48" range versus double ovens?

6 years ago

I'm sure this has been asked a million times.... Debating between a 36" induction cooktop plus built in double oven. Versus some of the new 48" induction professional induction ranges.

Let's assume we're doing new build and can deal with whatever electrical issues come with a 48" induction range.

We've moved several times in the last few years, and have had a bunch of different appliance combos and here's what we're learned: 30" cooktop is too small. Definitely preferred when we had 36". We can live with a single wall oven but every few months miss having our old double oven. No gas, so must do induction. We use our oven regularly - lots of baking and roasting in particular, not so much reheating or frozen stuff.

What appeals to me about double ovens: See-through, eye level ability to see what i'm cooking. No reaching down. Two true size ovens. What appeals to me about the range: The induction range options (wolf, aga mercury) are beautiful. Would be a real centerpiece in our midcentury modern kitchen. In our particular layout, by not having to have a tall cabinet housing the ovens, we can shorten the base cabinet run with the range (even taking into account the longer range) which works better in our layout. I like the idea of two smaller ovens (versus two full size) in the Aga. Very cool to have a full 48" cooktop in the Aga. But i worry about the reaching down and not being able to see into the Aga.

Since the range option means we'd need less cabinets, price is a wash.

My heart is kind of excited about the Aga or Wolf, but i wonder if the impracticalities will drive me nuts ?

Featured Answer

lascatx

6 years ago

I went through the same analysis you did and I think you have the right factors in front of you. Unfortunately, no one can tell you which is more important to you. I loved the look of a range and I would have loved having more counter space (our run length was fixed, so I would have picked up 21" of counter -- nice workspace for baking and cooking). But, I bake and use the oven a lot like you do. I am tall, and I was concerrned about the same things you were. I went and opened some ovens and went through the motions. I also have some neck problems. Between bending, looking, reaching and lifting (especially that big turkey every year) and not getting any younger -- being nearly on the floor didn't work for me. I went with the wall ovens. But I still love the way ranges look. Best thing I can suggest is to go look at some ranges on display and see if that last 10-12 inches bothers you when you go through the motions.

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Comments (6)

friedajune
6 years ago
Have you figured the exhaust hood for the 48" range into the equation? The hood will need to be 48-54" wide, and have the appropriate ducting for that size of hood.
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Hey Linia, I was where you were about a year ago, so here's a couple of things I found. We ended up with a pair of 30" ovens and a separate cook-top. My first piece of advice may be counter-intuitve, but don't loose too much sleep comparing the price differences between the appliances too hard. While the double ovens and cook top are often significantly cheaper than a 48" 'pro-sumer' range (especially a viking or wolf dual-fuel, but even Blue Star and Capital), and as noted below the hood savings can bee significant, keep in mind that the ovens will require a separate cabinet, and the cook-top will require a cabinet as well. As you know or will find out, those are two rather expensive pieces of furniture (although you will gain a bit of storage space with them). The separates get you ergonomic benefits, as you don't have to bend down to get access to the ovens. You also have flexibility in selecting different brands of ovens and cooktop, so you can get induction or special wok rings or whatever you like (I think only Viking makes a 42" induction range), or if you cook on the stove a lot more than use ovens, you can splurge on that element or vice versa. It also allows some more possibilities with traffic in the kitchen. As my fellow Chicagoan noted above, you can use a smaller hood. Finally 2 30" ovens, or even 2 27" ovens will give you more oven capacity than a 48" (where you typically end up with a 30" oven and a 16" oven). Safety factors if you have youngsters (or plan to get them)also tend to separates. The plus's for the range is the fact that you have an instant centerpiece for the kitchen, because its a big honkin piece of (in my opinion) good looking metal (if you don't like the look-then go with the double ovens). It puts all your cooking activities in a single location. While you may need a bigger hood (and some of the things associated with it, look up the phrase "make up air" or MUA around here, make the hood prices in and of themselves look cheap), the hood also ducts any smoke or fumes from the ovens, so if you tend to create smoke or fumes when using your oven, that's a plus. Good luck and have fun choosing.
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Chanop
6 years ago
I really like my set up of cooktop plus wall oven from usage perspective. It is a lot easier to access oven at waist height and a lot of pots and pans, and cooking utensils can go under the cooktop where they will be within easy reach.

Here is another pitch of an idea. Instead of having a double oven in one column, have two ovens side by side. This would improve accessibility to both ovens as well as open an option to choose a different oven for the second one.

Combi steam oven is a really good choice as one of the two oven even when not taking reheating food and defrozing frozen food into account. A lot of baking benefits from usage of steam, bread, pastry etc. Roasting meat in combi steam mode helps keep meat moisture level high. Generally, being a smaller oven, it is fast to heat up, especially for smaller cook.

Anyway, have fun choosing.
sidpost
6 years ago
H202, I went through a similar quandary myself.

How often do I need double ovens? Do I want to bend over with a bad back and neck today to pick up a dutch oven with chicken or a roast in it? How about a monster turkey or huge ham when I am even older?

I ended up taking an unconventional path. After having a stand alone oven mounted beneath the countertop (what was I thinking - young and inexperienced) I soon learned the value of a wall oven. So, how about a wall oven and a standard stove with oven? That gives you a main oven at easy waist level and special occasion casserole/cake/bread/etc. oven below your cooktop.

The other option if you can give up the wall space is a wall oven and separate steam oven both at a waist level. I'm not a fan of double ovens stacked in a single unit but, side-by-side setups are sweet. The standard steam ovens are generally the European "20 inch" size stuffed into either a 27" or 30" oven shell. The Gaggenau Wall Oven and Steam Oven side-by-side I saw was to die for other than the wasted space for the steam oven cavity to have matching fronts. It certainly had a lot of eye appeal.
James May
6 years ago
We went through the same process several years ago. Went with the 48" range and was very happy I did. It allowed us to have more counter space, made for a cleaner looking kitchen IMO, and allowed us to install an extra window. At no point did I ever regret not having a large stack of ovens.
H202
Original Author
6 years ago
All helpful answers, thanks everyone! To respond to some of the comments: The vent comment is noteworthy and helpful. To the people suggesting I think about speed ovens, or a separate wall oven.... The issue is that our kitchen will be comprised of three areas -- a 10 foot run of pantry cabs too shallow to house any appliances. A big island. And then another long wall where pretty much everything needs to go! Fridge, sink, and if we do built in ovens then they need to go on this run. Cooktop could go on the island in this scenario. If we don't do built in ovens, the sink and range would need to go on this run. We won't be doing upper cabs, so by not doing the built in ovens, I avoid a big tall cab cutting into my otherwise locely long base cabinet run. But if we do a range AND a built in column, they both have to go on that run so we lose so much counter space that it's not viable.

48" range versus double ovens?

lascatx

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friedajune

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friedajune

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