I've had both the Viking gas range open burner (6) and the Thermador cooktop (LP) sealed burner (6) both 36 in. I prefer the Viking but I understand they are not making the open burners any more. I have one retailer looking for one for me because I'm replacing the Thermador (It died after 2+ years in a lightning strike). But (not to throw a monkey wrench into the mix) I think I'm gonna spend the extra money and get the Bluestar (because it has the open burners that I prefer). The Thermador had problems with the low simmer feature from the day I got it. The burner would shut off automatically even when on high or medium. Very frustrating. Its actually more difficult to clean than the open burner viking I had. And even the low simmer feature couldn't get low enough to simmer stock properly (my Kenmore gas grill burner did a better job). And if you have a problem with thermador, their customer service is lousy (Had the freedom fridge/freezer columns with mult repairs never really fixed). The Viking open burners I had in my old house for 7+ years NEVER had any problems. The range had a problem with the ignition ( the door would blow open because the unit would fill up with too much gas before sparking) It was fixed in short order (2or 3 days if I remember) and I never had another problem with it. Good luck with your decision!

After much research, I just ordered the Best by Broan liner for inside of my custom hood. Will order a Broan blower (either inline or exterior. Appliance salesman and contractor will work together to let me try inline first, and if it doesn't perform well enough, get the exterior.) Link to the liner is below. Best by Broan is Boran's upgraded line. This was a really important decision, so I would've paid anything. I looked at every high-end brand, and found that the Best by Broan was the only one that met my specific needs. I chose it because: 1) The option to attach to an inline (this goes in the attic) blower, or an exterior wall or roof mounted blower. These 2 blower options allow for quieter operation, and, especially in the case of the exterior blower, more CFMs for greater smoke capture and removal. 2) The size. 58"+ is 18" wider than our 36" Wolf with griddle. It might be overkill, but ours will be mounted higher than the ideal 30-36", and I wanted the extra width for capture. 3) The baffles. Easier to clean than mesh, like the look, and GWers explained that baffles are probably quieter than mesh. They also explained that the wider the baffled liner, the quieter, b/c the air can rush into more baffles at one time. This was another reason I chose the 58" width. 4) 4 fan speeds, 4-level lighting, lights and controls are well laid out, like the four 50w halogens. 5) The wall switch option. It's important to note, if you want a wall switch to operate your blower, that some brands either don't offer one, or the wall switch actually disables some functions (like multi-level lighting) once it's installed. This was the case with a basic Broan, which is why we chose instead the Best by Broan. 6) During decision time, the Broan/Best by Broan tech department was really helpful, knowledgable, and available. Good luck, and try posting in appliances, too. Those guys are incredibly knowledgable and helpful. Here is a link that might be useful: Best by Broan Liner

Kelli w - what you’re suggesting makes a lot of sense to me. I love to cook, but this range is too much heat for my space. It’s made cooking this past summer pretty miserable as I’ve set off alarms nonstop and don’t want to have guests come over and sweat in my kitchen with me. I’m a single mom of four kids ages 5-13, so practicality wins out a lot for me. I think a 30” range is a smarter way to go for me. I called a contractor that I spoke with several months ago when I was considering another house. He was very reasonable and had a lot of experience working with existing conditions. He said he could come over Tuesday and take a look. I want to see whether he could repair the drawers to slide better and what he would advise about the range/fan replacement issue. I have a home warranty that covers replacement of the fan and since they couldn’t come up with a good option for similar type of replacement to what I currently have, they are sending me a check for $829 to make my own decision as to what to put there. It seems like a good opportunity to sell the Viking and figure out a solution to that space. I also want him to talk to me about what it would cost to do new countertops, particularly if I need to reconfigure around the range in a way that countertops could help camouflage, and also about new flooring. The checkerboard is overpowering to me and some of the tiles are coming loose. I also want to see about removing the row of uppers that blocks view into the eat-in space and perhaps doing some better lighting. I would love some input about what kind and colors of of flooring and counters would work well here. I’m including some more pictures so you can see the entire space.

We bought a 60” Viking professional dual fuel range about two years ago now. We bought it because 1) we got a phenomenal deal on a floor model, 2) we loved how it looked and felt, 3) it was simple... not a bunch of electronic stuff. My hubby is extremely handy and felt like he could easily fix it if needed. We knew when we bought it that it was “as is” from the store and they were not going to provide any warranty for us. We were told by our salesman that the store owner had been the exclusive Viking dealer for many years in a large area, but Viking had recently started selling through other stores, so the owner gave Viking the proverbial finger and stopped carrying them altogether. Our range and matching hood was the last bit of Viking they had left and we got a sweet deal. (We weren’t originally looking to get a 60” range, we were looking for 48”, but were able to adjust our remodel plans to easily accommodate such a large piece of equipment.) I’ve been very happy with it to be honest! We had a very minor cosmetic issue when it was installed... we didn’t bother going through the store, we contacted Viking directly. All it was was a sagging trim piece on the front of one of the oven doors, didn’t affect function at all. Viking sent out a repair man, he was unable to fix it and Viking said they’d send out a new door. It took a few months to receive the door, but it’s not like I was left without a working oven in the meantime. I should mention that my range is one of the colored ones... so I assume they didn’t have that color just laying around. I wasn’t irritated by the timeline, but I did wonder if it would’ve taken that long had it been a functional issue. All in all, they got the oven door replace, looked perfect, and they didn’t charge me a dime for the new door or for the two visits from the repair man, so I was very pleased. I do like it better than any range or cooktop/double oven configuration I’ve had in the past. The nicest stuff I had previously was Kitchen-aid, and while I was always very happy with their customer service (the few times I’ve had to use it) I do feel like my Viking is nicer to use. The stainless steel that IS on it is more difficult to scratch, I much prefer the cast iron grates, and I have a black enamel surface on the top. It’s not really easier to clean than stainless steel, but it looks better even when it’s not clean, and it doesn’t scratch like all my previous ss tops. I also MUCH prefer the broiler function in my Viking ovens compared to my old KA or any other brand I’ve had in the past, it’s infrared and broils a lot more evenly. My old KA was terrible for that and I had to rotate things a certain way to get things evenly browned. My Viking does tend to cook a little higher and faster in the ovens than I was ever used to, and even more so when the ovens get dirty... but that’s been fairly easy to adjust to. I’ll include a before/after photo collage of my kitchen because it shows my range off nicely. I call it my “command central.” Hahaha! Like I said, hubby felt confident he could keep this range up and running for many years to come (We were just “done” trying to pick an appliance based on reviews anymore. Every brand has a ton of awful ones) but my hubby is very handy... he designed and built all of our kitchen cabinetry and did our entire gut job kitchen remodel himself. The only thing he hired out was the granite counters on the perimeter, but he did consider fabricating soapstone on his own. I know he could’ve done it, but he felt he’d bitten off enough of an elephant already. LOL! Hope my own review of my Viking range helps you. I know they get awful bad raps on this site because people don’t trust them yet. We didn’t entirely trust them either... we held our breath, made a decision, and prayed for the best. So far, so good. LOL!