What kind of cooking do you do? Stir fry? What type of cookware do you use?

A full sized baking sheet is 26”x18”. The only electric wall oven that will hold it and it is close is a 30” BlueStar electric oven.

My personal preference is an add on griddle. It leaves the burners available when not using the griddle. Add ons can be of different metals for different uses. My add on has almost twice the area of many built ins. It can do that because it is heavy aluminum, so heats evenly. You can buy add ons in steel too. You can take it off of the burners to clean. I have used my griddle in the oven. To make an exact comparison, you would have to know what rangetop you are looking at. Built in griddles vary tremendously.

This is what I have. It comes bare aluminum, which seasons or nonstick.

http://royalindustriesinc.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_22_48

There are also steel griddles like these, which are treated like cast iron and season. They come in 2-4 burner size

https://www.chefsfirst.com/Restaurant-Removable-Griddle-s/201426.htm

The advantage of the built in is stability and it can be controlled thermostatically. You can flip it on to 350°F and it will heat to the same level of heat each time. With an add on it is like a big pan.

You could also do the countertop plug in. My kids have them that work pretty well. My son also has a BlackStone outdoor griddle that he lives. It is steel but has an H shaped burner so heats pretty evenly

Thanks much. no fancy cooking but like most people since we are remodeling we want a 36-inch range top as my wife wants a wall oven and not one below the stove. I like your idea of getting more burners and using perhaps an add on grill.

any recommendations on brands for range top? Are kitchen aid wall oven/microwave a good brand choice?

I have the 30" Bluestar Wall Oven too. Works great. (Although way too many cookies are made :-) No way will a 27" oven hold a full size baking sheet.

I have a 36" induction cooktop. I like it far better than the gas it replaced as it uses far less energy and the kitchen stays way cooler.

There are limited choices for a 27" wall oven as 30" is now the standard.

I have a Bosch side opening wall oven. I like it because it enables me to stand in front of it to load and unload rather than lean over to the side. The French oven styles like the one Jerry has also have this ergonomic advantage but the Bosch is a wee bit less expensive :-).

I don't know what you mean by a combination microwave. If the only place to install a microwave is under or over the wall oven, you would probably need to go with a microwave drawer. I have the Sharp microwave drawer under my wall oven. If your kitchen is large enough to locate the microwave off the counter to some other spot, that is an alternative, but I didn't have sufficient room for any place other than below the wall oven.

No reason to get a grill as you can achieve great results with a grid pan which is easier maintenance or with an electric grill for pancakes.

Is there some reason you want a wall oven/cooktop rather than a stove. I ask because you state you don't need high end appliances. The cost of comparable quality wall oven/cooktop is going to be more expensive than the equivalent stove and you will also have the issue of needing a more expensive cabinet versus no cabinet for the stove. You might also run into issues of upgrading your electrical panel. I needed a new panel because Code required that each large appliance be on a separate circuit breaker whereas my old stove only needed one circuit.

Thanks Helen.

My wife does not want a oven in the stove due to bending down etc hence choice for wall oven/microwave.

We are now down to a Wolf 30 inch SRT304 or Thermador 30 inch 5 burner rangetop. We thought of 6 burner 36 inch Wolf but don't think we need 6 burner stove. any thoughts on the 2 30 inch rangetops mentioned above?

Also we might sacrifice some cabinet space and go with 30 inch oven/microwave. considering Bosch/Kitchenaid. Any thoughts on these brands?

thanks,

Chris Col -- No bending down is why I purchased a wall oven. Now that I have had it for three years, there's no going back. Using the oven is now fun rather than a chore. I use the broiler in the oven more than I use a microwave. (The Bluestar broiler is only one step down from a real salamander). I also like the simplicity of the controls. It doesn't try to do your cooking for you. And because it holds a full size baking sheet, you're not limited to small batches.

I believe neither the Bosch nor KA will hold a full size baking sheet.

Thanks Jerry. We have decided to go with 30 inch ovens. so considering Bosch, or Kitchenaid? any bad reviews on these brands?

Thanks Wekick. Only reason sticking to Thermador/Wolf - long time brands, some folks say Bluestar is too new to comment on their reliability etc. not done enough research to find out if true or not.

what oven/microwave did you go with?

Bluestar isn't exactly new. They have been around for ages. And in fact, their residential open and uncapped series of stoves is a direct successor to the Garland ranges that Julia Childs loved so much. But while Garland was made for commercial kitchens, Bluestar made the necessary adjustments so that you can use the stoves in a residential kitchen without running afoul of differences in building codes between commercial and residential space.

Now, Bluestar also has a couple of different products. They have electric wall ovens (get raving reviews, but are admittedly only a few years old at this point), they make refrigerators (look awesome, but there isn't much information yet on how they do over time), they make induction (again, looks like a good design, but as with all induction, it's new technology). They also make vent hoods that regularly get great reviews on Houzz.

Finally, they bowed to market pressure and a few years ago they introduced closed/capped burners on their lower-end ranges. I am not a big fan. This gives up all of the unique advantages that Bluestar had compared to its competitors. Similarly, I don't like Bluestar's gas cooktops (note, cooktops are different from rangetops; those are great). The cooktops have a very different type of burner. It visually looks similar to the burner in their ranges, but it is much harder to clean. Wouldn't recommend.

You will regularly read on Houzz that for ranges and rangetops, Bluestar is a preferred brand. Most people (including me) are also very happy with their gas ovens. And from what I see here, their electric oven is awesome as well. So, if in budget, I would seriously recommend you take a look at them.

Chris Col - I really haven't researched either of those brands' ovens. My only experience with KA is their mixer, which isn't very good compared to the Ankarsrum (30 years ago KA was much better than today).

I've found the french door is really better than a door that opens down because there's no reaching over, and it takes up less aisle space when open. I did get a set of good long oven mitts to make sure my arms didn't touch the hot doors.

Bluestar has been around for quite some time, plus it's made in the U.S. Too new shouldn't be an issue. (Their new products are fridge and induction cooktop). My Bluestar electric wall oven has been great with no issue for the three years I've had it so far. I don't really expect it to have any issues, as it's not complex like some of the wall ovens.

Thermador has a lot of negative reviews. I do have a Wolf induction cooktop which, in my opinion, is far better than gas.

My only experience with KA is their mixer, which isn't very good compared to the Ankarsrum

Now, that's not fair. You can't compare an Akarsrum to something puny like a KA mixer. They are not even in the same league.

As far as the brand is concerned, I also share some of your misgivings. We have a KA dishwasher in the in-law unit. It was reasonably priced, and it doesn't get used too frequently. So, it probably was the proper choice for that particular space. But it is very apparent just how much cheaper the design is compared to our Miele.

The Kitchenaid has flimsy plastic parts that hold up the baskets. These parts last about a year or maybe two before the basket comes falling down. The good news is that the replacement parts are cheap ($20). The bad news is that they were recently redesigned and last time they broke again after 3 months. I was able to rebuild them with stronger metal parts that I made myself. Let's see how much longer it'll last now.

Also, the KA dishwasher almost on every cycle leaves several dishes dirty. For reference, this is a super rare occurrence with our Miele. And the KA has an inefficient internal organization which means in practice it holds less than the Miele, despite both of them nominally having the same dimensions.

So, yeah, there are differences between brands. I wouldn't dis KA to the degree that it is a horrible choice in every case. But I also have yet to see that they have comparable build quality to higher-end brands.

M - LOL. You have a point, but almost everyone that purchases an Ankarsrum had a KA previously and people who have never had a mixer look at KA because that's what everyone has, so a comparison is somewhat fair. And yes, I have a Miele dishwasher which really does a good job--even on the express setting. (To be fair, I haven't used the express setting when there is a big load or items that seem as if they'll need a lot of washing).

My opinion is that in almost all cases you end up saving money (and usually time and frustration) by purchasing the good stuff.