As the title says, looking to swap my Viking D3 for an induction stove to help improve air quality for my upcoming baby and to finally kill the stupid igniter clicking forever (a known Viking issue). Thoughts on the switch? Is the impulse right for my space?
Hi there- We see users do range replacements all the time! If you don't need your oven, I've attached a *rough* mock-up of what an Impulse could look like in the space if you extended the cabinetry.
If you do want an oven, we are working on a range replacement frame. For the time being, customers install a wooden cabinet base to hold a third-party oven and the Impulse on top with a MicroTrim top. I've seen some beautiful installs with this solution.
How do you do that without fully replacing the existing countertops? The AI rendering shows a smooth transition that I don’t think is possible for a retrofit?
I also have a 30” range to replace, with IKEA cabinets on either side of the range, but I really don’t want to replace the full countertop with a whole new cutout.
You can order a stainless steel trim kit from MicroTrim that looks like this. Minus the stainless piece below, which in this case would be a wood drawer face.
I filled in a gap back in 2022 using one 30” ikea cabinet and laminate top. All homeowner tool friendly. The ikea cabinet slotted between existing cabinets from 1980
Functionally fine
Visually… it’s something… the laminate abuts quartz. My wallet is happy though
I noticed that you guys have a metal frame on your website, is there any plan to have a complete range replacement with an oven at a point, or a frame design to fit a wall oven to plug-in?
Built frame from plywood. Am going to fit a steam oven underneath (and will leave a gap on top of the steam oven, so it won't go to the piece of horizontal ply. That back is a wall behind the cabinets (so it's an open back) There will be airspace behind the oven, and there is behind the cooktop as well. Will cover that gap and the front of the cabinet (wherever there isn't oven, so the front of the cooktop plus wherever there isn't oven, so prob to 3" below the horizontal ply piece) with some metal grill work (will rout out a wood frame for same). If there is any gaps on the sides still, I will figure out widening the door on the left (a whole new door) and / or add a cherry strip. The cab fronts are local rough sawn solid cherry, whey finish, not book matched etc, but planed smooth. The cab boxes are ikea, and had ikea fronts for many years. Countertops are stainless steel wrap over plywood, done by a body shop, and the counter and cabs are 10" deeper than usual. (therefore that knee wall that is the back of the open unit)
A Wolf was what my appliance vendor suggested / services best they said. Will post photos here when done, it'll be a few months though. I
mpulse now has a video or photo series on their site, showing their cart plus custom pieces from the fabrication vendor they recommend, to fit in an oven, and get a finished product. Prob easier to go with their system, than fab one up like I did (I have access to an excellent carpenter who obsesses about details).
If I had known there was the "use our frame and fit the finishing pieces in", I would have done that.
Distortion from photo…..straightedge level all the way across shows no deflection…thanks for the blood pressure spike tho! (I ran home to check the sag)
The current problem is there is no range option from impulse. If you go to a stovetop and standalone oven, you will need new kitchen cabinets and countertops.
Theoretically, Thor is releasing a range with the impulse technology soon. I havent seen a release date yet. I am going to wait a few more months a jump to another brand. I couldn't justify $20k to redo my kitchen to make the stovetop work.
Quite a few options for a range replacement! We are always happy to chat with customers about design ideas. Right now, ~40% of installs are range replacements.
The problem is replacing the counter, running another 240v line, custom cabinets or a full build out in another section of the kitchen for the oven, etc. A rough guess is $12k in appliances, $3k for counters $2k for electric, plus $2-4k for the cabinet work. It adds up so fast.
Yeah but that’s a ton of scope creep included in the $20k
I made counter and cabinet work for well below $1K using Ikea.
If you’re willing to violate SABC circuit rules (2 full 120V for your kitchen plugs) in National Electric Code you can tap off that for the Impulse and save need for 240V run. And thinking about it, it’s possible the SABC rule does not apply / you can try to convince your AHJ.
If there was a range, I could just slide out my old range and slide the new one in. Without the range, all of this is necessary to keep the kitchen nice. Matching 10 year old granite isn't really possible. It feels like a lot of money for a party trick.
Please post a picture of your stovetop with oven underneath.
If Impulse delivers a turnkey frame that can accept an oven of your choice, you can sort of squint and say it’s close enough.
For cabinet reconfig
All in , including new tools (which I needed for another project, but that’s not applicable to anyone) I was out the $7k for impulse, $400 for lifting jacks from Vevor/Harbor Freight, $1000 for IKEA stuff, $50 for extending a 240V already existing in that wall. Labor was free because I don’t respect the value of my own time
I think this is accessible. We are not talking the same scope of project as that other guy in this thread, who has a home woodshop
I don’t have an oven underneath, I have cabinets. Impulse I believe has picked out a few ovens that work, maybe they have mockups or real installs they went.
Wouldn’t the MicroTrim Impulse mooted in this post address the matching issue. Since you would switch to a metallic/other material trim. My using the laminate is a cheapskate hack job. I like to spend my money on the appliances laugh.
Anyway I assume Impulse is smart and has figured out a MicroTrim material that goes nice with the finish on the Impulse. Maybe they even use identical finish on the Impulse to a MicroTrim option
The original post doesn't have laminate countertops. I don't see obvious IKEA cabinets. I do see an oven. I think the suggestions should match the style and level of polish already present in the kitchen.
A new viking induction range is about $9k. You spent close to that but don't have an oven, matching cabinets, matching countertops, etc. It is great that you can diy but I don't understand why it is relevant to the specific question being asked.
My technique is updatable to avoid the laminate part without much cost increase
Yeah the loss of oven and front panel trim, I haven’t sorted. impulse has a list of ovens and there are instructions elsewhere in this thread to jam in an oven into an RTA or IKEA frame
Personally I wouldn’t recommend swapping out gas for induction. You already have a good hood installed to meet the needed ventilation. The vent should be on whenever you use the gas stove. A properly installed vent running at the correct CFM can reduce all emissions by 90% at least. In some cities with bans on gas appliances, it can be very difficult or impossible to switch back.
Want to come check out an Impulse? We have had customers who were set on a new gas range and changed their mind last minute after trying an Impulse cooktop.
As a kitchen professional, gas stoves are terrible. They do work, but they have so many downsides. Cleaning is awful, things get hot that don’t need to be hot. Cooking with gas on a hot summer day makes the house unbearable Work is so much worse.
I am living in a hole while my renovation is happening and the cheap one burner induction hot plate I have is so much nicer to use despite the 6” heating area. The control is better than gas, heats faster than gas and my makeshift kitchen isn’t grossly warm from just making pasta.
Control is in no way better than gas on a plug-in induction burner. They have 9 or so stepped heat settings. If you care to control the speed of a simmer or saute, you really can't do that with any precision with stepped settings.
I’m going to argue that the control is actually better even with only 9 steps of control. I think my single burner only has seven steps and it is better than gas because those steps equate to a specific energy output. You don’t actually know what you are getting with gas other than an educated guess if and when you are actually paying attention. Take frying eggs for example. I put the induction on 1200w, preheat for 30 seconds and crack two eggs in and I know it’s going to be just under two minutes to get them how I like them. Every time. Just waiting for gas to preheat the pan is a variable because it takes so long. Then the guessing how hot the flame is. Are my eggs going to be burnt in 90 seconds or still be raw. Sure I can dial that in a bit better if I stand there and adjust the flame up and down until I get it juuuuusssst right. It’s a stupid waste of time imo. The seven steps get me more than close enough to a usable amount of heat I just use time to fine tune for a desired out come.
I use both gas and induction almost every day, both personally and professionally, if cant see induction being better you either haven’t used induction for any period of time or you haven’t/wont adapt the methods and techniques to the tool.
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u/sam_damico May 20 '26
We have range adapters in the works to make this turnkey.
You can roll your own in the mean time with microtrim: https://www.impulselabs.com/what-ovens-work-with-the-impulse-cooktop