Gas cooktops, brands

[Kev Williams]

want to give the wife something new to cook on... currently, we have a dinky 24" wide wall oven that a basic cookie sheet is too long for, and a drop-in Ceramic top Jenn Air 36" stove.

The oven has always been too small- The Jenn Air was $1600 top I got new for less than $300 because salesmen kept telling would-be buyers it was 'missing parts'. Only thing it was missing was ductwork that's always missing... Anyway, it's a very nice cooktop, but always needs scrubbing. BTW, it replaced an early 80's Jenn Air electric with changeable burner modules- still have it, wasn't a thing wrong with it, just replaced it because the new one was so cheap! So now we'll have 2 spare Jenn Air's ...

Another reason to change, I learned to cook on gas, and so did the wife. Gas is SOOOO much better to cook with. 'Nuff said.

Since the stove has always been on the wing of the countertop (/bar), I've been looking as slide-ins. I want 36" because of the cooking space. Had my heart set on a Thor 36" w/6 burners, but alas, the unit is bigger than the entire cabinet I'll be sliding it into. Way too much modification needed...
http://www.houzz.com/photos/21713713...lectric-ranges


So now I'm looking at drop in or slide in cooktops. The exact same Thor 6 burner unit is available in a slide-in top, around $1300 which isn't bad compared to many others...
https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...He4dDJ8QljAIHw

My favorite so far is this Viking:
http://www.houzz.com/photos/68281710...ional-cooktops
It's a drop in, which would be best since I already have the right size hole cut! Has a beefy look to it too --but it's a bit more than I'd like to spend...

More to my budget is this Bertazzoni drop-in, price is right, never heard of the brand, but looks nice--
https://www.appliancesconnection.com...unHRoCSITw_wcB

and last on my short list, and another brand I've never heard of is this Cosmo slide-in- I really like this one, even though I'd prefer a drop in, but for under a grand the price is definitely right!
http://www.houzz.com/photos/46502253...odern-cooktops

I'm just curious if anyone has any scare stories or praise for any of these?

As for the oven, can't believe how spendy wall ovens are, but I've found a basic GE 30" convection unit for a decent price so that's a done deal. Would love some input on the cooktops! Thanks in advance!

[Roger Nair]

I cook most days and I prefer gas with continuous grates across the top and the controls in front of the unit, I would not like reaching over the stove to handle controls, also side mounted controls seem like a waste of stove top length. No brand advice from me.

[David Helm]

I have a Blue Star 4 burner. Bought it to replace an older Wolf 6 burner after researching the most powerful burners in the home/commercial style stoves. Large oven, gas-catalytic broiler, one very high BTU burner, 2 high BTU burners and one simmer burner. Costs around $4000 which puts it in the middle of the pack in price.

[Phil Mueller]

I don't have experience with the brands you mention. We decided on a 36" Wolf transitional...similar in price to the Viking. Ours is a 5 burner with controls on the right top (space limited for front controls). This Wolf (maybe the others also) allow for cooking and simering on all five burners.

Just keep in mind, while the cooktop may have 5 or six burners, if you tend to use larger saute pans, skillets, etc., you won't fit 5 or 6 of these larger cookware items on it at the same time. If I had it to do over, I'd probably look for fewer burners, spaced further apart (if such a thing exists). Maybe your needs are different, but I can't think of a single time we've needed all 5 burners at the same time. By the way, we haven't had a single problem witht he Wolf since we bought it in 2005.

[Kev Williams]

I've been giving 5 burners over 6 some consideration. It's amazing what that 6th burner can cost!

[Bob Grier]

I like the 6 burner Wolf. It is sealed and easy to clean. I place a griddle over 2 burners when I want griddle but heating is not uniform. Even so, I am glad I did not get the 36" with built in griddle because I seldom use a griddle and I do use all the burners, just not all at the same time. If you find a large dealer or regional center for appliances that has a showroom/warehouse with shipping damaged or returned appliances you can get large discount if they have model you want. There are other range tops other than Wolf that are nice too. Think carefully if you are considering not getting sealed burners. They may be more powerful but may also be more work to clean and maintain. http://www.subzero-wolf.com/wolf/coo...tops/range-top

The 5 burner cooktop looks nice but I would go with the range top if you can because the controls will stay cleaner and not be in the way. I often prefer to use burners on right side. Cooking tools to the right and sometimes serving plates to the right for transfer of food pieces as they finish cooking. Moving tools and food back and forth between pot or pan and the counter top above the controls would not be to my liking. I am right handed. http://www.subzero-wolf.com/wolf/coo...s/gas-stovetop

They last a long time and if you tend to cook every day, it is nice to have a good/comfortable setup that is easy to clean when needed.

[Dan Hulbert]

We had a Viking 6 burner in our previous house. Wife loved it. One thing to consider. Some of these cook tops can put out a huge amount of heat that will be more than your vent system can handle. We upgrade our cooktop vent to a Vent-A-Hood to handle the Viking cooktop. Great combination but it nearly double the cost of the upgrade if I recall.

[Jim Becker]

Thermador. Yes, not inexpensive. But oh, so wonderful to cook on. And I pick them over Viking, Wolf, etc., because of the burner design that's more compatible with both very small and large cookware due to the "star" design.

[Shawn Pixley]

I like Gaggenau. We have a fourburner, two downdraft, and flattop griddle. It is on an island below a 16' ceiling, so the downdraft is essential. The other brand I like is Thermador like Jim. None of these are cheap but should last you your life.

[Rich Enders]

+1 for Wolf. Installed myself, but when I could not eliminate the yellow tips Wolf was there the same day and solved.

[Bob Grier]

Exhaust hood was mentioned. An exhaust hood larger than a few hundred cfm will probably require makeup air unless the house is quite leaky. There are also code requirements regarding exhaust hood sizing and how makeup air is provided. I installed 1100 cfm hood with rooftop mounted fan to minimize noise. I also added a short run of makeup air using 10" duct and 8" baffle controlled by pressure switch in exhaust flue. Even on low speed the makeup air does not keep up with the exhaust fan. I tied the makeup air into the intake plenum on the forced air furnace. I expect it would be best to have the furnace fan come on at same time makeup air comes on but mine is not automatic. Doing so would keep unfiltered makeup air from going backwards in the return air duct and flowing out the return air grill. On low speed the air pressure change in the house pulls the spring loaded garage to laundry room door open if not latched. When I run at higher speed I open the kitchen window but in cold climate, that means cold draft.