Check the installation instructions. What you do need with Wolf, and probably Gaggenau, is a dedicated electrical circuit for the ingniter. My electrician pooh-poohed that without telling me (my idea is follow the directions, but I'm just a girl...). It worked for a month or so, then failed, taking the plugmold nearby with it. Electrician said it was a short in the cooktop. Hearing that, even though they probably knew what the problem was, Wolf sent out a warranty repair man who had to unscrew stuff to pull the unit out and open it up. And then tell me that it was fine and wasn't on the dedicated circuit it was supposed to have. There are plenty of spots on the panel, and it wasn't a big deal (if you don't count the pot drawers living on the floor for a week until he could come out) to put in the circuit, so I don't know why he didn't do it from the beginning. If it says you need a separate circuit, believe it.

I just joined this forum so I could learn more about this cook top. I have tried to contact some of you directly, but I may not have succeeded. Apologies, if for some this is repetitious. Based on the web-based information, including your collective enthusiasm, this cook top seems to fit our needs. We plan to buy a house whose kitchen we wish to change. The existing stove is an electric glass top with a convection oven. That top is not my first choice, but it is new and I like the idea of a convection oven. We think the adjoining kitchen counter is big enough to accommodate a second cook top, perhaps a 36 incher, but 30" is better. I want a high powered center burner. Centrality is good because the location would diminish spills and splatters from getting on the kitchen counter itself. The Caldera 30" seems uniquely to suit our needs. The major design problem is that a large wok, for instance, might block other burners. And we do not have the space or money for a dedicated wok burner. I do know that our current four burner electric stove in the house from which we are moving would not accommodate a 15" wok in the center without impinging on all the other burners. True if the burners were to be placed closer to the external corners, the problem would diminish, but it would not disappear. Since we do plan to keep the current glass 4 burner that is not a serious drawback, but I am curious to learn about your own experiences. The more serious problem is that Caldera has gone missing. I have tried all their web-based contacts, phone numbers and email address. The email address elicited no reply. The phone numbers have been shut. Their most recent address in Stowe, Vermont, is now the location of an electric lighting company. I did locate a dealer on eBay who is apparently now carrying the top I want for about $840. The salesman who answered the phone did not specialize in Caldera and his colleague who knows more was out for the day. However he thought they had been taken over and moved to NY state, but the confirmation of this must await the return of the specialist colleague. He did think that the warranties were still valid. One of the appeals of the company was that Stowe is only a few hours drive from where I live in western Massachusetts so the manufacturer would be near-by, but now I do not know where they are and if they still exist. By the way I even tried to track down Al Shute - - I believe the customer service Al at Caldera - - and his home phone is also disconnected. So they seem to have done a complete disappearing act. The absence of any updated and corrected information on their website is not reassuring, but websites in general do get notoriously out of date, even for flourishing and growing concerns. So, addressing my questions specifically to trailrunner, tomalyse, mommycooks, raynag, the Caldera owners on this thread, do you know what has become of Caldera? Have the new owners maintained the standards of the old? Do they still in any way exist? And if so, what is their service?

No,I have not, I have a CC, but based on research done on this and other forums Wolf would have been my second choice. I had considered Viking at one time, but after reading hundreds of complaints about Viking quality and customer service and very vew about Wolf over the course of about a year it is my honest opinion that the Wolf would be a better choice. I never clamed to be an expert, and there are rumors that Viking has made changes to improve their products, but if so it will take a long time time to restore consumer confidence in their ranges after so many years of issues. Wolf on the other hand has very few complaints, so I would opt to go for the tried and true. Capital had a good rep on their precision line and the only real change on the Culinarian was the open burners, which I wanted so I chose that. If Wolf had offered a model with a comparable burner I would have chosen that. I think the Wolf has a nicer oven.

This is a quote from a previous garden web posting: *******Safety of electric induction hobs questioned in Japan 'IH cookers generate electromagnetic fields [in the frequency range of 100Hz and 18-23kHz ] when an electric current flows through coils under the top plate. Heat is created when the electromagnetic field reacts with the metallic pan atop the plate. (For the young, whose more sensitive hearing will be able to detect this level, cooking using an induction hob could well be accompanied by a rather unpleasant whine). Whilst there is not a unanimous agreement that EMFs are linked to health problems, neither the government nor industry seems willing to make attempts to limit electromagnetic field exposure from IH cookers, both sides boasting of the products' safety, while saying it is the responsibility of the other party to communicate possible risks. Takenori Ueda, of the Japan Offspring Foundation which reported the finding earlier this year, added that IH devices emit the highest level of radiation among all household electric appliances. Microwave ovens are more powerful, but their emissions are countered by stronger shielding. The Foundation tested the hobs with a radiation measuring device placed right next to the cooker set on maximum heat with a 12-cm pan on it. All products registered incredibly high radiation levels, some as high as 101 microtesla. The highest level was more than 16 times the limit [for 18-23 kHz frequency] set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection for short-term exposure to such fields. The companies accepted the Foundation's findings but insisted that the ICNIRP guideline can be interpreted differently and that radiation levels do not exceed the limit when measuring devices are placed 30 cm away from the device. The Japanese government says that the industry or individuals should do something about it. The Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association say that if there is to be a framework for more stringent safety measures regarding exposure to electromagnetic fields, the government should take the lead in drawing it up. A spokesman agreed that manufacturers have failed to provide consumers with sufficient information on electromagnetic fields. Koya Ogino, a Kyoto University lecturer who specializes in electromagnetic fields, and the potential adverse health effects from long-term exposure, criticized both the government and industry for not taking further precautions. 'If the companies are profiting by selling the products, they should first confirm their safety,' he said. The Japanese Government's defence is that they are awaiting 'more proof' of possible harm -- which is expected to be the result of 'current research' between the WHO (World Health Association) and the ICNIRP...... The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is shortly to take on the task of writing a new ELF exposure standard for Australia. If they just incorporate the ICNIRP limits, which is very likely, will this then make the sale of induction cookers in Australia illegal?' Here is a link that might be useful: www.powerwatch.org.uk