Fancy Kitchen Stoves

Cyclotourist

Cyclotourist

iMTB Hooligan
We're in the middle of a kitchen remodel, but still need to get a stove. We're still have commitment issues, but are pretty much set on a Wolf 36" six burner. They are crazy-expensive so I have been putting it off. I've also been checking Craigslist looking for used, but kind of scared by that. They're cheaper, but who knows what problems we would be buying...
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone here works in the industry or has a cousin or knows a guy that could save us some coin? When the world gets back to normal, I promise to invite everyone over for a well-cooked meal!!!

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I couldn't resist the fancy red knobs myself when we remodeled in 2015. 36" Wolf with griddle and gas oven. If I were to do it again, I would probably get the dual fuel because an electric oven cooks more predictably than a gas oven.

Duvel Wolf.JPG


The only issue I have with my stove is that the knobs don't want to stay exactly where I turn them at first. It's hard to explain, but when I first fire it up and set the flame where I want it, the knob migrates to a lower flame setting - kind of like a wandering bite point on a Shimano brake or a ghost shift. To overcome this I have to turn the knob back and forth a few times until it stays put. I'm used to doing it, so I don't think about it any more. Once I do this initially, it stays. This is a mechanical issue that can probably be remedied with a bit of lubrication (Dumonde or Rock and Roll?). I called Wolf once and they sent a technician who fixed it. The fix lasted about three days.

I love the simmer settings, but I am guessing most of the high end non-boutique brands have this feature as well.

So is it worth the coin? Only for the "Oooooohhh factor" and potential home resale value.

Here it is before we finished the cabinets or added the backsplash:
Wolf Remodel.JPG
 
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Thanks for the heads up on the knob settings! Sounds like it's more of a acclimation issue than a problem, so we'll just have to acclimate to that issue! We went back and forth with griddle, grill or extra burners, and settled on the extra burners, knowing that we can throw a cast iron griddle on when we need to. The extra burners and continuous cooking surface are probably the best bet for us. We were going really over the top at one point and considering a 48-in model in order to get both, The kitchen is too small to have that big of a stove. Lucky for my wallet! Just think what kind of an awesome bike or two I could buy for the cost of one of these stoves!!!

And yeah, this is what I've been doing for the last 3 weeks... We did our own demo and I'm apprenticing as an electrician's assistant. No bike riding for me!
 
Sub—zero makes nice products.

I work for Fisher Paykel. Hit me up if anyone is interested. It’s a Kiwi brand. Beautiful designs that can compete with any of the premium brands. Been in the states about 20 years but only about 2 years with a full premium offering. Our pro line is awesome!
 
Cyclotourist said:
We're in the middle of a kitchen remodel, but still need to get a stove. We're still have commitment issues, but are pretty much set on a Wolf 36" six burner. They are crazy-expensive so I have been putting it off. I've also been checking Craigslist looking for used, but kind of scared by that. They're cheaper, but who knows what problems we would be buying...
Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone here works in the industry or has a cousin or knows a guy that could save us some coin? When the world gets back to normal, I promise to invite everyone over for a well-cooked meal!!!

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Let me know if you are interested in our product . We have a showroom in Costa Mesa at segerstrom right next to Vaca. By appointment only right now.

package deals are pretty sweet if you go to a retailer. Otherwise I can set you up with a friends and family discount on single pieces. It’s a nice discount.
 
solislbc said:
Let me know if you are interested in our product . We have a showroom in Costa Mesa at segerstrom right next to Vaca. By appointment only right now.

package deals are pretty sweet if you go to a retailer. Otherwise I can set you up with a friends and family discount on single pieces. It’s a nice discount.
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Fantastic, thank you! I'm sending info to my wife so she can check it out. I'm in charge of bike purchases, she makes the call on stoves!
 
We went with Thermador. The blue knobs were a $500 option. These units are overpriced already, but $500 for $.95 worth of injection molded plastic was a bit much.

It’s like buying XTR vs XT, except if XT was exactly the same in every performance metric, except shininess. The matching microwave is literally a Bosch unit with a $400 door handle. I’ve never regretted just getting the Bosch.

I do think about that $8000 built-in fridge though. Our kitchen is small, we’d buy back ~2 sq ft of maneuvering space...
 
Our Dual Fuel Wolf is now 12 years old and is still working great. We had one of the oven control knobs fail right after the warranty expired and it was a simple swap once the new knob arrived. This is not the oven's fault as my wife is the ultimate multi-tasker and had a multi-fail kind of day. She left a pot of water for pasta on high and it boiled over and fried our main circuit board - no more oven. The stove & griddle still worked fine.

The problem was finding a Wolf qualified repair person. I'm not exaggerating when I say we went thru over a dozen attempts. Several douche bags were asked to leave before they could F up the situation. I finally wrote a stern letter and got an acceptable response from a firm in Whittier. It still took two technicians and a live chat with a master tech in Chicago. It turned out to be a $500 repair after all the hassles.

The only common complaint on the newer ovens is that the blue enamel interior coating is known to crack and peel in the corners. We are still crack free. We love the oven and stove operation and performance. I do like my in-laws Viking burners better but the Wolf oven is much nicer.

I say money be damned - enjoy some luxury!
 
We have a Viking 36 inch 6 burner after remodeling 8 years ago. My wife is 5 feet tall who loves to cook. She says that if she had to choose again she would get a stove with " barn style doors" for the oven. Lifting out 24 lb turkeys or heavy casseroles is a reach and is hard on her back. I'm constantly called to come get this heavy whatever out of the oven.

Viking Range.JPG
 
We went with the Samsung cooktop a while back (no oven).
Not anywhere near the level of the Viking, but pretty darn great. Almost too much heat. Has a Bluetooth so your hood will auto turn on when you’re using it.
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We had an issue with a cracked ceramic igniter. It took five tech visits and a bunch of communication with customer service to get it resolved, but no cost.
 
Oaken said:
We went with the Samsung cooktop a while back (no oven).
Not anywhere near the level of the Viking, but pretty darn great. Almost too much heat. Has a Bluetooth so your hood will auto turn on when you’re using it.
View attachment 66950

We had an issue with a cracked ceramic igniter. It took five tech visits and a bunch of communication with customer service to get it resolved, but no cost.
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The Samsung “pro style” stuff was just coming out when we were shopping, they looked great.

ultimately for us, we had to go with a 30” range, a 36” or cooktop would have set us back another $100k in remodeling, that’s a lot to spend on two extra burners.

the selection of bling 30” ranges is more limited.
 
Its interesting how differently you guys do kitchen layouts here. NZ, Aus and UK I would say the vast majority of house since the 90's have had separate cooktop and oven. Having to bend over all the time to fish stuff in and out of your oven is a pain in the arse when you can have it at a nice height right in front of you. Added benefit when you have little ones is its out of the firing line for them as well.
Our house in the UK I went with a SMEG gas cooktop and Bosch pyrolytic (self cleaning!) wall oven. We bought ex-display and saved ourselves at least 50% of retail. I don't get the point of buying new, its going to get scratched and messed up as soon as you start cooking on it anyway. The SMEG was a work of art and not typical Italian (all style and no substance)
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I'd second @solislbc on Fisher and Paykel gear, they make top notch stuff. Used to be good value as well but as they've got the worldwide recognition they deserve the price has increased accordingly.
 
Lost Kiwi said:
Its interesting how differently you guys do kitchen layouts here. NZ, Aus and UK I would say the vast majority of house since the 90's have had separate cooktop and oven. Having to bend over all the time to fish stuff in and out of your oven is a pain in the arse when you can have it at a nice height right in front of you. Added benefit when you have little ones is its out of the firing line for them as well.
Our house in the UK I went with a SMEG gas cooktop and Bosch pyrolytic (self cleaning!) wall oven. We bought ex-display and saved ourselves at least 50% of retail. I don't get the point of buying new, its going to get scratched and messed up as soon as you start cooking on it anyway. The SMEG was a work of art and not typical Italian (all style and no substance)
View attachment 66951
I'd second @solislbc on Fisher and Paykel gear, they make top notch stuff. Used to be good value as well but as they've got the worldwide recognition they deserve the price has increased accordingly.
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I agree that a chest-height oven is far better. We simply don't have the space.
 
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