Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bibliomom

Help - Cooktop vs. Range vs. Downdraft vs. No Vent!

bibliomom
14 years ago

The day I moved into our house I said, "You realize this kitchen has to go?"

Ten years and two kids later, it hasn't gone, just slowly decayed. We're *hoping* to remodel in one to two years by swapping the kitchen with the family room, moving walls, etc., etc. Because of this, I've refused to replace the horrible 20+ year old Jenn-Air downdraft island cooktop - yes, I have to light it manually and no the vent hasn't worked in eight years, but what could I replace it with that wouldn't require serious time and expense and have to be ripped out in the foreseeable future?

Unfortunately my bluff was called when the control unit burst into flame this week.

I had *wanted* to buy a range - Bluestar or some such that would allow me to boil water in under a half hour and had an oven that actually got hot and could hold a standard size cookie sheet (unlike my current 80s wall oven).

But there's the rub. Putting in the range I want requires taking a chainsaw to my island (which I don't particularly mind) and building a new one to hold it (which I do). It also *should* have a popup downdraft install (possible, since it's over the garage), both of which would have to be ripped back out with a remodel. But then my range could be moved over to it's new home, by a nice, easy to vent, exterior wall and I could try to sell the popup.

Option 2 is to wave goodbye to my range and get a cooktop with a popup downdraft. Less complicated and expensive, but requiring me to either sell off the cooktop and/or downdraft when I reno, and/or changing the kitchen reno plan. I don't have to rebuild the island, just re-design the whole kitchen. Easier short-term, but harder long term. And still requiring some work to make a popup downdraft work.

Third is the choice to do either of these with no net, er, ventilation. I haven't had working ventilation in 8 years, and while I don't like it, I am used to it.

On the whole, I'm just really loathe to spend money on something I'm going to have to rip out.

We do cook alot - 2 to 3 meals a day - so I don't think I can stand more than a few months of manually lighting the Jenn-Air. But I think I'd rather do that than voluntarily buy a new Jenn-Air, even if I do plan to sell it. Downdrafts are evil.

For other background, my current kitchen is awful -- gray laminate and black plastic everything. Oh -- and oak trim. On everything. Including the sink backsplash. DH's worried about could we sell the house in a pinch with a new island, range, and no hood. I don't think we could sell the house with the current kitchen anyway, so I don't know that anything we do could make it worse. And no, a hood isn't a possibility -- if it was, we wouldn't be planning to relocate the kitchen.

What do you think? Any brilliant advice? All you apartment/condo people with no vents and good stoves? I've been wanting to take an axe to this thing for 10 years, but now that I have to, I'm not sure what to do. And I've been reading about downdrafts and ranges and cooktops till I'm dizzy.

Thanks so much.

Comments (8)

  • weissman
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you're planning on a complete renovation in the next couple of years, I would just replace the cooktop with an inexpensive cooktop and forgo the venting for now. You can sell or trash the cooktop when you do the complete remodel. By the way, if you go with a range other than Jennair or Dacor, you won't be able to use a downdraft - there aren't any models pop-up or otherwise that work with other ranges. When you do your complete remodel, if you get a range you should put it on an outside wall or else plan on an island hood.

  • sfjeff
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Usually I agree wholeheartedly with Weissman...

    To set the stage -- someone converted the original utility porch on our Victorian to a kitchen, probably in the 60s or 70s, and clearly without permits. The Caloric range was 3/8" off level since the front legs were on parquet and the back ones on the subflooring. That yellow butcher-block, preformed laminate countertop didn't meet at the mitered seams any more, and is cracked around the sink. Oh, did I mention that the pilot tube broke off on the right side so we kept a sparker around? Hood? What hood? It was against the windows at the 7' high end of the porch. Ventilation was "Would you open the damn window? You're smoking me out!"

    Anyways, we're used to the kitchen being a nice warm creme color to the point where we were surprised that it was really white underneath. We regularly wash the windows and anything that sits out. We were going to go with a $800 Frigidaire to "hold us over" but somehow ended up with a 36" BlueStar. No, I'm still not sure how that happened, but I can tell you that cooking on that completely changed the "feel" of the kitchen for both of us. We've still got the same sink and dishwasher with the counter sawn off (literally) since I don't want to even know what is behind it yet. But with that range in there, who cares?

    If you know that the BlueStar is what you want, grab the chain saw and go for it. We'll probably match for a while, both in kitchen decor and in smile breadth.

  • bibliomom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kyaa! Sfjeff -- you feel my pain! Not surprising since you share my ventilation system ;-) Do you really love your BlueStar? And it hasn't turned the floor into slag? And the lack of a new, big vent hasn't been much worse with it than with the old Caloric? Tell all, tell all!

    It would be really nice not to grit my teeth and pray for patience every time I walk into the kitchen ;-)

  • weedmeister
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "If you know that the is what you want, grab the chain saw and go for it."

    Words to live by! This is exactly what I have to do to get the refrigerator I want to fit prior to new cabinets/tops since I can get the fridge now and cabinets later. It's either the formica or the wall...

  • sfjeff
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Probably your ceiling color too!

    Same as with the Caloric, for all practical purposes. The amount of airborne crud you generate is, I believe, governed by what you cook and how. Pan-fry fish? How many BTUs/hr you have doesn't change the amount of oil, its temperature, or how much the moisture from the fish makes thing spatter. Boil pasta? Meh, steam just helps clean the walls anyways, right? Stir-frying? I'd like to convince myself and you that since you are cooking for a shorter time with the BlueStar that there is less goop rising from your range. Wishful thinking? Maybe. I just can't see the range's power significantly changing the amount of airborne grease per meal.

    Do I love the BlueStar? Umm, yes. No doubt. Are there things I don't like about it? Yes -- but I can't afford a full-custom, to my specs, one-off UL residential certified range. It is clearly the right range for us. My wife loves the way it bakes too.

    Here's a fun test -- which is the "best" classic car?

    * Camaro
    * BMW 2002
    * Datsun 510
    * Mercedes
    * Lotus Elan
    * Rolls Royce

    BlueStar is the Lotus Elan (I'll let you muse on the others). As long as you appreciate the design trade-offs and that it might have a few rough edges, you're going for a great driving experience. People you don't know will look at it and say, "What is that? I've never seen one before." People who know (even if they don't own one) will smile and give you the thumbs up.

  • bibliomom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your analogy seems to fit my vibe about the BlueStar (Top Gear fan?) - powerful enough and OMG fun, but a little rough around the edges, vs. solid, polished and expensive (Mercedes/Viking, maybe?).

    My Jenn-Air is more like my old beat up VW Rabbit -- which was also prone to spontaneously bursting into flame. It got me from point A to point B . . . eventually. But I hated it. Which now has me thinking of the last just-good-enough compromise, practical car we bought. Which I still hate to drive. It's not a bad car, it's just not *my* car.

    (Of course now I'm getting too far into the metaphor -- I just traded my beloved VW Passat in for a Mazda CX9, 'cause I needed the AWD and more seats -- it's not as nice of a car, it's not as powerful, but it has most of what the 'ssat did plus the things I needed at a good price, without sacrificing *all* the fun. And it won't cost $$$ every time something breaks, which was increasingly common. What does that say about my stove preferences? It's not that I couldn't afford a Mercedes, I just don't see the point.)

    I do find the BlueStar *really* attractive -- DH and I dig the cast iron, the open burners (because I spill stuff everywhere when I cook), the low simmer, etc. -- and the thought of having a range with an oven I could actually bake in makes me positively giddy -- even if I do have to build a new island. DH got a nice grill last year that gets wicked hot; we're now prone to all-season use -- in *Seattle* -- because the only other choice is to do without little things like "searing" and "roasting" and "broiling".

    But maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that the extra money is really worth the ride ;-)

    (BTW, does that make Lacanche the Rolls? So gorgeous, but wah!)

  • live_wire_oak
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, I see you've half convinced yourself to replace your POS with a BlueStar, which isn't exactly a bad decision, given that you're resigned to cleaning all the crap off of the walls and ceilings (and drapery and upholstery), but I wanted to give you another option other than buying something new, only to get rid of it later. Buy a used cooktop of of Craig's list, or even put a WANTED post out on Freecycle. You may save someone else's functional but ugly cooktop from ending up in a land fill and it will fit your needs at an extremely low cost until you do get around to that remodel. That remodel (and BlueStar) won't be any cheaper in a couple of years, but hopefully with that time under your belt you'll have made a bigger contribution into your savings to be able to afford that BlueStar and any of the surprises behind the wall that are sure to come your way. Remodels always have those surprises, and having a bigger bank to deal with them will certainly ease the stress when you do tackle the project.

    Of course, if there is no financial strain at all to go with a BlueStar right now, then that might be what works for you. Just be aware that a range with that many BTUs may violate local code to be operated without any vent system as well as yuck up the house. If you choose to go that route, please be sure you have a good safety clearances around the range, both side and back, as well as a good quality fire extinguisher close by. It's not your wimpy 8K BTU antique range! :)

  • marytwit
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I came to read the Q & A, but stayed to read the delightful exchange.

    Bibliomom, do you write for a living?