Did a little more digging on this. Found out alot of folks just take the non-granite brackets that come with the cooktop and drill a bunch of holes into them. Then i found the Dow Corning high temp sealant that comes in the kit for $9 on Amazon. Looks like i should be set to go now!

Still wondering about sealing around the cooktop to the granite thought. Thoughts?

Photo of ~1/16” gap

I have a Frigidaire professional induction cooktop. It also has a gap, the manual said not to seal the gap because the cooktop needs to "breathe". Check your manual, it may be the same.

I'd have to see this in person.

Hi Matt,
Did this get resolved? I installed my cooktop yesterday and was a tad surprised by the GAO that existed and the prominent “DO NOT SEAL” taped to the cooktop itself. I can’t understand how this will not become a disaster for trapped dirt and spills- and I haven’t seen any reviews that comment on this.

I think that if induction cooktop manufacturers could depend on cabinet guts being open, e.g., wire shelves, no wood between cooktop base and shelves, they wouldn't design to depend upon a gap.

Some do it this way, some don't. I remember models that breath in and out through the bottom, but require a metal 'air dam' and 12" of clearance so that the exhaust doesn't mix with the intake, causing the thing to overheat and shut down. Others that require the user to notch the back of the cabinet below the counter so that the exhaust can flow out the back and down the back wall. And I thought the Electrolux exhausts out the front above the counter.

My earlier Kenmore (Electrolux) had a deliberate gap all around, plus a fan underneath. The present Frigidair (Electrolux) has a very tiny gap all around and a fan underneath. The same directions were present in the installation manual, but the structure used by the Kenmore to sit on is absent, so I am unclear whether there is any actual air flow at the counter. If there is, it is not detectable by ordinary means.

Matt, how did you install the 2 retainer brackets to the inside of the granite opening? everything I'm reading says use silicone but I cant see how just silicone would be strong enough?

following..... will be getting an induction (well 89% sure) in remodeled kitchen and wondering about all of this. Never heard this before. I am looking a the GE but still .....curious.

Well my general contractor installed the first one a 36" FFIC3626TB and somehow the electricians broke the glass top all the way across the unit. They had the glass sitting directly on the granite with no air gap. and didnt use any brackets or anything. so Im trying to figure this out because a new cooktop is being delivered soon!

we installed, no sealing, left the gap as required and it’s been great- not a cleaning disaster at all. 😊

The brackets [in my experience] are only used to assure that the unit stays where it is and that the electronics doesn't under some unimaginable circumstance fall into the cabinet volume below. It must be appreciated that if the glass top [Ceran] were smashed, there would be no metal enclosing the top of the electronics package. So this is a UL/CE type of issue.

Breakage of the Ceran is due to physical damage by leaning on it or dropping it or dropping something onto it. The unit is designed to hold its weight by the edges of the top along with whatever metal is brought out from the case sides to help support the Ceran from underneath.

The brackets do not establish any air gap, if needed. Any air gap has to be established by the way the unit is constructed. Again, the brackets provide a protective function related to fire hazard under some extreme circumstance.

My brackets are connected to the soapstone using an epoxy supplied by the source of the brackets. I no longer remember the details, but I think they came from Kenmore. I re-adapted them to the Frigidaire unit that replaced the original without de-cementing them. Up to the last time I checked, all of the 36-inch Electrolux/Kenmore/Frigidaire units have the same cutout and case depth.

hi Mat I am looking at doing the exact same install. Quick question… I cannot find the high temperature sealant available on Amazon. I assume any high temperature sealant would work? As far as drilling the holes and this may be a stupid question but do I need a special drill bit to drill through the metal and also what size?

Sorry everyone, for some reason i didn't get notifications that this discussion was still going.

Here is the link to the silicone i got which is the exact same as what comes in the Frigidaire kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008R14W3U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For the angle brackets, i think i just drilled 1/4" holes on 1 leg of the angle as the other leg has the hole that screws to the underside of the actual cooktop. I probably drilled 10-15 holes on each bracket.

With the cooktop sitting where i wanted it in the granite, from the underside i gooped, and i mean gooped, the silicone onto the side of the granite where the bracket mounts. I then pushed the bracket into it letting all the silicone ooze through the holes that i cut. Don't clean any of it off that pushes through, just let it mushroom out and run down the bracket. Then screw the bracket to the cooktop.

Pretty simple.

Not sure if i mentioned it above but i did install a high temp foam stripping in that gap on our cooktop just to stop debris from traveling all the way under it. No issues thus far.

Let me know if you have anymore questions. I can try to snap photos if you need them...not sure how much you'll see on the installed unit.

If your purpose for high temperature sealant is to seal the gap, please note that temperatures are not that high around the edges unless you have a very hot pan overlapping the edge.

High temperature silicone agents tend to be iron oxide colored, but black may be available. Any automotive black silicone sealant is probably good enough.

Still, I would examine the installation to be sure that it is not hanging up higher than intended.

The silicone is for adhering the metal brackets to the granite/stone. The brackets that come with the cooktops are intended for wood based countertops or tops that can easily be screwed into. So rather than spend $130 for a couple brackets and some silicone from Frigidaire, you can modify the brackets that do come with it plus some $9 silicone from Amazon and accomplish the same thing.

I suspect the high temp aspect is only because of it's proximity to the underside of the cooktop and any residual heat that may travel from the point where the bracket screws to the underside up through the rest of the bracket.

Thanks Matt

how many holes would you drill and how big ?

or should I just forget it and not worry. about bracket at all

mans do you like the cooktop ? I initially purchased GE but it didn’t fit ( cutout was too big )

The proper material for attaching metal to stone in a way that provides significant strength is a suitable epoxy or certain (expensive) adhesives such as 3M DP 805. I fear that a one component (moisture curing) silicone sealant might tear if the weight of the (somehow failed) cooktop were imposed on it. Epoxies used to fill defects in granite and soapstone before grinding and polishing might be sufficient. Assuming a clean surface for adhering, no holes should be needed in the stone, although shallow depressions opposite bracket holes (that were intended for wood) might improve shear strength. A screw hole in the cooktop chassis that the bracket attaches to underneath is needed.

I believe that when I installed my brackets for my previous induction cooktop, I used the kit adhesive, put it on the bracket face that would contact the soapstone, and mounted the bracket to the cooktop chassis with the provided screw. I don't recall the curing time. When I changed to a different (but same depth) induction cooktop, all I needed to do was drill a new pair of holes in the chassis for the self tapping screws to attach the brackets without moving the brackets.

So glad I came across this, I about died when I saw the $130 price tag for the brackets. Quick question - I see the kit comes with 5 brackets. I'd like to drill holes in the brackets that came with the cooktop, but there are only 2 of them. Did you just use the 2? Not sure why 5 would be needed.

Two brackets are sufficient to keep the cooktop from moving around. But if the new approach is to use silicone sealant as a metal to stone adhesive instead of higher strength adhesives, then maybe 5 brackets provide more silicone adhesive surface area and thus added shear strength for the Ceran top failure protection function.

Well this is stupid. I just bought one of these only to find out about this granite countertop installation kit.

1) Really they want to sell you the kit for $130? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!

2) So the kit has 6 brackets. But doesn't look like it comes with any screws? And there are only holes for 2 screws on the underside of the unit. What did others do? I assume not punch more holes in the underside of the unit and just use the 2 barckets/screws provided with an adhesive?

3) did anyone get a hold of the kit instructions? Did it say anything about punching holes in the underside of the unit? W tf Why 6 brackets if only space for 2 holes? And not 6 screws with the kit?

4) it doesn't seem like the adhesive in the kit would be enough to hold anything. Does it actually hold anything?

5) what is the high temp foam sealant that people used for the gap? I haven't gotten that far yet and it doesn't look like there will be a gap. Maybe this is a newer model. This conversation looks like its 2 years old so maybe no one is actually paying attention to this anymore.

The brackets for the two screws keep the unit from jumping out of the cutout, the others keep the unit from falling down into the cabinet when the entire top surface it is resting on disintegrates from a meteor strike.

Unless you want to unearth the original UL or whomever findings leading to approval to discover the bracket rationale, do whatever you think leads to easiest removal when the unit has to be replaced or repaired.

here is another conversation on this:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/attaching-metal-brackets-to-granite.478395/

I am replacing my GE profile radiant Cooktop which is on a granite counter with the Frigidaire induction stove top

My question is, can I use the same support brackets the GE Profile radiant cooktop uses for the Frigidaire induction cooktop?

thanks

Joe, it's hard to say without pictures and the manufacturer's installation instructions.

Due to the morass of electronics used with the induction type cooktop, and the need for heat sinks and air ducts for cooling the drive transistors, the induction cooktop would be expected to require more volume below the counter. You would need to measure your radiant cooktop and compare to the dimensions for the Frigidaire cooktop.

"Some assembly required."

It is likely that you will either have to replace the brackets, modify the brackets, adapt new brackets to old brackets, or perform some other DIY project solution. Keep in mind this is the duct-tape part of a belt, suspenders, and duct-tape safety system. You only need to find a way to keep the unit in the hole in case of earthquake, keep it from sliding around, and keep it from falling down if all the Ceran breaks. However, if Code Enforcement is involved, a satisfactory solution depends on his opinion.

(Did you determine that the Frigidaire cutout equals the GE cutout? The Electrolux brands' cutouts are among the largest of those needed for induction cooktops -- at least at the 36-inch size. You may have to have some granite cut, or a "frame" built, depending on match or mismatch.)

Curious. My granite countertop is setback about a bit less than width of the cabinet base, say 3/8". So the bracket is not flush with the countertop. I can goto a machine shop and have 4 holes drilled across the bottom of the bracket and screw it to the cabinet base. Or I can just use sealant. It is probably only 1/2" of bracket that will be against the cabinet base. Not sure 4 3/4" screws will hold the weight of the cooktop if it drops?

Drill it and screw it; it will be fine.

So glad I found this group. Do I really need to install the brackets? My cutout fits perfectly to the cooktop and I don't see the cooktop able to movemovemove

I found the brackets useless. Any advice?

HU:

The top of your cooktop may not be designed to hold the weight of the cooktop which is why you may need the brackets. Check your appliance manufacturer's installation instructions please.

Y'all got me changing my mind on induction altogether! I was intending to use re-cycled glass counters.

After looking at the brackets, looking at my cooktop and reading this forum, I see no reason whatsoever to use brackets for my granite countertop. The brackets don't actually support the cooktop, they seem to merely keep the cooktop from moving around (the granite guys did a great fit, so it doesn't), or from jumping out of the counter (!). If my cooktop gets broken and falls through the counter, it will land in the drawer for my pots and pans.

Is there any other rationale for these brackets? Perhaps they were designed by lawyers for some obscure liability scenario.

But great discussion here!

My suspicion is that the brackets are intended to meet some UL requirement for electronics enclosure integrity if the glass fails and the assembly otherwise would fall and expose hazardous circuits.

Just flip the bracket upside down and use at least 4 screws into the cabinet. That's what my plan is, since then I can put the brackets in after I get it centered. Again, it's to keep the cooktop centered, not provide support.