I had the Wolf 36 AG and all of the above info is pretty accurate. My input is that if you don't ever have a boil over, cook hard/fry eetc, the porcelain inserts are pretty easy to wipe and go. If you get boil overs/spills etc, then you can remove the inserts and clean in a number of ways. I always took them outside, sprayed them down with oven cleaner and hosed them off. However, they will get stained somewhat over time but not unsightly. As to sealed burners, if you have spills/boil overs etc, you will still have eventual staining, you just can't pop the insert out and take a good scrubbing to it. Also, sealed or not sealed, all burners have orifices for the gas. If they get clogged, you have to clean them. I don't ever remember having to clean mine but did just to say I did from time to time. A bamboo skewer makes short work of it. Another consideration I didnot see mentioned or Imay have overlooked it is the 36 inch oven. Mine seemed to cook VERY hard and took forever to preheat. The oven is just soo big. That said, its just something you get used to. Another issue is that recent posters have complained about the Wolf 36 AG having burner issues when using the oven. I am not sure if Wolf has remedied that yet. We now have a Bluestar and I love the grate and insert system on it. It doesn't seem to show stains as badly and is even easier to clean than the Wolf. Since each insert and grate is individual (Wolf's insert covers 2 burners), they fit in the dishwasher. I pop them in now and again, wipe them down with peanut oil when done and they look great.

I also have the open burners, so am not who you're asking, but am wondering...If the black surface is the same on both, and is a pain to clean when you can take it to the sink to scrub, I don't know why it would be easier to try to clean in place? Not trying to argue, like I said, just wondering. I also went from electric smoothtop to the Wolf gas rangetop and it was a bit of a shock for someone who likes easy-care. ;-) When I got mine, there were people here who had gladly replaced sealed burners with open, because when things spilled in the sealed area, it was so hard to clean out.

We chose the 6-burner rangetop with sealed burners. My wife just liked the looks and function of the grates better, and also the knob design. Others prefer the looks of the open burner... so cosmetics are really a personal choice. The sealed burners have the dual stacked feature, which the open do not. Whether that's a big difference or not I don't know. To me it would seem that the sealed unit with these burners might be more versatile, with a wider range of adjustment. The open burner design used on the Wolf has been around a long time and appears to also be used on various other units such as Miele. In that regard one might say it was tried and true. The best thing would be to try both in a real cooking scenario. I think you could do that at a Wolf distributor. Good luck with your choice.

maire_cate and Wekick Thanks both. I think I've watched Trevor's video before. the simplicity of the BS is very similar to my Russell range except everything in the Russell is stainless. (which I do like) I'm not terribly concerned about service as there is little that can go wrong. Having a high BTU kiln I'm used to taking he venturis apart and cleaning the burners. So I'm comfortable working with burners, cleaning adjusting. Unfortunately, there is no BS dealer close. I've watched all of the BS videos to ad nauseam drove to Las Vegas some months ago as I was told I could see one and try it out. They had a range which I would think is similar to a range top. They knew nothing about it. It was not live, disappointing to make a 5.5 hr trip for nothing. Next closest is Salt Lake city a 8- 9 hour round trip. Maybe when I get close to actually buying I'll make the trip and spend the night.. Trevor wrote his phone number on one of my posts suggesting I call him. Haven't done it yet and of course the paper I had has disappeared from my desk. Sales person also told me how wonderful Wolf ovens were. Yikes, I remember reading about your pain Wekick. When I mentioned the blue enamel chipping there was just a blank stare. I told him I plan on getting the GE French door wall oven as I have one in the FL house and like it. . When I asked if he can give me a deal on SZ (side by side and wine cooler) if I buy all of my appliances he said no they are sold at full price unless I purchse a suite of SZ/Wolf, which isn't going to happen.::(( There is a Ferguson in town as well. I don't think their set up is nearly as large but will head there one of these days. The only thing I'm still on the fence about is the dishwasher. Do I get another Bosch which cleans really well but doesn't load very well with my handmade dishes. Maybe by the time I actually get to remodel, Bosch will have improved their interior set up...I'm hoping. Inga