Most reviews on Viking are 5-6 years old because most people who research high end appliances here and on the net have the sense to not buy Viking.High end home builders have been keeping Viking in business the last few years because they give rather large discounts for large buys relative to Wolf/Subzero.It is certainly not high-end retail customers keeping Viking in business the last few years.

Most people here are not wild about sealed burners.

Here us a video comparing Wolf to Bluestar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJvKZiOQesg

Here is a video on Capital Culinarian open burner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeteXHBYm88

Here is a video about cleaning Culinarian open burner
The full cleaning is someting you would do once in while not a nightly basis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAe0HJJrzlY&feature=related

In short for the rangetop I would go with 1)Capital Culinarian 2)Bluestar RNB and distant 3rd Wolf

For ovens and warming drawer either Wolf or Gaggenau.

I really like the full extension bottom rack on the Wolf ovens.

Gaggenau has a side opening door so you don't have to reach over a hot oven door. Air-catylizer that vaporizes grease before air is exhausted back into kitchen.Eco mode which turns itself off the last 10+ minutes and maintains temperature.

I really like both ovens but Gaggenau more.

Anyone in this price range makes a good warming drawer.

For the record I had a 30" viking range that I enjoyed very much with no issues. I do not remember how long I had it but I believe about 3 years. I now have a 48" BS and it is way better. Give open burners a try, they are in my opinion easier to clean(particularily the BS full cast iron top) and so much better performance. Although I had no issues with my Viking I would not buy another one (in current form), but I would buy another BS in a heartbeat.

A two piece open burner,like the Culinarian, is far easier to clean than a one piece open burner like Bluestar.

Although the grates on BS are easier to keep looking nice.

BTW TVGUY,

Did you pick a laundry set?

"Most reviews on Viking are 5-6 years old because most people who research high end appliances here and on the net have the sense to not buy Viking"

Here we go on the Viking bashing - Is deeageaux an appliance store owner, rep, sales? how on earth do they know what 'most people" are doing? It simply amazes me how readily people can dish out strong opinions with no facts to back up their statements.

Use GW as a part of your research on your investment - Most folks here truly want to offer their best, others have some slant to their statements - then go direct to dealers, wholesalers and get a side by side test drive of what you are interested in.

Best of luck

Run from Viking, The black top on the Wolf will drive you crazy. Our last range had a black top and we were forever cleaning, so we wanted something stainless like The CC or cast like the BlueStar. We got a CC range. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, looks like all we need to do is remove the grates and wipe up the drip trays, should take about 5 min. Wolf or Gagg ovens are the best, and Elux are well regarded on this site. I agree go with 2 single ovens rather than a double, that way if the control board goes out you are out only one oven. You may want to consider a single oven and a speed oven.

You should really consider a 48" range instead of the rangetop and double ovens.

We have a Viking Range with open burners - it has worked well for the 5 yrs we have owned it. I don't know how much you use a griddle - but we have an optional Viking griddle that goes over two burners. Being removable
makes for real easy cleaning

Is deeageaux an appliance store owner, rep, sales? how on earth do they know what 'most people" are doing? It simply amazes me how readily people can dish out strong opinions with no facts to back up their statements.

Nope,but I talk to them. And distributors.

And I read sales data in business journals as well as appliance industry specific sites like appliancemagazine.com.

This,however, is a messageboard. There is no need or expectation for footnotes. If you want those then read business journals and actual reporters.

And I read reviews here and elsewhere. You can gather I pretty good picture of what is going on.

It amazes me when people give such strong opinions and don't know WTF they are talking about.

I have seen Deeagaux go out of his way to research and find pricing when someone asks about specific products and or gives an approximate budget. I guess he is either retired or has a lot of free time at work. (humor) Deeagoux is a regular poster on this site and I for one have found him to be quite knowledgable and informative. doug gb, you are lucky to have the optional grill, as there has been qite a bit of problems with the welds breaking on the built in grill and creating a mess and a fire hazard.

I'll give you a review from today, not 5 or 6 years ago. We have a 48 inch Viking 6-burner with griddle and sealed burners and two ovens, one of them self-cleaning. We purchased it in 2007 when we redid our kitchen. We love love love love it. We are a family of five and cook and eat dinner together every night that we can manage to get everyone home, and we entertain often. Our house is the go-to house among our friends. The Viking is a workhorse. We have no problems with it. Ask me anything you want. I would get another Viking again in a heartbeat.

Dee...yes a two piece burner would make the BS PERFECT for cleaning. But let's face it, the BS still is the easiest top to keep looking nice :)

As for washing machine. I highly regard your input on that, I will post back to that thread.

thanks for everyones opinions!

my wife and I have been members of this forum for only a week and have been reading/reviewing and thinking about posting new questions all the time. I can't believe we haven't used a home forum like this before.

I think (for now) we are going with a Capital Culinarian 48"; 6 burner with griddle. I'm a little skeptical about the open burner, but my wife is convinced the extra cleaning effort is well worth the cooking performance....this choice is mainly being made off of reviews we have read and talking with sales staff at AJ Madison (NYC). We have no experience working with an open burner....is it worth it? What are the benefits?

We're still not sure about the wall ovens...we're now looking at Capital, Wolf, Bosch, and Viking. Gaggenau looks really nice, but is very pricey. Any thoughts on these brands? I'm thinking we will buy a double in lieu of (2) singles....i've read that if a double breaks down they will both be effected.

Overall, i think we are moving away from Viking.

In terms of cooking we have (3) kids under 10 and entertain a fair amount. At least twice a month we throw/host a get together. We have a pile of family who visit our house and we are always cooking/prepping food.

My wife has a very busy work schedule so we end up cooking much more on the weekends when we have more time to spend in the kitchen. My wife has taken a few culinary classes (several months each) and is eager to experiment with new methods. I usually play the support role with her in the kichen (chopping/washing/cleaning,etc), and of course eating more than my share!

Just buy the 48" range and don't bother with double ovens elsewhere. You gain 30" of counter space. Or pantry space. Or desk space. And your hood (which you are also upgrading, I'm assuming as they go hand in hand) can exhaust the burnt cookies and broiled fish right out of your kitchen much easier.