fun2cook,

In general, the higher BTU burner will boil water faster. But...there's more to it than that (such as the design of the burners, etc), so it isn't necessarily the case that the Monogram will boil water faster than the Wolf. Second, if there is a difference, it will be very small. 15k and 18k are pretty close.

Asking people to boil water and report their results to you may not be that helpful because there are a lot of other variables that you can't hold constant, such as the type of pan, temperature of the water when they start, etc.

Appliance Advisor (linked below)tried to take this kind of water boiling test seriously and asked people to send him results holding a lot of factors fixed. You can see his results at the link below, though I am not sure either of the models you are interested in are tested (but double check). The lesson you should draw from his test results though is that most of the 15-18k BTU burners boiled water in roughly the same time, give or take a couple of minutes.

I'm not sure what you mean that the stainless quality seems better or worse on some models. Is it just the finish you don't like? I presume you aren't referring to the thickness of the metal.

Burner ignition problems plague nearly all cooktops. I wouldn't make that a deciding factor.

So, how should you choose? I would suggest the following:

1. Are the placement of the highest BTU burners different on the two models? Do you like one configuration more than the other? This is where you'll boil the pasta water and do your highest heat cooking.

2. Do you like the looks of one more than the other?

3. Do you prefer one placement of the knobs more than the other?

4. You said there each can simmer on all burners. Otherwise, I'd say pay attention to the simmer capabilities.

5. Is the price difference meaningful to you?

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Advisor water boil test

Darren, Thank you for the post and the Excellent reference to that test site! I knew there were a lot of variables that wouldn't be controlled in the way I asked my question, but I still thought some feedback was better than none. But this controlled test that was done obviously is much better. It did include a Monogram one version earlier than the one I/m looking at, and a couple of Wolfs too. It gives me a fair idea how the models I'm looking at would compare. I know that burner design, how the flame is focused, is suppose to influence efficiency as much as btu power. these test results confirm that. My favorite appliance sales person told me there would be very little difference between the 2, and she seems to be correct in that. Interestingly Thermador's star design wasn't any faster than Monogram DCS dual burner design, both at 15.000 btu. The Capital results seem to be a clear winner in this race. I which there were similar test results for simmer capability. Both of these models claim to have true simmer, and they both use dual stack design on all burners. But I've never cooked on either one, so I don't know for fact.
Regarding the stainless finish, I was stating my own subjective opinion, not quantitative fact. I wish I could measure the thickness of the metal. But some of the finishes looked like tin instead of stainless and also scratched easier. Some seemed to discolor more. I should to take a magnet with me to see which are "true" stainless. (Did that when buying a grill several years ago.) Wolf "appears" to be the better product, but we have all heard about wolves in sheep clothing. Well, his could be a sheep dressed like a wolf. But pretty is as pretty does. That's why I was looking for some comparison is how well they function.

I 'm bumping this thread in the hopes of hearing from users of these 2 cooktops. What did you like or dislike? Do the burners get hot enough to sear meat? Are you happy with the low simmer? Would you buy it again? I Any input is appreciated. Thanks