I just had my Miele installed, you can barely tell it's there; I'll be using it in about 10 days when I move in and will report on it. I'm transitioning from
a gas wolf cooktop to the miele induction, and I have no idea which or if any of my pots will work, so my learning curve might be long, lol......... specially if I have to go out and buy new pots.

Thanks for the input.

Olchik, two things disqualified the GE for me: the 12" clearance required underneath, and I was told during a phone conversation with GE that using a pan more than 1" larger than a hob might damage the cooktop. They could not tell me why, and both Diva and Wolf have specifically told me larger pans were not a problem.

Lishaana, maybe I should take another look at the Thermador.

Yolande, the Miele price came from my local independent appliance store. It wasn't a special deal. Try googling the KM 5773 (36") in the US.

Brachl, this whole clearance issue is confusing. Actually, they all, including GE, allow ovens directly under the units. Let me know if you get a chance to try the Miele. I was concerned about power at first, but read on this forum that most people rarely use all the available power on their units, only using high to boil water. I do think the Wolf is very attractive.

Luvmyguys (luv your screen name), agree with everything you said. Are you leaning toward one brand or another?

Mitchdesj, congratulations on your new digs! Get a magnet (even a refrigerator magnet will work) and test each of your pans as you unpack. If the magnet sticks, the pan will work. Please let us know your impressions on the Miele when you start using it.

Yeah, I would also like to hear the thoughts on Miele, as it is the one I plan on getting.

Mitch....

What type of ventalation system do you have for the induction cooktop? Since you have it do you live in Canada?

I would recomend a unit that does not have a "boost" feature as in you may loose the use of the other zone on that generator and the fact that boost typically only works for 8 to 10 minutes and it will go back down to what ever level is the next highest.

The Diva unit is superior to the others.

That last one makes no sense to me.

You only lose partial power on the shared zone and only if you happen to be using that other zone and only if you are using it at a higher level.

8 to 10 minutes should be long enough to get the water to boil or perform any crazy heat cooking.

No one forces you to use the boost.

Whyno, In what way is the Diva superior to others? What is service like?

Thanks,
Judy

On the thermador unit when you have a 2 zone generator it is impossisble to have both zones on while one is on boost. If both zones on the generator are running then neither of them can be at thier boost setting. I have played with a number of thermador units that were hooked up live and all have that same "feature". At least with a unit with true power sharing you can use either zone zone at its highest power for as long as you need and still use the other zone on the generator at a predetermined lower setting. A gallon of water on a 3500 to 3700 watt zone will take between 7.5 to about 9.5 minutes to boil. If you were making say a large batch of soup, gumbo, pasta and had say 2 gallons of liquid in a 12qt stock pot or larger. (Not too uncommon in my neck of the woods). It would take a good bit longer than 8 - 10 minutes to bring it to a boil, in which cast the boost feature would cut off and either shut the zone down or bring it back down to a substantially lower power setting well before you have brought that pot to boil.

Judy - The Diva has the most power, largest zone, best zone/controls layout & has been on the market for much much longer than any of the others. Take my word for it after extensive research the Diva wins hands down.

djh64 - I see you are right. That sucks. I would definitely find a model that does not have that restriction. They are not all like that.

Thanks Whyno, Is there any issue with service being hard to come by, parts, etc because it is more unusual. No one in London ont canada carries it, I have to get it in Toronto. Will that be a problem?

Judy

This is all really helpful! Whyno, do you have a Diva currently?

I have a Brandt, which is the same as a Diva. It requires next to no clearance beneath the unit, the layout is good and believe me, you want the timers. If I'd never had them I wouldn't miss them but boy, they are handy! If you cook a lot it will be one of your favorite features.

Fingerprints? Keep a miracle cloth around and you'll be fine. Can't see prints if the overhead lights aren't on, FWIW.

Pecanpie please give me examples of recipes where you can leave something cooking on stove and set heat and know that after x minutes it will be done and should be shut off aside from rice of course. I am just wondering because I never understood why this is such a great feature and if it is why every brand does not make it because timers are not complicated engineering. Just wondering thank you.

ya_think, may I? I would like timers because so many times I am making somthing that requires a simmer for another half hour, like soup, and I have to be there to turn it off. I cannot leave to go play outside with my daughter, or to go to the playground near our house. I have to stay and watch the pot.
I want timers that will allow me to break free from the stove :)

olchik yes you may and thank you. I was thinking how I have never had an oven that does not have a timer but how I have never used that timer and how a timer would be at the bottom of my list of needed features if I was buying a new oven. I don't make much soup but if I did I might now consider spending $1000 extra for a Diva.

I've been using a Wolf induction for about 3 months and just love, love, love it! We'd looked at several brands for our house, and, oddly enough, my DH was the one who liked the Wolf best! It does a super job cooking and looks great. When we chose it, we were deciding about gas or induction, and, since I'm not too swift about decision making (LOL) I changed my mind on an hourly basis. DH is the one who made the choice, and I've not regretted it for an instant.

Bon appetit.

we have a timer on our portable induction unit -and now that i have one, i don't want to be without it -- it's exactly what olchik said -it is great to be able to leave something to cook and do something else -- obviously, it works best with items that you want to cook for a specific number of minutes -- i have used it for soup, pasta, rice, and stews, to name a few

brachl, I agree. The timer allows me to get on with making a meal. Simmering steel cut oats for 30 minutes and boiling sugar, butter and cream for icing for 2 minutes are timer tasks. I don't want an induction cooktop without a turn-off timer. I think the Bosch turns the burner off, too. It is $1,000 less than Thermador, and made by the same company.

Wow, this is great info! Keep it coming, please. Tomorrow I travel 45 Mins. each way to see the only Diva unit in our state. It is not installed, but they tell me they can plug it into a 110 outlet so I can at least play with the controls. Love living in RI. NOT. Am still waiting to hear from my Miele dealer when they expect to have that unit available to see. This is the same dealer who had to borrow my magnet to run across the street to the market to buy a pan which would work on their installed Wolf induction cooktop. It had been installed for 3 months and they'd never turned it on. I kid you not.

Cotehele, Miele is within that price range - 2100 for the 30" and 2600 for the 36" and it has timers and memory programs for each burner.

I wonder, does one company have a better service record and/or more reliable cooktop?

The LG has a bridge element, which is tempting. It may not be a new feature in Europe, but here it is the first offering.

This choice is hard because we each have different criteria. What is 'the best' to one person is not so for everyone. It is nearly impossible to compare brands side by side. With gas (and what do I know about gas, I have never owned a gas cooktop) a flame is a flame. BTUs, cleaning and ease of sliding pots from one burner to another are different. So maybe gas is not such an easy choice either.

Why is the Bosch not in the running? It has timers (not alarms), good power, good burner sizes and placement. It is like the Thermador but has timers on the burners.

Thermador had turn-off timers when I saw a demo, but only half the cooktop timers worked. The salesman said it must need to be repaired. I didn't think having a unit in non-working order was very good marketing.

Olchick, Miele and Bosch have virtually identical pricing.

Yeah, I know, but Miele seems to offer more for the money than Bosch is
Miele:
http://theinductionsite.com/PHP/not-yet-available.php?id=KM5753&title=Miele+KM+5753
Bosch:
http://theinductionsite.com/buy-induction/buy-nit8053uc.php

More power, memory program.
I have also heard that Bosch controls are kinda tricky, but maybe that's just a rumor

The Miele has useful features. I don't know when I would use the program feature.

Any more news on the LG unit and its linked hobs. Seems like a good idea.

Google LG Induction and you will see it for sale at various locations.

I'm confused about the burner layout on the Miele. On the Induction Site, some photos seem to show two identical-size burners on the right side, and other photo shows one larger and one smaller. I was hoping for two identical size burners on one side for when I would want to span the burners with a griddle or roasting pan.

After searching around on the web, I'm pretty sure that the Miele has one 9" hob and one 6 5/16" hob on each side, and one 11" central hob. I think that is a no-go for me, as I'll often want to span burners to make sauce in a roasting pan. That leaves the GE or the Bosch, and I think I'll go Bosch because I want the timers and the lower clearance on the install. It does look like all burners are programmed from a central panel, which is awkward, but hopefully I'll get used to it. Haven't been able to locate one to physically look at it and operate it. I've seen the Thermador, which has an identical burner layout but different controls.

Neither the Wolf nor the Diva have like-sized burners next to each other. Maybe I am making too big a deal about this. Have any Wolf or Diva owners used a roasting pan or griddle on their cooktops?

Boy, this is more complicated than one would think! I'm sure the market will be flooded with less expensive units with all the features I want as soon as I complete my kitchen!

I'd like to jump in here...We are also interested in purchasing an induction cook top shortly. We had a Wolf gas cook top before, but now we have moved and we are now on propane, so induction makes the most sense. I have only seen the smaller Diva and I loved it. Most induction models are not on display here, so i am not sure how to proceed. We need a 36" however, so i am open to all ideas. Does the diva have timers? We liked the controls being flush on the diva.

OK, went up to see the Diva. It has no bells and whistles. Good fast induction, simple controls, no timers, a plain black Schott Ceramic (also comes in white) top and a wide stainless frame (which was already scratched at the showroom). Seems not a lot for the money. Still am waiting to hear when the Miele will be available to look at locally. It does seem to offer the most features for its cost. No one around here carries the Bosch at all, so I haven't seen it.

We have to pick our induction cook top within the next two days. The Bosch and Thermador only have stainless trim on two sides...looks unfinished to me. Are the edges fragile and prone to any breakage? Has anyone seen the Kitchen Aid model? All these units are much cheaper than Diva...Why is that???

The more sophisticated units have true power sharing and not a Boost setting. Again boost limits you as to how long you can have a zone on it's highest setting and in a number of cases ie Thermador ,Bosch, they will not allow you to opperate the other zone if one of the zones on that generator is on boost. Also make sure if you use small pots that the unit can accomodate them. With Diva, Windcrest, Brandt they can accomoadate pans as small as half the diameter of the cooking zone. 6" zone = 3" min. pan size and even the large center zone can go down to about 4 or 5 inches of pan size

No problem here with activating the 11 1/2" zone with a 4 3/4" base pan on my GE Profile (not that you would want to do this, since you would not get the same power as on a more appropriate smaller zone). I have found that I am able to use a smaller pan than the instructions call for on all the burners. I will often use the front 8" zone rather than the back 7" because it is more convenient to stir in front.

Morton5
the Miele has one small hob, 3 medium hobs and 1 large hob
http://www.miele.co.uk/products/Features.aspx?pid=361
see page 6 in the manual
http://www.miele.co.uk/Resources/OperatingInstructions/KM%205773%20ind.pdf
the induction site is mistaken in listing 2 small hobs

The Miele unit in the US is 2 9 inch in the front and 2 6 5/16 in the back with the 11 inch in the middle this is based on the picgture. However the instruction indicate 1 large and 1 small in front and the same at the back? The top in Canada looks slightly different per the manual?

If someone in Canada has the Miele could they comment on the sizes of the burners.

I'll look at mine later today, I'm not moved in yet but it's installed. Can't remember the configuration of the burners.

Canuck99, here is the Miele Canada website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Canada

Very interesting, jason. I prefer the Canadian hob configuration to the American one. If I go induction, I may have to import; I wonder what cost differential is.

I have selected the white Diva 36" after reading that the 11" burner takes pans up to 14". I just wish it had timers and no ss frame.

cookie08 - let us know how you like the diva. Diva owners weigh in with your likes and dislikes.

I'm also leaning toward the 36" Miele and would love to hear feedback from anyone who owns one.

I was able to try Viking, Wolf, Electrolux and Thermador units. I preferred the look and burner layout of the Thermador over the other brands, but I found the controls inconvenient. I didn't like the 2 steps every time you want to adjust the heat: first push a button to choose the burner, then push another button to adjust the temp.

I just got the GE Profile induction cooktop and have been enjoying it immensely. Having timed burners would be a plus but it's not really a big deal for me, I can just set a regular timer and then adjust the burner manually. The cooktop has a timer but it doesn't control the burners and it isn't very loud. The two-step process of turning on and then adjusting the temperature takes a little getting used to, but for me I don't think it's a big deal. Using pans larger than the cooking surface would be nice, but after looking at all my pans and thinking about my cooking habits, I don't think it's worth the extra cost to get that one feature that I'd only use very rarely.

If my budget was bigger, I probably would have considered the higher end cooktops, but this one works great for the money I had to work with.

Just one more comment, I just read the specs for the Miele induction cooktop and if that one had been available when I bought mine, I would have gotten it. It looks terrific and the price is not outrageous.

Check out the Gaggenau 36" induction unit. I tried this one at the distributor and it is very cool. The interface is a bit different which I really like and I do not believe there a time limit on the boost function. It has cooking timers and memory but not quite as cool as the Miele.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gagg Induction

Found this on the Induction Site referenced here:

Actually, though, in the present state of the art induction is gaining the clear advantage as "zoneless cook anywhere" induction cooktops--meaning that the entire surface is a cooking "zone"--become more and more prevalent. On such units, an "element" is defined by the size and shape of the cooking vessel placed on the surface: the entire cooktop is underlain by a very large number of small "micro-elements", and those micro-elements lying under a vessel ware what is activated by its presence. Grills, griddles, fish poachers, super-large skillets--all are heated uniformly merely by being placed anythwre on the cooktop. This is not guessing or "futurology": units that actually work that way are to be had right now from well-known makers.

Anyone hear this before, or know what they are talking about?

Heard of it, but never seen one. I think there are some in Europe. Each element is about 2". You put a pan on the cooktop, tell it to turn on, it figures which elements and turns them on.

As pointed out above, the Miele 5773 has two different arrangements of the induction elements.

I much prefer the one sold in Canada, UK, NZ, AU, etc., with three medium-sized elements rather than one medium and two tiny (6.3" ones).

Am I reading this correctly? Can we simply order the Canadian/UK version (for delivery into the US?) ... or would there be any problems with warranty, building code, etc. if we import it?