It's a weird thing that miele does. Many owners use 36" hoods over 36" ranges. You should oversize it but miele has been "enforcing" it by lowering the power of the burner down to either 15k or 12k roughly.

2 thoughts...if you don't want them doing it you can either have them leave the parts and have someone not from miele switch it back or have someone not from miele install the range.

Wow. Six inches on both sides?? I bet they put that in the fine fine print or they wouldn't be able to sell many ranges. Oversizing a hood by a foot has to be pretty rare.

Anyone know if you can just decline the modification? Will they still install?

Is it too late to purchase a different range? That seems pretty ridiculous.

Yes, it's too late. The range is being delivered and installed in a couple of days.

Its in their install guide pretty prominently. Its referred to as the "Hood Zero Gap Kit". It lowers most of the burners down to 14K. It's a CYA to make sure no one lights their kitchen on fire.

Do you have a local installer who could do that job?

I've been planning to disregard the recommended 6" and do 3" on each side, but Do Not want the BTUs lowered. I've already arranged for Miele to do the install, but I'm going to call and change it to have the appliance store do the install. They are still certified Miele installers though so I wonder if they will adhere to the same 6" rule. I really cannot afford to lose any more cabinet space.

Well, I'm glad the BTU police haven't talked to Thermador yet. I have a 22k burner on the front right and the same size hood above. No issues, no worries. This is certainly a CYA gone haywire.

I just spoke to a sales manager at Pirch, which is where I bought my appliances. Apparently they've run into this problem before. They are recommending I use their Miele certified installers rather than using Miele Concierge for install. They will install it without the recommended 6" on each side. BTW- she also said that Miele WILL make an exception if you purchase a Miele hood, since the largest they make is 48" to go over a 48" range. I find that to be ridiculous since my Modernaire hood is better/more powerful than the Miele and is 6" wider than the range.

Pirch's installers are excellent so that's the way I would go (says the guy who works for Pirch!)

Detox - that's not a bad idea. They shouldn't have an issue then, because the problem in their eyes is the clearance to a combustible material.

Detox- that's an excellent idea. Please let us know how it works out and how you like the range. There is so little user info on it so I would love hearing your input.

Joe- thanks for the vote of confidence regarding Pirch installers. You may be biased, but all my dealings with them have been awesome and so much better than any other appliance store. I drove 50 minutes to go there even though I could have chosen multiple stores near me.

Sorry I am late to the discussion but I've been looking for help for a while. I have the same problem, thought I have not purchased yet. We simply love the design of the Miele. I've been trying the convince her this is European safety standards and that's why there's a difference. All the other ranges seem to have similar power without such a strict rule.

Here's my compromise. Would like some feedback or any other suggestions: I'm going to ask the authorized dealer to de-rate only the two left burners and the front right to the 14.7K spec. The right rear is the simmer at 12K so de-rating it to 10K seems silly. That would leave me two 20K burners in the center a full 12" of lateral clearance from the adjoining cabinets. I can't imagine needing more than 2 full power burners (just our style).

Feedback or advice most welcome. THANKS!!

If Miele is doing the install, their teams are required to lower all of the burners based on the installation.

I would have them drop off and find someone else to install it. That's probably the only way to not have to derate the burners with miele.