I think you'll get more bad than good reviews here. I have had first hand experience with a Viking sealed burner cooktop and Viking burner design has some serious problems. From pictures I've seen of this range, the burners are the same design as what my cooktop had.

The main issue is that all of the heat is distributed in a wide circle around the edge of your pans. The largest burner I had was an 18k burner that was basically unusable because most of the heat went around even a 12" skillet. A 14" skillet worked ok but even then it exhibited horrible edge boil pattern. The mid sized burner was the 15k on my cooktop and that was more usable but I tended to use smaller burners more even with larger pans because of the extreme edge heating.

I'd suggest before buying, find a live range, and bring some pans with you to test. Just boil some water and look at where the bubbles are coming from. Also, check the handle temp. Edge heating tends to heat up the handles of your pans. Chances are, they will have another live range from DCS or Capital or others. I'd try the same test with those. That way, you can make sure you don't make a purchase you'll regret.

Good luck.

I've been selling Viking for almost 20 years now. Overall. compared with the other lines I sell, I would say they are honestly one of the best brands out there. I know people on here swear by Capital Culinarian and other niche lines, but IMO the Viking is better. Some of the problems amcook is talking about is more due to his cookware than the unit itself. Most gas ranges use the same size burners. Gas burners always cause the handles of cook-ware to get much hotter than other types of cooking like electric or induction because the heat rises up the sides due to the pressure of the gas. So if you've never used a gas range before, that would be something to think about.

Also, stay away from Sealed Burner designs. It makes small cleanups easier, but any major spill with be hard to cleanup. Open burners are easier to clean, the whole unit comes off in pieces, it's the way ranges have been for ages.

Hope that helps,

Anthony
Appliance Buyer's Guide

Anthony, Are you sure your an appliance guide? From a service viewpoint Viking has a few issues. Their fit and finish is not exactly stellar. With your 20 years experinece I'm sure you saw the delayed ignition issue on the pro range. Their refrigerator is the old built in Ammana design that Amana gave up on due to inherent problems.
Viking product are OK but from my view point towards the lower of the high end but certainly not the best.

Wow quite the wealth of knowledge here. I appreciate everyones input.
I have used gas before- grew up on an old wedgewood gas stove. Can't really say how that compairs to anything of today's standards. I enjoyed cooking on gas- it seemed more consistent and even compared to my current electric range. My cooking style is not overly fancy, but I do like to cook and bake. I'm not too messy if that plays a part in my range quest- I probably am OCD when it comes to cooking and baking and keeping things neat ;-) im sure every range has it's followers and haters, I guess I'm yet undecided. When i think of a higher end more professional range Viking resonates in my head? I would like to work towards creating my sophisticated foods, so I'm looking to invest in a piece of equipment that helps me get there :-) oh, and I talked with a local lappliance dealer who has one for $2700 w a 5 yr warranty... Which sort of had me leaning towards this range as well. Any thoughts on whether that would be a good or bad choice for my dream kitchen?

Anthony, I think we can agree to disagree here. I've cooked on gas pretty much all my life (except for a couple of years when I was living in apartments) and rarely if ever had problems with handles getting to with any open burner range. Sure, if I used a 6" pan on a Bluestar 22k burner the handle gets a bit toasty but I'm talking about a 14" skillet here. With the BS I could use an 8" pan on the 22k burner with minimal handle heating. With regard to cookware, I've used anodized alum, ss, copper, carbon steel (wok), and cast iron and they all have the similar results.

I actually held back on some problems I had with the Viking but since you bring it up. The ignitors were a problem from day one. Could have been the spark module but either way, we had continuous problems of non-stop clicking to no clicking that came and went. Once we wiped down the ignitor with a damp sponge (I mean squeezed dry no water dripping off) and it stopped working. No ignition on 2 of the burners and constant clicking on the others. After about a week and a half, it started to work a little and then was working again about 2 weeks later. It got so annoying that I unplugged it and just lit it with a bbq lighter. I'd plug it back in once every night to see if it would work and sure enough 2 weeks later it came back.

To the OP... Look around. Read other posts both good and bad. Go to other discussion forums and ask the same questions. Then you can decide. For the money, I'd look at Wolf, Capital, DCS, Bluestar, etc. I've got no vested interest in any of these companies. I'm just sharing my experiences so others can benefit from my past mistakes.

Best of luck to you.

Wow quite the wealth of knowledge here. I appreciate everyones input.
I have used gas before- grew up on an old wedgewood gas stove. Can't really say how that compairs to anything of today's standards. I enjoyed cooking on gas- it seemed more consistent and even compared to my current electric range. My cooking style is not overly fancy, but I do like to cook and bake. I'm not too messy if that plays a part in my range quest- I probably am OCD when it comes to cooking and baking and keeping things neat ;-) im sure every range has it's followers and haters, I guess I'm yet undecided. When i think of a higher end more professional range Viking resonates in my head? I would like to work towards creating my sophisticated foods, so I'm looking to invest in a piece of equipment that helps me get there :-) oh, and I talked with a local lappliance dealer who has one for $2700 w a 5 yr warranty... Which sort of had me leaning towards this range as well. Any thoughts on whether that would be a good or bad choice for my dream kitchen?

@amcook - I'm sorry to hear of your trouble with Viking ranges. Everyone's experience is different, and yes in my years selling Viking I've come across all those issues, except for the pan issues you're describing. I use a Wolf and Viking on regular occasions and notice no difference in cookware handle heat. So I can't attest. But on the whole against the 20+ other brands I've carried, Viking is one of the brands that has kept people consistently happy.

The one brand I might rank better is Wolf. DCS is on par with Viking IMO.

@jakvis - you're right about their refrigerator design, when they had their refrigerators sourced from amana (and then subsequently bought the amana production equipment) they were having lots of issues. but the OP wasn't asking about refrigerators and my experience with their ranges has always been much better.

@sabrinaf - all I can say is that in my opinion it is a good choice. But I can say that about more than just the Viking line, so you should definitely visit a dealer near you and test out some other brands as well. Wolf has some great ranges, along with DCS and Thermador.

Anthony

I have had a Viking open burner range for many years, not sealed burners. VGIC model. I used to have a GE sealed burner range, and my experience is that sealed burners are much more difficult to clean. I much prefer open burners. Sealed burners and open burners are very different beasts.

I have not had the ignition issues that amcook speaks of. My ignition clicks for a few seconds to a minute every now and then, mostly after cleaning. Otherwise, it works fine.

I am not in the market to upgrade my ranges at a whim. My range is still working perfectly well after 10 years and I kept it for my kitchen remodel. Had I not already had this Viking, I may have bought a Wolf, Bluestar or Capital open burner ranges. I would NOT buy a sealed burner range. The burner design seem to be much better on these brands than the current Viking. I was very tempted but that was where I saved a few $... At times, I wish the Viking would die so I could replace it with something new and different.

Having said that, Viking burner design, both open and closed have not changed in many years. The last design change was the sealed burners in the late 90s (i think). Viking started out with open burners in the 80s. Other companies have done more research to create more powerful and even burners over the years. Wolf has stacked double burners. Bluestar and Capital are creating very powerful open burner designs with stacked rings.

I kept my Viking range because it was not my range that was limiting my cooking abilities but my lack of skill. I sautee, wok, sear, broil etc and put on pretty decent meals. At times, I do wish my burner was more powerful when I wok and sear. The simmer on the Viking is beautiful, IMHO. When my cooking abilities outperform my range, I will switch to a more powerful range. Until then, I am keeping my decade old Viking even though it is not the BEST in its class. I probably need to take some serous cooking classes to get there.

I think amcook has given you a very good advice. You need to decide on the open versus sealed burner design first. Then dual fuel versus gas oven. Once you figure out what type of configuration you want, then you can look at brands that meet those requirements.

Although I have not had problems with my Viking range, there are many people on this forum that have had lots of problems. I am not sure if this is the effect of more Viking units sold than other brands.... I think you have to do the research on reliability yourself and find a company that you feel comfortable buying. Early on, my drip tray rusted. Viking sent me a brand new drip tray without any questions asked. Other than, I have not needed to address reliability issues.

Most of my friends and neighbors have a Viking or a Wolf and they seem fine with these products. I have not heard many complaints.

I have used my Viking nearly daily for a decade and it is still going strong. Good appliances can last a long time and will give you a great deal of joy while cooking. I wish you the best in finding what you want.

I can't find the post now, but Trevor actually did a study on the temp of "pan handles" comparing, Blue Star, Capital Cullinarian, (both open burners) along with Wolf and GE,(Closed Burners).It was "No contest" the Capital came in with the lowest handle temp, followed by the Blue Star, with Wolf and GE trailing (Hottest handles).

This makes sense, since most of the open burner designs shoot the flame around the pan (even relatively big pans) thus heating the handle and making said pan or pot hotter on the outside than the middle. Since a lot of the flame is "Wasted", it also takes these type of burners (Closed) much longer to boil water and also to do even cooking or sauteining (Saw Tay Ying) due to the higher heat at the edge of the pan/pot.

In fact I experience this on my outside DCS, and even thou it is open burner, its design is not star shaped or like that of the capital Culinarian, so I experience the same type of performance that one would on a closed burner design--
Water takes forever to boil, I hafta be real careful that the stuff on the outside of the pan doesn't burn (IE Keep Stirring) etc etc, and I can tell ya, that is one HUGE Flame on the DCS but unfortunately doesn't go where it is needed most (Saab Saab).

Anyway in summation, Your post are very informative Anthony, but I would spend a bit more time reading reviews of the different appliances on GW as well as other internet sites---particularly about Viking!!!!That way you will be giving our users here , "The very latest--and Complete info about their "Pending Choices"!!!

Gary

To clarify, my comment was directed specifically at the model the OP mentioned which is a *sealed* burner that is very similar if not identical to the one I had. I can attest after 8 years of suffering that it does have problems with edge heat distribution due to the sealed design and solid cap. It might be a bit misleading to talk about open burner model when the OP asked about a sealed burner model without making it clear that it's a completely different animal.

In my wife's house, she has had a Viking gas range (not that model), electric wall oven and warming drawer for 8 or 9 years. The only issue she has had with any of them is that some of the black printing came off of the stainless surface. She can no longer read all of the temperatures or cooking modes on the electric oven.

Good appliances can last a lifetime. In my Viking kitchen, the range, dishwasher, air hood, warming oven and wall oven may just last a long time, although that range is often slow to light. Click click click!

The refrigerator, which was completely rebuilt within the first two years, under warranty, has also had to have hinges replaced under a recall after the warranty expired.

The simplest item, a $900 microwave chamber, which is a just box with a door, has failed utterly. First, the gas shocks petered out at about 3 years. $350 to replace. Now, a hinge has snapped off where the shock connects. No warranty, so Viking won't help at all. Repairman wants almost $400 to swap out that hinge with another.

So, know this going in--Viking appliances are very expensive and some of the items they make won't last more than 3 years without needing repair. So, caveat emptor!

I can't recommend this brand, simply because the company is willing to make products that will fail early on, and you won't know which ones they are!

Love, love love my Viking appliances. No problems and no complaints.

This is a debate is frequent on GW & other forums -

I have Viking 36" All Gas range open burners x 5yrs - Love this range - did a lot of research, the best thing was to get off forums where there were Viking bashers albeit the majority were not Viking owners- Went direct to the distributorship & saw Viking side by side w/competitors in action.

My advice would be to talk to experienced owners and see your considerations for appliances in action

Thanks for all the valueable information.
We are also shopping for a new range. After weeks of research, we are going to make a decision to get a Wolf or Viking gas range. Before we read these, we would go for a sealed burner as almost every Sales (we met) told us that it would be easier to clean. But now, I am not so sure...
I also noticed that the wire is exposed under the Viking burner but the wire is wrapped inside a metal tube under the Wolf burner. Will it be safer?
Thanks for sharing your experience.

I've not had personal experience with Viking, although I've noticed that in Consumer Reports surveys they seem to have significantly more repair issues than Wolf and others (no survey results at all for smaller brands, such as Capital or BlueStar).

With open burners, such as on the BlueStar and Capital, the primary direction of the flame is straight up at the bottom of the pan -- I haven't had an issue with hot handles on the BS, and wouldn't think it likely a major issue unless one is using a combination of high heat and small pans.