5 Star Range Question

Wow, 60" range. That's serious for any home. I'm not sure about the 5-Star Product... but from what we learned when we remodeled our kitchen is that there is alot of name plates put on stuff that was manufactured for them by another name plate. The 5-Star was never seen or wasn't available in our area

In our case because of having to take money from one end of the budget (Appliances) and put it into two others (Silestone Counters and Cherry Cabinets and wifey happy so...) we chose the Monogram line. Ours was manufactured by DCS so I figured that we would have the performance built right in to it. We also wanted to stay brand specific with the looks of the kitchen. O'boy was I completely wrong. That Wolf sure looks good now that we are on our second Monogram. Too bad they didn't offer a fridge and dishwasher.

Anyhow the sealed burners are nice but I do miss the all stainless steel and cast Iron look of the more comercial ranges so it's a "six of one Half dozen of another" approach with this respect.

I guess if your going to actually use the piece of equipment instead of have it in the kitchen for show as so many folks do buy the better. It'll pay for itself in the long run and just figure you won't or shouldn't ever have to replace it if you keep it in top performing order. Here's the results of or remodel a couple years ago.

Residential Wolf got sold to Sub-Zero. My experience with anything Sub-zero is that you're paying for the "name", same as for the name "Wolf". The Sub-zero Series 500 Refridgerator/tuck-under Freezer drawer we have is badly engineered. The cooling coil (on top of the refridgerator section) is tucked back in the corner and is hardly accessible. You have to blow air through it to clean out the dust or the refridgerator overheats. The plastic fan blade also tends to break when the unit heats up. We have to use a gasoline-powered leaf blower to have any hope of clearing out the dust so the the cooling works. This is an example of bad Sub-zero engineering of today.

The same company is now engineering the Wolf brand of appliances, so don't expect more than that you're paying for the "name" again, not the engineering!

Same thing holds true for cars. If the "brand" is well-known, even if the cars are made by the same OEM manufacturer, the "brand" will cost you $$$$ more.

If you have such a Large kitchen, I'd see about buying a Commercial Wolf appliance. They're 1/3 the cost of the residential and have 2 times the BTU's or more. You can spend the difference on insulation and venting (for the heat) and make-up air systems. You'll be ever so much happier!!

Just my opinion. Also, NEVER EVER buy anything made by Dacor!

(sorry got to thinkin' about the troubles with our kitchen remodel and the brands we went with!) :)

doc

Yes yes and no. If you go with commercial ranges nothing much will go wrong, yes, they are cheaper AND better built, and yes, they put out heat, lotsa heat--25,000 btu's or more per open burner vs the 14,000 on "residential" ranges.

But...

As Doc correctly points out you will need a firewall or some kind of fireproof insulation as well as proper ducting and venting for this monster. Also, if your gas line is sufficient for a 60" range. If you want to go this route, it's well worth the hassle, but it will be a hassle. You'll need to check with City or Municipal Hall, adhere to the codes, have the unit and installation inspected, and may have to install a fire supression system. Failure to do this, and your home insurance company will have a bad case of amnesia. Weigh out the pros and cons carefully, talk to plumbing contractors and mechanical engineers before asking for quotes. Once the money is spent, it's spent.

I have a 5 star range. I am an experienced home cook, and i like my range. i needed two ovens, and lots of burners. The price is right. I had it serviced once early on, but not again in years. I have the griddle because we can grille outdoors all the time, but I am kind of scared to us the griddle I don't want to get  it dirty. I fry and bake a lot. I have the electric on one side and the smaller gas oven on the other. I have since countertops and went for the black range. It's a good look in my space, and it is even cheaper' I recommend the 5star, especially because it has no electronics, which don't like heat, and also because viking is touted as unreliable

I started out with a general electric range and then switched to a 5 star--it was so different! Overall I loved it, and I paid $7000, but was it really worth the extra cash? I think you really need to consider your needs before making such a purchase. However I will say that we never had any problems with the 5 star (still to this day), and that is hard to find. In regards to your sealed or open burner question--we have an open burner and love it. I don't think there is really a difference in terms of quality, though. Good luck!

I know this is an old post and amdisil has probably made his choice by now but, I thought I'd share this story

 

About 8 years ago, we were updating our kitchen and I did some research into residential cooking equipment.

My first thought was the Thermador Star Burner. It seemed very efficient for a home range.

When I visited the appliance store and discussed my cooking style and needs, he suggested that I may not be happy with Thermador (which he sells).

He suggested that I visit 2 different distributors and actually "cook" on the cooktops. Imagine that!

 

I went to the first distributor with my ingredients and my cookware and tested Thermador and 5 Star.

The first test was boiling water.

Same pot, cold tap water - Thermador, had to put the lid on the pot to get a boil in 9 minutes

5 Star - 4 minutes

To be fair, Thermador was sealed burners and 5 Star was open burners

Thermador was rated a 15K BTU and actually put out 12K

5 Star was rated at 18K BTU and put out 18K.

 

I went to the second distributor and tested Wolf

Water boiled in 5 minutes

Burners are semi-sealed and rated at 18K put out about 17K

But it was the double convection oven that sealed the deal.

Pre-heated to 550F Convection Bake with an integrated baking stone option

Made a pizza and slid it in.

When I went back to the oven in 6 minutes to turn the pizza around (to brown the other side), it was done perfectly!

 

I am now, and have been for 8 years, the proud cook in a Wolf kitchen

The morale of this story is:

Go cook on the equipment you are planning to buy.

You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive and a well outfitted kitchen will cost as much as a small car!

 

I redid our kitchen back in 1997 and scored a South Bend 60" range plus the hood for $800 out of the local buy/sell paper.  We had to clean it, but it wasn't too bad and with two ovens, six burners, griddle and salamander it has been a real workhorse for me.  Can't beat the commercial stuff - I haven't had to do a thing on it since I installed it.  Love the stainless front, splash, shelf and hood.  The cook top is black enamel with open cast burners.