Pete,

I'm looking at buying the same DCS range you're looking at (48" 5 burner with griddle). I'm focused on the all-gas version...how about you? I see no big need for dual fuel for our purposes (we're not big bakers), and the extra cost is just not worth it to me. Also, I like the infrared broiler too much to give it up for the DF version.

We decided on a DCS 36" 6-burner all-gas range for our previous house so I've had 4-5 years of experience with that one. I also had years of experience with a Thermador rangetop, which I disliked for many reasons and would not consider again.

This time around, I've looked at DCS, Wolf, GE Monogram, BlueStar, and have found that DCS still offers the best bang for the buck, based on our needs.

Here are my thoughts regarding the DCS -

PROS -

Heat from burners is fantastic. Clean-up around burners from spillovers and other splatters is super quick and easy; top of range is very easy to keep clean. Infrared broiler is wonderful. The value in terms of what you get for the price w/DCS ranges seems very good. There are other advantages, of course, but these are the biggies for me.

CONS -

The downside of those large burners is that the flames reach up and around the sides of my small pots. The good thing is that on the 5-burner 48" range, DCS put in a couple of smaller burners, which I'm looking forward to using so maybe this will now be a moot point. But on the large burners, for me, it was a bit frustrating if I wanted to reheat a bowl of soup or quickly melt butter or do anything else in a small pan, I could only do it on lower heat (which in the DCS is still quite hot so it's not a HUGE problem, it's just that it's not ideal). I can see why another burner or flame design, such as BlueStar, would work better in this way.

Cookies didn't bake as evenly as I would've liked. Rotating cookie sheets partway through baking helped, and I had to be sure never to overload the racks with too many cookie sheets so air could circulate well. This was not a huge problem for me, since we're not super fussy about our baked goods (we like cookies no matter what!) but I've always wondered if electric heat and/or "true European convection" would alleviate this uneven issue. I'm not sure. I went to a Christmas cookie baking party at a friend's house this Christmas and she has an all-gas Viking, and all of our cookies were coming out very unevenly so I figure this is perhaps not uncommon in gas ovens...hers did not have the convection feature, and the uneven baking was even more of a problem.

Another factor in my "con" column is that I can't ignore the fact that my DCS had serious mechanical/design issues when we bought it (2004), and I probably had to have the tech out to my house at least 8 times during the years I owned it. The DCS (later, Fisher Paykel) customer service people were always responsive, but the problem never really went away...the burners would frequently fail to light and would just click away without igniting, especially if the oven was going at the same time.

DCS designed a fix for this issue, since it was a relatively common complaint a few years ago, but for me, the tech installed the fix (a lip that went along the back of the range) and it still didn't work all the time. Yes, it was better, but still not perfect.

Most of the time, it wasn't a huge problem because I would just keep trying to light other burners and eventually one or more of them would light, but if I needed more than 4 of the 6 burners, the last couple may not light via the ignition.

Given this history, my husband can't believe I'm even now looking to buy another DCS, but it was the kind of thing where, after having the tech out to the house so many times (each time he left, it was "fixed" only to happen again next time we were cooking for a crowd), we just sort of dealt with it. We lead very busy lives and I must say, I probably let it go more than I should have...plus, in DCS's defense, they offered to replace the range at one point, but I didn't take them up on it soon enough and the next thing I knew they were owned by Fisher Paykel...I could've pushed it with the new management. At one point, they even sent out a factory tech from their plant, who re-plumbed the gas lines to the burners.

Anyway, I'm assuming that this issue is now fixed since I haven't heard about it on this forum.

Bottom line is, when the range was in full operation, we loved how it performed and, after looking at other choices, the DCS seems to offer the best bang for the buck.

Best of luck w/your decision. I'll be following this thread with great interest!

Susan

Susan-

Thanks for the details.

Yes, I'm considering the 5 burner/wide griddle -- all gas (I cook more than bake and I hear the dual fuel has broiler issues and I like a good broiler).

Though I have to say, I'm also tempted by the grill/griddle combo. I'd love to hear from people who have used both on a DCS.

Does the grill get hot enough that you really use it? Does the griddle get hot enough that you can use it like a plancha and cook veggies and meat -- or is it really just for breakfast foods and eggs and such?

It's a shame your cookies were so uneven -- they make such a big deal out of taking a full sheet pan but what's the point if you can't use one because it blocks all the air circulation?

Lastly, I think it's really going to come down to DCS vs. American. Both stainless steel topped, sealed burners... with DCS taking a slight lead because of their great oven shelves and that unusual 5 burner/wide griddle layout.

DCS owners (and American too) let's hear from you!

-Peter

Petestein,

I own both a Wolf 36" AG at home (bought two years ago) and a DCS 30" AG (installed this summer) at our beach place. Yes, for me the DCS closed burners are not optimal. I find myself cooking on low most of the time on the DCS in order to keep the flame under the pan where I want it to be unless I'm working with a large skillet or a giant stockpot. This seems to defeat the purpose of having the high-powered burners, at least for me. It's simply the design of closed burners, not a particular problem with DCS. Otherwise, it's been a nice, very well-made stove. The infrared broiler performs nicely and the oven bakes fairly evenly for me. If I didn't have the Wolf at home with open burners, I might not realize the shortcomings of the closed burners.

Three other observations:

The stainless steel pan underneath is simpler to clean up on a meal-by-meal basis than the black enamel on the Wolf. However, it also tends to yellow somewhat over time and that doesn't seem to be removeable, even with Barkeepers' Friend or Dawn Power Dissolver. Also, the grate system is much lighter. For some that may be a benefit but I like the heavier grates on the Wolf. Fit and finish on the two ranges seems very similar. Third, my 30" range has five burners which I thought would be a major benefit over four. However, I've found that this arrangement make for crowded rangetop real estate. I don't relish the prospect of trying to crowd/manage five pots on the top at once.

I have had no chance to experience DCS service so I can't comment on that.

Zoe, Susan-

On the burners, may I ask what the width/diameter is on the round caps on the burners are?

I ask because I'm used to working with a sealed burner that has a 4" diamter cap and that works fin with most my pans and such -- no flames up the side. ;)

-Peter

Peter,

Sorry I can't measure the burners...we sold the house with the DCS range a couple months ago and we're now living in a rental house while our future new house is being remodeled down to the studs, hence my need for a new range. The range in our current rental house (an old GE basic one) makes me yearn even more for my DCS!

My littlest saute pan was the one that caused the biggest issue with the burners and the flame coming up the side, and the size of that pan is 5-ish inches in diameter.

In addition to the issue of the flames coming up the side of small pans, I also agree with Zoe that I felt I was usually not able to take advantage of the complete power of the burners in most cases because, at full blast, the flame would extend around most pans or skillets except for the huge ones. Although it was especially noticeable on the small ones, it was still an issue on the larger ones.

I almost always felt like I was using the lower end of the dial on the flame - it was still awesome heat, so maybe going "full throttle" wasn't even necessary, but it was still kind of strange that I couldn't use the full spectrum on the dial.

We have a 36" AG DCS range, all burners, almost 2 years old. We're very happy with it & have not needed service yet.

When we ordered this range, DCS had just changed it to include 2 smaller burners (3.5" caps) & 4 large burners (4" caps) instead of all large burners, no change to the grates. I was initially concerned about this, since it reduced power to those burners & I thought I wanted them all the same, but now that we have the range, the smaller burners are more useful for our smaller pots. The right side of our range has the larger burners front & back, so we can use this section for deglazing large roasting pans or for a large griddle. The upgrade also included all rolling racks in the oven, a feature I really like.

On full blast, flames do come up the sides of all but our largest pots & skillets. However, the lower part of any burner dial provides much more power than full power on the propane cooktop at our lakehouse.

The simmer setting on all burners turns off the main flame & turns on a small ring below it, so subtle that the dial has a light to show you it's really on. The simmer is fantastic. I had worried that for all the power, the burners would not get low enough.