Monogram or Wolf 30' Gas Cooktop?

cmp1960

12 years ago

Updating my kitchen and love to cook and have a 30" opening for a drop in. I've narrowed down to two, Monogram and Wolf. I would love to get a Capital Culinarian open burner, but I might not be in the house long enough to justify extra $1000. I like the continuous space each provides with the knobs on the side. I've seen the Monogram, but not the Wolf. The wolf grates look substantial and I've heard the fit and finish of the wolf is a little better... I've gotten quotes and the wolf is about $400 more...

Would like owners or folks experienced with these two products to weigh in, please... Particularly fit, finish, and function...

Thanks!

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Comments (12)

deeageaux
12 years ago
BlueStar RBCT304BSS

The price should be between the Wolf and the Monogram.
cmp1960
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the follow-up.. I considered the open burner BlueStar drop in but prefer the Capital if I was going the open burner path... Right now i'm going with the sealed burner... So its either a Wolf or a Monogram 30" gas cooktop...
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I could go on and on about everything wrong with Dacor and have on this forum, but my experience was three years ago and maybe they are better now. I had the Discovery wall oven and the ER36D range. I would also be aware that sales incentives can color the opinion of some sales people. Before you buy, check out the reputation of the store where you would buy your appliances. Check online reviews and BBB. Anyway after we got rid of our Dacor appliances(they bought them back), we thought maybe BS and drove 250 miles to look at them but my husband did not like the fit and finish and they were having problems with the doors and ignitors at the time. We decided to go with the Wolf DF with a sealed burner. I thought we were settling at the time because I wouldn't have the 22K burner. When I got the range, I loved it. It has plenty of heat for the type of cooking I do -searing steaks and the occasional stir fry. The simmer can keep a pot of mashed potatoes on all burners indefinitely. It is often said the flame on the sealed burner spreads but I have not problem making caramel in a 7 inch pan. The semi sealed burner on Wolf AG is different and I haven't cooked on it. If I did a lot of stir fry and high heat cooking where I wanted a more central high heat and that were the most important consideration, I would think about the culinarian and if the simmer wasn't low enough use a simmer plate. I still like the BS shape of the burner for even heating. I don't think there is only one good range but each has features that might suit your style of cooking. The oven in the Wolf DF is great because you can manipulate the heat from the top or bottom depending on what you are baking/roasting and you can use the convection only mode if the oven is really filled up. I've never had to though as it bakes very evenly on the conv bake cycle. I also like the cool doors, with the grands running around plus I don't want to stand in front of a hot oven and the self clean. The AG ranges have the infrared broilers but we grill outside 95% of the time so this was not a feature that was important to me. I know you didn't ask about Wolf DF but since you were considering Dacor DF, I thought I would mention it. Good luck with your decision. deeageaux- "You can argue how much better the Culinarian cooktop is but I don't think anyone can serioiusly argue that the Wolf/Monogram is as good or better" Yes, you can. They are very different and not everyone has the same priorities when choosing a cooktop or range.
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User
12 years ago
The Monograms have very little flame adjustment between Low and Full Blast. The flame size is also very broad so it makes using small pans tricky.

Otherwise a nice unit. Wok grate is nice.
cmp1960
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Antss... Do you know if Wolf has a similar flame size characteristic as the Monogram? It seamed like the Wolf had some additional control built in for flame adjustment, especially at the simmer setting.. thought monogram had this too but I learned that its one setting. not sure how important this will or will not be...

Thanks
deeageaux
12 years ago
The Bluestar will outcook either the Wolf or Monogram even if it is not quite as good as the Culinarian.
cmp1960
Original Author
12 years ago
deeageaux, you must really like your Bluestar...good for you.. it's always good to like the products one purchases, or sell? :-).... But, whether a Bluestar outcooks a Wolf or Monogram or that a Culinarian outcooks a Bluestar is irrelavant as I'm only interested in a sealed burner. What else besides a Bluestar that is 30", is a drop-in, has knobs down the side (non-plastic knobs) AND is a SEALED BURNER? Suggestions that meet those requirements would be very helpful.
Nunyabiz1
12 years ago
I personally like the burners on the Wolf.
Same burners I have on my range and they work great, go down to a very low simmer on every burner and 15,000btu on high which is more than enough.
Having all the burners the same is a WAY better design IMO
beth4
12 years ago
I have the 30-inch Wolf DF range, but I'm sure the burners are the same as the 30-inch Wolf cook top you're considering. I've not cooked on the Monogram so I can't compare them. But I can tell you that for the 6 years I've had my Wolf I have loved cooking on it (and in it) each and every day. The grates are substantial, as are the knobs. 3 of the 4 burners put out up to 15,000 BTUs, and the fourth burner is a real wonder. It "only" gets as high as 9,000 BTUs, and I can set it so low that I can melt chocolate, butter without stirring, and I can make delicate sauces without stirring...AND I simmer soups or stews all day on this back burner. I find the 15,000 BTU output more than adequate for my needs...and I cook and entertain a lot.

Regarding clean-up with the sealed burners, it's so easy. Lift out the continuous grates (they are heavy), and then just wash with soap and water. It's quick and easy. And, by cleaning the stove top each time you cook on it, your stove will look new 6 years later, just like mine.

I've never regretted buying the 30-inch Wolf. I hope you're as happy with your new stove, whatever you decide to buy.
teachmkt
12 years ago
I've been cooking on an NG Wolf for about 7 years, and recently cooked a large dinner for friends on a Monogram (36", propane). Don't know the extent of the differences between the gas types on the different burners. The Monogram was fine and I was pleased with the heat of the burners on high (the Monogram seemed to curl up a bit more). The flame spread was a little less wide than my Wolf on high. The Wolf feels more substantial and I find the inner simmer burners to work well for my uses although others have critized it (don't know if they've actually cooked on one). One issue I'd check: if you stirfry, I'd see how the wok faces to the burner flame on the Monogram. On the Wolf, the wok grate has the wok way too high and for years we just rested the wok on the small burner cap. Recently took the wok grate to a machine shop and had the nubs the wok rests on ground down, that made a remarkable difference, now the wok sits in the burner flame. The Monogram burner knobs have a less travel than the Wolf, but that wasn't much of a work around--for us it's usually simmer, steady saute or blast. Perhaps if I were working delicate sauces the increase in burner might make a difference, but we don't. Bottom line for me is I could make either work, personally prefer the Wolf's more open burners and construction.
cmp1960
Original Author
12 years ago
Nunyabiz1, beth4, teachmkt... Thanks for the comments... This morning I was able to visit a Wolf Showroom and design center and see this cooktop in person. I agree with everyone that the Wolf Cooktop fit and finish is superior to anything I've seen yet, including the Mongram. The grates are substantional and don't have the rubber feet sticking out to be shaved off, but instead are imbeddeded into the grate.. The control knobs are solid and control function is smooth and predictable. I also got to play with the simmer function and as they had a live unit.. Very impressive that you can control of the simmer flame. Just purchased one and will be installed Friday. Its more money than the monogram, but worth it in the long run...

teachmkt, any chance you could take a pic of the grate that you modified... i too love the wok grate option, but like you, thought it was still not close enough...
User
12 years ago
been a while since I had a Wolf ct36 , my recollection is the flame was wider but more variable. The Monogram puts out a few more btus though .
teachmkt
12 years ago
cmp1960:

Took a pic but can't post it, no URL to park it and test forum wouldn't allow access (no idea, have used it before).

teachmkt.

Monogram or Wolf 30' Gas Cooktop?

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Monogram or Wolf 30' Gas Cooktop?

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