trove: My Miele odor comment was intended as a zinger directed at Miele due to various complaints on this forum about dishwasher odor (probably not confined just to Miele). Some who have looked into this in depth have recently blamed it on humidity acting on microscopic food particles not flushed by the dishwashing process, and on dirty liquid in the dishwasher plumbing left over after operation. I know I have had odor problems at times with my Optima, but due to onset of winter have to wait until summer to try to verify whether either cause of blame is consistent with my observations. Miele has to conform to European laws relating to energy efficiency, and this also affects water usage. It may be that old style American dishwashers remained more sanitary in humid conditions after their drying cycle. I don't recall odor from childhood dishwashers, but I think my family's dishwasher was run more often than my Miele. kas

So, time to chime in here. I went with the Blue Star 36" induction cook top 2 years ago. Looks great, LOVED the knobs, worked fantastic... for about 18 months. I'll note that unlike their other products it only has a 1 year warranty. First, the two rightmost burners started indicating they were overheating when the central burner was in use (and the rightmost were not). I reset the system at the breaker per the manual and it rand great for three weeks with a hitch, then the central and right top burner cut out entirely. Three days later they came back, but wouldn't heat above level 7 (out of 10). I had (or so I thought) the good sense to get an extended warranty, but after getting a service guy out here the warranty company informs me it will cost more to fix than I paid in the first place, so they're going to cash me out. Blue Star may be good in other areas (no experience here), but based on my experience with this one, I don't think they have enough time making this product to reach their usual degree of reliability. Addendum: looks like Blue Star (when I bought it) had a narrower cut out (18") than anything currently on the market, including their own product. At least it looks like they're learning from past mistakes...

Haley - I see you have found my comparison between the two in an older thread. Both are excellent units, but both have different hob layouts and user interfaces. I have now had the Wolf for almost 3 years and still love it - have not yet seen a cooktop I would trade for in the US. I would suggest you go to a showroom where they have these live and see how you like the controls and burner layout. That made my decision very easy. Take some of you pans with you. I found this review on AJ Madison’s website - it may be helpful to you: “so many induction cook top reviews are more about the induction method which is great and less about the actual cook top and I hope my 3 years experience with one brand will help you discern some things to look for. I installed a Bosch 30' induction for a few years ago, now moved to a 36" I decided to go with the Wolf 36" 'Transitional" instead of the Bosch Benchmark and here is why -- 1) burner placement and flexibility. wolf's large burner is on the right, this to me is very handy as the big pan needs most attention I don't want to reach over another pot to get to the 12" skillet or have my elbow over a open pot while I stir fry. If you are left handed - maybe not so good 2) Wolf's other 4 burners can be bridged in any format including all 4 together, giving you a huge cooking area. Bosch and most others divide the other burners into left and right zones. 3) Wolf's individual controls for each burner vs Bosch select the burner first then the heat setting - even after years I sometimes forget to do this Or if two of you are sharing duties you forget the other person changed the control to their burner and we end up boiling over the rice or turning a stir fry to simmer. 4) Wolf's stainless trim is beveled from the glass to the trim which is also beveled and sealed with a tiny gasket on all 4 sides. This is what sold me!! Virtually every other cook top has a raised edge for the stainless. If you boil over it goes under the edge. If you wipe up grease and rice it can go under the edge. Thermador is worse at this - the metal 'frame' around the cook top also surrounds the controls. The Bosch is slightly better in that they leave the sides open so you can wipe to the side. If you are thinking you don't want a frame and prefer that clean look (I did when I bought my 30") you will find yourself occasionally picking particles from between the cook top and the counter. And to be really picky - the Bosch stainless trim does not match their hood fan stainless - if that matters to you 5) it is hard to see the burner outlines on the Bosch (same as on the Wolf model that is sold without the stainless frame - the 'Contemporary'). With the Bosch I find myself lifting the pot to double check that it is centered. The final benefit is the price of the Wolf - I was surprised it was less than the Bosch. The list price is on their site. Two Bosch benefits 1) timers for each burner -- Wolf just has a kitchen timer not tied to the burners. 2) Bosch requires a 40 AMP circuit which most homes already have if you have an electric cook top. Wolf and many other brands call for a 50 AMP. Get advice from your dealer/installer on this topic. Don't get me wrong - my Bosch has been great never gave me any problems, boils water in a flash." Enjoy!

@r, I thought I would chime in here to just say that I don’t think you are “obsessing“ at all regarding the use of knobs in this case. One of the most crucial variables in any kind of industrial design is the way we interface or interact with whatever the product is. Most of us utilize capacitive touch controls or infrared type touch controls on a constant basis with everything from iPads, smart phones, as well as any number of house appliances. But I would suggest that your instinct regarding cooktop or rangetop controls makes a lot of sense. Consider the difference in using a wall oven versus a cooktop. Most cooks in the kitchen can get the opportunity to wipe their hands in order to use touch capacitive controls on a wall oven. Of course, the case could be made that turning a simple dial, can be more intuitive, then going through a series of menus to get to where you want to go, since in the end, the mission of the wall oven has not really changed very much since our grandparents time which is essentially to bake the cake or roast the chicken. The reason I suspect that cook tops and range tops, as well as ranges are a particularly good candidate for knobs is due to the fact that the controls are often placed on a horizontal plane. Many people, especially those who are new to induction appliances for example, have learned a hard lesson as the very sensitive touch controls do not always take kindly to steam, water, droplets, and oil or gravy splatters. It is not hard to imagine why this is problematic because if you put any of these liquids on top of your smart phone screen, you would discover that the touch controls that works so beautifully such as the ones I’m using right now on my iPhone to create this post do not take kindly to having these substances on top of them. There are lots of examples of folks who have touch capacitive controls on these horizontal locations where the entire appliance is either shut down or thrown off its game. Of course, the majority of modern products that have knobs do not use the analog/mechanical controls of knobs of the past, but are in fact, “knobs“ that interface with micro control boards behind them. Still, there is an entire field of design that studies user interaction, and I do think that, at least, in some instances, such as with cooktops, knobs actually, do make a lot of sense. One can certainly debate where the best location for those knobs would be to avoid getting splatters on them since Cleaning knobs is not exactly, a fun time for most folks. Some people would assume that installing Touch Sensitive controls in all sorts of consumer products that once used knobs, levers, and buttons, is simply a design trend, and I’m sure there is truth to that. But a little voice inside also suggests to me, that one of the reasons they have moved away from knobs and especially the electromechanical kinds used in the past, is due to the cost of manufacturing. I do not have a data set to support this theory, but if you consider the labour and the bewildering amount of copper wiring that went into something such as a 1950 electric stove, some of which had lots of extra features, you can begin to imagine the cost savings of having a micro “motherboard“ taking the place of all that complex analogue electrical structure. I truly enjoy all of the benefits and possibilities that I have with my smart phone, laptop, iPads, etc. But I do think your instincts for knobs are not without merit, because sometimes, appliance designers attempt to answer questions that no one ever asked. My two. Cents 🤔.