We just ordered our appliances and went with the 48" GE Monogram dual fuel range with infrared grill. We were all set to go with Wolf, but then I did more research, mostly here on GW, and it seems there are many who love their GE Monograms. It is less expensive, yet offers just about the same features. Won't be able to truly report for another couple of months, unfortunately. We had heard some bad stories about Viking reliability and their service, but all that is somewhat subjective. As you know, everyone has their own opinion!

We were looking for sealed burners for ease of cleaning, self-cleaning oven, dual fuel because we love cooking with gas, but prefer baking with electric (more even temperature, usually). DH really wanted an infrared grill, so that really limited our options.

Type in something like "wolf vs. viking range" or "wolf vs GE range" and you should get some informative threads. Good luck!!!

Did you look at the DCS? I went through the selection process in 2005 and chose a 30" DCS. Built a new house in 2008 and had the chance to do all the research again. Looked at everything and got another DCS.

What I love the most is that I get a fifth burner on a 30" range. I find that stir-fries and searing steaks and other potentially messy things are best kept to the center of the cooktop. Think about it...fry a piece of fish on one of the four side burners and where does the mess go? On the counters or wall.

There are three burners on the DCS with 17,500 BTUs. Love it. The simmer feature is excellent. I left the house with a pot f couscous turned on simmer and no one caught it until almost an hour later. The pan was not burned.

I got all gas to save some money. I do bake, but not a lot. I find the gas oven to be just fine. (I know "real" bakers tend to prefer electric.)

I like the sealed burners. I want to see the dirt!

The DCS broiler is amazing. My service guy on the last one (yes, we had a few small issues) said it was like a salamander....to be very careful. he was right. Once that baby's heated up, it only take a few minutes to brown something.

As you can tell, I love my DCS.

I have a 48" Viking withOUT sealed burners, so much easier to clean, just pop it all in the dishwasher. But, the oven depth is lacking, if I had to do it over again, I would look at larger ovens.

I have two 30" FiveStar ranges side by side.

Why did you choose the range you did?
I was really into the BTU output. Each burner is 22ooo btu's! Loved that there was nothing electronic. Loved that I could get it in white (thought stainless on 60" of range wouldn't look homie enough). Loved that I got all burners.

What do you like/dislike about it?
LIKES: Easy to clean. Ovens heat up quickly. Burners put off a lot of heat. Love the look/quality. Price great.
DISLIKES: Oven smaller than my previous Kenmore Elite. Can really only fit two rack positions. The heating element is exposed in the oven.

What has been your experience?
My experience with this range has been very good, although I am still mastering the oven--particularly the convection. I bake only once or twice a week and am always in a hurry, so I have not really had time to learn/perfect the ovens.

Open or sealed burners, and why?
Sealed burners b/c they had the highest BTU output and ease of cleaning.

All gas or dual fual, and why?
I got dual fuel because that is what I had on my Kenmore Elite and I liked it. Like I mentioned, it is a convection so I can do two racks in one oven at once, but considering the difficultly I am having at *mastering* the results of this convection, I am not ruling out the idea that a plain old gas oven might have suited me okay. We are vegetarian so most of my oven use is baking--never for meats.

In my prior remodel, I had a 6 burner viking with a gas oven underneath, and an electric wall oven, also viking.

Someone told me gas was better for roasting and electric better for baking. I cant say for sure I noticed .... I DID notice that the wall oven had a very noisy fan that was quite annoying, running a good 20 minutes after you turn it off. You can look on this site .... this is a problem with most wall ovens today.

For my new home, I wanted a range that was nice to look at and felt vintage. I got a LaCanche Citeaux in Matte black. Its sitting in a warehouse waiting for me. I didnt want an Aga because I was afraid I wouldnt know how to use it. La Cornue is pretty but the ovens are shockingly small, even in the 30k one.

Good luck!

Oh yes, forgot to say. We had a problem with ignition on one Viking burner on and off for 8 years. And we were not happy with service. It was easier to avoid that burner then deal with them!

Thank you all for your feedback!

Amysrq - to be honest, I hadn't even heard of DCS ranges, but just looked them up online and love everything I see as far as features. And you're right, the 5 burners would be wonderful to have on a 30" Aesthetically, it looks great as well. And I love that it's stainless beneath the grates rather than black like the Wolf and VIking. Seems like it would be easier to keep clean. Do you have any other DCS appliances? I wonder how the refrigerator is????

Mtnrdredux - Your La Canche is sure to be AMAZING!!! I'm envious! :-) I want to see pictures when you get it installed!

I have the 30 inch all gas DCS just like amysrq. I go along with all her sentiments. Love the 5 burners, simmer is amazing and the high BTU's are great. My husband is an executive chef in a restaurant and he loves it too. Although he could cook on anything and it wouldn't matter.Sealed burners are awesome and the stainless in the burners is so easy to clean. My friend has a wolf and she struggles to keep it looking nice.

Here is a picture for you, I think it looks great!

Hi Khara,

I sure will post. I had never heard of La Canche until i started looking here, asking the same questions you are, over a year ago!

Before Lacanche, I was considering a blue star range (I think im remembering right, the one with the open flame) and a french door wall oven (still love those). I think blue star made the wall oven too? Check it out...

No other DCS appliances here. Seems to me DCS is about cooking, not refrigeration. My array is Vent-A-Hood, Sub-Zero and Bosch DW. (Bosch Axxis in the laundry room, too.)

I really think the DCS delivers a lot in a 30" package.

I've had a 30" DCS all-gas range for about 8 years and love it. The simmer on all the burners is awesome as is the high BTU power. I love the sealed burners - really easy to keep clean and I hate cleaning. The oven and broiler are also great.

I am getting GE Monogram 6 burner duel fuel. It was highly recommended by both appliance stores I went to. I like the blue oven and the roll out racks. Also, my favorite part is the lights over the knobs :) Monogram has a $1000 rebate if you buy range and hood!

Well, looks like DCS is a range I really need to investigate further. I love what I hear from all of you, and your feedback is so important to me! Do you find that the simmering capability distributes the heat evenly on the DCS? Also, how is the all gas oven in terms of even and precise temperature?

Positiano - Your kitchen is beautiful! My cabinets will be very similar and I love your backsplash!

Another happy DCS AG owner here. The space on top is amazing, love the large center burner, the simmer on all burners and the IR broiler.

kharamarie - It was overwhelmed by all the ranges and info. I knew I didn't want to spend 5K or more on a 30" stove based on where I lived so Viking and Wolf where out for me and didn't seem to provide extra function or looks for me for the additional dollars (respecting that others love them.) I had considered the standard fare and even had purchased (and later returned) a kenmore elite. In the end I wanted a more basic stove, that didn't have electronics to fail, and had increased power over a standard residential fare. With my price limit I ended up looking at the Capitol, the American range and the blue star, partially because they were the ones I could go see in person.

I got a Blue Star RCS, have been using it for 3 months and am really happy, but honestly felt that the other two could have meet my requirements as well. I am adjusting to the additional "power", though I didn't get the upgrade with the ultra nova 22 K burner offered in the RNB (figured 18K was enough for me, and it certainly is :) The RNB model also offers tons of colors for the front panels, which people seem to be excited about, but I put the extra money into other stuff (I was doing a whole house reno.)

I had sealed burners in a Jenn Air cooktop and I found that I was always wiping them down so they didn't look yucky. The open burners are cast iron so it is not a sleek look like the stainless, but much of the gunk drops through to the catch tray and I can wipe the burners off with a damp cloth and I have read that others put them in the dishwasher. I was a little afraid that I might not like the look of the cast iron, that it looks like someone had been cooking, but really it looks fine. It looks like a stove... even my borderline OCD MIL who is always scrubbing everything down loved it.

For the ~3K I spend (and little more for a center grate option) I am really, really, happy. Hope this helps.

Oh yeah, and I do bake and had considered a dual fuel model with an electric oven, but have had nice even baking with the Blue Star (I have not done bread, but cakes and cookies.) It has convection and it does seem to speed up the cooking a bit, but have not really analyzed it.

I also considered a Blue Star. I was bowled over by the color choices. Wow!

I feel the continuous grate is very important. It is essential for me to be able to slide things around without lifting. At the time, I did not know the continuous grate was an option for the Blue Star. The open space in the middle was kind of a deal-killer for me. That, and it almost looked too professional, if that's possible.

I just looked at the US Appliance website and they're having a sale on some of these ranges right now. I bought my Vent-A-Hood from them back in 2005 and had a very good experience. You might check on the Appliance forum to see if anyone has more recent experience.

Sparklekitty and Amysrq - Thanks for the info on the Bluestar. This is a brand I have also read wonderful things about so I need to consider it as well. Sparklekitty, I'm glad to hear you've had such positive experience with your Bluestar.

For those of you with both the Bluestar and DCS (or Viking, Wolf, Capital, GE Monogram, etc.), do you feel that the design of the burners provides even heat disbursement when cooking - especially at lower simmers??? This is very important to me. I'm also still so totally confused about the whole open vs. closed burner issue. If closed burners were developed for ease of cleaning, why do so many of you with open burners claim that they are easier to clean? What are advantages/disadvanges of open and sealed burners??? (sorry for my ignorance...)

Please keep the feedback coming - you all are so amazing and helpful!!!

I had Blue Star on order and switched to Capital Culinarian. Hopefully it will be installed in the next few weeks. If you are considering open burners, you should look into it. There are plenty of threads on the appliance forum.

I think the heat disburses well on simmer, but that is partly due to using high-quality cookware. You need a conductive layer sandwiched between the SS.

The deal with open burners is that all the schmutz falls down in the holes and you simply pull out a tray and clean it up. With the DCS, all the junk sits on top for you to look at and then, eventually (!), you clean it up.

I think you have to go look at both and just have a visceral reaction. Part of this process is rational and analytical, part is emotional and intuitive. Rationally, I was close to going with the Blue Star. But when I saw it, I just knew in my heart I wanted another DCS...

To all you 30" DCS owners, can you please help me determine the interior oven dimensions of this range??? I can't find the specs anywhere online and am totally stressed tonight about finalizing my range choice!!

Today, I received the news from my local appliance store that they are having a special 2-day offer for the 30" all gas, sealed burner Viking...$2999.00!!!!! With my VERY tight budget constraints, this seems like an impossible one to pass up. However, the last thing I want to do is make a mistake and decision I'll later regret. I truly don't know what I should do! The Viking has 4 15,000 BTU burners - is this enough power for most anything I'll want to do??? I'm also scared off my so many unfavorable reviews. Are there any happy Viking owners out there?

Here is a link that might be useful: special promo viking range

I have 4, 15,000 btu burners on my range and the burners are perfect for my needs, including a very nice sear on meats. I love to cook. But I don't cook the kind of nearly professional stir fry and other dishes that others on GW need to cook on maximum power. And I don't really care if a pot of water comes to a boil in 10 minutes rather than 15 minutes. If what you really want is 22,000 btu I'm afraid that you will not be satisfied with 15,000 btu. That said, for the vast majority of cooks (even very enthusiastic home cooks), 15,000 btu should be more than adequate. I think you need to do some comparison cooking on 15,000 btu and 22,000 btu, and open and closed burners, to get a feel for what you like.

A good friend of mine has an older Viking and he does not like it. Mainly because of the poor simmer and bad heat distribution at low settings. And he has a kitchen full of All Clad.

Kharamarie - I am linking a thread that discusses sealed vs. open burners. It should answer your questions about that topic.

I have a sealed burner range now. It's fine; I'm happy with it. But, for my next range, I will get open burners, no question. It's not just the cleanability issue ("burn-in" ring of anything spilled around the burner). It's that an open burner flame more evenly distributes the heat under the pan. A sealed burner has a ring of flame that mostly hits the outer circumference of the pan, not the center. So things tend to bubble and even burn around the edge of the pan, while the center stays cool. An open burner more evenly distributes the heat under the pan, and also there is more oxygen flowing (due to the open area), so the gas is used more efficiently.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about open vs. sealed burners

FWIW, sealed or open burners is basically a cleaning issue.

IMO a more important issue is well designed and machined burners (configuration wise a star shape is ideal) that deliver gas evenly at the right distance from the grate. BTUs are, of course, important, as is adjustability of burners from high to low with a good simmer.

The open vs closed burner argument was developed as a marketing strategy to sell Blue Star and is being put out as fact. It is only one aspect.

I've had detailed conversations about this with a range designer -- some do buy into/believe the hype, however.

So rococogurl, are you saying that closed burners can distribute heat just as evenly and efficiently as open burners if well designed? I really do like the DCS, but it does has sealed burners and I don't want to experience the problems shannonplus2 discussed.

Shannonplus2, thanks for the thread.

So should I let this Viking promo go??? It ends today????

Sealed burners are not all created equal - some have better design and airflow than others. I've had a DCS range for 8 years now and love it - cooks great and very easy to clean and I hate cleaning.

Encourage you to go see the ranges -- and ideally in a live set-up. There was no way I would ever have seriously considered Blue Star. Until I saw one. Live.

Kharamarie,
I signed up to tell you how much we love our Wolf range. We spent many months deciding, but ultimately purchased the 36" gas range with four burners and grill in the middle. We love the grill. We chose Wolf over Viking or Thermador because of the unsealed burners and the tiny inner burner ring that allows you to use a small pot and very low heat. The Wolf is a classic range--completely manual, no fussy extras, and built like a tank. Good luck!

Rococogurl - I am surprised at your statement that open burners are marketing strategy by Bluestar. It was my understanding that the promotion of sealed burners was the marketing hype by most range manufacturers, as sealed burners are much easier to manufacture, less labor, with fewer parts to fit together in the manufacturing. True professional restaurant burners are all open burner style. Julia Child's range was an open burner range. The more even flame spread and higher efficiency of the open burner have never been in dispute. What may be in dispute is the degree that it makes a difference in one's cooking. As I said, I have a sealed burner range, and it is fine. Do I always have the contents at the edges of my pan bubble while the center is much cooler? Yes. Do I have a permanent 1/8" brown ring around each burner from anything that has spilled, and is impossible to remove? Yes.

Growing up, we had open burners (all that was sold then), and I can compare them with what I have now. Although my sealed burner range has many more btu's, I prefer the open burners. In any case, my family eats everything I cook on the range and couldn't care less what my burners are.

What people seem to differ on is whether one type of burner is easier to clean than the other, as you mentioned. With sealed burners, there is no need to take anything to the sink; you just wipe right on the range. The problem is that when hot things spill onto the sealed surface, while you are cooking, they burn in and become permanent, cause you can't stop your cooking and wipe immediately. With an open burner, things fall through down to the drip pan. You can line the drip pan with aluminum foil, and simply change it out when it becomes soiled. To me, that is an easier task. But many people feel sealed burners are easier to clean.

As I wrote in the linked thread, the Wolf "open burners" (on their all-gas ranges) may be the compromise between the two styles. Wolf calls them "dual burners", and they are actually semi-open, providing the airflow of an open burner with the look and cleanability of a sealed burner, yet still have the drip tray beneath.

shannon, I agree with you about the cleaning.

Nothing wrong with either style. Depends on what someone wants.

But what you describe in terms of heat distribution and the center being cooler than the edges has to do with the configuration of the burner.

If the same pan is put on a Blue Star f.ex. -- which has has flame at points from the center out, or a Chambers daisy burner which has 5 mini burners, or even on my cheapo Berta which has a star configuration on the 15K burner, there's a different cooking pattern and much more even heat distribution through the bottom of most pans.

As it happens my range has the one star config burner and the rest are rings. Big difference.

Overall burner size is also a factor, as is the type of pan. If you've got a sandwich pan with a plate on the bottom you'll get that ring. My old Cusinarts pan gets that. If I use one of my copper skillets which has superior heat conductivity it can improve the performance of a hot plate.

Don't want to dance on pin heads here but it rankles me when the marketing gets going on the sealed vs open and no one talks about so many other features on a range.

The most important thing IMO is to match the range to your cooking style. I sympathize with the OP because she's trying to figure it out and these things are dang expensive and then the repairs can start.

Wow, you all sure have a lot of experience, knowledge and wisdom on this matter. Though a bit heated, thank you all for objectively stating the facts about all of this. I welcome others' takes on these issues as well!!!

Weissman - You claim that your DCS has been used for 8 years and is easy to clean. Have you experienced the brown ring that forms around the burner when things spill over onto the high temperature surface??? I know this would really bother me and be a major push towards open burners.

Are any of the 30" Wolf or Viking models true open burners? Shannonplus2, I don't understand what you mean about the Wolf all gas ranges being "semi-open"? Would this eliminate the "ring around the burner" issue? The only ones I've seen at the appliances stores are dual fuel.

Unlike some other brands, the stainless steel on the DCS cooktop is really easy to clean even after food boils over and burns on. Some Barkeeper's Friend and a scrubby will do the trick. It is a bit difficult to clean right up to the edge of the burner but you can do it with a toothbrush and Barkeeper's Friend. I don't usually bother. My rings are less than 1/32", if that, and it really doesn't bother me. You don't see it unless you're really close. It is possible to remove the burners and clean completely under them but not worth the effort. Once, when I was having new ignitors installed, the repairman cleaned them completely. (fyi - the ignitors were a free upgrade under warranty). There was a woman years ago on this forum who posted pictures of her removing the burners and cleaning the cooktop completely on a regular basis, but that seemed excessive to most of us. By the way, no range will look pristine after you use it a while - even those with open burners.

Another DCS fan here. My cleaning experience echos Weissman's.

FWIW, I took a few cooking classes in Italy this summer, and the hotel restaurant kitchen we used had a commercial sealed burner range. Totally different than the home models I'm used to, but definitely a commercial model.

Thanks for the feedback Weissman and cooksnsews. Your personal experience is worth more than any mere opinion.

I've been undecided about this range, Viking VGCC 30" for a while. Just read kharamarie's 11/4/10 thread about help chosing range. She sums it up...
"Today, I received the news from my local appliance store that they are having a special 2-day offer for the 30" all gas, sealed burner Viking...$2999.00!!!!! (VGCC530-4) With my VERY tight budget constraints, this seems like an impossible one to pass up. However, the last thing I want to do is make a mistake and decision I'll later regret. I truly don't know what I should do! ... I'm also scared off my so many unfavorable reviews. Are there any happy Viking owners out there?"

Viking apparently re-vamped ranges and service within past year or two and I cannot find any more recent feedback from newer owners.
ANYBODY purchased in the past year and can share hands on experience?
Many thanks!

We decided on 30" all gas Wolf in our kitchen remodel this summer. So far I'm (and I say "I'm" because I am the cook in the family) loving it. Coming off an extremely basic Maytag AG range, which had absolutely no power whatsoever, I'm thrilled with the evenness of the cooking and the speed in which water boils. I've used the oven for cooking and baking and have had excellent results. The convection fan definitely speeds up baking, as it does in the ovens I use at my job.

The oven in the 30" is small. It fits half sheet pans, not full. I'm not sure if the 36" AG fits full...(cat_mom, does it?). I do wish the oven was a little bigger at times but for a 2 people household it is just fine. We don't hold elaborate dinner parties, Thanksgiving dinners, etc. But just pointing it out in case oven size is important to yanyone. We didn't have the room in the kitchen to go any larger, and that's why we went with the 30".

As for the semi-open burners vs. open burners, I don't know if I know enough about it to comment. The burners appear to be sealed but there is a drip pan. And from my research they did design the burners in an open-burner way to allow for air circulation, even flame distribution, thus resulting in even cooking, etc. The burners stay hot for a while after cooking.

We wanted a range that cooks faster and more even than the dinky little range we were coming off of. We also love the appearance of the Wolf and were looking for a range and hood which was important for us, as they are the first things you see as you enter the room. We're thrilled with our choice to purchase the Wolf. It certainly is pricey, but we're hoping to have it forever!

I posted alot 2 years ago when we were renovating our kitchen. I decided to logon to see what was new and came across your post kharamarie.

After viewing so many stoves in person and also based on what weissman had to say about her stove (and I see she still loves it), we decided on the DCS 30" stove also. I absolutely love, love, love it. The simmer is fantastic, I love the 5th burner and use it alot. I bake regularly and have no problem with the gas oven. It is so easy to keep clean.

I know what you're going through, do yourself a favor and go see a DCS in person.

Cactuscatie - I'm glad to hear that you've had your DCS for 2 years and love it! Do you find that the burners distribute heat evenly (no "hot spots")? Have you had issues with things that Shannonplus2 describes for a sealed burner range...

"Do I always have the contents at the edges of my pan bubble while the center is much cooler? Yes. Do I have a permanent 1/8" brown ring around each burner from anything that has spilled, and is impossible to remove? Yes."

Also, can any of you DCS owners tell me the interior dimensions of the oven? I can't find the specs anywhere!!!

Hellonasty - Have you experienced these issues with your Wolf?

>>>weissman had to say about her stove (and I see she still loves it)

cactuscatie - I'm glad you're happy with your DCS but weissman is a he not a she! There are some men on this forum :-)

kharamarie - when I get a chance I'll see if I can get you the oven dimensions. Mine is the older model with more large burners than the current model - I don't know if the oven dimensions also changed. Also, mine is the self-cleaning model - again I don't know if the non-self-cleaning model has different dimensions.

ok, I checked my oven - it's 24" wide, 14" high and 20 1/2" deep. But, the central part of the bottom of the oven is raised about 1 1/4" and the bottom rack is above that so from the bottom rack to the top of the oven is about 11". Also, the convection fan at the back of the oven protudes about an inch which reduces the depth to about 19 1/2".

The oven does appear to be small but it hasn't been a problem for me. And as I said above these dimensions are for the older model and the self-cleaning one.

By the way, I think the burners distribute the heat fine on my pans - I have a mix of All-Clad, some French copper pans and some old Farberware. I only have large burners on my range so if I use a smaller pot I don't put the burners on maximum but as I've said many times, with small pots there's no need to crank the burners all the way up. I do believe that not all sealed burners are created equal and some are definitely better than others.

kharamarie, the measurements of my DCS oven is exactly what weissman posted.

I don't experience any "hot spots", I find heat is distributed evenly. I adjust the heat according to the size pot I'm using, you don't need burner on full blast if using a small to medium pot or pan. As for a brown ring around the burners, I don't have that either.

weissman, oops - sorry "sir" :)

weissman and cactuscatie - Thank you so much for taking the time to measure your ovens for me. I love gardernweb and all the amazingly helpful people like yourselves! Cactuscatie, I should ask, which model do you own? Dual fuel or all gas? Manual or self clean oven? This is the one I've been looking at...

Here is a link that might be useful: dcs all gas range

kharamarie, that looks like the stove I have. Mine is all gas and manual clean.

Mine is the 30 inch all gas, manual clean.

mine is all gas self-clean - previous model RGSC-305 - it has 4 16K burners and 1 17.5K burner.

I have a viking 30 inch vdsc that has been installed for about a year and a half and am happy with it. I chose this range because I wanted a black range and I wanted dual fuel, we have to use a lp tank and did not want to have both the range top and oven dependent on the tank. I am a cook-something-quick-and-easy-that-my-picky-kids-and-picky-husband-will-eat-5-days-a-week cook so did not need a super high powered cook top, I almost never go above med-high. I do use the simmer a lot and it is not the best so I bought a simmer plate to help get an evenly low cooking surface. The burners are closed and have been very easy to clean but I have not had any overflows or cooking mishaps that would get anywhere near that part of the burners. The black, shiny surface that is below the grates of the viking does show every little bit of dirt and I do clean it frequently using soap and water and a dry rag to buff out water streaks. The oven seems to take a bit longer to preheat than my old stove and because it uses the broiler to help preheat you cannot stick items in before the preheat is done or you will burn the tops (I still sometimes put items in early but keep them on the bottom rack.) The oven also cooks a little differently than I am used to, cannot really explain how or why but it does leave most items moister which is nice. If you have concerns with how a viking cooks I would recommend finding a dealer that offers demonstrations, the dealer I bought from had demos all of the time.

arthomeinva - Thank You!!! It's so nice to FINALLY get some feedback from an actual Viking owner. I sincerely appreciate your honesty. I'm so happy to hear that you've been pleased with your range; I'm just not so sure I would be pleased with the poor simmering and shiny black surface beneath the grates. For someone borderline OCD like myself, that's probably a bad idea. But thank you so much for the response!

Yeah, keeping the top clean and the other quirks are manageable for me because I like it so much. I do enjoy cooking on it more than any other cook top that I have owned and it is much cuter too. Good luck finding a range that works for you.

Any feedback out there from Bluestar owners??? I'd like to know a little more about them - I'm particularly interested in the RNB series.