Help! Where to put my steam oven?

11 years ago

Hi, We are struggling with where to place our steam oven as we just realized the bottom of our Gaggenau combi-steam oven needs to be placed at least 35 1/2 inches off the ground. First of all, can anyone please explain to me why this oven has to be so high, and if there are any other options (i.e. drains lower say in basement i-joists below).? Secondly, can anyone please help me figure out where to place it, especially now that we have added a second window? The row of storage labeled dumb waiter and freezer are too outside the working zone, and are right beside a main walk way so I would rather not put it that far away. Below are some plans we are working with to give you an idea of our space. Looking forward to your ideas. TIA!
Carol

Here is rough floor plan that we are still tweaking. It only shows one window, but we would like two as per elevation bottom of screen.

Here is a proposed elevation of the window wall. We would place a standard oven or the microwave where it shows an oven, as we just realized the steam oven must be above counter height.

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ontariomom
Original Author

11 years ago

Well high Carolml from BC. Nice to hear from a fellow Canadian.

Regrettably, we won't be able to find the money to buy the Gaggenau convection oven, so will find a lower end wall oven. The Gaggenau steam oven that we have was an older floor model one we got for a big discount from an US online retailer (it arrived rather dented but that's another story). A new Gaggenau oven won't match the steam we own anyway.

Nice to hear about the pleasant bonus of the clear doors and how that adds to the enjoyment of using the oven. I never thought about that either.

Below you will find how we have tweaked the outside wall with fridge, sink and ovens. We have placed the steam oven over the micro drawer as our steam oven is narrower than the wall oven we hope to get. Finding the extra inches to place the steam oven up high was a challenge so best we stick to stacking it with a narrower micro drawer. I think I will have my DH redo the design slightly so the microwave and convection oven are the same height.

Thanks again for your help.

Carol from ON, Canada.

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Comments (11)

carolml
11 years ago
I can't tell you what the best placement would be for the way you work but do put it in a convenient place. I use mine all the time, way more often than the main oven. I believe it needs to be above counter height for safety reasons. If you open it when it is at 100% steam you get a blast of steam that could burn you if you were standing above it. Can you reconfigure the area on the right side - wide drawers where the steam oven currently is shown and put the steam oven where the pantry is. You could still have pantry storage above and below it and the new, wide drawers would make great pantry storage as well.
ontariomom
Original Author
11 years ago
carolml,

Thank you ever so much for your reply. I appreciate knowing that steam ovens are installed high due to safety -- that makes sense now. Also, your idea of steam oven location got us working on a new plan. We did put it where the tall pantry is shown as you suggested, with a microwave drawer below and a regular oven beside. We bumped the pantry to elsewhere. Thanks for your help.

Carol
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carolml
11 years ago
Are you buying the Gaggenau convection oven as well? They look great together as the dials are set up to mirror each other. If you are getting it, why not stack the two gaggenau ovens and put the mw drawer beside them?
I have to tell you one of the greatest, unexpected surprises with the gaggenau ovens it how wonderful they look when working. The windows are big and the glass is so clear, you can watch everything cook. One of our first experiments was to put a chicken in each oven to compare how they tasted. The kids (20 something foodies) all stood around watching them cook. It was better than TV by far!
Good luck with your planning - mine was years in the doing but now that I have this amazing functional kitchen, I don't regret a minute of it.
Carol (from BC, by the way)
carolml
11 years ago
That looks good. Keeping all the ovens together is a good idea,
and you have a counter for a landing space that can be used for any and all ovens.
Good luck.
redoingit
11 years ago
I actually like them a bit staggered. I think the look is easier on the eye rather than blocks of steel matched up.

I have the gag combi and will tell you that you won't care what your other oven is, and it could sit in the pantry until it's time to bake Christmas cookies, roast a huge turkey, or host a dinner party. I hardly use my range oven...the combi is a workhorse! Your kitchen looks divine!
attofarad
11 years ago
I don't have them installed and in use yet, but that is how I place my Gaggenau Combi and Sharp microwave drawer, except that I put a shallow drawer in between (about 7" total between micro and combi), which I will use to store racks or such. I put the top of the microwave at 36", even with my adjacent counter top, which I considered to be the optimal height. The typical under-counter is a bit low, and much higher would make it slightly more difficult for my wife to lift stuff in /out, although you could put things in from the side of the drawer when extended rather than over the top. If you don't have yours yet, try one in the store -- squat down to simulate your install height.

Edit: Oh, I see that you are going to drop the micro down even with the oven. That, at least for me, would be about the ideal height, given your 39" counters.

This post was edited by attofarad on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 15:43
ontariomom
Original Author
11 years ago
redoingit and attofarad,

Thanks for your comments. I agree with attofarad that the height of the micro drawer should be tried out in the store. So, that will be my next step. Attofarad, why did you choose to put a 7 inch cabinet between the two ovens? Any concern that the steam oven might feel too high, or does it feel to be the perfect height with the 7 inch cabinet in between.

Redoingit, thanks for your vote of confidence on the kitchen. We struggled for years to plan it and perhaps this time are close to arriving at a functional design.

Carol
pamela928
11 years ago
OntarioMom,

We are putting a Gagg combi undercounter for the third time now (3 kitchens). We drained the last two into the basement. This time we won't be able to. Yes, just be careful with steam. It's a good idea to get in the habit of ALWAYS clearing steam before you even open the door with the special button.
carolml
11 years ago
OntarioMom,
Is there a way to clear the steam at high temperatures? I thought it only worked at low temp settings?
attofarad,
I agree that it is a good idea to have a drawer or cupboard for pans and racks as they are always being switched around. I keep mine in the cupboard above the ovens which is divided vertically.
ontariomom
Original Author
11 years ago
HI pamela and Carolml,

Pamela, good to know that the option to install the steam oven lower is something we could explore further if our latest plan does not work out (so far we like having all the ovens close together and pantry elsewhere). Carolml, I don't know if you can clear steam at high temperatures as our oven is not installed yet.

Thanks for your help.

Carol