Subzero-Wolf or GE Monogram
Robin Katzenstein
4 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (44)
Babar
4 years agoJOe Guilot
4 years agoRelated Discussions
GE Monogram dual fuel range vs Wolf
Comments (1)Reviews of both on our site. See link below. Major differences between them are 1) price, the Wolf will cost much more - and 2.) quality, see them in person, the Wolf is in another league in the quality area, also their customer service is praised by many. All the best, Appliance Buyer's Guide...See MoreSubzero/Wolf vs. new GE Monogram
Comments (14)After reading endless posts and reviews here and elsewhere, we went for the Wolf. It is a pain to clean (even though they say it will be easy) - and the burners chipped my porcelain sink. Each grate must weigh 5 lbs., and the grill option grate must weigh 8-10 lbs. Maybe all the stoves are like this. The worst thing about this stove is the oven rack design. They don't glide easily, and are difficult to change out when the oven is cool, deadly when the oven is hot. Their designers missed the simple AND functional concept. Mechanically it is superior - temperature regulation and those sorts of things are engineered well. Flame control is good. It looks like a tank in the kitchen. Won't buy another one. Only two dealers in our area, service has been horrible. The first stove showed up looking like it had been hit by a train - someone had dropped a forklift load on it thinking we wouldn't notice. They also scratched our wood floors delivering it, and the replacement. I am a year plus trying to get a faulty stainless trim piece replaced - and I bought the entire extended warranty. Next stove will be LaCanche or KitchenAid. Even if they won't work as well (might work better, not sure), at least they will be more pleasing to look at every day. The problem with these sorts of things (Ranges, Hoods, HVAC, Refrigerators, Toilets, etc) is that you can't really run the full range of use before you purchase....See MoreWill I be disappointed if I go with a Wolf or GE Monogram range?
Comments (15)I think everyone who has considered the Culinarian has had the same concerns. Many have taken steps to see the range in person and, in some cases, meet and talk to the head of Capital. I may be speaking out of turn but I'd wager a large percentage of people who are serious buyers that has seen a Culinarian in person has been impressed and had their concerns put at ease. Trevor is being a bit modest I think in saying he had a small part in bringing this range to market. My read is that Surjit is a very conservative individual which is a very good thing for someone in his position. I think Trevor has done a lot to balance that with more aggressive marketing to the early adopter market. The combination is a good one and I think drives innovation tempered with caution. Surjit seemed pretty confident in a September delivery and reluctantly said maybe early in the month. In the end, I think transparency is a very good thing. We, the consumers, get to have a level of input that we never get otherwise. Capital, the manufacturer, gets early feedback that results in a much better (i.e. sellable) product right off the line. Only you can decide if you want to be one of these early adopters. I can only repeat what I've said many times before. I was very skeptical at first but after seeing the range in person and meeting Surjit, I'm convinced that this will be a quality product right out of the gate. Will you be disappointed with Wolf or GE Monogram? Only you can answer that and only after you make your decision. If you want open burners but settle with sealed, I think chances of you regretting your purchase is reasonably high. Good luck....See MoreWolf, Viking, Thermador, GE Monogram gas oven which is the best
Comments (8)I can't tell you what is best from what you said. There are so many styles of cooking. Some people use high heat a lot for stir frys while others are more the simmering type. Some people here say they are amateur chefs while others are home cooks. Some are cooking for two while others cook for 10 for three meals a day. Cookware can range from small pots to large 14" frying pans. Some people cook with cast iron or enameled cast iron while others have restaurant grade aluminum or heavy gauge copper. These vary a lot in their ability to transfer heat so vary in how evenly they heat. Most people these days seem to have some version of stainless which can be all over the place depending on the metal in the layers. The ranges that you are looking at are all very different in what they do and BS is very different from the others. You will hear people advise on this forum "open burners are the best" What does this mean? Manufacturers use confusing terminology. Several claim to have "open" burners which can be very misleading because they are not all talking about the same thing. Looking at the specific parts of the burner and using specific terminology will help you see what will help you. "Open" actually refers to the burner tray when it has an open area around the burner. The tray can also be sealed -or fixed to the burner. The sealed tray came about in the mid 1980s to keep spills from going down into the works of the range. At the same type the burners were capped to prevent food from going into the burner ports. Before that all gas burners were open. You can still buy very inexpensive open burner ranges. Some burners have a tray that comes very close to the burner but disassembles for cleaning. There are all kinds of variations now so it is important to use specific terminology so you understand what you are getting. BS has a pull out tray under the burners to make it easier to clean. People have very strong opinions sometimes either way about which is easier to clean. Wolf and Thermador are sealed so it is pretty straight forward. This shows how a BS is cleaned. https://youtu.be/3K2DR2ub1sA To understand the difference in how these burners relate to cooking, look at some of the aspects of design that give certain functions. In looking at burners, consider the BTUs, high if you like to stirfry or need to heat something quickly. Look at the low end of The BTU range of the burner if simmer is important. A lot of burners have higher BTUs now, but BS has a couple of things that affect how the heat is applied to the pan. They do not have a burner cap. This allows the heat to go straight up. This is what some people mean when they say "open". A cap causes more spread of the flame on highest heat. Wolf has a dual stacked burner so there is a little less of the flare because you really have two burners and the range of heat is spread over two burners. Another important design aspect is the shape of the burner. The BS has a star configuration which distributes heat over a greater area. This is the BS star burner top and Wolf on the bottom The star burner is an advantage in getting heat to the bottom of a wok or gives better distribution on cookware that does not distribute heat very well like cast iron, enameled cast iron or some stainless but the cookware must be sized to the burner to take advantage of the star configuration. If you have a ring burner, your cookware can also distribute heat if you have thick copper or aluminum. The burner ports are also aligned on the sides of the rays of the star so as you turn the burner up, the flame stays in a specific area. A ring capped burner will flare more on high heat. I have Wolf so this actually works well for me. I like that the burner flares because I use high heat on big frying pans. I also have heavy aluminum or copper so the star is not as much as a benefit for me. I don't really want heat toward the middle but others do. I would try to find "live" demo ranges and take some of your cookware and see how this will work with your pans. Here are some burners with different features. You can see why you need specific terminology rather than just the ambiguous term "open". Star capped burner sealed tray. Probably one of the widest burners on high heat. Thermador. Star shaped, uncapped burner, semi sealed tray in that it comes very tight to the burner but comes off for cleaning (American Performer) Capped burner, open tray, an (older Viking). They advertised this as "open". 23K, Triple ring, uncapped burner. Semi sealed tray. Capital. Advertised as "open" BlueStar actually has several types of ranges. In my order of preference. RNB-high BTU, 22K star shaped, open tray RCS, lower BTU, 15K, star shaped, open tray sealed burner, 21K BTUs, ring burner, sealed tray Platinum, highest BTU, and you can change out an overlay griddle tray for a grill. The oven is odd in that all the heat comes from the back and the convection never shuts off completely. There is also a brand called Big Chill that has a pro model made by the company that makes BS closest to the sealed burner model. https://bigchill.com/30-pro-range.html Another aspect of performance is the oven. Look at the broiler size. I don't know what you have now but most prostyle ovens have a gas infrared broiler. Much hotter than a regular gas broiler but often small. The Monogram has a reversing convection fan. One of the problems with a convection fan is that it can set up an air current that makes hot spots. Manufacturers deal with this by using baffles or two fans with varying degrees of success. The fan in the Monogram reverses periodically to avoid hot spots. Monogram and BS I believe will both hold a full sized commercial baking pan. Check out out the service available in your area on these different brands. Gas ranges have a lot less to go wrong but still might need service. I like the American Performer range but users here have reported poor response from the company on warranty issues. Wolf is great for the two year warranty period but after that, you have to use their people and the cost is determined by Wolf. No competition....See Morepaddykk
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4 years agoMichelle misses Sophie
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4 years agoMichelle misses Sophie
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoB D
4 years agopaddykk
4 years agoMichelle misses Sophie
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