I didn't find the open burners difficult to clean, however, what is very difficult to keep clean on the Wolf is the black, glossy porcelain top. It shows literally every speck of spatter and is extremely hard to keep looking good.

I think it depends on how obsessive you want to be about it being shiny and new looking. I'm not sure what tiny holes would need cleaning with toothpicks, because I haven't had to do anything like that. I don't think the black shiny porcelain coated areas are difficult to clean...They pretty much just wipe off, but they do show the spatters when you're up close. I wipe mine out once every day or two, and ignore it otherwise (unless there's a major spill of some sort.) I think the only way around that is to go to the even more open BlueStar and its cast iron parts...The spatters on it would eventually blend together and become seasoning or patina. Looking at my cast iron grates, I can see that even at first, the spatters are less obvious on that material than on the shiny black porcelain coating.

I didn't think of the porcelain top, thanks keitel for bringing it up.

I don't need perfection but for the price of the range I would like it to look great for many years as well as cook great without spending a lot of time cleaning it.

Wiping it after use is not a problem, I do it currenlty. Seeing some spots when up-close shouldn't be a problem I think. But if the greese sticks to it like it does on my old GE range and takes hours to remove, that would be a problem.

here is a question - my kids are at the age that they are starting to cook, i can't expect them to be very neat since they are learning. Would it be a big problem with the black coating?

And how about the oven, is it hard to clean?

rhome410, how long have you had your range? Do you use it a lot for frying etc.?

I have a 48", 8-burner rangetop, so I have no oven experience to share. We have 8 kids who use it, though, and have been in the house for a little over a month. (Well, not all 8 kids use it...but 5 of them, from 10 to 20 in age). I know a month isn't a long history, but we homeschool, so we do meals here 3 x a day...So it gets a little more use in a month than others might give it. We stir fry often, and have grilled more steak (on a grill pan) since we've been using this rangetop than we've usually had in a year! The kids are not great at cleaning under the grates (as in they don't do it at all so far), so, like I said, I do it every 2 or 3 days. At first I did it daily, but I'm getting lax. I have to say I haven't really shown the kids how to do it, so it's my own fault...but I kind of like doing it. I'm sure it'll become old hat and boring after awhile, then I'll hand over the job.

So far, I have only cleaned all the parts in place. It hasn't gotten bad enough that I've felt the need to take out the black porcelain covered drip pans (I guess that's what you'd call them) and scrub them over a sink. It might be easier if they were really greasy or anything was stuck on...or if I wanted to sweep out crumbs or any food particles into the trash. The ability to do that is why I decided on open burners. Boil overs will be easier to take out and dump than sop up in place.

I've had black porcelain-covered drip pans in electric ranges before...So I am somewhat realistic in knowing that eventually things may become cooked on. I worried about this at first, but everyone on the kitchen forum assured me that it is not shameful for a hard-working range to look as if it's being used. So I've worked on not being obsessive about keeping it spotless, like I might have been otherwise.

Hope this helps.

We've had a 36" AG Wolf for four years. When necessary, we just pop out the porcelain tops and wash them in the sink. For some spots that really get cooked on, we use bar keeper's friend. While opinions vary, we think it's as easy or easier to keep clean than sealed burners. Given that it's a tool that will show use, it will never look new, but certainly looks appropriate given how it's used (not unlike hardwood floors after a few years). We use it daily for all different types of cooking and really don't think that much about keeping it clean.

The oven cleaning is a once-a-year or so cleaning adventure with fume free oven cleaner. Takes about a hour.

Although my sons are pretty much grown, they love to cook on it.

annab6--I posted on your other thread in kitchens re: cleaning the burner pans.

Anna
Can only repeat what others have said above-my Wolf rangetop is the easiest stove to keep clean I have ever had. If you had a sealed burner GE like I did (gas on glass top) I understand your pain. I gave up keeping mine clean-almost impossible, then one saute session later it's as bad as ever. The open burner Wolf is not at all like that. Nothing seems to burn on and everything wipes up with Windex or Fantastic if the grease is really heavy. Never had to put the pans in the sink, and we do heavy sauteing for most meals. Don't need toothpicks; the burner never seem to clog up. We've had the unit for 18 months and love it.

Anna,

I posted on your thread in the Kitchens forum re: cleaning the Wolf AG.

I think I spoke too fast. I have had to eat my words that I posted above about believing those hated black, shiny drip/under pans are easy to clean. I made that statement after 1 month, but by 2 1/2 months, I am more frustrated. I let more time lapse than I did in the first month, when I was taking it all apart every 3 days, and the situation got away from me. All the scrubbing I could do didn't remove the buildup, especially on ones under the most often used burners.

I did a search for Anna's thread on the kitchens forum that is referenced above, but, apparently, it's long gone. I finally gave up and tried fume free oven cleaner. It had the best results of anything else, and hopefully, with more diligence, I can keep up with the burnt on grease and food better after having used it. (One of the pans took 2 doses...and the first was on overnight and into the next day, but still not clean) I still have some spots that aren't smooth and shiny. The cast iron parts are getting spotted and stained, too, but it doesn't look nearly as bad as the porcelain covered parts, and I can deal fine with its patina-building process.

I think I will buy another griddle pan to provide more coverage for unused burners...

My whole point of writing today, though, is to ask cat mom and zoenipp if they can post their burner-pan cleaning tips here, and I will save them this time! Thanks so much. :-)

rhome, what the devil are you cooking? We are going on 18 months with our rangetop and I still just clean it with a spritz of windex most of the time or fantastik after an especially messy saute session. I have never needed put the pans in the sink, let alone resort to oven cleaner. We do a lot of sauting which spatters everywhere (even with a spatter screen) as well as normal pan cooking, water boiling, etc. We don't have any buildup at all. We (I) wipe up after almost every dinner-takes about 5 minutes. The hardest thing to remove is the water marks from a little boil over from potato water-need a quick rub with a green scotch brite pad for those. But really, far, far easier than my old GE gas-on-glass which needed cleaning with a razor blade. My only complaint is that windex streaks a bit, but I live with it.

Capecod, we do a lot of meat on the grill pan, as well as lots of stir fry, etc. We have 8 burners and multiple cooks, so I think we get a lot of 'cross-spatter.' When I first asked about this, people told me they didn't take off the grates after each meal and that I should try to accept that it would look like a well-used range, and there is no harm in that...And especially since the grates stay warm a long time, and 8 burner parts need a lot of room to take off and clean under, I haven't cleaned it after every use...which would be at least 3 times a day in our home. To me the cast iron parts are starting to look like an acceptably well-used range, but the shiny black just calls to be shiny black, but isn't...

I don't know how well it will show on photos this size. These don't look like much, but this is right after the oven cleaner, so as clean as it will come. The spots you can see aren't just smears, they are rough spots on top of the porcelain finish.

To clean light grease splatters, I spray Perfect Kitchen (from BB&B) either directly on the burner pans or on a paper towel or microfiber.

To clean the top if it's too messy for a quick spritz and wipe, I take the burner pans to the sink, and wash with a soapy scrub sponge (the blue kind), rinse with hot water, and dry with a dishtowel (if I need to, I just buff out any smudgey spots--like fingerprints with a microfiber cloth). If the burner pans are really messy, and/or there's burnt-on spots, I spray Dawn Power Dissolver Gel on the pans themselves, let sit for 10-15 minutes, and then go over them with the soapy blue scrub sponge, etc.

I try to stay on top of it but there are only the two of us here using the range (and DH only to boil water, heat soup, or make the occasional eggs on a weekend) so I'm sure it's easier to do so here then at your place (and we do have some small spots that aren't budging, too).

I had the Wolf 36 AG and all of the above info is pretty accurate.

My input is that if you don't ever have a boil over, cook hard/fry eetc, the porcelain inserts are pretty easy to wipe and go. If you get boil overs/spills etc, then you can remove the inserts and clean in a number of ways. I always took them outside, sprayed them down with oven cleaner and hosed them off. However, they will get stained somewhat over time but not unsightly.

As to sealed burners, if you have spills/boil overs etc, you will still have eventual staining, you just can't pop the insert out and take a good scrubbing to it. Also, sealed or not sealed, all burners have orifices for the gas. If they get clogged, you have to clean them. I don't ever remember having to clean mine but did just to say I did from time to time. A bamboo skewer makes short work of it.

Another consideration I didnot see mentioned or Imay have overlooked it is the 36 inch oven. Mine seemed to cook VERY hard and took forever to preheat. The oven is just soo big. That said, its just something you get used to.

Another issue is that recent posters have complained about the Wolf 36 AG having burner issues when using the oven. I am not sure if Wolf has remedied that yet.

We now have a Bluestar and I love the grate and insert system on it. It doesn't seem to show stains as badly and is even easier to clean than the Wolf. Since each insert and grate is individual (Wolf's insert covers 2 burners), they fit in the dishwasher. I pop them in now and again, wipe them down with peanut oil when done and they look great.

Thanks, cat mom...I'd remembered something about a Dawn product, but when I got to the store, couldn't remember which one...Maybe that store didn't have the Power Dissolver, because nothing rung a bell or looked like it would handle the job.

Breezy 2, that is exactly why if I had to do it all again (which just isn't going to happen), I just might go for the BlueStar. I do love my burners with all the same power, though, and it is great to cook with. Wolf just needs new underpans. :-)

Truth is rhome410, no matter what the unit, if well used, it will show that it is well used and I call that character (OK, sometimes its more dirty than character but...). Anyway, we got a grill option this time around and everyone said it would be horrible to keep clean and look unsightly after the first use. It is not that hard to CLEAN but will certainly never have the bright new stainless steel look down under those heavy cast iron grates after using it but who cares? It just looks like a grill to me.

They don't sell Power Dissolver at the one supermarket near me, but they do at another one (two different chains). I make it a point to pick up certain items while at store A and other things while at store B.

The Power Dissolver works well on baked on stuff on my glass baking pans also so I'm finding it's good to have on hand.

I'm definitely not the greatest clean-nik (although I am a neatnik). Mine looks about like Keitel's. I may clean it fairly thoroughly every 6 weeks? When it annoys me. I honestly like don't mind a bit if it looks like I use it daily. For me, it's all about function over form--or that I like the form of a working kitchen better than the look of a trophy kitchen. This is not meant as a flame--just my perspective on the thing. My first Wolf never looked shiny and new after the first week, Christmas with a goose that dripped a little grease on a black drip-pan that carbonized, never more to be spiffed up. The goose, however, was another matter--very spiffy!

Rhome - if it's any consolation, my Wolf looks just like yours, and we definitely don't have 8 kids! Most of the time it's just me cooking, and a couple of times a week my SO will get in on the game. My mom uses it a few times a week as well.

When we first bought the range, I decided I was not going to be a slave to keep it clean. It is a cooking utensil first, and I know it's never going to look as good as it was new. Every once in a while, I'll do a major clean up, but the pans still have stains and I'm okay with it.

My aunt has a 30", and it's like a piece of art in a museum. I know she looks down on me when she comes over and sees the stains, but then again, she definitely doesn't cook all the yummy food we do. Ha ha.

I will have to keep an eye out for the Power Dissolver, because I checked again and our usual store (largest store in town) doesn't carry it. The nearest BB&B is quite a trek from here, but I'll have to try to remember when I'm in that area next.

OK, I will try better to love the crummy looking porcelain finish. Like I said, I can take it on the cast iron, but the black shiny is tough. And I think I will have to clean it more often. Hmmph. ;-) Maybe I'll just cook more, because while I'm using those awesome, powerful burners, who notices what's underneath?

I clean the drip pans and grates of my DCS range inside my second oven on self clean. It's a small GE wall oven. I leave the racks in (even though you're not supposed to because it makes them a little harder to slide) and set the grates and pans on them, then hit self clean. In 3 hours, they are coated with white ash which I wash off and they look brand new. I've done this many times in the past 10 years. I don't know if it matters, but the grates on my DCS have a shiny finish, not matte like the Wolf.