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austin_bozarth

Miele vs. Wolf 36" Ranges

11 years ago

We are looking at a kitchen redo and are having trouble selecting a range. My last kitchen had a 2004 Wolf DF and it was great, however the new ranges have not really changed which is very disappointing. We recently were at the Miele Showroom and were impressed with the new ranges. We are looking at the Miele HR 1934 DF and the Wolf DF366. So, I wanted to get your advice on the following:

1) Resale - Does a 36" range pop better than a 30" range? I think so but we do have a tight kitchen situation and I wanted your thoughts.

2) Preheat Time - We found our Wolf 36DF to be painfully slow to preheat. Perhaps this has been upgraded in the new Wolfs? But does anyone know how fast that the preheat time is for the Wolf 36DF versus the new Miele DF?

3) Has anyone used the Miele M Touch Controls? They looked fantastic in the showroom, but I wanted to see if anyone has real experience using them.

4) It appears that the Miele is also able to connect to the internet through WIFI? I could not find much on this, so would love to hear if there are any benefits to this.

5) Any other considerations between these ranges? I assume I better buy the extended warranty on the Miele which is another $399, but protects it for 5 years.


Thanks for your help!


Comments (18)

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    I think Wolf is over priced and over rated I have never liked Miele appliances so no comment there I have a Bertazzoni 6 burner all gas range with convection and I have had it for 8 years for a small catering company in my home and I love it.

    Austin B thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 10 years ago

    Hi Austin, just want to know if you decided on the Miele or Wolf? We are in a similar situation deciding between the dual fuel Miele and Wolf. Any advice, comments are greatly appreciated. Thx

  • 10 years ago

    >> 4) It appears that the Miele is also able to connect to the internet
    through WIFI? I could not find much on this, so would love to hear if
    there are any benefits to this.

    Obvious benefits are Miele is able to be alerted to faults instantly. For say a refrigerator that the interior temp rose above a certain threshold, or a washer that sensed a break in water lines or a flood you'd see clearer benefit.

    This is Miele's IOT -- Internet of Things -- in their appliances. Upon researching it, I was surprised it doesn't get more press and coverage. There is (was) a Miele smartphone app that allows (allowed) you to monitor only or interact with, (can't tell which) the appliance having the WiFi module installed. So for example you could see how much time until a load of laundry is done in your washer or dryer. Pretty cool IMO. Here's a recent thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4018217/miele-remotevision-iot-internet-of-things-and-mieles-smartphone-app

  • 10 years ago

    My experience with Miele products has NOT been good. Getting my 3rd warming drawer since Nov. of 2015, 3rd set of double steam ovens and the microwave just went out on my Miele speed cook and there are not even a year old. It just cannot be coincidence....


  • 10 years ago

    I'm in the Internet business (currently working on an Internet of Things project) and an avid cook. My view is that it's a really bad idea to buy a piece of hardware with IoT technology that costs several $k and is meant to last >10 years.

    The tech will go obsolete within 2 years. If it doesn't, then some service or other external piece of technology it depends on will stop being supported, the company will go out of business, or something else that will make your high tech gizmo nonfunctional. And if you need a part replaced 5 years later, good luck to you.

    It's early days in IoT technology. At the very least, I'd wait for the technology to develop to the point where it's stable and there are standards which ensure that the various underlying components and services will be supported and replaceable for the foreseeable future. At a rough guess, I'd say that day is 5 years away. If you aren't a techie, your best indication that this day has arrived is that

    a) There's some kind of IoT standard for kitchen appliances that most major brands use, with some cute trademark like KitcheNet or GigaGourmet, and

    b) Best Buy is advertising a clearance sale on $1000 ranges or fridges with this standard built in.

    I got a demo of this 36" Miele range, and sure, it was cool, but I passed. (Another reason was that we can't support the electrical current to run a dual-fuel range.) Instead I got the 36" Miele all gas range, which was designed with a bare minimum of bells & whistles - self-cleaning, a timer, and that's about it. I've been using it for the past few weeks and love it so far. Jury is out on reliability but our Miele dishwashers have held up very well over the years.

  • 9 years ago

    Update: one of the burners on our Miele 36" all gas range failed after just a few weeks. Miele gave me an appointment more than 2 weeks in the future, to which the techs were late. They did fix it (failed thermocouple) but so far NOT IMPRESSED with reliability or service.

  • 9 years ago

    Bill R, do you have any more updates on your 36 in gas Miele? Leemiller, may I also pick your brain?

    We are renovating our kitchen and are trying to decide between the Miele and the Wolf AG 36" ranges. So far the pro/cons of the ranges seems to be:

    MIELE - top easy clean top (can go in DW), higher BTU for boiling large pots of water, great low simmer, better convection oven, possibly quieter, company has great reputation. But: it's a new product/not much track record, too many bells and whistles?

    WOLF - great simmer, 15K BTU adequate for high heat cooking/boiling large pots of water(?), company has good reputation, Yale Appliances rates it reliable. But possible problem with blue enable interior, convection fan loud.

    Would appreciate any feedback. Thx

  • 9 years ago

    Just get induction

  • 9 years ago
    Our Wolf has a black enamel inside and is gas only. As for cleaning the top, my cleaning lady does that bi-weekly. When I've done it, it isn't too bad. So far the only thing that has bothered me is how hard the light bulb is to change in the hood. There is a strange suction piece involved. Otherwise I'm happy and it is the only range in the kitchen - I skipped the double wall ovens.
  • 8 years ago

    Miele ranges with ovens that are super efficient easy to use and very accurate

    never had a any issues. Very high 19500 btu on all burners very low BYU’s for simmer on all burners is why you buy a heavy duty range in the first place. Very easy to self clean with three cleaning levels, not just one on Wolf. Also has steam bursts in oven for baking bread and roasting moist tender meat and poultry. Excellent fast quiet cooking results time after time

  • 8 years ago

    IRC2013, thanks for your very helpful comments about your Miele range. What model do you have and how long have you owned it? I have been researching Wolf ranges but was very impressed with the Miele when I saw both in a dealer showroom. Love the clean Euro-contemporary look, the high btu burners and the soft closing oven door. I am doing a top-to-bottom kitchen renovation and want to change out the BlueStar 30" RNB that I've had for 8+ years. The high btu open burners on the BlueStar are great but I'm looking for something that's easier to clean, with a better oven and more finished appearance, and am considering both the Miele all-gas and duel fuel ranges.

    Thank you for any details you might be able to provide.

  • 8 years ago

    We have the HR1134, which is the 36" all-gas range. As I mentioned above, the first unit had lots of problems. After the third service call, I raised the issue with my dealer, whose management arranged for a brand new replacement unit. That was about a year ago, and (knock on wood) we've had no problems with it. I think the first unit was a lemon.

    I like it a lot. and I use it a LOT. This model is very basic, not the high-tech one with the touch-panel and other features that will just break and become obsolete. We needed an all-gas unit because our apartment will not support the electricity needed for a dual-fuel unit. I also insisted on self-cleaning oven.

    There are not many choices if you want a 36" all-gas range with self-cleaning oven: basically your choices are Miele, Thermador, GE Monogram, Dacor, and Capital. (Wolf has a 36" all gas range, but the burner BTUs are not great and there's no self-cleaning.) Our final decision was basically Miele vs. Capital. Capital is a new company whose long-term reliability was unknown; plus the oven was small. Miele - the ranges are a new product line, but we've been very happy with their dishwashers. So we went with Miele.

    As I said, this model is very basic: just knobs for the burners and oven/broiler. Not even an oven thermometer; you just have to trust that it's heating to the right temperature - though I did measure it and it was quite accurate. The broiler is nuclear strength, best broiler I've ever used. The burners are very powerful, except for one simmer burner which does that job well. The design is clean and minimal. One thing I'd recommend is to make sure your backsplash behind the oven is capable of withstanding intense heat. We have white porcelain tiles that have turned a little brown above the rear vent.

    Let me know if you have any other questions.



  • 8 years ago
    If your kitchen is not huge I would go with a 30 range. Counter space seems more important than a 5th and 6th burner.
  • 8 years ago

    Thanks, Bill R and jeannecardwell. I just read a very long thread on Miele gas ranges of various sizes and got pretty discouraged hearing about the problems with ignitors that clicked for 15-17 seconds before firing and binding knobs, since these seemed to be especially prevalent with LP units, which is what I will be getting. I don't know if Miele has made improvements since 2015 to ameliorate these specific issues.

    From your helpful comments, Bill R, it sounds as though the all gas range would work for me. The infrared broiler on my BlueStar was great, until the ignitor gave out a couple of years ago and after costly oven and range top repairs, I chose not to have it repaired. I'm reluctant to give up the 22,500 btu burner on my BlueStar, and was happy to see Miele has the 19,500 btu ones; my simmer burner doesn't go low enough, so I am glad to hear Miele's works well. I have had a Miele washer and dryer for almost seven years and have been happy with their quality and build. If I purchase their range, I will probably go with one of their dishwashers too. Have you used the self-cleaning function on your range? Does it work well? Have you experienced any other issues since you got your replacement range? I was also in the tech industry (computers and software) for many years and I want to steer clear of appliances with built-in tech because of the near-term obsolescence issue.

    jeannecardwell, I want to move to the 36 range because of the oven size. My BlueStar has a large oven for a 30, big enough to accommodate a full sheet pan, and I don't want to downsize on that.

    Great to have your thoughts. Many thanks.

  • 8 years ago

    I have the Miele 36" range. The first unit I got came with burners that didn't work. The installation took a long to schedule, I started the process of trying to schedule it in early November, and got a working unit in February. Now, the burners work ok. Sometimes I have to use a lighter, but it's not terrible. The simmer is good and water boils very quickly. So besides sometimes having to use a lighter I like the burners.


    I bought a unit with a grill, which I hate. Miele has purposely designed it for grilling only low fat meats. No fat on the steak or skin on the chicken... otherwise it catches fire.


    The oven I don't like, because it keeps everything too moist, so every time I cook chicken I get a blast of steam when I open the oven. It just occurred to (I have had the unit for 2 years) that When they fixed the oven (the replacement unit came with a broken fan) they didn't fix it properly?

    So I wouldn't choose a Miele again. I think they are fine if you get a good one without problems, but those are rare.

    I have had my washer and dryer for 13 years without many problems and I have had my dishwasher for 5 years without a problem. I have had Miele vacuums for 25 years without problem. So generally Miele makes a good product, but I don't think their ranges are good.

  • 8 years ago

    To cmsdrake's question about the self-cleaning: I've used it a few times. It works well, as well as any other self-cleaning oven I have had. We try not to use it too often, because the super high temps are hard on the oven.

    To Julia's point about the burners: I remember asking Miele customer service about the burners that take a long time to ignite. They kept telling me this is "normal." We haven't had problems on our 2nd unit with burners that just refuse to light (except one time when the igniter got clogged, and cleaning it solved the problem), but I do think Miele should fix this. We have a Bosch range in our vacation home and it lights immediately. Using a lighter strikes me as unnecessary and dangerous.

  • 8 years ago

    I always use lighters on most gas stoves, I don't know why it would be dangerous? electric igniters are new fangled invention. What I do mostly, is turn on the burner and let it clear a few times. Turn off the burner, and then then turn it back on and it lights.

    Miele is a good company when it comes to vacuums, but I don't think it's good when it comes to servicing appliances, and I think it's pretty bad when comes to designing ranges.

    I have confirmed from several sources that the grill is not designed to cook normal steaks. Don't they have Ribeyes in Germany?