I went with the Wolf - not installed yet but I am excited.
I looked at the KA but would go with the Jennaire over the KA
Actually, it came downn to the JA vs Wolf in the end.
I started with the elux but just didn't like the burner set-up.
The JA has a 5000 BTU burner and 2 bridges. The Wolf had a good set up and I could use my 13 inch pan but no bridge. I also liked the surface of the Wolf and lucked out getting it during their sale.
I decided on induction as I didn't want to put a make up air handling system into the house on top of the renovations. Our inspectors are holding the line on this!

We have the 36" Miele KM 5773 - and love it. Easy to use, very stylish. Some pots buzz at the highest setting - doesn't seem to matter if they're cheap or fancy... (only Le Creuset doesn't buzz - probably too heavy!)

Btw - we chose it after reading a million reviews here on GW...

Ours is set in a walnut island, stained pretty dark. I wish I had it set flush with the countertop, but my contractor took it away without asking... And then my housekeeper said having it slightly raised is better because food and crumbs don't get caught in it. Ours does not have stainless trim. Here is a picture:

awgemini - keep me posted as to what you think once it's installed. We don't have the choice of gas. What size/type vent did you go with? My KD is suggesting 42", which seems to be overkill to me, but not sure how it would look with 36".

eugenie - yours looks just beautiful with your walnut island. How long have you had your walnut island? It's stunning. I'm afraid we'd be too hard on a wood counter top. What size vent did you go with? My KD is suggesting 42", which seems to be overkill to me, but not sure how it would look with 36". And (ot) what are your other counter tops? Your kitchen is the look I'm after, except a little less modern with the vent hood, as our house was built in 1939.

I also have a 36 inch Miele. No stainless trim, but there is a very small stainless 'rim' around the unit that does not trap crumbs or crud. It's very easy to keep clean. I like the hob configuration, and the features that this cooktop has. It's not noisy as a rule, but if I have three or four pans going on high, sometimes a resonance sets up that's kind of interesting. Some pans do buzz occasionally and intermittently--I haven't really nailed down what circumstances give rise to that. None of the sounds that the pans make on the cooktop are very loud, and I don't find them annoying or even audible if you step out of the immediate cooktop area. Even if they were, I wouldn't care, because I love the responsiveness and the power, and the total ease of clean up. I also like that it offers the ability to customize many of the features, such as setting half steps to the power levels, power level at turn on, etc. I also like the turn off timers that the unit has and I use them often. It's a great unit.

I have a 42 inch hood over the cooktop. Normally you want to have a hood that's 6 inches wider than your cooktop to maximize the capture area of steam and grease. There are many threads on this topic if you care to search the forum, but the short answer is that it looks just fine. My opinion is that if you're going to spend the money on good venting, you might as well get a hood big enough to do the job well.

Best of luck with your new build,
Cj

We have 36 inch Wolf. Have had it since October. We love it. Nice choices for variety of pan sizes. Did read some complaints on GW about induction cooktops being noisy, but we don't notice the cooktop being noisy at all. We decided on Wolf mostly because of the setup and the controls as they are large, easy to see, easyto use.

I have a Bosch 36" 500 series. I've only used it a couple times for eggs because my kitchen is still in progress. Frankly, I went 36" because I had a 36" cabinet but could (should?) have gone 30" instead. There were a couple features that drew me to the Bosch:

True timers that turn the elements off. Every make has countdown timers but surprisingly few of them actually turn off the hobs. I did a batch of hard-boiled eggs and used the timer and it worked great. I doubt I'll use them frequently but they'll be handy for those occasional dishes where it works.

I really wanted a rimless top like the Bosch 300 series. My old solid plate convection cooktop was rimless and I really liked it. With rimless the food doesn't get trapped in the nooks and crannies. It's so much easier to clean. For some strange reason the manufacturers think that rimless is a low-end feature. In the end the Bosch 500 was a compromise because it's only edged on the front and back but not the sides so I can still wipe away the messes easily enough. I would have given up the timers for rimless, but the most important feature was...

Direct power level buttons instead of repeatedly hitting +/-. Being able to select the power level with a single button press approximates the grab and twist convenience of knobs.

Our house is also old (1930) and I don't love our modern range hood, but it was the only one that would fit our low ceiling, so we're stuck with it.

We were lucky because our cabinets were well made and classic, so we kept them, just replaced appliances and countertops.

Here are some pictures. You can also see pictures I posted when we finished if you type my user name in the search box.

Perimeter counters are honed black absolute. I read some reviews on GW that said BA was high maintenance, but my experience has been the opposite.

The walnut island also wasn't a choice: the combo of our low ceilings and the posts on either side of the island made it impossible to put in granite without a seam. We enlarged the island for seating. It has a marine finish, very easy to clean, but it does show scratches.

kammererk
T-2.5 weeks to demolition.
We are getting the 36 inch Wolf - 5 burners might be an overkill but liked the set-up.
My dream would be the no zone Gag, but not in my price range - although I hear Thermador will have this summer.

We went with the 36 inch Broan Evolution - our city is strictly enforcing the make up air if over 400cfm

Since we didn't have gas, I felt I could get away with the 36 inch hood.

Eugenie11 - Even though you don't think your vent/hood goes with your kitchen, it is just what I'm looking for in a new-build contemporary-ish kitchen ! Would you mind telling me what kind it is? CFMs, quiet, etc.?

Thanks!

Miele is the only way to go. Or may be the new Bertazzoni which is made by DIVA.

kammererk: " So, which model do you have and what do your love/not like about it? Is it noisy?
Also, if you have dark counter tops, how does it look? Do you have the stainless trim, or just go black to black?"

We have an LG LCE30845. As induction users go, we are old-timers, having switched to induction in 1999. Our first induction cooktop (the only induction cooktop that the former -- pre-Whirlpool -- Jenn-Air ever made) got sick. It needed a unique repair part, and Whirlpool, after having acquired Amana/Maytag/Jenn-Air had made sure that no parts -- or even a directory of places that MIGHT have parts -- for pre-Whirlpool Maytag or Amana or Jenn-Air products ever would see the light of day again. So we had no choice but to replace the Jenn-Air.

After we got past our first criterion -- no Whirlpool product, no way -- our second criterion was one that probably is irrelevant to you at this stage: the hole in our countertop that the old Jenn-Air had fit in. It happened that the LG LCE30845 fit that hole exactly. But we found, also, that the LG has a smaller required clearance under the deck than any other induction cooktop. Some induction cooktops require as much as two feet of clearance under the deck; the LG requires only two inches. As we already had a drawer under the cooktop, that was an important consideration.

The exhaust from the fan that blows air over the electronics exits through above-counter slots at the rear of the LCE30845; the exhaust of most induction cooktops, including our former Jenn-Air, vents to the space under the cabinet. However, the external sound level from the LG is less than the external sound level the Jenn-Air produced; neither unit produced or produces sound levels that we found to be annoying.

The LCE30845 comes in black with stainless front and back trim; I think that there are no other options.

You are looking at larger cooktops than the 30" cooktops we were considering. But the LCE30845 has other virtues:

o A true bridging element to convert the two left-side burners into a single large griddle unit.

o A maximum power draw that would not tax the 40-amp circuit in our built-in-1917 home. (The early 1950s era electric range that the Jenn-Air had replaced also had required a 40 amp circuit).

The cooling fan on the LG operates whenever any burner is in operation, and shuts off when all burners are shut off. We would feel more comfortable with a fan that is thermostatically controlled and continues to blow air over the electronics when the burner is shut off but a hot pot remains on the burner, which is the way our Jenn-Air fan operated, but the different fan logic of the LG so far has not presented a problem.

We have used the LCE30845 for three years now without a hitch. The largest (11") burner is "only" 3200 watts, but puts out more energy than we can use; it is hard to imagine how anyone cooking for eight or fewer diners could need a more powerfu burner. The bridged elements, together with the free oblong skillet that exactly covers them that LG supplies have allowed us to cook bacon without bending the slices for the first time in a long time.

We would buy another LCE30845 if this one needed replacement.

You are looking at higher-end units, we understand. But the reasonably priced LG LCE30845 holds its own.

I have a 5 burner DIVA which is called a "36 inch" but is actually closer to 37" with the stainless steel rim. Although I rarely use 5 burners, (maybe once or twice a year), I like the 36" size - the proportion looks good and the space is not wasted as you can set the cutting board directly on top of the unused burners and treat it as prep space. I like the DIVA, but probably would look at a Miele now, (they were not yet out when I was looking), simply because I have other Miele appliances and I'm happy with them. The DIVA performs very well, slight buzzing with some pans, and a clicking when on very low. I am very happy with induction and would get it again in a heartbeat. My only semi complaint is that the touch pad is "touchy" - can inadvertently be turned off or up by an accidental graze of my hand. This rarely happens now as I'm aware of it and am careful, but it does bug me. On another note, DIVA mailed my cooktop directly to me promptly, and they have responded on technical questions immediately via email. Their tech support is pretty good.

to burntfingers - it's an Electrolux - my paperwork says Glass Canopy Island Hood - model # RH 36 PC 60G S

It is 36" and 600 CFM. The sound is bearable at the lowest speed - and quite powerful too. I find the higher speeds too loud and I don't flambe or wok, so I haven't needed them.

I think it's a pretty good hood. Reasonably priced. If I'd had a more creative contractor, I would have designed some kind of custom cabinet to hide the hood... Maybe in my next life.

But lots of people really like it! Hope this helps!

I've had two. I liked my first because the buttons were out of the way on the side and because you could pick your level with one button instead of tapping up or down to the desired setting (Kenmore circa 1983).

I liked my second because it never ever EVER emitted a beep (Windcrest, coupla years ago).

Some have more features. I like the simple ones with the on and the off and the different levels.

Do any of the ones listed (besides the Bosch) have a timer that shuts down the element ??

We have the Miele KM 5773 36" Induction Cooktop and LOVE, LOVE it! It is so, so, so easy to clean...it's almost comical! I use all Le Creuset cookware, and there is NOT the tiniest bit of buzzing, ticking or noises. The powere is awesome, and the automatic turn off timers are THE BEST. With the auto off feature, I now have the world's best rice cooker :)

I will NEVER, NEVER own a gas cooker again!!!

Here is a picture of our Miele Cooktop. We had to do some creative countertop engineering. Our 36" cut out in the cabinets, had a big 36" Thermador Range. We used black granite, and made a border, to house the Induction Cooktop, and then put cabinets underneath (great with extra storage, where the range used to be :)

Everybody loves what they have!

I love my Bosch because it has minimal clearance requirements underneath, and I have a utensil drawer. I have turn off timers, but haven't used them. I have direct hob power selection, no tapping, just pick the number of power you want. One touch to pick your power. Bosch has a wide range of power offerings. I like the hob arrangement. I like the, much more than adequate, power afforded by my Bosch. Power sharing between hobs has never been an issue. It does not vibrate or make noise, but I am a tad hard of hearing (just my husband, lol).

No other manufacturer provides any other feature that interests me. TOL Bosch has auto chef, which does not interest me. Bosch is and has been a leader in induction.

I think they all clean easily and respond to changes instantly. In my mind, they all have more than adequate power. What would I do with 4 million btu's? Torch a city?

we also have the miele 36" cooktop and love it. would never go back to gas or coil electric. so responsive, easy to clean is an understatement, no complaints. went with miele for configuration, reputation, quality and looks. did consider wolf, but more money and felt miele had better options. did look at elux, but did not like the stainless strip and heard iffy things about them through word of mouth. just liked everything about the miele.

good luck!!

Thanks, Eugenie!

We have the GE Profile 30-Inch Smooth Surface Induction Cooktop PHP900DMBB. We Chose it because of its looks and sleek design with no trim and touch pad controls. Have not used it yet but looks nice on our black granite counter top! I will let you know when I get around to using it. Still need to buy new pans and get back into the cooking mode. Our remodel is almost done. we got our wall oven in yesterday.

The GE Monogram requires 12" space underneath and most of the others don't. The Thermador, Miele, and Bosch have cook timers that turn off. The GE Monogram and Electrolux do not turn off.

They all have different size elements so you can see which configuration works for you.

Some of the models (Thermador,, Bosch) has direct touch for the heat level you want. Others you have to tap tap tap to get to the number (Monogram actually is touch and hold, and Miele I forget.) Electrolux I THINK is tap tap tap but not sure. (I did all this last month and am looking at my notes)

I am confused about Power Boost but I wrote these notes when going through the user manuals. Maybe someone can clear this up???

Thermador: other in zone has to be off
Miele: Booster Power share
Bosch: other in zone has to be off
Monogram: Power Share if other is off
Electrolux: Power Share-- other DOESN'T have to be off.

Is that correct?

Another thing is how long the burner will stay on if you remove a pan from the element (like for shaking the pan around). Again, This is what I wrote from the manual but you should double check. I'm not guaranteeing any info : )

Thermador: 90 seconds
Miele: Pan Remove 3 minutes
Bosch: Doesn't Specify
Monogram: 30 seconds
Electrolux: 3 minutes

Pretty good summation on the Elux, and I'm not familiar with the others, so No comment there.

Having the Elux Induction Icon cooktop and loving it , by the way, it is not "tap tap tap".

If you leave your finger on the up/down buttons, then it will "scroll" up or down as long as your finger is there.

I just made another bacon , potatoe & eggs breakfast, after first covering the cooktop with paper towels,
NEVER DO THAT & LEAVE THE COOKTOP UNTATTENDED!!!! AND I would be carefull about doing that on the hotter settings, especially boost.

One can guess my cootop cleanup after "said breakfast"?

Gary

I don't know the exact time the Bosch will shut off after the pan has been removed, but it is quite a while. You can put the pan under the faucet to add water to the pan, and then continue cooking. Shaking is absolutely not a problem.

But even if any cooktop shut off after pot is removed, it takes an instant to put the pot back on the hob and touch whatever thingy to cook again. Bosch or anyone, just an imagined issue, prior to actually using an induction.