupied and needed to use a third big burner in the back. Things were going along ok when I went to turn off the little front burner. The knob was REALLY hot!!! Because it's located just above the big burner in the back and I had that burner up to about medium heat, the knob got very hot! I was surprised. That seems like a very bad design to me now. I guess it's a good thing I don't cook too many complex meals!!

Which cooktop will stop the zucchini from boiling over and making a mess? LOL Oh, wait. The cook has to watch it? How convenient is THAT?

chisue, just use a bigger pot so it can't boil over when you leave the room ;-)

Chisue, I can't cook potatoes without them boiling over :-(

Last year I bought a 'boil-over" silicone lid with a center vent and it works wonderfully.

My electric stove has the large burner front right and back left. I'm so glad it's on the right side. That's next to the counter.

I also have a portable induction unit that I keep on a wooden cutting board on top of the stove at all times. It's our go-to burner. It heats food fast. It's on a wooden cutting board so that I don't turn on the stove burner accidentally......which I did when I first got it and I have a pretty burner ring etched into the cutting board.

The large burners were on the bottom right and upper left on my old 30 inch. worked well. On my 36 inch cooktop the largest burner is in the center. works well. Having just been kitchen appliance shopping, I noticed that on the 30 electric ranges, the larger burners are on the bottom right. I think the larger burners should be in the back, so as not to have to reach over a large pot to tend to what is cooking in the rear. Who decides these things? I suppose I will get used to it, but it is just weird to me.