home, home on the range: Thermador vs Wolf vs Sofia
S A W
5 years ago
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DrB477
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Wolf vs Thermador & Viking, Miele vs Bosch - YMMV
Comments (9)For more input, at least preliminarily, as I have not had more than 2 months with our new appliances: The major appliances in my old home have not needed any service calls. Seriously! The Wolf oven heats to the programed temp (checked with an interior thermometer regularly) and retains the temp well with little or no heat leakage. I do not experience hots spots. The cooktop burners go from the highest high to the lowest low (and simmers without the annoying clicking sound on other units). My only question for Wolf initially was the long preheat time but we figured out it was because I was leaving a pizza stone in there permanently to even out the temp but found out that it was not necessary and that was actually increasing the necessary time to come to temp so "my bad." I love the Wolf. Vent a hood exhaust is awesome! I love, love, love the Miele dishwasher. It has the best capacity of any washer I have ever used. Service for 16, easy! I thought I would hate the silverware rack but I came to love it. I have NEVER needed a service on this unit. Cleans great. Very quiet. I wish there was a "short cycle" for quick jobs though. I am a strong proponent of the GE Advantium and it's flexibility but understand that newer technology have come to market since that might be superior? I cannot speak to that. Works well as a microwave and a "toaster oven" and does not need preheating or heat up the kitchen. It has a larger capacity than a traditional microwave so it doubles as a second oven. It has never needed a service either. I do like my Miele coffee but understand that the nature of the beast is that the units do not last as long as other appliances. It was necessary to replace our original after 10 years but this new one is even better than the last. The plumbed feature makes everything much easier. I joke with friends that it does almost everything but milk the cow. We had a glitch with the subzero undercounter wine fridge but I was told it was a manufacturing defect for that particular year. All repairs to the compressor in it's early years were covered even after the warranty expired. No trouble since and the 2 zone cooling works great. New kitchen: Viking 5 burner cooktop - flame capacity (High and low) is limited and fluctuates depending on the burner I choose. Location of burners are not as conveniently located (there are larger and smaller plates) and are not organized so that you can actually have 5 pots on at the same time. Viking hood not nearly as powerful Thermador oven: currently operating approx 25 degrees under what it says on the temp indicator. hot spots and some features not working correctly. There is no light and I cannot find where the bulb would be located to replace it. I have not had time to look online or contact Thermador directly. Thermador micro - hot spots and less intuitive programing than the GE. We wind up just using "add 30 sec" feature. I miss the halogen light feature if the Advantium Layout of the Bosch is just dumb! consequently we need to run it more often because it fills up often. Dishes require a lot of pre-cleaning. It is equally as quiet as the Miele however. I'm replacing the Jura Impressa espresso entirely asap. I find it necessary microwave the Latte/cappuccino to make it hot enough. Small water, milk and bean capacity makes it so you can only make 2 coffee's before needing to refill. Features are antiquated but I have been told newer units are better. I haven't decided to do a built in or countertop as of yet. I hope that helps. I will be researching here again when it is time to start from scratch in our new home....See MoreWolf DF vs. Thermador Pro Grand DF vs. Miele DF vs. BlueStar ranges
Comments (26)Sorry, just took a look at this thread again and noticed your question...by the time I got to Miele, I had decided on induction, so I didn't give the Miele an actual test drive. I did give it a pretty thorough inspection at the Miele place, though, and thought it was a very sexy range -- and the performance seemed very similar to the Wolf dual fuel. I say that b/c the Miele also has the stacked burners, which I really liked, but the BTUs are higher than Wolf (which top out at around 16k, I believe -- Miele was closer to 20k or so -- I can't quite remember). The Miele ovens on the 48" range were very nice -- the smaller one is a speed oven, and the bigger one is a regular convection. The speed oven wasn't a big plus for me personally, since I really wanted a steam oven as a second oven, but there are people on this forum who love their speed ovens. One thing I really liked about the Miele oven, which Wolf doesn't have, is the burst of steam option, which is great for baking (you can program up to 3 bursts of steam for up to 6 min. each during cooking). I didn't care that much about the MasterChef options on Miele, but again, others love these. At any rate, the Miele seemed very similar to the Wolf, I liked the steam option on the oven better and liked the Miele burners better (also, if you're interested in a grill, theirs was excellent and seemed very similar to the Wolf, which I think is the best in the business). If I had stuck with a range, I would have been very tempted by the Miele....See MoreThermador 30" Dual Fuel vs. Wolf 30" Dual Fuel range
Comments (5)The Wolf gas range does not have the blue interior and does not have the chipping. We bought Wolf for their supposed "great service" but were very disappointed. There are definite differences in gas and electric ovens. Of course you can bake in both of them, but some people might have a preference for one or the other. Gas ovens produce water as a byproduct of combustion but they have more ventilation so moisture from combustion and what you are cooking vent out so gas is more drying heat. You also will get more heat and moisture dumped into your kitchen. Electric heat does not produce moisture but tends to hold onto humidity from what you cook so are more humid. This will have some effect on what you are baking. The added moisture promotes starch gelatinization so may allow a little longer rise in things like bread or cakes. It also affects the crust. The electric ovens will hold onto added moisture that you might add while baking bread. You can use a cloche to keep moisture around your bread in a gas oven. A gas oven because it is drying promotes the Maillard reaction and therefore browning. This is why many like it for roasting. Drying is also good at the end of baking so that you get that browning which contributes to flavor. If you have an electric oven with convection, you can use the fan when you need the drying effect of more air movement. Electric ovens are as freidajune says can be more complex. They might have additional elements that can direct the heat, more from the top(for roasting) or bottom and may have elements in the back that are in theory supposed to provide more even heat when the oven is full. Some ovens have a variable speed with the fan but very few actually mention this in their manuals. They can also have little oddities in the way they work. You might consider the broiler. Some gas ovens have an infrared broiler which can be very small. I tend to broil trays of things so like a wider electric broiler. Regular gas broilers don't get as hot because the heat goes up....See More48 inch dual fuel range advice: monogram vs wolf vs thermador?
Comments (12)We purchased a Thermador 48” Dual Fuel range with 6 burners and an induction unit and double oven. Model PRD486WIGU. originally wanted a Wolf, but was told it was going to be about 9 to 12 months. Contractor suggested Airport Appliance who said they could get Thermador in 4 months which at the time would accomodate our remodel schedule. Turned out Thermador took 9 to 12 months, depending on the appliance, to deliver all appliances. Rude Thermador Customer service, hours wait to talk to someone, required 100% payment upon order. had our $25,000 whole time. Airport Appliance not much better. Lied about delivery times and deposit amount. Have had 3 service calls on range in first 6 months with burner issues. In my previous home we had a 48” Thermador cook top which we were pleased with which also influenced our decision to go with Thermador again, but never again! I dont recommend Airport Appliance either. Good luck however you decide....See MorePatricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agoUser
5 years agoSuzanne Giomi
2 years agoS A W
2 years agoSuzanne Giomi
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