I have a 30” induction and it’s fine for our needs. I’d rather have extra counter space. I make tacos with no problem, fwiw. I don’t need a dedicated burner for heating tortillas, I just do those at the end when something else is off the heat.

My philosophy is I don’t want to end the night with five dirty pots/pans to wash.

We have a 36 inch induction and wish we had more space. It’s hard to use two large pots at once because there is only one burner for a large pasta pot for example.

We fill up all 5 burners pretty often. For example, tacos - meat in the middle, beans on one, rice on one, vegetable on one, heat up tortillas on the last one.

Anonymous wrote:We have a 36” Viking with the griddle in the middle. We wish at least once a week we had the 48” with the larger griddle. Or maybe a large griddle with only two spots for pots. We are big cooks and have rarely used more than 2 pans at the same time while cooking. We mostly use the griddle for vegetables.

Why? Just a it a griddle over some burners.

We have a 36” Viking with the griddle in the middle. We wish at least once a week we had the 48” with the larger griddle. Or maybe a large griddle with only two spots for pots. We are big cooks and have rarely used more than 2 pans at the same time while cooking. We mostly use the griddle for vegetables.

Anonymous wrote:30" because it is lower cost - and good enough for us. YMMV.

+1
We only have built-in space for 36" and it's so dumb. It limits options, is unnecessarily expensive and I'm an avid cook- I never use the middle. Left (induction) can combine for griddle. Smaller easily accommodates all cooking pots and scenarios, imo.

Look at quality not size.

I think almost no one needs 36” as a practical matter but in large kitchens, a 30” will look out of place.

Right now everything is in the replacement stage. I have a 30in and often I find the stovetop crowded.

It feels like 6in will do wonders, but debating in my head if cabinets are more/less important than stove.

I think size is personal preference. We went 30 which is fine for us. It has middle cast iron flat plate, which I haven’t decided if I like or not. It’s quite heavy.

Do you have an existing vent hood? I think 36 might require more than 400 cfm which means you’ll need make up air. Thats an added expense.

30" because it is lower cost - and good enough for us. YMMV.

36" because you can do a flat cooking module in the middle. Also can accommodate multiple large pots or pans.

If your kitchen could do either, which one would you recommend and why?