dee- 15k btu's with a cast iron pan heated for a 5-10 min. will sear the he** out of anything. Sure the 18k will boil water faster than the 15k everything else being equal, but if one is really concerned about quickly boiling a huge pot of water then induction is hands down the winner, not even close. P.S. don't confuse sauteing with searing. 15,ooo btu is plenty for sauteing as the piece size should be fairly small and uniform. jmith- you are simply misinformed, or are just biased regarding simmer plates. They are not necessary with some cooktops/burner designs. Your not caring for simmer burners is one thing - but that's not the same thing them not working or being a gimmick. I'll match the end results with several tops against you and any cooktop + simmer plate of your choosing. You pick the item to be simmered too. There's no substitute for skill. The reason many frenchies don't have a simmer burner is because of the style of cooking. The myriad of sauces that sit all night on their "french tops" is just more convenient especially in their smaller kitchens. But, this is not really a discussion of commercial equipment vs. commercial "looking" domestic units. This discussion is not about "open burner" configurations either. Tony specifically asked about sealed burner rangetops. Tony - Wolf is not really any more or less profitable than the other high line marques. They are touted often because they offer a good product, are reliable -so offer the least risk for dealer and customer, have good support networks, and have market cache.

Thanks Michelle. My designer would like me to choose the appliances so he can proceed with the final specs on the cabinets. I heard the new Thermador ranges will be out in Jan 2019 from a salesman so that is a bit too far out. I wish there were some floor models available in the refrigeration as I do like what I have read about them thus far but again price is a bit more than I had budgeted out for the project. This is why I went with the counter-depth option for refrigeration given I can save a few thousand here and still have a decent range.

The griddle is nice. The surface area is a lot larger than any fry pan so it is easy to cook 4 burgers at once, 3/4 filet of salmon, etc. Then again, it's not nearly as large as the flat top grill I have outside. I'd say it performs admirably for what it is. There are hot/cold spots though. The burner underneath it is in the shape of a U. I use a noncontact temperature gun to know when it has preheated to my liking, which is somewhere around 5-10 minutes. Cleanup isn't bad. After you are done, just drizzle some water and use a spatula to remove food residue. After a few times, wipe the surface with a paper towel and coat with oil. It's not as non-stick as seasoned cast iron though. The neighboring burners do require wiping down from grease splatter. I think I would prefer a removable cast iron griddle that goes over the burners--but only if it fit perfectly. Some ranges have one as a custom accessory and not some universal griddle.

We decided on the 36" Thermador Dual Fuel Pro Harmony with griddle. It'll be a few months before we're able to install but I'm looking forward to it! It's sitting in my garage right now just being a tease. The main impacts on our decision were the depth (standard vs commercial) because it's in a tight corner which would be uncomfortable with a more protruding appliance. And the fact that it came with a free dishwasher rebate. Even though we didn't actually need to replace the dishwasher, I couldn't resist a shiny freshie one vs the one that came with the house. I thought really hard about going with the Wolf especially with their good customer service history, but I was worried about the porcelain chipping, backorder status, and the fact that some of the features that were a plus on the Thermador like the telescoping oven grates, were available for an extra fee on an already more expensive unit. The Thermador was already a stretch for us so that's where we stayed! I decided I wanted a dual fuel rather than an all-gas, so we eliminated the BlueStar, though it seems like a solid choice otherwise. Best of luck to you all with your decisions - now it's just puzzling out the hood and ventilation systems for me. If you thought the range decision was hard - eep!