Searching_2008 No problem with the questions! I know how hard it is to get first hand info, so I'll provide all I can for you. 1. The only issues the in-laws have had are with the cooktop. It is a five-burner, 36" model. The stainless surface gets very hot with continued usage, and oversized pans can actually allow flame escape out of the side near the handles... they actually melted a handle! (Electrolux sent them 2 new ones... they are more careful with pot arrangement now). Their ovens have been great, very even. The DW is very nice too. 2. Our range so far has been wonderful. Both ovens are very even (much more so than any other oven I've owned, and other convection ovens I've used). I purchased a oven thermometer to check accuracy of temperature... the big oven is spot on, the little oven seems approx 10 degrees cooler than the knob says... we simply adjust for this now. Standard bake, convection bake, and convection roast work very nicely. Using the smaller oven, I baked 2 quiches last evening (convection bake). They came out perfectly. No hot or cool spots to speak of, crust was very evenly browned, no difference between the top / bottom / front / back. We haven't made multiple sheets of cookies yet in the larger oven, but single sheets have been very good. We end up using the smaller oven 90% of the time, but both are wonderful. The ovens come with 4 racks each, which is too many, so I've taken two out of each one. I guess if someone was doing large batches of cookies, this would be handy, but for us 2 racks per oven is plenty. 3. Burners / Simmering. The power burners (17K btu) are very powerful. The simmer burners do go "low" well, but not low enough to keep a wine reduction sauce in a 8" pan from evaporating too quickly without the simmer plate. We have ended up keeping the simmer plate on the range (over the small, back right simmer burner), and this has worked out fine. It comes with a wok ring, but we haven't used it yet. It also comes with a griddle / grill pan cover for 2 burners, but we haven't used it yet either. 4. Broan Hood. We decided to go with Best by Broan for a few reasons. We liked the idea of an in-line blower, and wanted to go with a manufacturer who makes a lot of hoods. The style was exactly what we were looking for. The Best was a few bucks cheaper than the ICON, and seemed like the best choice for us. (pun unintended). We also have the baffle filters for easier cleaning and reduced airflow noise. The unit came with mesh too, but I haven't tried them yet. 5. Cleaning. Cleaning is pretty straight forward. The grates come off (very heavy, but in a good way), the burners have a cap and brass ring, which also simply lift off. The "pan" under the burners is glossy enamel / porcelain which I clean with Windex Vinegar. It can look a little "streaky" at times, but I think I'm the only one who notices. The grates I clean with soapy water / plastic scouring sponge. They say the grates are dishwasher safe, but I haven't tried yet (nor have I had to... the grates stay pretty clean and are easy to sponge off). The front of the unit / oven doors are very simple to clean (I use Windex Vinegar (not the blue stuff!))... the design keeps drips from really getting onto the oven doors. 6. Reliability / Value: I'd agree that the ICON is in the same class as the Monogram and the DCS. Function wise, it is virtually identical to the Dacor 48", but is much less expensive. I guess that is because of name, but also because it doesn't have Dacor's fancy computerized controls. Which gets me to my second point... reliability. I have a general distrust of computerized controls where they aren't needed. I'm no technophobe (In fact, I'm a bit of a gadget freak), but I've never liked electronic displays / computers on my appliances. I researched the Dacor model, and the electronics seemed like the major source of complaint / repair. Give me knobs any day! Living in a cold / snowy environment makes a gas range of any type a nice thing... you can still cook without power. As far as Wolf / consumer reports... take those ratings with a whole lot of salt. CR is great, but for "niche" products, they often don't really "get it". If money was no object, I'd have picked the Wolf 48"... but for us it was literally twice the price of the ICON. All in all, though we've only been using the ICON for 9 weeks now, I feel I can safely say I'd purchase it again without question. Same goes for my Advantium 240. Jury is still out on the fridge.

I think the electrolux is fairly new compared to the Decor or Wolf. But someone who owns one would be a better judge. Also, not sure if you are comparing apples to apples. I don't think it is in the same price range as the decor or Wolf. With all that said, I searched for 6-9 months. Read every single forum on this site regarding ranges and talked to appliance store who sold many of my choices and this is what I will be receiving shipment on next week for my new house. The WOLF 36" DF range. I honestly looked at the Dacor, THermador, Viking, and I forget the other one but very similar to the decor. I liked the look of the Thermadore better then the Wolf, but there had been some small issues with the Thermadore and I just couldn't find any negatives with the Wolf. Hope this helps.

Hi AreBe, fellow Torontonian here! I have a dual fuel Kitchen Aid range – probably the predecessor to yours – it has four 15,000 BTU burners. Mine is almost 12 years old, so I don’t know if it will help you or not, but I have had zero problems with it. Oven temperature is true, although I don’t always get evenly baked cookies if I am doing more than 2 sheets at a time. Then again, I don’t make cookies often so maybe it’s me and not the oven. Coincidentally, my neighbour has exactly the same range as me and she has not had problems with hers either. I am looking to start my kitchen reno this fall and have been agonizing about whether to keep the Kitchen Aid or go with induction. It was an upgrade from what I had previously and has really served me well.

Heh. You have come to the right place, but my finger callouses may wear off if I have to repeat everything written here that answers your questions. (Yours probably won't fall off doing all the necessary searching, but to get you started, here are some salient rules that I suggest will be appropriate.) Hood functions include capture and containment. Capture is enveloping the rising and expanding cooking effluent plumes so that they don't spread out into the room Containment is transporting the partially filtered effluent to (usually) the outside. One might surmise that capture implies a hood larger than the cooking surface, and for wall hoods not over 36 inches above the cooktop this requirement can be met by a hood at least 3 inches wider than the cooktop each side, and extending at least 3 inches forward of the cooktop (depending on where the elements/burners/hobs are actually located). Some forward size might be avoided if hot oil cooking occurs on back burners or the hood has side skirts or cabinets helping the flow field move forward a bit. For residential hoods, I recommend an actual 90 CFM per square foot of hood entry (capture) area. This will require in CFM units a blower achieving the hood entry area (sq. ft.) times 90 ft/min air flow. The rated (zero static pressure) blower flow rate should be about 1.5 times this CFM. Ducting should be sized to keep full-power actual flow velocity between 1000 and 2000 ft/min. No air leaves the kitchen that isn't replaced. This replacement is called make-up air (MUA). Code requires it, and avoiding various undesirable effects demands it. MUA can be passively (no blower) or actively (with blower) supplied, depending on what pressure loss is safe for any combustion appliances (e.g., dryer, hot water heater) you have connected directly or indirectly to kitchen air instead of having their own MUA, or not having any (e.g., electric hot water heater). Active MUA will be needed with sensitive combustion appliances, and also the fireplace if you intend to cook vigorously when operating it. Else, passive may do. MUA should have means of heating it unless you would be willing to cook in winter with the windows open. For background, review the last decade's hood and MUA threads here.