about size: i cannot picture needing 36" over 30".

about placement: an induction cooktop can straddle any cabinets. It can go anywhere.

about placing an oven underneath: there are several recent discussions about this. These discussions are happening right now, or were started in the last few weeks and are not yet ancient history.

While some induction cooktops will allow ovens under them, usually the same brand, I would not do this. Why?

1st. It limits you to certain induction cooktops and certain ovens.

2nd. One is going to be in the way of the other. Our oven is below counter but off to the side of the cooktop, under the cooktop is a lazy susan with the pots/pans we use for the cooktop.

3rd. With the oven mounted off to the side of the cooktop it is possible to get the oven up a little higher, ours is about 6" from the floor alto we do have higher (taller) than standard cupboards.

As far as an oven that is easy to read below counter, I can personally recommend the Electrolux Icon. Why?

1. Vary large easy to read controls (Wavetouch).
2. Very large window, so you can see inside the oven with a
minimum of bending over.
3. Fully gliding out racks and I mean "WAY OUTTTT" sure made basting the Turkey easy, or anything that is inside your oven that needs periodic tending.

The Oven has been trouble free for 5 years now (Never a service call), It bakes very well, both using convection and not using convection. The fan on it is Extremely quiet, and the air that it does blow out is just barely warm.

Good luck on your Quest!

Gary

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

David, I don't know that I can justify "needing" 36" over 30." We were thinking that 36" would offer one more element, but it is not a 'must have," that's for sure. Could do 30 and 30 and survive, no doubt. I have seen some recent discussions on the subject, and I will look at them again. What I recall was a preference for using the same brand, but maybe just because they had only been tested together. Wasn't sure if mixing the sizes was a dumb idea or not, which is what prompted my question.

Gary, thanks for the review of the controls. I have been to a few showrooms, but no one has everything, and although the first one I went to had a lot, it was almost too overwhelming at that early stage, so your specifics are very helpful. I had not thought about the pros of the extra 6" of height that I could get still using a base cab, but in another location. It is simply a matter of trading a bank of drawers in one location vs another, so it might work. Do you have a different brand of cooktop?

I do like the idea of choosing each component based on the strengths of that brand rather than whether they look good together!

dodeg59: "Our oven is below counter but off to the side of the cooktop, ... With the oven mounted off to the side of the cooktop it is possible to get the oven up a little higher, ours is about 6" from the floor"

Your set-up is similar to ours. We have adjacent standard width 33" counter cabinets; in one, an induction cooktop above three drawers (a shallow one immediately under the cooktop for cooking tools and two deep ones for pots and pans below it) under the cooktop; and in the other a wall oven mounted "high" in the cabinet, high enough that we could fit a shallow drawer underneath to hold the extra oven shelf, pie pans, etc. It helped that the wall oven is a Bosch, which has a compact vertical dimension for the interior size of the oven. The downside is that the Bosch controls are not the most highly visible controls for viewing from above.

When we remodelled our kitchen, our theme was curves, so "naturally" I bought a curved cooktop (Non Induction). That turned out to be a disaster, the thing died in less than 2 years.

Thanks to GW, I learned about induction, and I chose the Elux cooktop, mainly because the touchpad was divided from the cooking surface by an SS barier. That is what totalled the curved cooktop, stuff got on the touch pads that just burned on.

That was probably "Over caution" on my part, as posters here are happy with just about any make of induction cooktop, so what looks good to you and its features are more important than any particular brand.

I do agree with you about mixing brands. My Fridge is a 48" built in Jenn-air, and my dishwaser is a Miele.

All the appliances have been trouble free cept for that first Non-induction fancy cooktop.

We hope you are as fortunate as we are, and yes even 4 or 6 inches , of extra oven height are a big help.

Gary

We replaced a range by extending the cabinet and putting an induction cooktop (30in) on top of a wall oven (27in). There was no other way because of limited space. We are very happy with the choice (both Bosch). But I don't think you have to go with the same brands. You need to find out about the clearance which is not easy (try asking elux if they recommend putting a miele on top...).

I cannot see why one gets in the way of the other. One is under the counter, the other above.

If you want a convection oven, then it may require more space between it and the induction cooktop (regardless of brand), enough that that combination doesn't really work. A little over a year ago, I wasn't able to make that (induction over convection) pairing work, although either a non-convection oven or an electric cooktop would have fit vertically OK.

Also, as Gary points out above, there are good practical reasons to off-set these appliances. Blocking your oven door while cooking at the cooktop can be a nuisance.

I'm taking your comments to heart and have re-thought the layout. There's no reason not to put the oven in the peninsula instead. I might have that counter a couple of inches higher anyway, so between that and not having to drop it below the cooktop, it seems like a good way to go. Thanks, everyone!

I'm spending some time this week learning SketchUp, so I should have some layouts to show one of these days. (Currently, I'm still in the cussing and "undo" last command stage of software learning...)

Oven vendors are under no obligation to test another manufacturer's cooktop with their own units for clearance issues.

So don't be surprised if GE doesn't list Miele as a compatible cooktop to use over their ovens.

Has anyone had any problems with the heat from a convection oven frying the electronics in an induction cooktop mounted above it?

If you do decide to go with a cooktop over an oven, you also will want to carefully consider how the oven vents. I have a electrolux double oven that puts out quite a bit of air and heat via a fan powered duct on the top while the oven runs (and a good while after its off also). It's not overly bothersome for my purposes, but I could imagine it being somewhat annoying if I was standing in front of it for a long period of time.

We ended up deciding to split the cooktop and oven and put the oven in the peninsula. Seems like it would simplify the issue of using different brands (currently settled on Bosch induction but Electrolux oven) and also separate a baking area from a primary cooking area. I think a lifetime of cooking on ranges was just making me think the 2 functions "belonged" together! It is almost always good to question your assumptions!

I think you will like that arrangement. Many times we have both the cook top and the oven in operation at the same time.
It's nice to not have to "Stand aside the cook top" cause wifey wants to open the oven.

We had a range before our kitchen remodel and we like the "New Arrangement" much better, the oven is higher, easy to read controls (Elux wavetouch), big window in door, racks glide way our as I mentioned earlier----Hard to beat, at least for us!

Gary