I have the Bosch 500 & use my individual timers quite often- love this cooktop! I have, fortunately, never managed to activate the overflow turnoff!

jerzeegirl - Seriously, just look at what the manufacturer says in their literature. ajmadison had to physically read the Bosch literature and then retype it on their site for each product, introducing a level of possible error. Perhaps the template they use only allows for one number rather than a range so they picked one. You'll notice they picked the opposite ends of the depth number as well. If you prefer ajmadison information to Bosch information, the installation manual eleena linked from ajmadison specifies EXACTLY the same measurements. When you are installing appliances, the appliance manufacturer's Installation Manual is the Bible - use those measurements regardless of any other measurements or numbers you may see on any other website anywhere. Period. It is their job and in their best interest to tell you what is required for installation of their appliances. Even if you decide to purchase a larger cabinet, the hole you cut in your countertop will have to be the size specified by the manufacturer, and it will still be a tight fit - it has to be a tight fit in order to adequately support your cooktop. I don't think we can make it any clearer than that. Now, go have a glass of wine and relax. Several months from now you'll laugh about this.

From what ssdarb reports, it seems that there may be a question about whether the bubble-pattern in the boil-test is the result of an expanded induction field from the burner or instead is the result of heat conducting across the base from the central heated area (what kas called" transverse thermal conduction from the center."). So, following up on what Kas just said, I suggest running the bubble-pattern test with a large cast-iron skillet rather than a thin steel pan. Or, you could use an infra-red thermometer gun if you have one. (Should work well measuring surface temperature distribution across the dark surface of a CI pan.) I'm suggesting cast iron because, in my experience, cast iron pans show heat pretty quickly in the parts of the base that are within an induction field but do not do a good job of conducting heat outward across the base without a lot of preheating for a fairly long time. IIRC, the Bosch cooktop's outer ring marking is for 11" and the inner ring marking is for something like 7" or so. A 12" cast-iron skillet will have a base that is around 10" across and should be sufficient to see whether there is an expanded boil pattern from being within the burner field. (You also could do this with a big carbon steel skillet but you probably need a larger one --- cs pans generally have much wider flaring sides and correspondingly smaller base diamters, so a 12" cs pan might have only an 8½" base). I'm suggesting these kinds of pans because if anything is going to react to an induction field, it will be CI and CS pans. If the boil pattern expands across the base from the inner ring's area within a minute or so, the big burner is producing a wider field more or less matching the ring markings on the glass top. If takes several minutes to get bubbles in what Kas called the annular area -- and maybe it never happens if the field is only in the 7" area --- then the Bosch's big burner is not producing the advertised heating area. If it is somewhere in-between, there may be a problem with the induction coil. I think it is possible to have a two-ring ring system as Kas discussed --- manufacturers having been doing that for years with radiant electric burners --- but it seems to me to be unnecessary with with induction's "built-in" pan sensing. Seems to me that, if the field is supposed to be strong out to 10 or 11 inches, and is not, then there's a problem with coil and a warranty service call would be appropriate. As an aside, the notion of "automatic pan size sensing" is . . . well, it seems to me that the notion is just marketing blather. An induction burner will only heat metal within the area of the field, right? Use a pan smaller than the field size, and only the pan is heated (down to a certain minimum pan size below which there is insufficient mass to allow the burner to operate.) So the burner has adjusted to pan size, right? Put a bigger pan on that burner and the large pan is heated out to the edges of the field strength. No need for sensors for that kind of "magic" adjustment to pan size, eh?

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!