[lizztwozee]

Hello, all. Remember me? I'm the homeowner who put the electric Vulcan range in my home kitchen (gasp). It hasn't been installed yet, and being the impatient person I am, I had the electrician wire it up for use, before the countertop was ready. No problem, works great. But the aluminum backing for the vent chimney (vents out the top of the backsplash) gets so hot when the oven is on, that you could sear your hand by touching it. Ouch!

Now, the spec sheet does say zero inches clearance all around, back and sides. So what's the deal? I do have a bit of a gap behind the range, so it doesn't touch the countertop directly, where that part of the range backing is. I'm just a little worried about all that heat right next to my laminate -- could it be a problem, even though the company says its OK? They don't want you to install this baby in your home by the way, in fact I had to have it delivered to a business location nearby, and sneak it down the street to my house. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for reading!

lizztwozee

 

[chefkell]

I'll take a guess that they assume the "zero inch clearance" is for specs in a commercial setting. IE your backed up against stainless or tile. Laminate will soon discolor and eventually burst into flames the only question is how long before it happens and the answer will be determined on how much you use it.

I'd lay a 1/8" stainless backplate and that should protect it well enough.Good Luck.

 

[lizztwozee]

Excellent suggestion! Just to be factual, the spec sheet does say "combustible material" when it mentions the zero inches clearance, but I like the stainless idea. Or won't that just heat up the laminate under the stainless??? Maybe a layer of insulation underneath? --lizztwozee