Why did you pick that particular brand?

I like the design as to having the stainless steel trim all the way around. I looked at a Bosch but it only had the trim on the top and bottom. I have a Diva induction now but have only 2 elements working and they no longer make parts anymore. I am not finding many reviews as to usage on the Wolf.

I have had the Wolf 36" induction now for 5 months with the 4 way bridge. So far I am very happy with it. So far no complaints and would go with the same selection again. I considered the Bosch as well but went with Wolf for a variety of reasons (see my post under 36" induction cooktop with bridge).

This is the link: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2246536/36-induction-cooktop-with-bridge?n=96

Since it is such a long thread - here are my thoughts:

I also debated between the Bosch benchmark flex induction and the Wolf. Went with the Wolf 36" CI365C/B for the following:

• The Wolf does not default to bridging when you turn it on like
  the Bosch. I found this very annoying and not intuitive to guests that
  might want to cook in my kitchen. Plus I have to remember to turn it off
  to use the second element independently which I do quite frequently.
• The Wolf has better pot recognition in my "testing" than the
  Bosch. I purchased a small 4 3/4" diameter melting pot as a test. The
  Bosch did not recognize it on the large Hob, but it did recognize it on
  the other hobs but not in bridge mode in the middle. The Wolf recognized
  it on ALL hobs including the large one. It does not recognize it in the
  bridge modes. Bridge mode was not an expector.
• I preferred the individual slide controls on the Wolf versus selecting the hob and the level separatly like the Bosch.
• I could live without the individual timers on the hobs like the
  Bosch. I have never had this feature so not sure how often I would use
  it.
• The Wolf was a much better value - several hundred $$ less. I see
  the induction technology changing rapidly over the next several years
  and would consider upgrading to a zoneless cooktop once the price point
  is in the $2K-$3K range. Hence I did not go with a flush install to keep
  my opening as small as possible.

So far I love the cooktop. I normally cook on levels 1-6 and only use
the upper levels when needing to come to a boil slowly - else I use the
boost to get a quick boil (and it is fast). Have not used the bridge as
I do not yet have pans that require it. Still looking for that great
smooth griddle. Cleanup is a breeze over gas or electric. I left pasta
unattended and came back to salt water all over my cooktop - nothing
"burned" on. Easy clean. Use parchment under cast iron as I am afraid of
scratches (only 2 months old so still babying it). Parchment does a
great job of catching splatters as well. No regrets here on my
selection.

We are looking at a 36" Wolf induction cooktop and can't find any reviews. I was wondering if anyone has one and what they think of it? And for the ones that left reviews about Wolf induction cooktops, do you still love it and have you had any problems with it.

Which large griddle did you find?

Have a Chef King. Works well. I am also looking at the Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless griddle to have something a little smaller.

The burner-straddling Chef King carbon steel griddles have garnered a lot of praise here over the years from owners of gas stoves as well as induction. They are available from Amazon as well as restaurant and commercial supply houses. The two burner models are are 14" x 23" including the raised edges. That size might have fit problems on some cooktops (I think we had a thread about that recently), but Kim's post shows that won't be a problem if you get a Wolf induction cooktop. IIRC, the Chef Kings have been priced around $90 at commercial/restaurant suppliers but Amazon sometimes has them for around $60. As carbon steel, they will need seasoning which should not take long. (Nothing like as long as seasoning cast iron.) Once seasoned, will have a slick low-stick surface. Much easier to care for and maintain than cast iron, too. The one downside to them that I've noticed is that they seem to take a pretty long time to preheat to where the surface is heated relatively evenly in the areas which are not directly above the burner/induction fields. Depending on how you cook, that may or may not make a difference to you.

I have no experience with the Cuisinart MutliClad Pro griddles and so cannot help with that suggestion.

Another excellent burner-straddling griddle is the Demeyere "7 ply Teppanyaki-Plancha-Griddle." Aimed at induction users (although it works very well on gas and other electric burners, too), the Demeyere has slightly smaller outside dimensions of 13" x 21" (including the raised edges). They are available as "seconds" here on the US website of JA Zwlling (the parent company). The surface is a highly polished stainless steel that has very low stick properties and requires minimal oil. The Demeyere is heavy enough to have excellent heat rentention and does an amazing job of straddling non-bridging burners (that is burners that do not have additional heating elements between them.) If you want to check them out further, Gardenweb has this thread in the Cooking forum and this shorter one in here in the appliance forum, plus there is this rather long thread by enthusiasts on Chowhound. The downside to the Demeyere is price which currently is up around $150 (shipping included.) FWIW, the price seems to fluctuate. FWIW, it was down around $119 last fall and down to $99 when I bought mine over the holidays.

Kim G, which Chef King griddle works well on the Wolf? Looking for a large griddle that fits on Wolf. Thanks!

If you go to amazon and search chef king griddle there are two sizes. I have the larger 7 gauge. I also have a Cuisinart Multiclad Pro griddle that is smaller and works well too.

I have the 14X23. I do both - the 2 burners bridged and the 4. Depends on what else I am cooking. The key is giving a sufficient time to preheat so the heat is evenly as possible spread across the griddle. I didn’t know they had a 23X23 - that would be awesome to span across all 4 if you need a very large griddle. I know there was a poster wanting gas and induction - the gas more for a 24” griddle - this might be a solution for her if she wants to go only induction.

I usually start preheating the griddle before I start making my pancake batter. I think I preheat at level 5 or 6. I throw some water around and make sure it is sizzling good and I do a small test pancake to make sure I am good to go. Sometimes I do need to turn it down if the pancakes are too brown. I use it for bacon ( start cold with the bacon on the pan) or pancakes where I pre-heat. I am not a big griddle user. It does not overhang excessively. I am very happy with my wolf. For the $$ I think it is a very good cooktop compared to miele or Bosch Benchmark which were more $$. I very like the bridging 4 way flexibility. I didn’t even consider the thermador freedom - way too $$$ to be able to only cook 4 pots at a time. I have never had that kind of flexibility in my last 40 years of cooking so I don’t feel like I am missing much not having it.

Only power stealing is when you run boost on the back elements. The front elements reduce to level 8 I think when the boost is running if they are at a higher power level. I routinely use a 10 in pan on any of the smaller hobs if need be. I like the fact that the all “smaller” Hobs are the same size.

What reviews did you see about induction? I only saw one on amazon and have no clue what cooktop they were using/heat level etc. Several reviews didn’t like it on electric ceramic/glass tops and I can see that. Carbon steel works fine on induction. The key is letting it heat long enough and not using too high of a setting. Did you read jwvideo’s post above? It contains excellent info on the chef king and demeyere griddles. I would think you could fit two Cuisinarts side by side - a couple of photos

Hi Kim G--still going strong with your Wolf induction cooktop? Any issues with it? What's your experience as far as scratching goes? Thanks!

Almost 5 years in and so far so good. No issues. Still very much happy with the cooktop and especially the layout. Glass cooktops are going to scratch dragging rough bottom pans or pans where sugar/salt is present. I am careful - I may have a couple but you don’t notice them unless you inspect it carefully with the hood light on. Not losing any sleep over it. Only cooktop I would consider replacing with would be a full surface induction. Waiting on the miele to hit the US market at some point but not a priority..

Wow! Thanks so much for the quick, and very helpful, response. Interesting about the Miele...is that currently available in Europe? Our local appliance store showed us the Thermador full surface induction, which looked and sounded great, but my research seems to show that it has a lot of problems, and it's $$$$$! Sounds like a cool idea but perhaps it's not ready for primetime. Maybe Miele can do it right. We're in the process of building a new home, but still a ways out...but at this point we're planning on a Wolf induction cooktop. Thanks again!

Lollies3rd what induction did you end up going with? I’m torn with Wolf or therm freedom!

From what I recall from my search 3 years ago, the Thermador Freedom was quite a bit more expensive than the Wolf because of the "freedom" feature of being able to bridge multiple burners at a time. I went with the Wolf which has the ability to bridge 2 burners. In all honesty, I've used this feature only once or twice and I cook everyday. Love the Wolf.