I'm getting Fagor. They make the induction components for many other brands. The case is 2-1/4" deep and with cabinets below you only need 3/16" clearance below the case. Having space for a drawer was a big deal to me.

Here is my cooktop cabinetry before the cooktop was installed, built by a pretty by-the-rules cabinet maker who follows manufacturers' clearances. I think he was a little conservative and could have gone with a slightly deeper drawer, but it's big enough for my purposes.

The top drawer is a bit shallower than the neighboring drawers, and is also stubby front-to-back to accommodate the electrical plugs. Topdown view:

The drawer front is a little tall to match the neighboring ones. I keep knives in it. It holds many knives. Never noticed it getting hot. I have a small kitchen and consider every drawer important! Shallow drawers have their purpose too.

I have the 36" Windcrest, a year or two old. I'd have to crawl inside that tiny drawer to get the model number!

Thank you both so much. Fori, I did check Wind Crest in Chicagoland and there is a dealer about1 1/2 hours away, which is probably ok. There are 6 and 9 inch hobs. Fori, you mentioned in other threads that the size of the pans has not mattered and your cooker works fine, even if the pan is bigger than the hob. I bought 11 and 12 inch pans and I'm assuming that it would still work well with an inch or inch and one half on each side not touching the hob. Correct? I like the power of Wind Crest and no power sharing. You are an experienced cook with a long history of induction use.

Thanks for Fagor idea. It must be good as they make the guts for so many others. I will check that out too now.

And both have small clearances. Great. Need that drawer.

I do put my 12" skillet on the big burner. Just did tonight. Close enough. Other pans, to be honest, go on whatever is clean. I don't use the front burners much because my 2 year old is not trustworthy (he has two different evil laughs in addition to his regular laughs). So even my little pans go on bigger burners in the back.

Do compare features--the Fagor might do stuff. The W.C. only cooks. :)

The induction site says Fagor supplies the Windcrest induction componenets which I had always suspected because the case and clearances were almost identical.

What was explained to me when I had the same puzzle was pretty much what Fori was demonstrating. There is a certain amount of airspace volume that is necessary. The higher end units assume you'll have lovely, functional drawers, and therefore ask for a narrow airspace behind the drawers. They have minimal clearance to the drawer below, and usually recommend a heat shield which allows you to put metal things that could otherwise get hot from the cooktop in the top drawer.

The units aimed more at the standard cabinetry market require approximately the same volume of airspace underneath, but ask for it as greater clearance in the cabinet itself. They just tell you not to put anything metal or flammable in that space, rather than having a shield.