Hi

A friend of us has the Ge Profile in her kitchen, she really loves it. However, she has the model with the stainless trim and after a year, the trim is scratched badly. But this is cosmetic only and the unit is working well.

My Brother in law, just installed a Bosch 500 induction cooktop in his new kitchen and so far he seems very happy with it.

In our new kitchen we will be installing a Miele 30 inch induction cooktop once our counter top is delivered in the next few weeks.

We choose the Miele for a few reasons, one of them being it's layout, We wanted the largest element at the front (a bit like the GE profile btw). We also liked the very narrow stainless trim of the Miele, this trim should not show scratches but still protects the glass from a lateral hit. Finally the Miele has individual timers for each elements.

It's really about which is the best unit for you.

You should definitely consider hob size, power and placement, as pber2025 did.

Also look at how the controls work. Do you have to press the button repeatedly to raise or lower the heat, or slide your finger along, or just touch something?

Another thing to think about is the "clearances" under and around the unit required by the manufacturer, which you can usually find on-line in the installation instructions. Some units are shallower than others. Some require several inches underneath before a "combustible surface." When I was looking, GE wanted you to leave 12" free under the cooktop. Since I wanted a utensil drawer right underneath, I eliminated GE. OTOH, we've discussed this before, and these "requirements" may just be CYA. None of us has had our induction cooktops produce enough heat underneath to combust anything. We don't know, though, if the requirements may be to keep the unit itself from overheating. There are people on here a lot more knowledgeable than I (kaseki, dodge59, and others) who can speak to this. But you should definitely make sure whichever unit you get will work with whatever you plan to put beneath it.

Just stay away from Kitchenaid - it clicks.

I have had the 30" GE Profile without the metal trim for about 1 1/2 yrs. It has operated just fine and looks very nice. I have a GE wall oven installed under it. You can press and hold the control to increase the temp or you can tap it. It does not have the timer which was not a priority for me. Everything functions just fine. I chose this model because I preferred the layout of the hobs. However, I do not like that it can be difficult to see exactly where the hobs are located. It may be just my eyesight. For this reason, in the house I am now building, I am considering the Miele or Thermador induction cooktops. Again, I like the layout of the hobs and that the hob locations are more clearly marked. I do enjoy cooking with induction.

Is induction really only for people who love to cook (I don't)? If you were doing a new kitchen in a downtown apartment, would you even consider NOT putting in induction?

SF, induction is for people who don't like to clean.

Excellent cooking performance is just a bonus.

My parents have a GE of some sort and for some reason they don't find the hobs marked well enough. They are inept with technology, but it's something to note when shopping: will I have trouble finding where exactly to put my pan?

Well, I don't love to cook, but I HATE to clean! Thanks fori.

LOL, Fori, that's soooo true! I do love to cook, but I also hate to clean. I think that even if you don't like cooking, you'll dislike it less if it's easier to clean up afterwards and it's easy to control the heat and the settings.

I chose a 36" Miele, because I really like the layout, I liked that the rim around the edge was completely sealed and crud proofed, I wanted the turn off timers on each burner, and I liked that the unit was so configurable. I feel like it actually works for me rather than me having to fuss with it. I did have a learning curve with the controls--I kept wanting to push on the buttons, and what needed to do was rest my finger lightly upon them. Clean up is super easy, and that's true on any induction cooktop. Pick the one that has the hob config that works best for you, and you'll very likely be happy.

Cj

I have a 36" Frameless Thermador flush mounted in my granite. It's simply amazing. looks great and is so easy to cook with and of course clean. The hobs are well placed, easy to see. I love the power boost function to boil super fast, the timers on all hobs and the large hob in the middle. Here's a pic of it installed.

fsteph - your kitchen is stunning! Bravo!

Another factor in induction's favor is that it is arguably safer in some respects than electric coil or gas. These respects do not apply to everyone but deserve to be considered.

o surfaces are cooler
o there is no risk of gas leaks

A contrary factor, overcome with experience, is initial failure of new users to appreciate just how fast it can bring a pan's contents to a boil or to a burn.

The variously-sized-by-manufacturer required space under the cooktop may have one or both of two purposes: cooling air access, and UL/CSA required space based on what might happen if there is an internal failure and hot parts come in contact with the bottom of the housing.

Always ensure based on how the unit's cooling is designed to provide sufficient air volume and also a replacement air path for designs that pull air from underneath and expel it above.

If a drawer is essential in a non-combustibles defined space, consider lining it with stainless steel from your local sheet metal shop and using it to store metal, glass, or ceramic objects, and not napkins, toothpicks, and lighter fluid.

One reason for giving up a drawer in the usual location in lower cabinets under the cooktop is that the cooktop is a long heavy object (with or without pans) potentially supported by relatively narrow strips of granite or soapstone. The stone at the front of the cooktop is where people may lean or support themselves when cleaning the hood, and this along with the cooktop induces tension into the stone, which is its weakest mode.

Reinforcing this area, particularly on the front, requires more depth than just the trim at the top of a typical drawer space if wood is used to box it in. Steel reinforcement may provide enough extra strength and space for a drawer. My view on this may be overkill, but the effort to protect the stone is a lot less than the effort and agony that would follow if it were fractured.

kas

Duplicate post deleted by edit. Duplicate seems to be a cgi script problem. Pushing a script on me is not guaranteed to yield the desired result, whatever it might be.

kas

This post was edited by kaseki on Wed, Aug 7, 13 at 10:45