Thanks, hvtech.

My concern about cleaning an open burner cooktop was that there isn't a drawer that slides out with any pieces of food or such that might have gone through the burner - instead I guess you have to lift up the cooktop to get at the dirt that slipped through. But maybe I misunderstood.

I guess I'll have to find a place to look at the BS "in person" to understand what you mean about build quality - is it obvious when you see them?

I'm also looking at 36in gas cooktops! What about Dacor? I'd like to have one where I can have a griddle/grill accessory- I think this means that I have to have two burners with the same power in line with each other. My mom has had a Thermador for 15 years and loves it.

Regarding the griddle/grill - are there third party options for this or would I need to buy mfg specific?

Hope you're ok with my adding to your thread, I'm having a hard time finding what I'm looking for through searches.

Thank you.

Comom27: I've got an old Thermador 5-burner gas cooktop. I've had this unit in two different homes. None of the burners align in a row. When I use a griddle, I have to adjust for the different BTU size by adjusting the flame. Sometimes I do better than others. This alignment issue will happen in other brands, too.

Jan_in_davis: I'm replacing a closed burner Thermador cooktop for the Bluestar 6-burner Range Top. I want to go back to open burners. I am replacing a Thermador 5-burner sealed gas cooktop. It is a 15 year old design. It's okay.

If I had to select a gas cooktop and by definition no open burner, I would look at the Thermador cooktop. But, only if I could get it with the star-shaped burners. The star-shaped burner is an excellent design.

I think everyone else is pretty much the same sealed single ring design. I seem to remember Wolf having a double ring design. Other than this difference, it makes it pretty easy to compare BTU's.

It sucks to have a stainless steel cooktop. Greasy stuff gets on it, burns in and only scrubbies, steel wool, brillo pads and elbow gease remove the blobs. Inevitably, you end up scratching it. My old black enamel Thermador cooktop didn't show the baked on grease blobs nearly as much.

The electric ignition does randomly spark upon occasion. Usually, after I clean the cooktop. Soap or cleaning gunk will get embedded in the igniter. This causes random sparking. It goes away if you will start up the burner of the offending igniter for a minute or so.

Thanks homechef59, Dacor has burners that line up and has a griddle that "locks in" so that it doesn't shift. I'm just not sure how it stacks up overall against the Thermador. I'd never thought about open burners.

I have already made a decision and I hope it is the right one. I am a first time homebuyer and somehow I think I am not handling this all in the most effective way. I bought this house last August and moved in September. It's a "fixer". Sure enough, two weeks ago old Kitchenaid cook top had a gas leak, so PG&E turned off the gas. It is a 20 year old range. I couldn't find replacement parts for the old corroded burners, so I bought a new Kitchenaid cook top...WRONG! It emits a low hum even when it is off. I looked it up in the manual, and sure enough, under troubleshooting, it says this hum is a normal part of the functioning of this product. My bedroom is fairly close to the kitchen, and I couldn't sleep, so I returned it (with a 20% restocking fee). Now I have ordered a GE Cafe model cook top. It scores consistently in the top ten cook tops, and I read reviews from two professional chefs who installed them and were very happy. I haven't received it yet. I can't help but wonder if I should have just called Kitchenaid and asked them if they had a quieter model. This is all new to me, never having owned a home and not having to deal with these things myself.

Regarding the KA cooktop, was it a cooktop or the 36 rangetop? I have the rangetop ordered--hoping it is not what you had. Thanks in advance for your reply.

I had a cook top-my counter space is not configured for a range top.