We have had the 48" gas only (485GD) installed about a month now. I have no frame of reference as it's the first expensive appliance we've ever purchased. But both my husband and I love it. We love that it's so simple with no fancy electronics, beautifully constructed, just a top quality piece of equipment. Here are my two issues with it: The level of the grates on the burners is almost 2" higher than a standard stovetop or range. As a somewhat short person (5'5") that took some getting used to. I feel like my elbow is way up in the air when I'm whisking stuff as it boils or simmers. 2. The fan. It's obtrusive. It's something I have had to come to terms with -- I had to ask myself, do all the awesome characteristics of this range outweigh this noise? The answer for me is yes. But if you are the noise-sensitive type (you choose your dishwasher on the basis of decibels for example) then I'd think twice about this range. It's true that the fan stays on around 1 hour after you turn it off (and does not seem to be a function of how hot the oven got). The fan is the reason why I don't like to stay in the kitchen after dinner - I do my stuff and retire to the den and shut the door. Bottom line for us: fan is minor problem in the whole landscape of a solid, responsive, beautifully constructed range.

I cooked on a 40 year old electric coil stove with 2 1/2 working burners for 15 years! Last week we installed a 4-burner gas stove. Now that I remind myself I can actually cook several things at the same time, I can definitely see that a 5th burner could be useful if I had it. As far as your question about updating goes, of course it's your call. But why bother with an interim stove? Either stick with your old electric one for another couple of years, or treat yourself now to the one you really want. Cabinets can always be removed if you need more room for a bigger stove. A last thought: are you definitely going with a Wolf? I ask because now that I finally have a gas stove (the burners have the typical ring shaped flames), I understand the benefit of star, or radially arranged flames. Every time I cook I think what a waste it is that the flames are only in one ring under the pot, when the whole bottom could be heated. It seems much smarter to heat the whole bottom. Granted, I've never used a star type burner, so it might not actually be more efficient. But it seems like it would be. Our burners bug me when I use small or medium sized pots. Even on the two small burners, I have to turn them down lower than I want them so the flames stay under the pots and aren't too wide.

I would sure find out who is making the Caldera now, and what the spare part supplies are, and who can service it. There are a bunch of those gas cooktops for sale and like you said , at a very low price. If you have to wait 4 days for a reply when you are buying one (and they are getting your money)---what do you think will happen should it need warranty service---40 days for a reply??? Even though I had a warranty, it was useless, was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to get a call returned (Old Caldera Corp), and when I finally did reach them they sent me a control board (I had to pay for it) and also install it. That of course did not fix the problem as I'm pretty sure the problem was in the touch pad. Sure hope your luck is better than mine, but unless you get answers to "Who is making it now" are there spare parts, and who can install them, I think your shopping trip is gonna be "An Exercise in Futility"!!! Gary

I have a viking 30 inch vdsc that has been installed for about a year and a half and am happy with it. I chose this range because I wanted a black range and I wanted dual fuel, we have to use a lp tank and did not want to have both the range top and oven dependent on the tank. I am a cook-something-quick-and-easy-that-my-picky-kids-and-picky-husband-will-eat-5-days-a-week cook so did not need a super high powered cook top, I almost never go above med-high. I do use the simmer a lot and it is not the best so I bought a simmer plate to help get an evenly low cooking surface. The burners are closed and have been very easy to clean but I have not had any overflows or cooking mishaps that would get anywhere near that part of the burners. The black, shiny surface that is below the grates of the viking does show every little bit of dirt and I do clean it frequently using soap and water and a dry rag to buff out water streaks. The oven seems to take a bit longer to preheat than my old stove and because it uses the broiler to help preheat you cannot stick items in before the preheat is done or you will burn the tops (I still sometimes put items in early but keep them on the bottom rack.) The oven also cooks a little differently than I am used to, cannot really explain how or why but it does leave most items moister which is nice. If you have concerns with how a viking cooks I would recommend finding a dealer that offers demonstrations, the dealer I bought from had demos all of the time.