I can't help you with a back to back comparison, but beware you are going to find a lot of Viking haters on this board, even tho most of them have never owned one. I owned one pre 18500 btu days, and it was a good range. However not even close to my BS. I have to ask why you ruled out BS and CC?

I have the Wolf sealed burner range and the simmer is ultra low on all the burners. A while ago they posted a "scientific" test of the CC, Dacor and Wolf semi sealed burners for simmering. Interesting that they did not differentiate between the Wolf semi sealed and sealed burner and they left off the BS all together. I did the same test on my range. This poster used full sheets of paper on th e wolf sealed burners and had pictures of his results. You could repeat this on the Viking range if they will let you. You can easily keep a pot of mashed potatoes on the simmer of any of the burners on the sealed Wolf range and they will not scorch.

As far as boiling a teakettle of water, I can't compare Viking to Wolf but if the teakettle has a wide and copper bottom, that will contribute to speed as much as anything. My bet is that Bluestar with a properly adjusted flame would win that competition. The manufacturer's BTU rating of the burner is only one factor in getting heat to your food. Some others are the size and composition of the cookware, the configuration of the burner and having the flame adjusted properly. Maybe you could test your tea kettle but you have to start with water the same temp and volume and have the flame adjusted optimally for each range.

Here is a link that might be useful: simmer discussion

It's already been done for at least some of the brands you're interested in:

See:

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Advisor Cooktop Tests

I have cooked on a viking quite a few times at a friends house- It was the very first brand I ruled out. After seeing my CC, he is ripping out his viking, in his 2 year old kitchen....

Made

After much research, and getting through a lot of biased opinions on ranges, I went to several reputable appliance dealers. Following which I went to dealership directly - This arduous process was worth the effort. It helped me decide what I wanted in a range (Everything from simmer, btu's, clean up) as well as seeing side by side comparisons in real use.

In the end (6yrs ago) we chose Viking, yes the brand that gets a lot of traffic from naysayers - as above poster pointed out "most of them have never owned one" - We have 36" open burner range - It gets heavy use, and we have no complaints - It is a work horse

My suggestion is to find dealer/appliance stores that have your narrowed down choices up and operational, this way you can make your decision, well informed.

Good luck

" Posted by teachmkt (My Page) on
Thu, Dec 8, 11 at 9:14
It's already been done for at least some of the brands you're interested in:
See:
Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Advisor Cooktop Tests"

There are so many uncontrolled variables in this, I can't see how the results are very useful.

What opinions are bias free?

Which opinions about ranges are based on complete knowledge and no ulterior motive?

I have never owned a Chevy Vega,Ford Pinto or a Yugo but I know that I would rather have a Civic or Corolla.

I never met Adolph Hitler in person but I am pretty sure he was not a nice guy.

1) Capital Culinarian
2) Bluestar RNB

10)Wolf

There are many opinions that are not tainted with "bias"--an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of (possibly equally valid) alternatives. I feel that many on this board are able to see past their own needs or perspectives. When choosing appliances, it is more useful to look at specific strengths and weaknesses of a given appliance and try to fit those with your priorities. What is best for one person may not be the best for others. Luckily there are many good opinions given based on USE of various features/benefits and you can see how they might fit into your personal cooking style.

Thanks, these responses are all helpful. I've looked at both again today, and now have added the Wolf AG to the mix. I like the idea of the infrared broiler, the burners are closer to me (better ergonomically), and of course I appreciate the value of open burners.

My simmering question now applies to the Wolf AG. If anyone knows anything about boiling times/capabilities and delicate simmering capabilities of Wolf AG vs DF, I'd love to hear.

Thanks again.

Madeline, I submit that the difference in time to boil water is irrelevant. It seems the long pole in the tent here is your ergonomics so if you've found a range that works why still question? I imagine they will all boil water just fine! If one takes 10 minutes to boil 4 liters of water a standard temperature and pressure from a starting point of exactly 20 degrees C and one takes 13 minutes, so what?

I'm not trying to be snarky, just offering that you might be deep into minutia now.

-Stooxie

Hi Stoox,

Yes, you're right. The ergonomics and general appeal of the Wolf AG have taken priority over the boiling speed.

Going to order it Monday, after taking a look at one final option- Blue Star- at the urging of many GWers.

Madeline: you must be so excited?!? It is a big purchase for most of us and oh so rewarding. Honestly I do not think you would go wrong with either a wolf or bs, but I do think another look at the bs is the wise thing. Along with a few other advantages, the bs will most definately out perform the wolf in almost every area, but the wolf does have the best in class build quality and the best brand recognition (along with viking).

Good luck and we are all awaiting to hear what you finally purchase.

If you do finally choose the Wolf, have fun keeping the black top clean.

Hi Cad- So I've heard. Do you have the Wolf? Can't recall from our previous conversations. Which range has an easier top to keep clean? I know Viking is also black porcelain, and I've heard stainless is a challenge as far as scratches and possible burn marks. I wish they had a glass surface like my Kenmore cooktop.

madeline: ya viking is also hard to keep clean. That is one thing I did not like about mine.

Wait, if you're going to revisit the Bluestar, then you owe it to yourself to also look at the Culinarian, unless there's some compelling reason you ruled it out in the first place. From a pure cooking appliance perspective, both the Bluestar and Culinarian (CC) are in a class by themselves. Wolf and Viking have a better name and will probably help a little in the resale area due to name recognition. When I started my journey, Wolf and Viking were my focus. But I didn't know any better. I chose the CC and I'm so glad I did. I've never owned Wolf or Viking but I did cook on them at friends' kitchens. I thought they were great residential ranges at the time. But these open burner ranges really are like night and day and a pure joy to cook on.

Tyguy, thanks for the kind comments. Also, for clarifying that Viking is equally hard to clean. If it was much easier, I would've been tempted to second guess my Wolf decision again.

Jscout, you've very kind to take the time to reintroduce the CC possibility. I know CC is superior functionally speaking.

I originally excluded the BS and CC because of looks (just not crazy about the lines) and brand recognition for reasons of resale (very Wolf/Viking oriented neighborhood in area of country that's slow to pick up on "new" trends like BS/CC) and finally, b/c I didn't have a local dealer.

I really want to buy from a local dealer, and to have a range that our local appliance guys work on frequently enough that they're proficient. We don't have a ton of repairmen in the area.

The Wolf AG really feels right, but the GW crowd has been so kind and generous in offering their time and opinions (usually that BS abd CC are superior!)--and I just learned that BS is, in fact, sold locally--I feel I should really physically look at the Blue Star in person before I absolutely rule it out based on looks (which I did solely from BS Website pics). I'll do this on Monday.

I'm completely convinced that BS and CC are superior from a functionality standpoint...I've watched the videos, etc. But unless I really can't simmer worth a darn with the Wolf AG (one of my concerns was that it won't simmer low enough) I think I'll be happy with the good functionality, great looks, awesome ergonomics (burners are only 6" away from the cook, which really helps upper back/neck pain), and confidence from a resale standpoint.

My mid will be open on Monday, though :-)

Thanks, so much, for the help!!

Open burner is nice, CC and Blue star are great but both were about $2000 over my price range.
Doesn't sound like the OP is particularly concerned about the cost factor so I won't even mention the "N" word as it is not relevant.

However my range has a totally stainless top and is super easy to clean, only scratches you will get are if you hit it with metal.
I have the exact same burners as the Wolf and love the set up.
Only thing that is really different VS the CC and Blue star burners is with the Wolf burners you have to use larger dia pots/pans that are 10"+.
Which I do because that was my preference even before I bought this stove.

As far as the difference between a 15,000 burner Vs a 18,500 or even a 22,000 is pretty minimal as far as I am concerned.

I do not run a commercial kitchen cooking for 100s of customers waiting patiently where a minute or two difference times 100 is huge by the end of the night.
So whether it boils a pot of sketti water in 10 minutes or 13 minutes I couldn't careless.
15,000btu gets my 14" carbon steel Wok hot as hell and maintains the heat level just fine with a Wok ring.

and like I said about the "Tea Kettle" there isn't a stove made that can heat up water faster than a Keurig.
You can have 192 degree water in 10 seconds.

If you want fast boiling, and super easy to clean and heck, toss in independent burner timers which will actually turn off the burners, forget those gas cooktops and check out induction! ( ;

Just kidding, enjoy your gas cooktop whichever you decide will likely be GREAT!

Hi Nunya--

"As far as the difference between a 15,000 burner Vs a 18,500 or even a 22,000 is pretty minimal as far as I am concerned."

Glad to hear it, b/c we're going to have to "make do" with 15,000 ;-).

DH is particular about his coffee...makes it old-school style, french pressed, using boiling hot water (Keurig is only 192 degrees). He's not picky about much, but this is one thing. He'll be just fine waiting the extra minute or so in the mornings :-).

Athome--Thanks for the kind words...may jaw had dropped until I got to the "just kidding" part :-).

I think you will be perfectly happy with the 15K BTU burners, especially since all 4 are the same which to me is WAY better than all different size burners.

You just need to use large bottom pots/pans is all, which I have always preferred and is all I use anyway.
15K is plenty, it is the perfect medium.

Just wanted to add that I've become obsessed thinking that my Capital Range is preventing buyers from buying my house (actually they say the kitchen is great but the house is too small)....because they don't know what they are looking at. BUT, my realtor has reassured me that since I have a huge Viking vent hood all the buyers think my Capital is a Viking. So, I guess the uninformed buyer who would only be looking for the red knobs on a Wolf or the Viking logo has been tricked into thinking that the Capital range we have must surely be a type of a Viking range....

This all came out when I wanted the agent to make sure that buyers knew how much power this range has, she said there was no need. She said they all see that hood and go "ohh, Viking"

I am pretty sure we will go with the CC rangetop in the next kitchen...

Just goes to show how ignorant the average person is.

CC is better than any Viking, but I am thinking that it is really more the economy that the CC as far as selling goes.
If I were in the market for a house and saw a nice kitchen with a CC in it I would be elated.
Most people are swayed by "advertising" gimmicks.

That is why we are in the mess we are in economically/politically, large groups of stupid people voting against their own best interest because they have been fooled by propaganda.

Hi Bee,

Very interesting. Resale is a huge part of my decision, so
My decision to choose the AG Wolf over BS.
Buyers won't see the red knobs, though- we're going with the more subtle black ;).

Ps, got a sq ft of your beveled arabesque from Mary Beth at Mission- such beautiful tile. Deciding b/t that and Walker Zanger Ashbury, which is smaller but not beveled.

Saw ur kitchen on Houzz- did you just submit pics like a designer would submit their portfolio pics? My cabinetmaker/fabricator is very old school, so not computer savvy, but he'd be thrilled if the finished job was actually on Houzz with his name associated with the project.