Induction cooktop with oven directly below

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Coolul007

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I'm remodeling a kitchen, and would like to use an induction cooktop and place a regular electric oven directly below it. I have seen several warnings, one coming from IKEA personnel that it is not recommended to do that.

However, I can not find a reason for it. (some claiming that the induction coils will induce current in anything below it) Does anyone know for certain, please help.
 

BobL43

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I'm remodeling a kitchen, and would like to use an induction cooktop and place a regular electric oven directly below it. I have seen several warnings, one coming from IKEA personnel that it is not recommended to do that.

However, I can not find a reason for it. (some claiming that the induction coils will induce current in anything below it) Does anyone know for certain, please help.
Good question! I'm going to follow this one. There must be SOME sort of design to direct the magnetic field upwards, I would think. And a ferrous (iron) pot would suck that field up. Lets see what comes up here.
 

Dana

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Unless somebody has invented a super-conducting metal coating there would indeed be issues with putting ANY sheet metal in close proximity of the underside of the unit. (And WITH a superconducting sheet made of pure unobtanium it would create a self-cancelling field at the cooktop level, making it useless.)

Can't cheat the physics on it- these things are just magnetic dipole electromagnets set on a ferrite (magnetically reactive) frame to help concentrate/focus the magnetic field in a narrow high-magnetic flux column:

DSCN0654.jpg
DSCN0656.jpg


http://www.imajeenyus.com/electronics/20060908_induction_cooker/index.shtml

But that column goes both up AND down, and there's little to be done in terms of shielding the down (beyond the ferrite frame) that won't interfere with it's function.
 

Jadnashua

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Might be worth trying to redesign things for a wall oven. Having it up a bit higher makes checking on things easier, and bending over to unload that 20-pound Thanksgiving turkey could be hernia inducing! Given a choice, I'd much rather have a wall oven up a bit from the base cabinet's normal location.
 

DonL

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The bottom of the cooktop is metal, so that is not a factor, but heat buildup from the oven below it would be.


I think that heat is the real problem.

The Inductor of the induction coil has a Core that directs the energy upward.

A oven would be adding heat to the electronics above, and even be heating up the Heatsink that is made to cool the cook top electronics.

Some spacing would be required because of the heat, and if the manual says do not do it, Then Just be ready to fix it yourself, if it fails.


If I bought one I would make sure it has a schematic , because it will need repaired, they have a lot of electronic parts Including Capacitors that heat can cook.
 

BobL43

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I think that heat is the real problem.

The Inductor of the induction coil has a Core that directs the energy upward.

A oven would be adding heat to the electronics above, and even be heating up the Heatsink that is made to cool the cook top electronics.

Some spacing would be required because of the heat, and if the manual says do not do it, Then Just be ready to fix it yourself, if it fails.


If I bought one I would make sure it has a schematic , because it will need repaired, they have a lot of electronic parts Including Capacitors that heat can cook.
True Dat; capacitor soufflé!
 

Coolul007

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Thank you for your replies, however, I am still faced with the same proble. I have seen all in one units by LG, Samsung, Viking, etc. So, it probably depends on the unit. Thanx again.
 

hj

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looking at my induction unit, I cannot imagine HOW there would be space enough under it. The cabinet floor is 6" up, and the cooktop hangs down almost 5", so with a 36" countertop, that leaves 25" without any clearance below the cook top. Out of that 25" you have to accomodate the oven's control panel and the bottom framework, so by the time you get done you may be lucky to have an oven cavjty that is about 15" high, and you would have to get down on your knees to put things in and out.
 

JohnfrWhipple

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Sorry no help to offer other than the only client of mine that has this type of cook top has two wall ovens off to the left of the cooktop. Not below.
 

BobL43

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I bought one of those, double oven, smooth top cook surface ranges, Kenmore elite, buit by Electrolux/Fridgidaire, but not an induction range, from Sears in late Summer 2009 (a model 9802) (last post had broken link, sorry) The bottom of the upper oven warped after using it for a few months. This is one of the designs where the lower heating element is not visible, and is under the bottom sheet metal floor. Not too smart. When I purchased it, because of the complex electronic control system on it, I purchased the service agreement from Sears too. When I called Sears, they sent out a tech, who saw the badly curved up bottom panel and said "no problem, I will place an order for a new panel, and call us back when it arrives". so I get the panel a week later and have Sears come back. They sent 2 techs back because they said it was a 2 man job and had to completely dissassemble the Oven/range unit. So 2 techs (LOL! talk about an exageration) come to my house, look at the range for an hour, scratch their heads and call their boss saying they had no idea how to accomplish the parts replacement. They were even unable to figure out how to remove the customer removable oven doors! I spoke to the dispatcher and demanded a new range, which they ageeed to, but the one I had was already discontinued, so I had to go to the Sears at the mall and pick out a new unit. The new unit was almost identical to the original, so we picked it out and ordered it for no additional cost, even though the price had gone up a few hundred bucks. This was an almost $2,000 range I had bought originally. so pretty: smooth top cooking surface, a smaller oven on top for baking or broiling some things, plus a much larger oven on the bottom for making a big turkey. The parts list for the new one had the same part number for the bottom sheet metal that had warped, and I still have the part in the box that Sears sent me in 2010. So far it works fine, but it is so complex, it is scary, and the parts are very expensive. Kind of like a trophy wife without the benefits. Induction heating I am not ready for, nor having to buy all new pots to use on it that are compatible. Some claim to work on non ferrous pots, but...................

Oh, and the Kenmore Elite fridge I bought at the same time? Another story for another time, but Sears replaced it too with a new one because the original built by Whirlpool could not be fixed because of badly written firmware in the controls, which I proved to them. I got a Kemore Elite built by LG. Sears sell the same products as other stores, but they DO make good on problems in my experiences with them.
 

DonL

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I think the service agreement from Sears would be a good investment for the new stuff.

To bad the technicians have no clue on repairing them.

But if all else fails, And they can not repair it, A new one can be obtained under the contract.


The thing nice about the Induction cook tops is that you can use it erase your old VHS tapes.
 

BobL43

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I think the service agreement from Sears would be a good investment for the new stuff.

To bad the technicians have no clue on repairing them.

But if all else fails, And they can not repair it, A new one can be obtained under the contract.


The thing nice about the Induction cook tops is that you can use it erase your old VHS tapes.
Hey Don, to Erase tapes, I used to use my armature growler. I'm not sure if I still have it, but I have the same one as the red one on this page https://www.google.com/search?q=arm...hangartoolbox.com%2FTools%2F21.aspx;1552;1119 Ooh, long link, sorry I don't use tinyurl. Lets see if this works. Yeah, it works, The big ugly red one in the big picture is the one like I have (or had):p
 

hj

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quote; Some claim to work on non ferrous pots, but...................

Good luck finding a "nonferous" pot that is magnetic. Sears agreement is almost a necessity with an induction unit, because most home warranty companies exclude them because of the cost for repairs. I got my current one because I did not want to pay $1,300.00 for a new two burner module for my last one when it went bad.
 

DonL

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quote; Some claim to work on non ferrous pots, but...................

Good luck finding a "nonferous" pot that is magnetic. Sears agreement is almost a necessity with an induction unit, because most home warranty companies exclude them because of the cost for repairs. I got my current one because I did not want to pay $1,300.00 for a new two burner module for my last one when it went bad.


I think that a lot of power is wasted.

Many of those cooktops are a big joke, and make you buy new cooking utensils.

I have gas, that seems the best for cooking.


To each his own.
 

Jadnashua

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Induction is fast, your cooktop cools, and only gets hot when an appropriate metal pot is on top of it (and then the cooktop only gets hot because the pot does). Remove the pot, the electrical load goes way down, and there's nothing to heat the cooktop, so it cools off, and because there isn't much mass to it, it does it fairly quickly - MUCH faster than say the CI grates used on some gas stoves. And, when you replace it, it returns to the original setting, unless you turn it off. Do any of them require you to re-activate after you remove a pot?

Plus, some people find the byproducts from burning gas irritating, and because there is an open flame, you have the potential to start a fire. Can't do that if you say had something flammable on the cooktop while it was on using an induction one. One of the byproducts of gas stoves is also moisture, and that could be an issue. There's also a lot of bypassed heat with that heating up the air. On an induction burner, only the pot is getting hot, and obviously, what's in it...no stream of hot air circling the pot, heating up the kitchen.

They each have their good an bad points...personally, I have a gas stove, but given different circumstances, might consider an induction one, and I may end up with an induction single burner which can be used to heat or maintain temp of certain things without having to worry about a flame.
 

BobL43

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I think that a lot of power is wasted.

Many of those cooktops are a big joke, and make you buy new cooking utensils.

I have gas, that seems the best for cooking.


To each his own.
Yes, even the smooth top electric range with resistance elements require smooth bottoms and no ridges on the surface so there is good thermal conductance fro the surface of the ceramic/glass to the pot. Lots of the pots we have can not be used on my range, or maybe they will damage the surface. Probably would have bought a gas unit if we had natural gas here; we don't, and propane is 5 bucks a gallon here plus tax and their rip off sniff test each delivery. I have a 50 gallon propane tank which feeds my 150K (or 125K? I forget) BTU hot tub heater.
 

hj

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quote; I think that a lot of power is wasted.

Many of those cooktops are a big joke, and make you buy new cooking utensils.

They heat faster than the "resistance" or halogen burners, so they must NOT waste a lof of power. Yes, you have to buy steel pans, but who says aluminum cookware is good for your health? WHen I built the house I had to search the entire U.S.A. and parts of Australia, for my induction unit because they went out of production between the time I was quoted a price and when I ordered it. A customer of mine finally found one in the storeroom of a company in Las Vegas. It came with a damaged burner unit but the factory replaced it under warranty.
 
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