Why not gas AND induction?

11 years ago

I am building and have gone crazy trying to choose the right appliances. One big question is the big cooktop debate. I am building a large island with separate wall ovens. My island is 13'. I want to cook and look at the lake, I hate my back always turned away. Question?... I have the space - Why not in my island put in a 4 or 5 burner gas cooktop with a hood and then a 2' cutting board countertop and then a 4 or 5 burner induction cooktop with the counter ventilation??? Seems like the best of both worlds. Am I missing something here?

Featured Answer

plllog

11 years ago

I have 24" induction (3 elements) and 15" gas (2 burners) and even when I'm cooking a feast for dozens I rarely have all five engaged at one time. I can't imagine needing ten. For daily cooking (1-2 pans), my first choice is almost always the induction. I prefer the gas for things I want the hot air for, like toasting tortillas and grilling sausages.

If you're doing two cooktops at one station, the best way to vent is with one canopy covering the whole area, though if they're spread apart, you might want two separate fans/ducts inside, rather than one bigger one in the middle. That gives you a unified look. In counter vents, including popups, are much more limited in their ability to do the work, and they take up a lot of cabinet space, besides requiring somewhere to run the ducts underneath.

One thing about "looking a the lake": While you're cooking--that is have your hands on/above/in pots, you shouldn't be looking at the view, people, etc., for safety's sake. The amount of time spent tending pots while preparing meals is very small. Locating your cooktops a pivot away from the view shouldn't spoil your enjoyment of it, and would make venting easier. Then you could have all that lovely island space for prepping, plating, and otherwise doing the myriad hands on tasks that aren't don't on a cooktop.

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Comments (11)

User
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
#1 no one goes back to gas after using induction

#2 Your island is actually too small to house that much cooking eqipment and have your prep zone be located there. You need an 8' island for just a 30'' cooktop and a 9' island for a 36'' cooktop. Add in the 21'' for a needed decent sized prep sink and an adequate 18 '' for landing space on the other side and you're already at 13' feet without anything but a 36''. Most stone slabs are 5'x9'. You've designed yourself into a seam on the most visible location thereis in a kitchen.

Only 10% of you time in a kitchen is spent applying fire to food. The lions share of tasks, 70%, are prep oriented. If you want your island to be the center of social activity, plan a well thought out prep zone there, not an expensive and difficult to ventilate cooking zone.
seb225
11 years ago
Do you really need 10 burners? You'll end up preferring one over the other; one will be seldom, if ever used. Do your research now, try each one out, and make a decision. Or if you really want both, get the individual modules, place them under an appropriately sized hood on the perimeter, and enjoy your island for your prep work.
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dbabrams
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Do what I'm doing, an induction cook top inside and a 60k gas wok burner outside for stir frying and big pot cooking like frying turkeys or steaming crabs.
George Cole
11 years ago
10 burners is overkill. If you like induction for some things but want gas as your primary, you can always go with 30-36" gas rangetop with a 15" induction hob.
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Joe Henderson
11 years ago
Why not do a hob? A few companies do 1 or 2 burners gas or induction units that are 12-15" wide. this would keep the space down on the second unit. If you do more gas cooking, I would say do a 36" 5 burner cooktop, and an induction hob. You will end up with a max of 51" of cooking leaving a lot of prep/serving space.
Fori
11 years ago
Agree with above: do a combo, maybe not full-sized, and put them both under the same hood. Don't have separate ventilation or you'll just look all cluttered.
rococogurl
11 years ago
Great idea. Plllog has dual fuel like that.
Don
11 years ago
"If you want your island to be the center of social activity, plan a well thought out prep zone there, not an expensive and difficult to ventilate cooking zone."

I agree. Cooktops on an exterior wall whenever possible. Unless you are short, the hood should be partially blocking the view anyways. You are not going to like a huge hood at the proper height on an island.

An island cooktop is a lot of compromises to place equipment where you will normally only stand looking down. It also makes the island less sociable. A food prep island can be set up better to serve groups.

Most cooks consider the cooktop the centerpiece equipment. But functionally it often doesn't make sense to put it as the visual centerpiece.
homepro01
11 years ago
I have a 30" induction cooktop and a 15" Wok burner from Miele. It replaced a 48" Dacor rangetop. I love my new setup. I could have done without the wok burner but we get frequent power outages and my generator is not sufficient to run the induction cooktop. I agree that 10 burners is over kill. I cook for 9 hours straight on sundays and minimally through out the week. I have not needed more than 3 burners at the same time. Even when I had my 48" 6 burner cooktop, I rarely used more than 3 burners at a time including the holiday cooking marathons.

Good luck!
homechef59
11 years ago
Whatever cooktop you chose, move it to the wall. Put your prep and prep sink on the island. You will spend 90% of your time chopping and prepping. 10% of your time will be spent using the cooktop. Plus, it is nearly impossible to properly vent gas, steam and grease from an island. A wall based arrangement for the cooking apparatus is a far superior arrangement.