From the wattage, I am assuming that you are asking about an induction cooktop.

>>>There is an eight inch burner on the right front (3200w). Would a 10 or 12 inch skillet work on this size burner?Yes. Three things to understand here.

First, there are minimum and maximum pan sizes.

Second, a general rule of thumb for induction is that you will get even heating up to 1" larger in diameter than than the rated induction burner size. (It can heat a much larger pan, but -- as with many kinds of burners -- the heat may not be perfectly even all at the outer edges of the pan.) Another rule of thumb is that minimum pan size can be estimated at 60% to 70% of the burner's rated size. So, the 8 inch burner will evenly heat a pan base of up to 9 or so inches and will likely recognize pans down to around 5.5" in diameter.

Third, skillet sizes are measured across their wider tops rather than their somewhat narrower bases. Most 12" skillets actually have bases of around 9" in diameter. Most 10" skillets have bases around 7" in diameter. An 8" skillet will likely have a base somewhere around 6" or maybe a little smaller. So, no problem using any of them on an 8" induction burner.

Some variances: Some 12" cast iron skillets have less taper to their sides than other kinds of pans, so the base may be more like 10" in diameter. Does this mean you will have a stone cold ring out beyond 9 inches? Nah. It just means that the outer ring won't be quite as hot as the middle of the pan (much as you would see with a smaller gas or electric burner). Now, if you had one of those monster 15" or 17" Lodge CI skillets, the heat fall-off will be a lot more dramatic as you get further out to the edges of the pan (again, (much as you would see with a similar sized gas or electric burner).

>>>The largest burner is in the back of the cooktop. Would this be hard to reach for a short person ( I am 5'1").Hard to say. It can vary with how wide and how tall a pan you have back there, how high or low you have the cooktop set. and maybe on how deep your countertops are. (Frypans should be fine but stockpots and larger stockpots might be an issue for you.) Best thing is to take the pots you would want use back there and check it out for yourself. If that doesn't work, you could use the downloadable installation instructions to make a full-size drawing of the cooktop on a piece of newspaper, and put that atop an existing countertop and see how it works or does not for you with your pots. If you are doing a new kitchen or a complete gut job, bear in mind that you can have your cooktop set at your own preferred height

This post was edited by JWVideo on Wed, Dec 10, 14 at 16:01