• Click here to access some of the presentations made during the 2022 National Rally

Kitchen Project: Replace Insignia Range with Cooktop only + a Base Cabinet

Jim Beletti

Jim Beletti

Owner Experience Liaison
Staff member
Oregon_Camper said:
I NEED this...must have this. :)

View attachment 878
Click to expand...
Jim,

I'll try to round up a parts list. For the Alliance parts, you may be able to order that ahead of the rally and do a will-call at the parts department the week prior to the rally. The counter top has to be manufactured and there is lead time with that. It's heavy to ship to. Real heavy.
 
H

Hotrodjohn

Well-known member
Jim Beletti said:
Progress for 26-Feb
Almost done! Today's progress report can be summarized as follows:
  1. Installed drawer pulls.

  2. Caulked counter top at wall and cabinet edges.
Still be done:
  1. Add magnetic drawer catches.

  2. Paint drawer boxes.
Link to gallery of project images.

View attachment 866

Progress for 25-Feb
We're in the home stretch now! Only drawer pulls (need longer screws), magnetic drawer catches and caulking to go.
So today's progress report can be summarized as follows:
  1. Installed counter top.

  2. Installed cooktop and testing both the LP burner and Induction burner.

  3. Installed drawer slides on cabinet boxes, installed cabinet boxes and installed drawer faces and drilled for drawer pulls.

Progress for 24-Feb
There is finally some progress on this project! I'll summarize them as follows:
  1. The 2 small side counter tops have been removed. Not too hard here. Cut the sealant where the counters met the walls/cabinets and removed a bunch of screws underneath. Some yanking and got them off.

  2. Using a $70 Harbor Freight Plunge Router with a 1/4" cutting bit, we cut a rectangle out of the center of the new 60" long counter top for the new cooktop.

  3. We got the stiles and rails cut, fashioned into a face frame and installed. Then I temporarily removed one of the rails for better work access. I really loved learning and using the Kreg (pocket hole) jig.

  4. Installed plywood on the sides of the space. Installed wood rails on the plywood sides for mounting the drawer slides.

  5. Mounted the drawer slides and built the cabinet drawer boxes. My friend and current RV pad guest actually built the boxes. We used 3/8" plywood, glue and brad nails. We cut a dado in the box panels to slide the 3/8" drawer bottom into.

  6. I relocated the Intellitec AESS from below the island bottom drawer to inside the back of the base cabinet to the left of the range hole. Then installed an outlet (from the Primary output of the AESS) for the Induction portion of the cooktop. Also grabbed DC power and ran that to where the cooktop will be for the LP burner ignition.
Up Next...
  • Mount drawer slides to drawer boxes and mount drawer faces to boxes.
  • Install counter top
  • Install cooktop

Original Post - December 17, 2022
We have a 2022 Paradigm 340RL. Our Insignia range developed a problem and was going to have to be replaced. Rather than replace it with the same thing, we're going another route.

Our use-case is that we don't RV as much as we used to and we tend to not cook in the RV as much as we once did. Therefore, in our first season of ownership, our stovetop saw some use (though I used a portable induction cooktop mostly), but not much and our oven got used twice.

A couple other drivers for us:
  1. We prefer to use an induction cooktop versus gas. I don't like to put all that additional heat into the RV and I hate cleaning a stovetop :)
  2. We would like a better place to store our cookware
  3. We would like a dedicated space to store our Ninja toaster-oven / air fryer
Our plan:
  1. Remove Insignia range (done - donated it to the NRVTA for the students to work on)
  2. Remove the 2 short counter tops on each side of the space where the range was
  3. Relocate the Intellitec Automatic Energy Select Switch from under the kitchen island to under this new cabinet. Add an outlet to the primary output of the switch and that will power the induction cooktop. The secondary output will power the fireplace like it does now.
  4. Build a base cabinet with 2 drawers
  5. Install new long counter top that goes from the entertainment cabinet to the wall next to the refer (counter top has arrived)
  6. Cut in a replacement cooktop (True Induction TI-1+1B) that has 1 induction burner and 1 LP burner (cooktop has arrived)
So the only part that is going to be difficult for me is building the new base cabinet. I've watched a few YouTube videos on it and I'm pretty sure I can do it. It just won't be my best work. I may be having a contractor / neighbor help me with that part.

I'll use this thread to document this project.

Starting Point
View attachment 761 View attachment 760

Cooktop that will be installed in a new 60" long piece of counter top
View attachment 763

Air Fryer that will be stored in bottom drawer
View attachment 762
Product dimensions (in.): 19.7 L x 7.6 H x 15 W

Intellitec (AESS) Automatic Energy Select Switch that I'll relocate/repurpose
View attachment 764
Click to expand...
You do nice postings and work. I use the oven all the time and would miss it but those drawers 👍👍👍
 
Jim Beletti

Jim Beletti

Owner Experience Liaison
Staff member
Hotrodjohn said:
You do nice postings and work. I use the oven all the time and would miss it but those drawers 👍👍👍
Click to expand...
Thanks. I hear you on the oven. Had we kept that RV, our plan was to replace the microwave oven with a Convection Microwave that also had an Air Fry feature.
 
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