Patrick I found an old thread for you FYI I have a Viking AG open burner - I find it easy to clean up spills. Also, the Pros believe open configuration gives a better oxygen/gas mix - Cut/paste fr DIY Pros and Cons of Open Gas Burners The biggest advantage of an open gas burner is the immediate heating it provides. Open burners allow the flow of a lot of air, which enables faster heating and cooking. Because of the open structure of the burner, the flame can spread evenly all along the bottom of the cooking utensil. This provides an even heat and better cooking results. Open gas burners also provide better heat output per unit of gas input as compared to some sealed gas burners, which makes them just as efficient, if not better. Open gas burners are much more affordable and sturdy as compared to sealed gas burners. Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gas-range-burner-open-or-closed#ixzz1ItJlrjto An older GW thread http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg1209391929699.html Good luck Here is a link that might be useful: Open vs sealed

I had the non-stainless version of the Bosch 36" installed about a month ago. It looks pretty cool; except for the lines that delineate the hobs, the cooktop appears almost completely black. Those tiny lines that appear to be grey filling the background aren't as light as they look on their web site. For performance, boost is the bomb; boiling water for pasta takes only 3.5 minutes now! The number of settings (.5-10 in half stops) is great and response is good (going from high directly to low or vice versa). The two flex zones work well. Some have complained that they come up in 'combined' setting by default, but I like that. The only reason why you wouldn't want that is if you regularly put something on the front and back of the same side with different settings. Since I almost always only have two things going on the entire cooktop, that isn't an issue. What it means is that I can slap my 2nd pan anywhere I want on the side and I'm good to go (and move it around too). At xmas I had 4 things going at different settings and I didn't have any problems. My most used pans are a dutch oven with a 12" base (my pasta pot) and a 12" omelet pan. When I got the cooktop installed, I was concerned when I found that those 12" bases overlap the side burners. It has turned out to not be a problem. I like having timers that turn off the hobs. I've used that a lot. You can set the cooktop to default to child lock when you turn it off. That's a godsend for someone who has a cat that walks around on the cooktop when its off. (Ahh...for anyone who has that situation...not me...just sayin'). Previously I had a 36" gas on glass 5-burner cooktop. I greatly prefer this cooktop over my old one. A lot of that may be using nice stainless cookware with that I can put in the dishwasher (with watch-it-cook lids!) instead of non-stick. Luckily I learned how to use the stainless properly before getting the cooktop. I think it would have been a mighty frustrating experience had I not. What don't I like? When you want to do something fast, it may not happen so much. To change the temp on a burner, you touch the burner's icon, then touch the setting. After it acknowledges which the burner, acknowledging the setting is fast; what is slow is acknowledging the burner. I don't know if it doesn't respond fast on purpose, if I'm not pressing in exactly the right place, or what. Those burner icons are the only ones I have an issue with responsiveness. That's why I think it may be a personal problem. I would probably prefer a cooktop that has separate power controls for each hob (like the Wolf). Those controls are tinier though, so I might not. You know darned well what you've chosen with this one since the scale is so long (what, 1/2 the length of the cooktop?) and each setting is the size of your finger. You also have to touch the hob icon to see the time left on the timer for that hob. That's annoying. I'd rather have to do that than not have the timer at all or have the timer not shut off the hob.

One thing to help you decide is the level of service for repairs in your area. There are a few threads on this site detailing people's experiences. In my case, Miele has a poor reputation for customer services and limited repair companies (and we live in a metro area). I chose Wolf/Sub-zero but with Miele dishwashers. My experience with Wolf has been excellent - they answer the phone with a live person within 2 minutes of calling and have a local company who has always been able to come out a take a look at my appliances within a few days. Contrast that with Miele - minimum of 25 minutes on hold if you phone the main Customer Service #, they direct you to make appointments for service online but their website has never worked for me and the repair people have vastly different skill sets. Also, they made it really difficult/impossible to redeem the vouchers for free detergent they gave post-purchase. This is a little thing, but surprisingly frustrating given how much their appliances cost :).

The exhaust requirements for a 48" range are a challenge - financially, aesthetically, and logistically. You will need the right amount of cfms, the right size hood, the right ductwork, and you will need makeup air. You will still need these things for a 36" rangetop, or a 36" induction cooktop, but on a smaller scale so it will not be as challenging. Depending on your cooking exhaust needs, the age of your home (if you have an older drafty home), and your local Code, you may be able to get away with not installing makeup air for a 36" rangetop/cooktop. There are plenty of people willing to take on the 48" range exhaust requirements; we see them on this forum frequently. None of them says it was easy. Are you one of those people willing to take on this challenge?