['ol Pinion head]

Have trim carpenter beginning kitchen remodel el nueva Casa. Current cooktop is jennAir electric with downdraft in middle. the cooktop is mounted on island countertop. Downdraft exhaust goes to duct under slab to exterior wall aprox 18 ft to the south. The duct goes up through wall and exits duct on outside side of rock wall.

Would like to go with a nice natural gas cooktop with downdraft vent, ether between modular cooktop pieces, or if have to, a popup vent in granite countertop. Problem is no natural gas supply line to the island, none under current countertops either. Is there a somewhat flexible thick natural gas plastic supply line I could run through exhaust duct? Does code even allow such a thing?

Other option is to go with induction cooktop, but am used to cooking with Nat gas, and I'm worried about long term issues with touch controls/ circuit board, etc on an induction cooktop. any input greatly appreciated!

[Bentwheelbob]

Go with induction. Same instant on/off heat and boils water faster. I'm a habitual code violator, but running gas in a vent is a bad idea due to potential for flue fires from grease build up. Induction is an upgrade from gas. The pop up vents are also better than the down drafts. Cleaner look and better functionality.

['ol Pinion head]

Bob, thanks! just wondering about long term life span of the touch controls on the induction cooktops. Am I being unrealistic in expecting such a cooktop to last 15 years? Anyone have any input on induction cooktops they've had installed?

[Bentwheelbob]

I think your concerns on the electronic controls are justified. The bigger concern is if they go out will the parts be available to fix it. We have a double oven with electronic controls that was installed when I built our current house in 2007. It has developed an infrequent glitch, but a replacement control panel is no longer available. My wife now knows which breaker to flip to clear the system glitch. My advice is buy the induction and get a replacement control panel for the parts shelf.

Another advantage of induction is the ease of cleaning. Gas ranges are great, but man there are a lot of parts that have to be removed after frying bacon.