So I'll update this, as we still haven't made a decision. Induction: I bought an induction burner and like it, although it isn't as life-changing as I sort of expected. (I realize the power is much lower than a range or cooktop would be.) We also had an electrician examine our house, and he thinks we can put one in. My dad (also an electrician) and husband agree we should do a max load test before we put 40 or more amps on the panel, though. (Long story short: we have a 200 amp breaker but 100 amps coming into the house, so we need to put in a smaller breaker.) So it's still a bit up in the air. Gas/dual-fuel: I went to look at the Aga Legacy today and really liked it. I'm also going to look at a Lacanche soon, at a Lacanche ambassador's house. Both of those are, frankly, more than I wanted to pay, but I really love the looks and some of the features a lot (ovens on the Aga, simmer plate and large burner on the Lacanche). I've also considered a BlueStar or Big Chill Pro Style (rebadged BlueStar), but there isn't one local to me. The price, features, and availability of the color finish are good, but I'm a little nervous about all the issues people have had. I think I've looked at nearly every option out there, but I'd love to hear more if anyone has ideas!

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. Based on your responses above, and the convection baking thread, it sounds like I should be able bake multiple sheets at the same time with convection, regardless of whether DF or AG, so that of course leans me toward the AG. Then I read Beth4's post and I go back to DF thinking I do use my range 1-2x day, nearly every day. Weissman- thanks for the correction re. Subzero owning Wolf. Don't know where my husband got that from. The kitchen is wired for electric (we just bought a 1950's ranch style fixer upper that hasn't been touched since the 50's) so it has an electric stove top bow but not sure if it's up to 240v. Just asked my husband and he wasn't sure but thought it's 120v for US and 240v for Europe so he's now calling our contractor to ask. AK Chicago- So happy you're happy w/ your AG. I forgot to ask in my OP... when your oven has preheated, does it beep to let you know or does the light just go off? Interesting point on the self-clean. Initially, I'd think that to not have this feature is a negative but reading your post makes me think otherwise. Plus, the AG range in our rental has a self-clean feature and I haven't used it in the 3 plus yrs we've been here. As I look back on my notes from the showroom visit, one thing she did say was that the "Wolf chef" apparently told them that to replicate the actual self-clean feature, all you have to do is turn on the oven to the highest heat for 3 hours and then let it cool for 1 hour b/c apparently that's how a self-clean feature works. Not sure if this is true but doesn't matter anyway since I'll just go the old fashioned Easy off route anyway. We made an appointment and visited an official Wolf showroom (in Burlingame, CA). The woman we met with said she's usually "on the field" but was working in the showroom since she's been there the longest- or something like this. She definitely works for Wolf but she wasn't very impressive to say the least. I felt like her "knowledge" consisted of memorized facts vs. based on a true understanding of the products, because she struggled when I probed. That was a bummer because I certainly was expecting a lot more out of that visit. The folks on this forum seem to understand the products a lot better. Here are some of the tid bits from my notes: - AG goes up to 16k BTU and down to 500 simmer; DF 15k Btu and 750 simmer - AG has 1 convection fan (vs. 2 convection fans for DF), gas infrared boiler, 30k btu under, cool down fan. - AG holds about 1.5 cups spillage; DF she thought would hold more - DF has a melt burner, back left - up to 9200, down to 300 (don't value this) - DF has a halogen light (this seemed much brighter than the AG I have to say) - DF has a full exension bottom rack that can be extended out onto the door (I think this would be very useful for basting, checking if cake is done, etc.) - She thought preheat time was similar for both (doesn't really matter to me but I hope the AG beeps when preheated?!) As I mentioned to Weissman above, kitchen is def. wired for electric but checking on whether kitchen is wired for 240v. Or, should we assume that any kitchen that has electric is wired for 240v? That could make the decision because if we end up having to pay more for electrical and my incremental $2400 for DF becomes higher, I'm not sure it's worth it. Beth4- thank you for your post. I'm sure I will love it if I get it, I just have to decide if the extra $2400 is worth it. What makes me at times lean toward the DF is I can't imagine regretting it, but worry with the AG that I might regret not getting the electric oven. Though, based on Weissman and AK Chicago's posts, maybe I'll be more than happy with the AG once I use convection bake. Shannon- Loved reading your post. Was helpful for me to read your decision making thoughts. As for looks, we actually prefer the look and the knobs of the AG as those are the original knobs and, to your point, will likely remain the same in the years to come. The DF looks great too of course but the knobs, other than the color, and the sealed burners look the same as many other residential ranges. Not a bad thing but we just like the original - AG look.

The Wolf gas range does not have the blue interior and does not have the chipping. We bought Wolf for their supposed "great service" but were very disappointed. There are definite differences in gas and electric ovens. Of course you can bake in both of them, but some people might have a preference for one or the other. Gas ovens produce water as a byproduct of combustion but they have more ventilation so moisture from combustion and what you are cooking vent out so gas is more drying heat. You also will get more heat and moisture dumped into your kitchen. Electric heat does not produce moisture but tends to hold onto humidity from what you cook so are more humid. This will have some effect on what you are baking. The added moisture promotes starch gelatinization so may allow a little longer rise in things like bread or cakes. It also affects the crust. The electric ovens will hold onto added moisture that you might add while baking bread. You can use a cloche to keep moisture around your bread in a gas oven. A gas oven because it is drying promotes the Maillard reaction and therefore browning. This is why many like it for roasting. Drying is also good at the end of baking so that you get that browning which contributes to flavor. If you have an electric oven with convection, you can use the fan when you need the drying effect of more air movement. Electric ovens are as freidajune says can be more complex. They might have additional elements that can direct the heat, more from the top(for roasting) or bottom and may have elements in the back that are in theory supposed to provide more even heat when the oven is full. Some ovens have a variable speed with the fan but very few actually mention this in their manuals. They can also have little oddities in the way they work. You might consider the broiler. Some gas ovens have an infrared broiler which can be very small. I tend to broil trays of things so like a wider electric broiler. Regular gas broilers don't get as hot because the heat goes up.

Wolf DF has electronics too. You have to have them to control the heating elements and fans. If you get the DF, some dealers offer a 10 year extended warranty, but read it carefully to make sure the liner is not excluded. Some have considered the enamel loss cosmetic but it is not. It is essentially glass shards coming off with the potential for them to be airborn, especially with the convection fan. Don't run the self clean. Some have failed without running self clean but many failed after running it. My damage did not appear until 4.5 years which is the case for many ranges. This was after the warranty was up. Even though this is a known issue, Wolf not only would not stand behind their product, they would not tell me how much to fix it, only that it would start at $800. I've read reports of repairs costing. $2500. I have not had it fixed because they would not guarantee the new one wouldn't fail. It is unknown what the rate of failure is but some posters here have had as many as three fail. There are some lawsuits where there were more failures For just one owner.