Most likely the Wolf MW is made by another manufacturer and rebadged with a much higher price. Almost all MWs are made by Sharp, Panasonic, and GE. I suggest you check out one of those brands.

I believe the guts of the Wolf microwave MW24 is made by Sharp and is the same as the Sharp R-530, but Wolf put a prettier cover on it. There were some old threads on this forum that discussed the short lives of microwaves these days, as compared to older microwaves that lasted 20 years or more. And, as Weissman pointed out, almost all MWs are made by 2-3 manufacturers, and then rebadged, so you're not going to find significant differences in reliability and longevity among MW's. The consensus was that microwaves should be regarded as short-lived commodities, and it's practical to get the one that has the features you want, but is low-priced, since you will need to replace it in 3-5 years. Furthermore, best not to get a built-in and pay for the trim, which is pricey for a few pieces of metal, and also means you're locked into a specific size. Better to put it on an open shelf in your cabinetry, where it can be unplugged and replaced easily.

However, that advice doesn't fly with an all SZ/Wolf kitchen like yours, as the Sharp or most other low-priced MW's won't give you the sleek look of the Wolf microwave built-in with its trim. If you want that look, which is likely if you are going with all SZ/Wolf, then get the Wolf, even if the guts are the Sharp R-530. The Sharp R-530 likely costs half, but may look out of place with your SZ/Wolf appliances.

I have to say though, that I am not a fan of the stack that you describe with the MW on top. I guess you need to know exactly how high that MW is going to be and whether you are OK with pulling hot sloshing dishes from that height. If the MW won't be that high, that says to me that your warming drawer will be quite low, and again, are you OK with bending down for the warming drawer. You may want to look into putting the MW on a separate shelf in your cabinetry. Some people on this Forum put their MW in their pantry. That way it's out of sight, and you can get the cheapest one, and no one has to see it.

There was an old thread about MW placement that I'll link below. Unfortunately, many of the photos have been removed, but there are still a lot of photos there, and suggestions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread, Where's Your MW

If I were to do it again, I'd put in a microwave drawer. Like everyone else has said, Wolf doesn't make it so you need to decide if the name Wolf on it is worth the extra money.

some great thoughts, thanks!! To be honest, it wound up being a wolf/sz kitchen just b/c we picked out the wolf range, then the sz fridge, and figured what the heck let's just use them for all the appliances. We're really not going after a particular "look" or anything like that.

I'm thinking now we might just have them make a custom shelf for the microwave, and have pocket doors that slide out to close it up. Then we can get a "normal" mw that we don't mind replacing if it breaks. The only question that remains is WHERE to put it. lol. I originally wanted the stack to be oven on the bottom, warming drawer above oven, then microwave. I got talked out of it. Now I'm thinking oven, with mw over it, so mw will wind up being more or less counter height... and put the warming drawer somewhere else, possibly on the island. I'd stick it right next to the oven, just under the counter, but I'm thinking that might look a little weird...

Actually, I think the warming drawer location you mentioned, placed next to the oven, just under the counter, is ideal, and won't look weird at all; it'll look very professional. I'll link a couple of threads for you. One of the threads has a pic of a triple stack like you are describing, and clearly the warming drawer looks too low, and the MW too high.

Also, if you are still working on your kitchen layout, you should post it with questions on the Kitchens Forum. There are people there who love to tackle layouts, and may have excellent suggestions for you.

Kitchens Forum thread about Warming Drawers

Thread about Placement of Oven and Built-in MW

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens Forum

We have the Wolf MW. We built our home and have been in just over 2.5 years (We are in SoCal so our style is a bit regional and not what you see on this site much). We did a Wolf/Subzero kitchen (with two Bosch dw). There is a warming drawer below the micro. We use the MW quite a bit to reheat and thaw and it has been fine. I am not sure it was 'worth the money' in any way except looks but there were no good options looks wise so for a bit more $ it fits right in with the other appliances and it is very visible walking into the room. My main concern was the black glass getting fingerprints - and it is a battle to keep it clean as the 'guys' in this house don't worry themselves with whether they leave marks on it and they use it more than I do.

We put in KA Architect series appliances (with a Viking cooktop) when we redid the kitchen in our old house, about 5 years before moving out and it was nice as it had a pull down handle so it never got marks on it (more stainless, less glass) but it had an annoying beep that never stopped until you opened it after it ran.

People seem to like the drawer type but I have no interest in trying (they were around when we built). Seems like ours is used for beverages a fair amount and opening a drawer with hot coffee does not seem like the best idea and having it lower where kids can get into it and maybe burn themselves seems a little dangerous....but that is just me.

Good luck with your search......

{{gwi:1372942}}

akchicago,
THANK YOU!!! SOOOO helpful. I think now I will put the warming drawer over next to the range... seems much more logical and solves the issue of having to bend to the floor, etc.... and it means the wall oven and microwave can be at reasonable heights so the micro is not too tall.

I would love to post my layout on the kitchens forum, but, alas, I don't have a digital form of it, it's mostly scribbled on random bits of paper. I have no idea, short of giving a rather wordy description, how to "show" it. Lol, maybe I'll take a photo of my scribbles and post that, haha. I'm feeling the crunch, the cabinet guy NEEDS decisions and specs this week at the latest.

You all have been extremely helpful... thank you!!!

oh, and lv r golden, your kitchen is beautiful. Thanks for the picture!!

I have a Wolf microwave (non-convection). I'm not sure I'd buy one again. The controls aren't as intuitive as the KA, and it seems much louder than our old KA.

Our old house had the Professional Series KA, and we went with Wolf/SZ just because we liked them better than others. I would buy the KA due to the above issues.

We have a warming drawer, oven, MW stack. My wife is 5 feet, so the MW had to be at a reasonable height. While the warming drawer is a bit low, we use the other two much more often, and I don't really find it all that difficult to 'stoop' to reach the warming drawer (I'm 6 feet).
It's a personal decision, so do what you feel works best for you. As for the Wolf or KA MW, I personally would go with KA. It looks better, is easier to use, and it much quieter. Hope this helps.

I am not savvy enough to post a picture here, but if you send me a PM, I will email them to you (if I can figure out how that works). Good luck.

Larinita2 - I am concerned on your behalf that you say your layout is mostly scribbled bits of paper, while the cabinet guy needs decisions and specs this week. Before you set your order with your cabinet maker, you really should have a specific layout with every detail, that you can review, and give the OK or change. I have been on this forum a long time, and I can't tell you how many posts I've read where the poster is miserable with his/her new kitchen cause the layout wasn't what s/he planned, or there were surprises, or the cabinet maker thought one thing which was completely different than what s/he thought, or the doors were a different style, etc. etc. Lots of money spent, and perhaps the person has to re-do it, or live unhappily with it, all because plans were vague and not specific. Above all else, before you give the go-ahead to your cabinet maker, you should have a layout with specified dimensions. There are some threads on the Kitchens Forum that discuss free downloads of software for kitchen layouts; you should do a search for that. The software will also give you a way to see your kitchen in a "3-D" version that will really help you visualize it.

I will check out the software for kitchen layouts. Thanks. The cabinet guy needs specs this week, because he is supposedly going to be producing some sort of rendering with layout/style/ etc. for us to review. So not the final decision by any means - good thing because I'm racking up quite a list of changes... poor guy, I think he thinks he's going to show us a rendering and we'll ok it and he'll start building. Little does he know I'm going to be changing a lot on him. Serves him right for not properly presenting us with ideas to begin with though. Pressure is on though because he says it'll take him 3-4 months to build everything, and the builder wants him to start ASAP.

Francoise47 - from what I have read on this Forum, the microwaves that say they are also warming drawers, nevertheless continue to cook the food a bit in "warming" mode. Versus a warming drawer that just keeps the food warm. I don't know if the Wolf MWD302FS you mention is like that, but I have read some complaints about other "Microwave/warming drawers" on this issue. It likely doesn't matter if you are keeping food warm for 5-10 minutes, and is a nice feature of the MW in that case. But if you need to keep food warm for quite a while, I think a dedicated warming drawer is a better choice.

Also, as others have pointed out, the Wolf MWD302FS MW drawer is made by Sharp. If you look at the Sharp KB-6025MS, you'll see that the buttons across the top are exactly the same except the Sharp has a different finish, and the Sharp has a handle. The features are the same too, except for some reason, the Sharp is 50 watts more. The Sharp MW drawer costs mid-$700's; I don't know what the Wolf costs. The Wolf MW drawer is better-looking!

We have the Wolf MW and it's okay. In our last house we had a Thermador, which cost less and I think was easier to operate. The Wolf has a "Sensor Re-Heat" mode which tends to over heat everything. I only got the Wolf because we have the Sub Zero fridge and Wolf Range and two Wolf Ovens.

We have the Wolf MW and it's okay. In our last house we had a Thermador, which cost less and I think was easier to operate. The Wolf has a "Sensor Re-Heat" mode which tends to over heat everything. I only got the Wolf because we have the Sub Zero fridge and Wolf Range and two Wolf Ovens.

Got the 30" drawer version to go in kitchen island. Installed in December 15, button to open and close drawer quit in august 16. Since the button is a touch sensor on the front, one would not expect that. Service just came and said it needs a new "control board", so we need to live without it for who knows how long and schedule a second appointment and stay home again for someone to come over and replace that part whenever it shows up. The most I have ever paid for a microwave in the past is $150 and have never had one go bad.

This one was $2,000 and it lasted 8 months plus the inconvenience now of having to be home waiting on service for two separate days and some unknown period in-between without any microwave. Plus it spills/slops my coffee if cup is close to full when drawer jerks in and out opening and closing. Got this to match wolf range and warming drawer and subzero refrdg. Would not do again. If it was not 2000 I would throw it away and just go get a new one, that's the beauty of cheaper items. Highly overpriced and unreliable/not high quality is my experience, but looks good when just sitting there.

The Wolf MW drawer is made by Sharp. I haven't experienced the Wolf one, but I had the Sharp one for 6 years and it was a terrific MW and it was 1/2 the price of the Wolf. You're paying for the rebranding.

Strange that there is a control panel issue out there on the Wolf MD24TE/S. Evidently happens after about 2-3 years. The story goes that they are willing to pay for the part BUT they leave the owner paying for the service call! The control panel I just replaced was made this year so they must be needing them on a regular basis? My service tech was able to get them to agree to pay part ($100) of the service call ($250) but not all. I think it speaks to the admission of the defective control panel they built these with. I spoke with two Wolf agents, and neither were not willing to pay for all the costs even though the unit was used only 4 months of each year since purchased. Keep that in mind if considering the potential inconvenience with the higher purchase pricing of a Wolf MD24TES compared to other manufacturers. When most people pay extra for a quality name product, they expect the quality to be there along with a company standing behind their products 100%.