Need to replace cooktop and downdraft: need advice
momtotwins
5 years ago
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suezbell
5 years agomomtotwins
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Advice Needed - Put a 36' cooktop in an island with a downdraft?
Comments (5)First which is more important, stove top or oven cooking? If you do more of one than the other, that is were you should concentrate on the best scenerio. Second, from what you have posted, it appears you cannot vent outside. If this is correct then consider an induction cooktop. It is more efficient than traditional electric and gas. It is faster than gas but doesn't radiate heat around your pan. You pan IS the heat source, so you are not venting out as much heat as you would with either of the other two stove tops. Electrolux, Bosch and Diva have great 30" tops with good size burners. Most of the other brands offer a good selection in 36". Downdraft ventillation is better than nothing, but you fight science. Heat travels up and with it goes smoke, grease and smell. A downdraft is limited....See MoreAdvice Needed - put a 36' cooktop in island with downdraft?
Comments (11)I disagree with buehl both on island cooktops being a last resort and on the safety issue. I have had an island cooktop for over 25 years including most of the time our boys were growing up. When we decided to remodel 3 years ago, we kept that because it worked so well for us and now our granddaughter is with us at times. In all that time, I've never had a safety issue due to the location. And I've also never noticed "grease, smoke, steam, odors, etc. billowing up and toward someone sitting, standing, or walking nearby" even when our old set up had a crumby down draft. I do prefer having the overhead hood especially when I stirfry. That was one change we made in the remodel. With seating on the other side of a single level island, I prefer to have 2 feet or more from the back of the cooktop to the edge where the chairs are. That way you don't have to worry about someone accidentally touching a hot pot on a back burner. But if there aren't seats there, 1 foot would probably be enough. We have 1 foot to the left of our range top and haven't had any issues. I'd prefer to have more room, not for safety but to put my prepped ingredients when working on that side, but it works fine as it is. We did that to get the most space we could on the other side where most of the prep work is done and it also worked best for the storage we wanted. With an L plus island kitchen which is pretty common in todays designs, the fridge has to be in the L as does the oven stack if one prefers that to a range. If the clean-up sink and rangetop were on the L, it becomes impossible to give them a good amount of room between them while placing each not too close to the end of the cabinet run and the side wall of the ovens or fridge. I didn't want the clean up sink with its clutter on the island and if we did put it there the traffic flow wouldn't be as good - the cook would have to go past the clean-up person to get to the fridge or ovens (the other side of the L in our kitchen isn't long enough to put them there). On top of that, there are code issues putting a gas cooktop under a window in many places and if I put it on another part of the L, I would lose the upper storage cabinets that I need. And like Pharaoh, I like to prep and cook facing the room. There is one very tangible disadvantage to putting the cooktop on the island. Island vent hoods cost more than wall ones. It can easily be $500 to $1000 more. With the venting requirements of a high powered gas rangetop, it took some looking to keep it from costing even more. And I think downdrafts have a similar cost. Life is full of compromises and this was the best one for us. I don't regret at all spending a bit more for the venting to get this arrangement....See MoreNeed advice for replacing 36" Viking Gas Cooktop and Bosch d/w
Comments (4)I don't use mine much, because I have both gas and induction and use the induction way more. I do use the gas for all kinds of things though. The little unit has a small and medium burner (I think it's 9K+ and 12K btu, but I'm too tired to look it up). I've never heard anyone say Wolf was overpowered! In this day and age, everyone wants more power more power, and Wolf is civilized. I think the large burners are 15K or 16K btu, which is more than half again as much as the old standard for home cooking, but isn't the dragon's breath that some wok aficionados want, which mimics the heat of a sidewalk brazier. For actual cooking, it has more than you probably need. I think it's true that the low doesn't go down to simmer. If I remember right, I've started something on low and thought it was too high and changed it to the simmer ring. But the simmer ring isn't only low low low. It does barely there to full on low, so it's just a matter of getting used to switching rings, which is just turning the knob farther. All cooktops and ovens have quirks and one soon learned how to make the most of them. I'm still trying to figure out the variation issue, because like with any knob on a gas cooktop, there's a continuous scale. I'm not trying to sell you on Wolf. It's a good cooktop, but most gas cooktops are. If you want something more "pro" dragon's breath, look at BlueStar, American Range and Capital. For more residential standard, but nice, there's certainly the Jenn-Air, which I don't know anything about but you already do, Thermador, and plenty of others. With any of them, if you can find one installed in a showroom where you can test it out, that would be the best way to figure out if you like the way it handles....See MoreNeed suggestions for replacement of old downdraft oven venting
Comments (9)We had a 25 year old Jenn-Air downdraft just like yours and also worried about the poor reviews and reliability reports we had seen on the current models. However, we had no options for any kind of updraft as the range is in an island in the center of the kitchen with lights (but no fan) above it. So we bit the bullet two years ago on a new downdraft Jenn-Air (the only company still making downdrafts) and it's been fine so far. Two pieces of advice: Don't get a recirculating anything - they are worthless! Downdraft is next to worthless but better than recirculating! If you can find a shallow shallower range hood, go for that and vent it out of the house if at all possible. You should be also able to get a custom made wooden hood to match the cabinets with the innards of a standard hood. The Jenn-Air will cost around $3500-$4500, so better keep looking for a good hood solution!...See MoreUser
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