I'm thinking of getting the Samsung induction range (FTQ307NWGX) - http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/appliances/ranges/electric-ranges/FTQ307NWGX/XAA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail and would like to also get a wall-mount range hood (hopefully in $400-$650 range). Does anyone know which range hoods will look the same color and shade? Even though the range is stainless-steel, I'm not sure if there are different shades of it that may throw it off. Can I safely buy stainless-steel appliances from different brands or can the shades/contract differ? No store in the area carries the range, but I'll to look around. Also, thinking of getting it from big-georges (http://www.big-georges.com/FTQ307NWGX... as they have good reviews and decent price....[from what I can tell, appliancesconnection.com and homeeverything.com are not to be trusted]. Thanks in advance!

I have cooked on standard and pro-style gas, electric coil, electric smooth top and now induction. This, over a 50-plus year span as an adult, and I'm a good cook. I personally feel that when cooking, one should generally pick up a pan, and not schlep it around on the range. To move food around in the pan, use a utensil, not scraping and shaking the pan on the cooking surface (TV cooks looking cool doing such, plus flipping food, etc. notwithstanding). With minimal care, your induction cooking surface will remain looking good! I clean up with Dawn on a cloth or sponge, rinse using same, and dry with a microfiber cloth. This takes care of food spills, water marks and grease splatters. Special cleaners not required... my experience.

Keith: Thanks for posting. Maybe you can get answers to some questions that have been asked here in previous threads on this range? Are there just ten burner heat settings (as marked on the knobs) or can you make interim power adjustments by adjusting the knobs between the marked steps? Reportedly, the Miele induction range offers this although the user's guide does not mention it. The Samsung's user guide does not mention interim steps either, but it might not have them. It could be a selling point if the function was available because the Samung is sold for less than half the price of the Miele. OTOH, Whirlpool products and numbers of premium priced induction ranges (such as Dacor and F&P) only offer ten settings. If there are only 10 settings, how are they arranged? That is, are they spaced evenly through the power band or are more of the steps concentrated at the lower end of the power scale where finer control is more desireable? By way of explanation, I'm thinking about tasks like using pressure cookers or making rice. My past experience with some ten-step induction cookers with relatively strictly linear set of power steps, is needing settings between 1 and 2 or between 2 and 3. I hardly ever need to use anything over 6 except for the very top end which is used when bringing a large pot to boil. Induction cookers from the likes of GE, Electrolux, Bosch, etc., with 17 (or greater) steps mitigate the linearity by providng provide interim settings (e.g., 1.5). A hypothetical alternative way of doing this could be having more finely graded steps at the lower end (as by having the first six steps on the Samsung correspond to what would be 1 through 3 or 4 on a GE or Elux). Induction ranges produce low heat by cycling the burners on and off --- sometimes referred to as pulse width modulations (PWM). In the past, several threads here have reported that some manufacturers (such as GE, Electrolux, Miele, Bosch, etc.) pulse the burners on and off many times per second. The pulsing is imperceptible to the cook. Other brands --- Whirlpool's brands come to mind (including Kitchenaid and Maytag) --- seem to use cruder PWM. The low settings on those ranges pulse and cycle with a few seconds of absolutely still, then ramp up to a full boil for a second or two, and then back to a few seconds of stillness. (This also is common complaint about many less expensive portable countertop induction cookers, as well). What did your reviewers observe about this in using this Samsung? Concern has been expressed about the location of the the oven vent. (It is in front, right below the left side of the control panel.) How much heat comes out the front oven vent when baking/roasting for an hour or more? Also, does that vent heat the burner knobs or oven control panel? How loud/intrusive are the cooling fans for the electronics?

"Not reassuring . . ." Oh, yeah. I get that, so I'm not sure there is any reassurance to be provided here. To start with, Samsung does seem to have gained a reputation for not-so-good support and parts availability for appliances. It is not just their induction stoves, either. A fair number of folks here have had induction appliances that have lasted for years. My aunt bought one the early Kenmore induction ranges some three decades ago. Last I heard, the old stove was still working in a vacation home. For every story like that, however, other folks have tales of woe and have been considerably less fortunate. One of our stalwarts, kaseki, recently lost a seven year-old Kenmore/Frigidaire induction cooktop. He has posted eloquently on the trade offs and difficulties and expense involved with getting any major brands' stoves and cooktops repaired after a board failure. My own experience four years ago was with a dozen-year-old GE Dual Fuel range. That brings up a point --- the issue of control board failures seems endemic to all major brand ranges, not just induction ranges. There's just a bit more microprocessor driven equipment in an induction range, so a bit more expense for replacement boards. It is still expensive to replace control boards in every other kind of range. Four years ago, a failure in one control board cascaded to the other two in my GE stove, completely knocking out all oven functions. Replacement boards would have cost me over $800. There would have been further expense if I had the replacements done by our local skilled and knowledgeable appliance repair company. For me, that experience put a thumb heavily on the scales when weighing my replacement stove choices. Much as I like induction, I was also very interested in a pro-style range with minimal electronics (albeit with a larger and more evenly heating oven than found on the old M&O'Ks, Wedgewoods, etc.) I've got a small induction cooktop on the side. Hedging my bets, you could say. For me, Samsung's slide-in range has issues beyond repair concerns. They have design "features" which give me pause. For example, having only ten burner heat settings. But. I do understand the attraction of rotary dial control interfaces (i.e., knobs). I, too, am much happier with knobs for burner controls on ranges. The Miele induction range definitely has knob controls rather than touchpads for the burners, so the Miele was not one of the touchpad models your dealer showed you. Back in December, I saw a Miele demonstrated at one of our local stores. A splendid stove. Alas, it has s $7k price which is a budgetary absurdity. At least, it is for for me. YMMV. Frigidaire seems to be the major major maker of much less expensive induction models with knob controls. All seemingly street-priced under $1600 including a slide-in model. That still leaves you with the issue of expensive electronic controllers whose eventual failures lead many to decide to replace rather than repair their stoves. To be sure, there are some electronics goods which you expect to last only a few years. In my business, I expect my video cameras and editing computers to wear out in a few years. Video technology has been improving so much that they're obsolete by then, anyway. (I'm going through the replacement process right now --- yet again --- this time as we convert to 4k UHD cameras). For stoves, I expect otherwise. I expect (well ... I want) my stoves to last for decades. They should not be worn out, let alone obsolete in the near term. Thus, I still have qualms about buying an induction range for that reason. Kaseki has some recent posts here explaining the economics of owning one as akin to renting the stove or cooktop. When it wears out, you rent a new one. Depending on your viewpoint, his view might seem unduly pessismistic or might be a way of financially rationalizing the economics of a stove with a fraction of the useful life of your old Merritt & O'Keefe. It is a conundrum, no doubt about it.