I apologize in advance that I cannot answer your specific questions, but I was wondering if you've thought about the exhaust hood for the 48" range. It will need to be 48-54" wide, and have a lot of cfms for that large of a cooktop. Since you said you cannot fit wall ovens, do you have the wall space for the hood?

Are you looking at all gas or dual fuel?

Full size commercial baking sheets fit in my Bluestar RNB 48” no problem. There is plenty of room to spare as well for air circulation. For the smaller oven, I use quarter size commercial sheets and smaller lasagna pans with plenty of room to spare. I find the smaller oven perfect for day to day cooking, and the preheat time is excellent. The preheat time in the main oven is also shockingly fast as well, although when I cook those quantities preheat time is not a concern of mine. The broiler element on the bluestar is in the main oven and it is huge. I can grill 10 skewers at a time with perfectly even results, or up to 4 large salmon filets cooked with an even gold crust through to the edges, with a perfect cook through the middle. I may be to do more but have not had a need to try yet.

We use our "everyday" oven quite a lot. 9x13 sheets is very practical. It can fit standard rectangular casseroles no problem. It is no less capable than the full size oven next to it. I prefer this size arrangement so the large oven can fit a full size commercial baking sheet. Monogram 48" here. Of course, I do have a 30" wall oven to go with the range ovens.

Thanks for the feedback!

To respond to Shannon_WI's question...I did not want to go to s 48" range as I wanted the cabinet space, but the only practical place in our kitchen for the wall ovens would be where out pantry (floor to ceiling cabinet) is supposed to go....so losing an additional 12" of an upper and a lower cabinet might be the lesser of two evils (in going from a 36" to a 48" range). But yes, I am aware that a 48" range will require a (12") larger venthood.

Great feedback on just using 9x13s instead of half sheets...not reason I shouldnt be able to adjust my practices similarly.

As far as gas or DF....I have been leaning toward DF for the features that come with an electric oven that I think we would like....but am very frustrated with the dimensions of the Wolf ovens...(had been mainly looking at wolf/bluestar)

Wolf would be a good choice but all models of Wolf ovens with blue interiors have had the issue of blue chipping enamel. This has gone on at least 10 years, as noted on this forum. There are several class action law suits filed and some people on this forum have had 3 different wall ovens that have failed and they did get their money back. The ranges sometimes take longer to fail so you would be out of warranty. This is what happened to me. You are then at their mercy as to what they want to charge because you have to uae their repair people. They won’t tell you what it costs and won’t guarantee the new liner more than one year. I have the Wolf 36” DF and it doesn’t hold a full sheet either.

As mishmash says Monogram does hold a full baking sheet. It might be the only electric oven in a DF range that does. I think it has a reversing convection fan which might help some of the issues you find with hot spotting in convection ovens. What type of baking do you do? What type of oven do you have now?

Another option for ovens that are a little smaller is called the 2/3 or 3/4 sheet, (21x15”)

Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Big Sheet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OM53G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_6.x.BbQEF13S3

I am aware of the blue chipping...I honestly hadnt decided whether or not I was concerned with it...some places said it was aesthetic, someone also mentioned that it had to do with things contacting the blue enamel, or with oven cleaning cycles....but the bottom line is I know its an issue but hadnt figured out what my level of concern was....I was really more hung up on the fact that their 36" range cant fit a full sheet pan and my parents' 30" whirlpool wall oven can :)

in terms of baking, I mostly bake cookies for the holidays. My wife does the baking the rest of the year...she likes to bake cakes and cookies etc. I do like to cook though so I roast meats/veggies and sometimes braise in the oven.

Current oven is a POS all gas 30" probably original to the house 17 years ago. The range cant boil a pot of water in under 30 minutes, no burner is capable of simmering (they just boil/burn) and the oven is off by approx 15-20 degrees (so we use a little hanging oven thermometer on the rack and adjust the preheat accordingly.

We looked at Wolf and other brands, but after getting over price shock we ended up buying a DCS dual fuel 48" range, and a vent-a-hood insert with 900 CFM capacity. DCS may not have the name recognition of some other brands (it is made by Fisher-Paykel), but it has held up and worked extremely well since we installed it in 2008.

The small oven is extremely useful because it preheats so quickly, and the large oven is always there if you need to use larger pans. We chose to have a griddle on one side of the cooktop, and it is outstanding for cooking steaks, making pancakes, or any other tasks. The griddle has a stainless steel cover, so you just clean up the surface with non-toxic griddle cleaner (no elbow grease at all) and cover it after use.

Bruce

I have the wolf 48” dual fuel. New build and we’ve been in the house about 4 months. I was a little surprised that I couldn’t fit larger baking sheets, but it’s really not a problem at all. I have so many baking sheets in different sizes so I just use what fits. I really thought the small side oven would be a waste, but I actually love it....it holds more than you would think. I put the oven through its paces this Thanksgiving and roasted veggies and baked rolls in the side oven (you can bake 3 lasagnas in there in 3 13x9” pans) as well as a ton of other dishes in the larger oven. The oven cooks beautifully. I also have a french door GE wall oven and there is really no comparison between it and the Wolf. The Wolf cooks so much better. One thing I would highly recommend if you get a 48” Wolf is to get the easy glide full extension ball bearing racks. When I purchased my oven, this was not an option for the smaller oven (only for the large oven) but I do think it’s available now for the smaller oven. GET THEM FOR ALL YOUR RACKS if you can. In the small oven, the racks hardly extend at all (see pic of fully extended racks) and the scraping noise they make could drive you crazy (like chalk on a blackboard). I don’t even pull the racks out because it’s almost pointless and I seriously can’t tolerate the noise they make.

6 - Misc · More Info

Bruce in North Virginia: It hink you're the first person I have run across who has a DCS/FP pro style range. When I first started looking at ranges I was looking at the DCS 48" because I liked the design of having the double griddle to one side and a 5 burner continuous grate rangetop on the other side. Also like the light up indicator rings on the knobs...seems like a convenient idea.

Unfortunately no one has had anything comforting to say about FP that I have seen online or in stores in my area. The fact that they have changes hands a few times and there isnt a very big customer base leads to concerns about maintenance/parts if you do have an issue (not that I have seen anyone report of having issues...but I also havent seen anyone report that they use one until now)

“But yes, I am aware that a 48" range will require a (12") larger vent hood”

The hood only needs to be 6” total wider than range. I.e. the hood should be 54” for a 48” range.

According to Wolf it is NOT required to have the hood 6” wider than the range. I have seen that number tossed around here a lot, but it is not required by Wolf. This is from their PDF on clearances etc.

I asked at a local major wolf dealer and he said that some people run larger hoods but said 95% of their pro ranges are matched with same-size hoods.

What I meant was that I was aware that a 48" range would reuire a 12" wider hood than the alternative (a single oven 36" range). I would be losing 6" of cabinet space on either side going from 33" uppers and lowers to 27'.....I was responding to the original comment...

“I am aware of the blue chipping...I honestly hadnt decided whether or not I was concerned with it...some places said it was aesthetic, someone also mentioned that it had to do with things contacting the blue enamel, or with oven cleaning cycles.”

This sounds like answers from Wolf. They do try to say it is cosmetic when you first contact them. Enamel chipping is glass shards and one poster here was injured plus who wants that blowing around with the convection fan.

Wolf does try to blame the consumer. “ You must have put something on it.” Me -No, I followed the instructions given perfectly.

Some Wolf ovens have failed without using self clean, but even if you did use it, it is an advertised feature, included in the instruction manual that you paid for. I have heard of dealers advising not to use self clean. I’ve had several inexpensive ovens that self cleaned with no issues.

As far as how you use your oven, it would seem that you would be about as well off with gas as a fuel. Gas ovens tend to brown better so would be good for cookies and roasting. The only thing that gas might not be as good would be cakes. If you have recipes that work with gas already than, that might work well too. You would miss some of the control you have with some electric ovens, like direction of heat or is there some other feature?

You did not mention anything about burners or griddles.

There used to be a poster here that had DCS maybe about the same age as Bruce’s. I know they made some changes in the burner after that.

“According to Wolf it is NOT required to have the hood 6” wider than the range. ”

“I asked at a local major wolf dealer and he said that some people run larger hoods but said 95% of their pro ranges are matched with same-size hoods.”

They also sell down draft ventilation. Just because they do that 95% of the time, doesn’t mean you should. I would independently educate yourself about all of these issues. People who are selling, are often motivated by commissions and bonuses. Adequate ventilation can be very expensive and if you lose a sale because someone can’t or doesn’t want to pay for ventilation well, you can see the motivation. I could tell you some real whoppers I was told while shopping for appliances.

There is a poster here, Kaseki, who is an expert in ventilation. This is just one post in which they participated. Some codes also require make up air.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5161173/hood-faq#n=23

According to Wolf it is NOT required to have the hood 6” wider than the range.

Nidnay - well, yeah, it's not required. Nor is the Wolf itself required; you can buy the least expensive Maytag range and it will cook your food. A hood 6" wider than the range/cooktop is optimal. In every kitchen, there are compromises as well as things the homeowner wants to be optimal, even if that is just in the eyes of the beholder. Every choice that is made in a kitchen reno is like that Nidnay. It doesn't help much to point to a manual that is made to be as generic as possible to fit the broadest audience rather than targeting individual setups.

Shannon.....I agree with you, but I think it’s important when giving advice here that rather than stating that something “needs” to be a certain way or must be installed in such and such a way that we rather start with facts and quotes first from manufacturers recommendations and then explain why and how their guidelines can be improved upon. To say that a range hood HAS to be 6” wider than the range (I have read this over and over on these discussion boards) is just not true. Writing that would lead me to believe that unless I go with the six inch rule, I CANNOT safely install a hood. And really, if you want to catch all of the gunk that is billowing into the air from intense cooking, it needs to be much wider than 6”.

Agree with you nidnay. 3” overhang on the sides is absolutely not a requirement for a well functioning hood. It is a number touted on this forum by a very select few. Is it better? Yes. Optimal? Not at all. In my opinion optimal would be 6” overhang on each side including the front just as the NFP dictates for commercial setups.

Of course that is not the option I went with for my kitchen, too ugly. I stuck with a hood same width as my range and I’ve been doing perfectly fine. All four of my front burners have been modified to 28k btu output as well and I have great effluent capture. All the science in the world cannot beat real world application. I am sure there are scenarios where extra hood width helps, with all the daily cooking I do I have not found it yet.