Opinions and thoughts on ranges: Wolf 60" vs Thermador 60"

Carpe Grape

8 years ago

Hey there everyone'

We are trying to decide between two ranges and are looking for feedback and opinions to aid in our decision.

We are torn between primarily Wolf and Thermador 60" ranges, one other is a Viking/Brigade model.

All three are dual fuel and have six burners and either a grill and griddle or a 24" griddle.

All have different advantages, which is part of the problem.

Any thoughts and advice you may have are greatly appreciated!

Thank you all in advance.

Cheers,

Stephen

Featured Answer

opaone

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

For baking cookies & cakes an electric oven is best. For most everything else gas is better because of the moister environment. A really good electric steam oven can replicate a gas oven though.

An all gas range has the advantage of no electronics and overall simpler system so less likelihood of it not being useable when you need it most.

So, many people get a good all gas range (Bluestar is the current popular choice) plus an electric wall oven because this gives you the best of all worlds and much higher reliability.

The sealed burners on the Wolf are a significant negative. The heat is thrown out to the sides so pans don't heat evenly, much of the heat goes around the edges of the pan instead of in to it and it's uncomfortable for the cook because of more heat in the cooks face. I assume the Thermodor star burners are open?

Yes, for a griddle / flat-top you want to avoid non-stick.

Personally I'd never do a grill indoors. I know many people love theirs but I'm not one of those. Even though we're in Minnesnowta we'll go outside to grill. And, a 24" griddle/flattop is more important to me anyway.

Similar to you we do a lot of cooking and a wide variety. In our new kitchen we're likely doing; 48" Bluestar range w/ 24" thermostatic griddle + Miele Masterchef electric wall oven + Miele combi steam oven + GE Advantium Fastbake.

Since we can use the griddle as a flat top as well as griddle we don't need more than four burners. The downside to the BS is that the griddle is not as even (across its surface or high/low temp range) as our current Wolf. We're also a bit concerned about how well the ovens does. Much better burners than Wolf though.

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Comments (8)

DrB477
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I have a 48" Thermador steam range I'm happy with. In both 48 and 60", the Thermador allows an option of having a combi steam oven in the range, if you don't have plans for another steam oven in kitchen it's worth having as it's really a life changing/improving appliance. It's smaller though if you really need two full size ovens.

Also be aware of the potential enamel flaking issues on the DF wolf.
Carpe Grape thanked DrB477
opaone
8 years ago
What is your use? How often do you cook? What styles of cooking? Do you bake? Will you have another wall oven (EG, DF leaves you with only electric ovens, is that really what you want)? What attracts you about each?
Carpe Grape thanked opaone
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Carpe Grape
Original Author
8 years ago
We cook pretty much everything imaginable, plenty of baking as well.

The Wolf has a somewhat better track record regarding durability, repair etc.

Feature wise, the stacked burners are nice when needing to simmer and the griddle being steel as opposed to a non stick that can scratch and peel is quite appealing.

The Thermador's star burners are a great feature, nothing more annoying than having more than one small pot on the go and the flame hitting the outside edge only.

The steam oven is quite intriguing and I do love the idea. The regular oven being large enough for a propper sheet pan is a nice bonus too.

Thermador downsides; poor track record regarding durability, repair warranty etc. The grill and griddle are electric vs the Wolf's being gas, so I question consistancy.

So...like I said, they both have interesting features, plusses and minusses, hence the problem deciding.
Carpe Grape
Original Author
8 years ago
BlueStar is not very well represented here in Canada, so service etc may be an issue which is why we didn't consider it.

The Thermadore is a sealed burner, but the shape gives better heat distribution than traditional round burners.

We don't really want additional wall ovens if we can avoid it.

So trying to choose the best all around range is important.
Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
8 years ago
If Blue Star is out of contention, I would go with Thermador for the CSO and lack of blue enamel chipping. However, I see quite a few Canadians with Blue Star, so if service is your only concern, I would ask about Canadians who own Blue Star here before making a decision. Then I may still lean toward Thermador because as I have mentioned on other threads, the CSO is the best thing in my kitchen. I would never be without one willingly.
Carpe Grape thanked Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
DrB477
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
If you aren't going to get a wall oven and don't really need two full(ish) size ovens, IMO the steam oven on the Thermador more than makes up for any other minor deficiencies.

If you can/will put in a separate steam oven, it loses a lot of its specialness. Still fine, but nothing to really distinguish it much from other choices.

Either way I think I'd skip the Wolf DF due to concerns about flaking, I just couldn't chance that on a 17k (or whatever) appliance.
Carpe Grape thanked DrB477
pippinyc
4 years ago
I had heard about the flaking in the Wolf and the lawsuit.