I agree with the responses to the thread you posted on the Kitchens Forum which listed the negatives to an OTR microwave. No, an OTR MW is not sufficient, and will likely be damaged by the 15,000 btu burners of your Viking. And your own subject title actually says it - a $4,000 range with a cheap OTR MW--it sounds like you know they don't belong together. If you didn't want such range power, you would have been better off saving your money for other things and buying a Maytag or lower-end GE range. Those work very well, and your MW would manage them. It sounds like you are reluctant to match the exhaust with your expensive high-power range, which isn't very logical. Can you return the range for something more in line with what you want? If you do decide to buy a good hood, you should read the many threads on this forum about the various brands, or post a new thread asking for recommendations on lower-cost hoods. Ventahood is not well-liked on this forum, although there are some fans of it. But all agree that Ventahood is pricey. Many here are happy with lower-cost hoods bought on eBay. Regardless of brand, what you need is a hood that is 30" or 36" wide, 24" deep, 450-600 cfms (preferably 600), and has baffle filters (not mesh filters). Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens Thread about Viking Range and OTR MW

Not sure I understand the problem. Are you saying that when you turn on a burner on the right side, all 4 burners click - that is pretty common with many of the pro style ranges, and is the way my Viking DF works. I think you are saying that once the flame comes on, all 4 burners continue to click, and that is the problem? The ignitors have a sensor that lets it know that the one you are trying to light has caught. I would first use a dry toothbrush, or a qtip with alcohol, to try to clean off any debris on the ignitor ( the thing with the metal wire that the sparks shoots out of ) and the body of the ignitor. If that doesn't help, you might want to do a search here on ignitor problems - it could be it is wet and isn't sensing the flame, in which case it might work once it dries out, or it could have gone bad, in which case it will have to be replaced, or it could be a module. I have linked one post on a similar problem Here is a link that might be useful: ignitor problems

Just saw this quote on applianceadvisor.com Submitted by Appliance Stallion on Mon, 04/20/2009 - 6:16pm. As I stated ,I took a survey of 103 dealer/distributor types who spoke on the record as long as they would remain confidential as to who they are. Typical for surveys I guess. Here are the results.Best is first...1. Thermador. Most comments on the PRD364EDG 2. Kitchen Aid. A surprise.3. GE Monogram. Another surprise.4. Wolf.5. Dacor.6. Viking.For the top rated ones people liked the look but more importantly ease of use and service response.For the others it was a matter of service response and product difficulty in some of the uses. Apparently they all assume each company will have some problems and it is the response and corrective action that is most important. Funny , but the look was not as important as in earlier years, a surprise to me . Nothing terrible to say. Just their opinions' Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Advisor forum on Dual Fuel Ranges

I would agree a 48" range is overkill for the vast majority of people, but it's nice to have overkill. Same as you can drive a Honda or a Porsche to work, having done both I can attest that the Honda is plenty sufficient but the Porsche is more enjoyable for sure. While often parroted here, I'm not sure where the "ventilation costs as much as the range" comes from. It's not a trivial expense, but as long as you are on an exterior wall you can vent through it shouldn't be THAT expensive. My setup (including mua), which works just fine, was not anywhere close to that. Regardless, I think a nice combo is a 36" range like Bluestar RNB in a color/hardware combo of your choice paired with a stacked Miele steam and speed oven (or a little cheaper, a MW drawer) would be nice and cost about the same as the Thermador steam range. If you think a 48" range is better, given the description of how/why you cook, you'll be happy with Thermador and the steam oven makes it worth it.