30" AG Wolf or Thermador + hood

11 years ago

Hi All, After hours and hours of searching and reading, I have come to posting, on what is clearly a well-discussed topic over the years.

I am replacing a 30" Frigidaire Professional Series all gas range. I originally thought DCS. I had wanted self-cleaning, but not for $1000 more. Local dealer does not sell DCS, which brings me, by eliminating Capital, Berta, GE and Electrolux, and with the salesman's recommendation, to the Wolf and Thermador Pro Harmony.

I prefer the look of the Thermador with its big window, and its 3x rolly racks and slightly larger internal depth. The Pro Grand door is much nicer than the Pro Harmony but I don't have the space to do a range that deep. I prefer the Wolf burners - they look more versatile. I am fairly stuck. Thinking that I'll get Wolf based on GW reviews and compromise on aesthetics. Should I worry about the interior depth, given that I'm sticking with just a 30" range?

Next, the under-cabinet hood: Salesman recommended Best by Broan with mesh filters not baffles as it will be quieter at low speeds. I prefer the look of the XOT (with baffles), but the lights are at the back only. Any opinion on which is better?

Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

barryv_gw
11 years ago
Surprised you haven't gotten much feedback. IIRC, the Thermador achieves low simmer by turning the burner on and off - some users don't like the clicking noise, it doesn't bother others at all. The Wolf AG, in my opinion, is one of the least electronic of the ranges available - so it should be pretty reliable. Can't help with the vent, I have the baffle, and they are pretty easy to clean in the dishwasher and like the look. I have not heard that they are any louder and I thought the noise was from the air movement and the blower, but can't be sure.
kaseki
11 years ago
I am unaware of any effect that would cause a baffle to make more noise at low speed than a [clean] mesh filter. One expects air turbulence for the same flow rate to be greater with a mesh filter. Further, baffles make very little noise at low speed. I can only hear, under quiet conditions, a bit of motor rumble from my roof mounted fan. (Scaling my Wolf Pro Island hood to 30 inches width would scale my fan to a nominal 750 cfm at full speed, or maybe a real flow rate with pressure losses of 450 cfm. There is only modest baffle noise even at full speed.)

It might be safe to observe that mesh filters load up with lint and grease, so once fairly well blocked, the air flow would decrease and whatever turbulence noise there was would attenuate with the reduced flow. Under normal use baffles are immune to blockage of this type.

The important factors are a hood large enough in aperture area to encompass and capture the rising expanding effluent, large enough in aperture volume to support the air flow rate in containing and expelling the effluent, and sufficient air flow rate.

If the OP chooses a mesh filter hood, I recommend close attention to filter cleaning, possibly on a weekly basis depending on observed filter impairment rate.

kas
Related Discussions
Wolf 30'' AG Price?
Q
Comments (10)
Of course they'll deny the problems. And it may be that they actually don't know about them because I never got the sense that Wolf was willing to own the situation, let alone tell their dealers about it. I wish you luck and hope you get one that does what it's supposed to because if you don't, it's going to cost you days and days of wasted time and frustration on top of the sticker price. Having cooked extensively on both, I'd humbly yet enthusiastically recommend the Bluestar in a heartbeat.
...See More
What appliance package would you choose? Thermador or Wolf?
Q
Comments (6)
Hi Sorry about your fire - that sounds awful. And sorry for long response. I'm in similar appliance hunting mode and trying to pick the best appliance package for under $14K. We could probably pay more but already feel like our kitchen project is out of financial control and costing more than i ever thought! So what i did is that i really like the advantium and i like the bosch dw (thermador is same). Really all i want is the culinary rack (3rd) in DW so that limits the model #s. KA offers this as well. Miele - i just don't love for the price. The thermador package didn't work for me because i really wanted the advantium as my second oven (and thermador doesn't have equivalent). Plus the free DW isn't the one with the third rack. (you can pay $500 to upgrade to that one though) Bosch is offering 15% rebate by mail if you buy at least 3 800 series appliances. And monogram is offering $1000 instant rebate if you buy a cook/rangetop, oven, and hood. With my current quote that i am considering, I'm getting about $2300 off total by combining those 2 offers for 6 pieces (mg rangetop, mg advantium, mg hood, bs dw, bs fridge, bs single oven). Looking at your appliances here are my immediate thoughts: if price is no object subzero makes the best fridges if not antiquated stylewise. They are so solid. i have one that 23 years old and it runs great and still looks good. the service has been good. but i can't spend 2/3 of my budget on one appliance! wolf is good and stylish but i found the specs to be better other places: monogram then thermador - and cheaper. don't do downdraft ventilation if you can avoid it. look at hood companies - vent a hood, best hood. they are nice. my friend has a samsung fridge and its beautiful but the plastic is breaking and she doesnt recommend it. i like the electrolux ovens. very cool. but no package options. bosch and thermador are very similar if not the same for some products. i'm trying to figure out if the bosch 800 series oven i'm looking at is the same as the massterpiece thermador oven at a lower price. thermador is higher end brand than bosch. gaggenau is even higher end. rangetops are really nice - more burners and higher output and in monogram all are the same. but you lose a drawer underneath. i'm coming to the conclusion that the oven problems that some are reporting is due to fancy electronics being destroyed by self clean. thermador and monogram get terrible reviews here for ovens. with equal price and specs i would go with the subzero and wolf (i know this isn't true - sorry!). I would doubecheck what you are getting for free. it may be low end compared to everything else you are getting.
...See More
Please Help!! Wolf or Thermador AG??!!
Q
Comments (1)
I had the GE Monogram 48 inch range top with four burners, the griddle and the grill in my house in Utah. I don't have experience with the Wolf. One of the things I liked about the GE was that all of the burners were capable of simmering or full blast. You mentioned that you like to use a wok. The GE Monogram has reversible grills that allow you to use a wok without the need for a ring. We got a good deal on our GE products and also purchased the Monogram hood. It really moves some air. If you are planning to cook with high heat and grease, you should definitely get a good hood to go with your cook top. The griddle is nice. We didn't use it as much as the grill. Living in an area with winter, it was convenient to grill a steak or shish kabob inside. Two of my neighbors in Utah had the Wolf with a downdraft hood. The Wolf is a very nice cook top. Both of my neighbors complained that the downdraft hoods did not exhaust as much of the cooking odors as they would like. I don't think you can go wrong with either cook top. Enjoy!
...See More
Anyone using a 30" Wolf gas range with OTR micro for hood
Q
Comments (5)
I have the 30" AG Wolf (and love it) and based on the power it puts out would not recommend an over the range micro. But I do have another suggestion. I also have a small kitchen so I got just a small microwave and put it in the dead space in the back corner of my kitchen counter. see link below, it is a small one good for warming up food and coffee, and has a nice looking mirror finish, looks upscale and cute in the kitchen! You do not want your gorgeous WOLF with an OTR micro, will take away from the looks of the wolfie too! http://www.amazon.com/AVANTI-MIRROR-FINISH-MICROWAVE-PERPOVEN8/dp/B002H3JV6M
...See More
SparklingWater
11 years ago
We have an old Theramador vent hood with mesh filters and a 1000 cfm external motor after a long run. Noisy hood and chronically sticky mesh in spite of dutch cleaning.

Next time, hopefully soon on this kitchen upgrade, I'm going with baffles.

As to Wolf vs Thermador, which I too have reviewed/eyed, my consensus is for Wolf. I had a Thermador cooktop before it broke, still have their old uneven heat ovens which work. Still, my products are/were old when we moved in.
ericaa
Original Author
11 years ago
Am still agonizing a little and haven't quite placed the order, so after a little break I came back now and found your responses! Hooray! I decided upon the Wolf AG 30" range + XOP hood, and from your responses, all is well with that choice. Thanks! I am glad that the baffles are fine, they look much better. Still can't understand why a no bells and whistles range (apart from the brand) costs SO much! I am hoping I won't miss my old range with it's warming drawer that I use so often.

30" AG Wolf or Thermador + hood

Comments (4)

barryv_gw

kaseki

Related Discussions

SparklingWater

ericaa
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

30" AG Wolf or Thermador + hood

Comments (4)

barryv_gw

kaseki

Related Discussions

SparklingWater

ericaaOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ericaa
Original Author