The Thermador recall was for their hybrid model only and was taken care of in Janaury. What other recall has there been?

My Thermador induction cooktop is awesome. Induction is everything it's cooked up to be (sorry for the pun).

Viking is a great brand of appliance so one might assume that this would carry over to their induction line.

For those not wishing to spend for high end, I hear Kenmore makes a descent induction cooktop as well.

I wouldn't give up on Thermador if I were you but good luck with which ever you wind up with. You're gonna love induction.

I just finalized my list of appliances, including the Thermador 36" all induction. Then yesterday I read a thread that no one can get these units. Now, I won't need them for several months yet, but if they are not available now, I wonder if they will be at the end of the year. I've got to find a back up.

The looks of the Viking appeal less to me because of the knobs, just personal preference, although DH really likes it. It is out of my budget, though. I've heard great things about De Detrich but I'm concerned about an import, waranty and future servicing of it. Monogram is coming out with induction any time. I'm pretty sure the Electrolux and Kenmore are basically the same unit. Again, I don't care for the way it sits above the counter, I prefer more of a flush unit.

There are still alot of other brands to choose from.

Good luck!

Garycook has the Viking and loves it (or at least he did when he was on the forum more). Redforever also has it, and I think is pleased with it. Although there are problems with other Viking products, from what I have read the induction units are fine(although they did need to work out the kinks originally). I have been planning on getting the Viking induction, but now that Wolf and Gagg are coming out with their own, I am considering those as well. The only negatives I have heard about the Viking are (1) it's expensive, (2) it has a greater clearance requirement than other induction units, so you are limited as to what can go under it, and (3) it requires 50 or 60 AMPs (some others require less). I have not looked at the Thermador, so I can't comment on it.

Viking was my first choice, then I found out I couldn't install it over an oven. I went with a De Dietrich.

I ordered the Thermador 36-inch all-induction mid-June [from a dealer in New York.] I checked yesterday and he's got it. Not sure if they already had the cooktop in stock or had to order it.

jayne

After much research we are going with the Diva DDP-5. Although not inexpensive @ $3,000 it seems to have the most power, cleanest design, has been around a long time & there's a dealer 5 minutes from our home. I love this part (you would need a 25,000 BTU gas burner just to match their power).

Cheers, whyno

How much are the Viking inductions? I recently found a web site that had them for about the same price as the Thermador 36". Also, does anyone know if an oven can be placed under the Thermador 36" induction? The Thermador sales lady told me no, but their catalog has a picture of an oven under an induction. I'm really excited about induction. There is also some confusion about the recall. Some people say it was orginally the hybrid and now the all induction is involved. Does anyone know for sure? I may call the company today. Any of you who have inductions please tell me how you like your brands and about how much they cost etc. Thanks.

We are going for a 30" Windcrest induction cooktop that will cost $1898CDN. I like it because it doesn't have the stainless steel frame and sits more flush to the counter, like the electric ceramic glass cooktops. Seems to have adequate power for our needs. We will be installing it over an oven.

This link was on another thread. I had never heard of this company but their prices seem really good.

The Viking 36" is way less than my appliance dealer has it for (almost $1000 difference) but the Thermador 36" all induction is $100 more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Induction cooktops

jgirl- I believe the Viking model you linked too that is "way less" than the appliance dealer is actually a hybrid unit with only 2 induction hobs and 4 radiant hobs.

here is a copy of the specs:

left front (radiant) - 9" - 6"/2,200 - 750 watt
left rear (radiant) - 7"/1,500 watt
center front (radiant) - 7"/1,800 watt
center rear (radiant) - 7"/1,800 watt; 800 watt bridge
right rear (induction) - 9"/3,300 watt
right front (induction) - 7"/1,800 watt

Lizzysher, I own the model that had the recall. It's the 36" hybrid model. The 30" hybrid also had the same recall. The issue was in the control circuit board and had to do with the radiant burners only. Thermador found a potential ground that could have possibly turned on the radiant burner by itself (which would be bad). Though this never happened to anyones unit, they decided to replace everyones control circuit board just in case. Problem solved. Any units that ship now already have the new circuit board.

If there is another model with a recall, I haven't heard about it. Remember this had to do with the radiant burner induction hybrid models only.

I highly recommend this induction cooktop. Thermador proved by this action to me that they have the best customer service in appliances. They called me, we made the appointment for their own tech, not a local repairman, to come to my house. I believe I waited three days. Not weeks, days. He was in and out in about fifteen minutes. Very professional.

The cooktop is amazing. I've had it installed since November and am still in awe every time I cook on it. The Demeyere cookware they give you free with the unit is probably some of the best cookware on the market. We wound up buying a whole set.

Don't let the talk of a recall scare you away from this amazing cooktop or Thermador. Call them, they are very nice and will give you the information you need to make your decision.

Good luck.

Lishanna - I stand corrected. Thanks for clarifying that as I didn't read the description.

I own the 6 burner Viking 36" Viking cooktop, have had it since Dec 2006. Had the 36" viking gas before that, it was awful.

Viking got things right with this induction unit. Works very very well, very good control of heat, has very low simmer capability, and heat control in almost instantaneous.

I have had it now for 9 months, not one issue, I continue to love it.

I was told not to put an oven below the induction unit, not an issue for me anyhow. It does need 50 or 60 AMP service, so you might have to upgrade there.

Cooktop looks great, the control knobs are easy to clean as is the whole unit.

They are pricey though, certainly not the cheapest appliance out there, but then all burners work independently of one another too, unlike a lot of the other induction units out there.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try and see the Wolf induction too. Has anyone see it yet? I'm also curious about the price.

I have a 30" Electrolux induction. It's great. I actually like that it sits a bit above the counter. It also has a narrow depth so my oven can sit below it. One of my reasons for wanting the Electrolux was the size of the hobs. I have some substantial pots that require a wide hob and the Electrolux would accommodate them.

Liz: your choice can be determined by what features are more important to you.

The Viking (either their hybrid or full-induction) will let you run each burner at full power all the time, no sharing. But it requires 60amps to do this (36"). It also doesn't have timers. If you're doing new construction or a remodel, then getting the 60-amp circuit might not be an issue. But if your replacing an existing electric top, chances are that it won't work.

For me, timers that shut off the burners is very important. Only a few of these tops have this feature.

The issue with putting something underneath a unit is that all of them require some amount of clearance for air circulation. A unit that sits up slightly and has air vents on top will not require as much clearance as one that it flush-mounted with no venting. Also, you need to make sure that the oven doesn't vent or otherwise heat up the unit below (wall ovens usually vent out the front).

Garycook sill loves his Viking all induction. Money well spent as it is the best performing cooktop I have ever used.
BTW with my world cuisine carbone plus pans induction is the best.

We've got the Miele 36" induction cooktop. And I love it! Very responsive on high as well as on low. In Canada it sells for the same price as the Thermador. Should be available in the US very soon.

When I first saw that it comes with touch controls I was a bit worried as I always liked the feel of knobs. But in fact, they do work wonderfully and are sooo much easier to keep clean.

The Miele is very shallow. I have a spice drawer directly underneath and 2 more deep drawers.

Right now Miele sells it with a Henckel promotion, i.e. you get a very nice set of pots + 3 knifes thrown into the deal :-)

Do you have a picture of the Miele? Would love to see one. How different is it form the thermador? Did you like it more than the Thermador for any particular reason? Thanks.

Here's a picture of my Miele induction cooktop:

{{gwi:1439263}}

You can see that it is a really shallow cooktop so that you can fit a regular bank of drawers (or an oven) underneath. And that was one of the main selling features for me.

I ordered mine already a year ago. At the time the available options here were rather limited and did not include the Thermador. I did see it for the first time a couple of weeks ago for the same price as the Miele (Cdn$ 4000). Personally, I prefer a model of a European manufacturer that has a few decades of experience with induction. Thus, I also had a very close look at the AEG model. It was $400 cheaper than the Miele but didn't come with the extra cookware (which retails at $800). And no, I did not look at any imports as my contractor refused to install one of those. I would have gotten a very nice Neff model for 1/3 of the price of the Miele otherwise ...

Well, and then there is a small personal bias: my cousin works as an electrical engineer in the Miele R&D department at the Guetersloh headquarters :-)

Beatrix_in_Canada: Did you get a "friends & family" discount? :-)

Weedmeister: Just curious, why do you consider the shutoff timers important?

Just want to chime in with a bit about AEG induction cooktops. They have timers on the cooking zones, plus something called a warmup function, where you can put something cold on the stove and have the cooktop warm it gradually. Mine will be installed in the next week or two. Meanwhile, out of the box it's a thing of beauty. And it doesn't need much space underneath.

Here is a link that might be useful: AEG Induction Cooktops

What about the Gaggenau all-induction cooktop? Has anyone tried it or own one and can share your experiences?

It sure looks sleek and gorgeous, like everything else Gaggenau. Interestingly, it retails for $100 LESS than the Thermador all-induction cooktop (both 36"), even though they're both made by BSH and are supposed to be basically the same unit inside. I'm just wondering why it's not as over-priced as the other Gaggenau appliances...

Does anyone know why? Is there something wrong with it? Maybe people don't like that cool-looking but strange Twist-Pad knob? I've heard one person complain that its clicking noise is too loud... And others have complained about their customer service... Does Gaggenau and Thermador, being both manufactured by BSH, have the same customer service or different?

We saw the Gaggenau in a showroom recently, but it wasn't plugged in so we couldn't try it. I really loved the look of it. If it's just as good as the Thermador, then maybe this is my chance to own a Gaggenau?!

beatrix,
Thanks for the photo. IT looks great and I LOVE that your spice rack is so handy under the cooktop. Do you happen to know if Thermador has the same clearance? I don't think you can even put an oven under it, so I'm assuming you can't do a drawer like yours.

The thermador site says that with the heat shield, the depth is 5 3/4". That's from the top of the countertop.

I have the Thermador unit. I did have to change the top drawer from a pull out to a tilt out in order to fit the heat shield.
It doesn't hang down too far, I could have trimmed the sides of the drawer to make it fit but decided that I wouldn't have been able to fit much in there anyway. The tilt out, like under a sink, is a perfect place to keep the cleaner.

The spice rack above would not fit. Additionally, it does get warm under there from the electronics, I don't know if that would affect the spices.

Re: the Gaggenau -- I looked at that, but was afraid that the round control thingy would get lost in our house (that would be my luck). Over the years, it could happen, and that is the last thing I want to worry about. I may look into it again, though, b/c other than that it looked pretty cool.