If the manufacturer's product literature forbids use of a product by people with pacemakers, heed it by all means. That is probably a substandard product and it is a good thing that the maker/importer is telling you that.. That warning is not generally applicable to most induction cooking products, however. Some product manuals will use bland, "CYA" language about consulting your physician if you have a pacemaker. As if doctors have time time to know this. (One of our local docs called me when a patient asked her a question about this. I pointed the doc to the NIH site to find the studies. This isn't something the docs know about and the proliferation of products would make it hard to keep up, anyway). This concern seems to come up about once a year in this forum. Google "gardenweb + induction + pacemaker" to find previous discussions which also (IIRC) have links back to the NIH and medical studies summarized there. The gist of the medical studies is that there may be a magnetic field from induction cooktops that is detectible by instruments on the chests of persons with unipolar pacemakers (a relatively rare type) implanted on the left side, although the field seemed to be too weak to actually adversely affect those pacemakers. Apparently, no observable effects for other pacemakers. To be sure, persons with pacemakers are generally advised to avoid being within strong magnetic fields. For example, they generally should avoid getting an MRI (which involves putting the body into a strong magnetic field to produce the imaging data). If you have a pacemaker, it also is probably inadvisable to lean against an operating microwave oven (at least an older one whose shielding may have degraded). Nor should you hug an electrostatic loudspeaker, either. Cooking with induction should not give you any comparable field exposure. The magnetic field from induction burners falls off very rapidly within an inch or so of the burner surface. At normal cooking distances, the field might be detectable with sensitive instruments but seems far too weak to have any affect on pacemakers. Most cooks will not normally put their chests into very close proximity to a hot pan, let alone the burner under it. (Maybe if you have a pacemaker and are very short -- to the point where you need to stand with your chest pressed to the front of the stove in order to use a pan on the front burner --- then induction ranges might be something to worry about.) There is another study by an self-appointed "international commission"which is opposed to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from electronic devices but that is a general health concern and not about pacemakers. If you are concerned about the EMR that surrounds us, from home devices like toasters and televisions to cell phones to power lines, then you probably want to avoid all electric stoves, induction or not. Also, and any gas stove with with a digtial oven control panel, too. Read beyond those studies and you'll find the internet is fraught with the usual array of half-informed mis-advice, hostile fan-boy flaming, paranoia, and just plain nonsense. I think it was last year that we ran across a website -- I think it was something like the Living Large site --- that actually told people to use plastic and wooden utensils when cooking with induction because you could electrocute yourself by touching a metal spoon to a pan on an induction burner. There are other postings which state that induction cooking is just like a microwave without the containment of the oven. Some folks probably view induction cooking as akin to cooking over nuclear waste. You get the idea. So, the bottom lines are these. First, if you have a pacemaker and your doctor says you shouldn't use induction, don't. Second, read the product manual for any induction appliance you are considering. If the manual says "not to be used by anybody with a pacemaker" it is probably a substandard product that you want to avoid, anyway. This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Jan 13, 14 at 15:12

What location? What size are you replacing? You can't really compare without knowing mdl numbers of brands quoted. Any warranty differences? You should be looking for 10 yr on parts, 20 yr on heat exchanger. The RRPL is a 14 SEER mdl and I believe it has a stainless steel heat exchanger which is desireable. You should verify this. also the 3 ton mdl comes in various heating capacity sizes. What size are you replacing and what exact mdl did dealer quote? Makes a difference. You want to be sized correctly. What size is your home? Post back. IMO Here is a link that might be useful: Rheem RRPL Pkg System

centralcal how did existing 3 1/2 ton system perform as far as cooling? only a correctly performed load calculation will determine your size. it sounds like your ductwork needs modification especially your returns. I don't like the idea of using drywall for returns. this should be corrected. In fact, your complete ductwork system should be evaluated and perhaps replaced altogether. as to the Bryant 577, this package unit comes with aluminum heat exchanger with an upgrade to the stainless steel. I would opt for the StSt model. The 577 while having a high eff blower motor is not var speed which is preferred. Not a deal breaker if summer humidity is not a factor for your area/climate. I would also recommend the tin plated evap coil. I believe the gas heat is single stage-I prefer a two stg model. I will not comment on the Amana/Goodman. Quotes should include a new refrigerant lineset and good programmable stat. IMO Good Luck!

Looking down on the cooktop it is quite visible; it is a trick of shallow angle lighting that yields the effect in the photo. What you mainly see is a reflection of the riser soapstone. I'm pretty sure that you will want at least a 42-inch cabinet under the 36-inch cooktop to provide room unless you cut away some of the joining sides of smaller cabinets. For example, some induction units like those from Electrolux are actually 37 inches wide above the countertop and their hanging "guts" would be very tight in a 36-inch cabinet. A 36-inch cabinet with 3/4-inch sides will be only be 34.5 inches wide inside. Check out the cooking units' cut-out dimensions and be sure that they fit inside whatever configuration you are evaluating. That said, no one insists that the cooktops be exactly centered in each cabinet (whether loaded with drawers or having doors and whatever you want inside). With an array of drawers as shown in your CAD drawing, I think you can visually get away with a non-aligned countertop arrangement. Even if the cooktops were biased toward the adjoining cabinet sides, 36 + 15 + 5 = 56 and this is not going to allow the desired minimum hood size overlap of 3 inches on each side with a 60-inch hood. You would have to go to tighter spacing between units or use a larger hood. However, because you have side cabinets providing some skirting to the rising effluent, you may be able to get away with a 60-inch hood, but I would then err on the high side for total flow rate to allow the countertop itself to help direct air flow inward from the sides. Front-to-back depth of the hood aperture must be such that the aperture overlaps the locus of front pan base areas by at least 3 inches. This affects hood size and cooktop placement in the countertop. kas