Gas Ranges - wolf, vicking or neither

[Anonymous]

I'd be wary of going the duel-fuel route. Have heard that they're notorious for reliability problems.

[Anonymous]

I've had two Wolf dual-fuel ranges and liked them both. I liked the first 48" one better because it had a griddle and grill, and also because it had two ovens. For much daily cooking, I just used the smaller oven, which heated up quickly.

I now have the 36". The big oven takes forever to heat up and I feel wasteful using it for something small. However, I like having six burners even if I miss the griddle and grill.

I don't like that the little burner is on the back. I have kids, so I prefer to use the back burners. When I only had four burners, only one was on the back. Now I at least have two on the back, but I wish that little, less-useful burner was on the front of the range.

I also have found the self-cleaning cycle to be less than complete. There isn't anything greasy left, but there are black marks. I don't know if my previous ovens were more thorough, or if I just didn't notice the residuals when the ovens weren't that lovely bright blue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would second those who suggest looking at Miele. Viking makes good REAL commercial ovens and cooktops, but their home models (even if they are touted as commercial) just don't seem to be as high quality.

You do know that Viking was started in the 80s, in Mississippi, specifically to make high end home stoves? It's not like they modified their commercial line since they didn't have one. They introduced the commercial line in 2008 or 2009. They may indeed be good but it seems like its still a little too early to tell. There was a fascinating story about Viking several years ago in the New Yorker.

[Anonymous]

If you are doing a separate cooktop & oven, have you considered an induction cooktop? This is NOT the same as a standard electric cooktop. It has no heating element; it has a copper coil that produces a magnetic field that heats the pot/pan you are using. We have one and I love it. I have had a standard electric cooktop (both a smooth surface ceramic and also the old kind with electric coil burners - both of which were crap, IMO), a gas range (vastly better than electric), and now I have a 5-burner induction cooktop. I really like the induction the best. It has all the benefits of gas (same amount of precision in controlling temperature & adjusting quickly) but it is more energy-efficient and I find it can boil water even faster than my gas range did. There are some limitations on the type of cookware, you can use but induction cooking has significant benefits as well - worth looking at.

[Anonymous]

Have a Viking. Like it. Not a cook though. Gets very hot.

[Anonymous]

I did a lot of research on Wolf and Viking last year when we remodeled our kitchen. Viking did not seem to get good reviews anywhere - Consumer Reports, anecdotally, etc. After that, I was set on getting a Wolf, but in the end we went with GE Monogram, GE's professional line. With Wolf, everything was extra $$, the oven racks were xtra, if you bought the exhaust hood it didn't include the fan which was extra. All in, the Wolf 36" dual fuel and exhaust hood that we wanted would have been $10K+. Also to service a Wolf, the distributor told us you have to get on the phone with someone in Wisconsin where they're manufactured. I didn't want to have to deal with that. For $5K all in, we got the GE Monogram dual fuel 36" and the stainless steel hood. It looks nice, but it does take FOREVER for the oven to heat up -- probably 20-25 minutes to get to 425 - which can be a big pain. In the end, given how much we spent on our kitchen model, felt like we had to go with a higher end stove. I'm not sure it was all worth it, however. Sometimes I miss my old $500 GE we had before!!!

[Anonymous]

I don't think Wolf performed very well in the Consumer Reports ratings either.

[Anonymous]

I have a Thermador 5-burner gas cooktop and love it. Also have the Thermador exhaust hood. I've never had any problems in over 5 years with either of them. I would highly recommend the Thermador - had one back in the 80s too and it was equally great.

I also have a GE Monogram double wall oven. It is around 9 years old and I've also not had any problems with it. Unlike PP's Monogram, it heats up fairly quickly, especially on the Convection setting. It is electric.

[Anonymous]

I think a GE profile is actually as good as anything for actual cooking. But I understand these things are really about status, not cooking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a GE profile is actually as good as anything for actual cooking. But I understand these things are really about status, not cooking.

I'm pretty sure the GE profile line doesn't have as many BTUs as the Monogram line. If you're really into cooking, then there is a difference. If not, then it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd be wary of going the duel-fuel route. Have heard that they're notorious for reliability problems.

Have heard that where? Consumer Reports says they're not worth the extra $$, but I can't think of any reason a company that makes reliable gas and reliable electric wouldn't make a reliable dual fuel. A lot of companies that make dual fuel are of the notorious faux pro ilk, which tend not to be reliable, but that's a different problem.

[Anonymous]

"There are some limitations on the type of cookware, you can use but induction cooking has significant benefits as well - worth looking at."

Can you use cast-iron pans on it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a GE profile is actually as good as anything for actual cooking. But I understand these things are really about status, not cooking.

I'm pretty sure the GE profile line doesn't have as many BTUs as the Monogram line. If you're really into cooking, then there is a difference. If not, then it doesn't matter.

No. I am really into cooking. The GE profile and Monogram both have an 18 BTU burner. You could never need any more.

I will guarantee you that better food is being turned out on the GE profile than the Monograms, and certainly than all the Vikings, Wolfs etc.

[Anonymous]

Wolf only has 16,000 BTUs, Viking has 18,500 and Thermador has 22,000. The Thermador boils water in an instant and is awesome if you need to get a pan hot to sear something.

OP- If you're looking at high-end ranges, I assume you're looking at high end refrigerators too. Do a little research and you will learn to avoid Sub-Zero! Just about anything and everything is better. There are few things as annoying as having your fridge go out and all your food spoil while you wait for the repairman to come out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wolf only has 16,000 BTUs, Viking has 18,500 and Thermador has 22,000. The Thermador boils water in an instant and is awesome if you need to get a pan hot to sear something.

OP- If you're looking at high-end ranges, I assume you're looking at high end refrigerators too. Do a little research and you will learn to avoid Sub-Zero! Just about anything and everything is better. There are few things as annoying as having your fridge go out and all your food spoil while you wait for the repairman to come out.

We've had our subzero for 13 years and have had no problems with it. And it was well worth the price because we have a narrow galley kitchen and getting a counter depth fridge made a huge difference in the use of space.