antss: great questions. The Lacanceh is totally emotional. i just love the way it looks. And, I don't expect it to die in the next few years so at least my investment is (hopefully) stable for some reasonable length of time. But, in the end, it's about the look, and the fact that it's not just the same old Wolf or Bluestar like everyone else. Total ego trip. The Miele oven? Combination of looks, performance (subtle, but I do think there are enough advantages in terms of convection cooking, software capabilitiers, etc as well, reliability (I hope), customer service (hope I don't need it) etc. You've seen the same threads here about ovens to know the issues. Yes, ZET1/2's get great reviews but I'm not willing to buy from a company likely not to exist (at least as we know it) in a year. The Therms? Fully integrated (what we wanted), and came in the right sizes (18'' and 30''), unlike the SZ 700's (27'' for both R and F units--too much freezer, too little fridge). Nothing else came close, esp at the price. Considered the Gaggs, but SS interior not enough to balance the lack of any factory authorized dealer in Atlanta. Miele columns--like I trust them to actually ship them when they've promised them. LOL. But........in the end, a kitchen redo is all about emotion. A good friend of ours is a professional chef. He can make an exquisite souffle in his 20 yaer old POS electric range that will exceed anything I'll ever do in my $$$$kitchen. Doesn't matter. I LOVE this kitchen that we're doing, LOVE the Lacanche, and in my weak moments gloat over how much cooler this stuff is than, let's say, an "All Viking Kitchen" like some neighbors have recently done. alku: great advice again. Much appreciated!! Mark

I understand how people can be about holding tight to their original idea and looking for approval more than input. I assure you that is not the case in my circumstance. I am not fully educated in the electrical code. Therefore, I need good advice. I have spent time researching and reading up so that I don't ask stupid questions as much as possible. I want to wire everything exactly to code and even update where necessary to meet the requirements. I also want to understand the basic principles or reasoning behind some of the rules. This is why I asked about the OTR microwave versus a counter top microwave. I just wanted to understand. Excuse me for jumping to conclusions when I read "because I said so, that's why." Perhaps I did not make my question clear enough and for that I apologize. As far as the instant hot, I am not trying to argue as I don't have the experience and knowledge to do so. I am only trying to understand and share what I have found that lead me to my original conclusions. The biggest problem for me is that this is an older home with nearly every item in the kitchen wired to the same circuit and shared with other items. I am trying to sort out all this mess and "fix" all the problems I can find in the house with regards to electrical during this kitchen remodel. It is very time consuming and difficult. I only have so many spots on my panel and accessing the panel to change or modify it is extremely difficult and tricky. My situation is not ideal. Short of tearing down all the walls and running all new wire to a new panel, I may not be able to fix everything. As you can imagine this can be frustrating. We are already into the remodel, having purchased the appliances. However, paying to have all the electrical done is out of the budget at this time. I just don't know what the code dictates as far as forcing you to update old wires and circuits that have been in the home for years and years simply because you want to add an instant hot, OTR microwave and new appliances. I think though that this forum has been incredibly helpful and I will pursue getting double breakers and wiring everything on separate circuits as advised here.

why on earth are the standalone built in microwaves $1000 more than an equivalent standalone model? I may not be understanding what you are referring to, but a "standalone" countertop microwave is about $120, and many of those models have a trim you can buy to make it look built in. The trim is made either by the company to go with that MW, or you can buy trim from websites like microtrim. Or, as many people do, just have the countertop microwave sit on the shelf without it being built in. It looks fine, and then when it breaks, it's an easy switch. Also, you are right that buying an OTR microwave to put on a shelf is a bad idea. For one thing, they are 30" wide. For another, the fan, mesh filter and light on the bottom make it impossible to rest flat on a shelf. Can you say what it is about the OTR MW that you like so much? You should be able to find the same features in a countertop MW. I am not sure if you know this, but there are basically just two MW manufacturers, Sharp and Panasonic (maybe also LG, I am not sure). Other brands contract with those companies to use their MWs, and put their own door and badge on them. Then they charge more than if you'd just bought the Sharp or Panasonic.

Sharp and Panasonic make most of the MW's sold by other makers I think. I'm less sure about the other one. I think it's one of the Korean companies. The guts are pretty similar among all of them. The magnatron degrades over time as part of the way it functions. The wiring, etc., should be fine. The quality of the housing, hinges, buttons, etc., will vary with the badge makers' desires and, possibly, price, though cheap ones seem to be durable. Features also may be spec'd by the badge makers. Company A wants a popcorn button. Company B doesn't want the clutter and prefers an onscreen reminder. Stuff like that. Very few people complain about the function or durability of their microwaves. It's fine to go for looks and budget. An Advantium is a very expensive machine for making popcorn. It's a speed oven, and unless you need to make a chicken in a fraction of the time, I wouldn't bother for your purposes, since the implication is that you have a real kitchen elsewhere and this is more for snacks. You already said you don't need convection, which is part of what Advantium does. "Speed" is a combination of microwaves, convection and usually some kind of browning element, though some call themselves speed for just the combination of the first two. As to fitting in your opening, you should be able to find a smaller unit to do that, especially if you can be a little tolerant in the looks department. Most microwaves will fit in your opening, I think, except the ones that are meant to line up with a range (OTR) or stack of ovens. Any decent carpenter or cabinetmaker can trim out your opening to make the MW look nice. Fancy trim kits are only worth it when you're trying to match other ovens.