Bosch. If your plans won't be completing until late 24 into 25 Miele is planning a new US manufacturing facility. They have offered full surface induction in Europe for 3 years. Look on their Germany site at the 7000 series units. Press releases (mieleusa.com) Best Cattura for the downdraft.

Agree induction makes the most sense with the island/venting situation. we have a 36” miele induction which is fabulous! there weren’t nearly as many options 6 years ago though. we ended up choosing primarily based on hob configuration - ours has 2 9” and an 11”. many of the options did not have as many large hobs. we often use 2 12” and a 14” skillet at same time so great for even heating!

I have the 48" version of this and I love it. No need to have EITHER gas or induction when you can have both!

https://www.signaturekitchensuite.com/us/products/rangetops/36-inch-pro-rangetop-sous-vide-and-induction

Very happy with my 30 inch Wolf induction cooktop, now over 2 yeara old. I chose Wolf because the burner layout put the largest hob on the side so that big pots or pans don't hog the space. Plus Wolf had a two year warranty.

The hobs are not finicky about pan size and can take a pot smaller than the burner. If I wish to lift a pan to swirl the contents around, the burner stays active for about 20 seconds before shutting off -- plenty of time to do the job. I don't find the controls to be balky or overly sensitive to splashing water, however Wolf cooktops have a newer control design now. I use a lot of cast iron pans -- no scratches on the glass (but dont slide your pans, please!).. The Wolf 36 inch has two bridged sets for two griddles - I'd love that for cranking out breakfasts for the grandkids. My only complaint is the hob locations are very hard to see on the black glass. Need to turn on the overhead vent lights to check if pans are centered correctly.

Do a good lighting plan for your work zones. Two offset sources 6" in from the edge of the counter will light things without shadow from your body. More than 450 lumens at the counter.

Selected the Bosch Benchmark 36" Induction with the stainless trim. Saleslady took a bit of time to explain the differences to us. Just like the Thermador, I can put multiple pots on at one time, no limit to the number other than I what I can fit. She said the learning curve was pretty quick. Bosch knows a lot about electronics, has a history in Europe with induction and a very similar repair rate as GE according to Yale Appliance. I went with Bosch Benchmark. So, that decision has been made.

No sooner do you solve one problem as you encounter another. The blower. I bought the 36" Zephyr Downdraft to replace the old Dacor. It was either that or the Best. I don't care. They both have 18" telescoping hoods when fully deployed. As an example, my old Dacor will only telescope to 8". Hopefully, this will help with some more capture. I know it's not perfect, but it's best I can do in this particular kitchen.

Here is the next problem. I already have a remote blower. It's a hybrid between an in-line and external blower. I think this application is more common in the South than elsewhere. The blower is located on the interior side of the exterior wall. An external cover is located on the outside wall of the house. The blower parts are just inside the wall. Is that in-line or external? Who the hell really knows.

Anyhow, here is the problem. I already have a blower fan unit functioning and installed. The appliance lady wants me to order a new, separate blower motor. Isn't a motor a motor? Isn't a fan a fan? Why do I need a new external or remote blower unit? This goes for any brand that I might choose to install. It seems to me that electricity and wiring and motors don't care.

Could someone tell me why I am wrong? I hate to pay $1,000 for a motor that I don't need.

You will not regret your Bosch. I love mine. Yes there is a slight learning curve to remember to touch the hob you want first before adjusting the heat, but otherwise, it's a wonderful cooktop and now I will never willingly go back to gas. Also I love that the Bosch has individual timers for each hob. I cook rice, set the timer and forget about it.

" Selected the Bosch Benchmark 36" Induction... Saleslady took a bit of time to explain the differences to us. Just like the Thermador, I can put multiple pots on at one time, no limit to the number other than I what I can fit."

I believe this is incorrect. As explained in the User Manual, page 12, the cooktop's two "flexinduction" zones have two induction elements each. While you can join two elements in each zone or operate them separately (page 13), in neither case can you have more than two pots in a zone at one time.*

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*I'll rescind my analysis if the saleslady actually demonstrated cooking with more than two pots in one zone.

She demonstrated it on a Thermador and said that the Benchmark shared the same feature.

"She demonstrated it on a Thermador and said that the Benchmark shared the same feature."

Thermador makes 10 induction cooktop models.

"In-line" is the answer to Q1 so long as the blower blades are inside the house boundary, and not in the roof/wall cap.

Q2 depends on whether the controls for the motor used by Zephyr are compatible with your original motor. Evaluating this would require some electrical knowledge. Likely you would have to compare motor designs and controller designs.

For example: My Wolf (Broan) exterior blower uses a standard induction motor, and the hood uses a historically common (newer phase control schemes exist) triac/diac phase control to adjust motor speed. My hood control would work on any single phase induction motor no more powerful than the 1500 CFM motor the control is designed for.

If I were to switch to an in-line Fantech motor, for example, I would have to supply power directly to the motor and revise the hood circuit to supply a variable 20 Vdc (guessing here) control signal using the same hood control potentiometer with different circuitry around it.

She demonstrated it on a Thermador and said that the Benchmark shared the same feature.

Unless it's a new model, then she's incorrect. And if I recall, the Thermador that you can place a pot anywhere doesn't have as much power as the Benchmark, meaning it doesn't heat up quite as much.

@cpartist: "Unless it's a new model, then she's incorrect."

That's the reason I asked for the Thermador model number. The Bosch Benchmark NITP668SUC, Bosch Benchmark NITP660SUC, and Thermador CIT367YM are largely the same with five induction elements each, but the Thermador CIT36YWB has 56 inductors and claims to allow one to put 6 pots anywhere on the cooktop.

I bought the Bosch Benchmark NITP660SUC. While there are five independent burners, there are two areas on the face of the unit where you can place multiple pans, plus the large burner area. What this is called is a mystery to me. I didn't buy the Thermador, so I didn't get the model number. It was a display in the showroom and used for discussion purposes.

I love my Bosch.