OTRs don't vent very well - that's why many people don't like them - and if you want a good vent hood, you'll most likely end up spending a lot more than $300 for it.

this GE profile is supposed to vent 300 (whatever the unit is ), perhaps that was just a sales pitch :-)
thanks for sharing

300 CFMs is kind of low - generally you'll want a 600 CFM hood. But it's not just the CFMs, OTRs have really bad capture areas.

Ok I will check with hubby but he said the venting fellow said not to get any fans higher than that or we had to add air exchange or something like that?

and im not sure what you mean a good fan being more than that, most we saw were averaging that

I am on a budget and not a high end one, i want good function and style vs high end items :-)

It depends on your locale - it's true that in some area there are code requirements for make-up air for anything over 300 CFMs and that can get expensive - in some areas you don't need makeup air until you get over 600 CFMs. Even if you go with a 300 CFM vent, you'll get better capture area from a real vent hood than from an OTR.

By the way, I'm assuming that you're planning to vent outside - if you're just recirculating, it really doesn't matter much what you get.

It may be because they retro-fitted the kitchen, but the house we are renting has an Advantium over the cooktop and it is way too low, so it gets in the way when you try to get to the back burners. When we generate any steam (pretty much most meals), it condenses on the bottom and door, can drip. Can't wait to move into new house. I would never opt for OTR (assuming it means over the range).

Not sure if I'm understanding your OP based on the other responses.
But if you are asking if you should save the money and combine hood & MW. I say no. If you already don't like OTR MW's -deff don't get one.
I hated the lack of headroom over the stove and there was never a good place to set down hot things from the MW.

I had intended to make a small upper opening for an inexpensive MW over an open counter, but ended up w a giant high CFM hood and and undercounter MW drawer. Both way too much $$$.
Don't know if that helps at all. Sorry. Lol.

thanks folks

I bet it was retro fit as they tell me they can raise it but I like the facts you present, those all would bother me.

I have a friend that has the drawer and she loves it.. but i do think it must have been pricey :-)

so then onto drawer, built in mic or put in a garage???

I have a OTR MW and I love it.

I put hot things on the island in back of me, or on the counters on either side. It's SS, so matches all the other accessories.

In my old house we had a clunker that took up so much counter space--I am glad not to be dealing with that anymore.

OTR microwaves do a terrible job of capturing and venting. 300 cfm is nothing, and with such a poor capture area, it works much worse than a 300 cfm hood.

The workflow aspect depends. If there's only one person in the kitchen, it is not a problem. But if you are not fortunate enough to be alone in the kitchen . . . when you are hopping around in frustration, watching your tuna go from ''perfectly seared'' to ''Charlie The Tuna'' gray, while your spouse, a small child, a dear friend, or an aged relative fiddles with the OTR microwave controls and blocks you out from the range . . . well, how sweet a person are you? Sweet enough to not snarl and shoulder-block dear old Mum-in-law aside? I'm not.

Here are some more reasons to avoid OTR microwaves.

They are expensive. Yet they don't last any longer than a $80 cheapie.

When your OTR microwave breaks, not only will it cost you $500 to replace - they'll have discontinued that model or changed the styling so the new one won't quite match the range . . . My OTR microwave has needed replacing twice, the first time it was $500 and, yes, the styling had changed. The second time, my friend and I spent two days fixing it because no way I was going to spend another $500 for a device that only seems to last 5-6 years.

They get disgustingly greasy on the inside. When we took apart the second one, the amount of grease that dripped from it's innards was horrifying. Can you say ''grease fire waiting to happen''?

Lifting a bowl of hot liquid from a shelf higher than your head is not a very safe thing. A consideration if children will use it. Or short adults.

Also, since OTR microwaves can't be much deeper than the 12"-deep wall cabinets that surround them, so the inside of the microwave oven is necessarily shallow front-to-back compared to those that are designed to be built into 24" deep cabinets, or larger freestanding microwaves. Compare the OTR and wall-oven versions of the GE Advantium to see what I mean.

Johnliu is spot on: we always seem to be in each other's way tending to the MW and cook top at the same time. Very frustrating, especially when 30 seconds can mean life or death in the MW!

For a 30" electric stove top you certainly don't need a 600cfm hood, 300cfm would be adequate depending on how it is ducted.

An OTR micro can work fine in some instances but it doesn't sound like it will be functional for your needs.