Anyone?

hapa,
I just wanted to reply to you to make sure you understand that you are not being snubbed, I just don't think anyone has any experience with this brand, thus the dearth of replies. Sorry. I did read your post and I did look at the link you supplied and will make some comments, but please keep in mind that I have never seen nor evaluated this product.

But these are the questions I would ask:
1. Where are these devices made? Are they manufactured in the U.S. or are they imported? If imported, where from?

2. Their website. Where is the support area? Where is the customer help? All I can find are sales and promotional links and a couple of roped off areas for dealers and distributors. I can't even find a customer support phone number on the site proper. To get that I had to go to the back page of one of their amateurishly written and poorly illustrated "Manuals" to find a number to call for service.

So those would be the concerns that would hop into my admittedly suspicious mind. I would be wondering if I were purchasing rebranded Chinese merchandise or components at a huge markup with sketchy or non-existent customer service after the sale. I would be scrupulously examining both the product and the company behind it, including the experiences of people who have had to have service done on these appliances.

BTW, this is not a knock against Chinese goods, some of which do a good job at what they are designed to do even if a bit rough around the edges. The thing I don't like is somebody rebranding Chinese goods and trying to sell them like they were made here when they weren't. I am not saying that this is what Windcrest or CNP is doing, but I would sure be asking the questions if I were in the market to buy one of their products.

Best of luck to you in the search and have fun. Outfitting a new kitchen is a blast if you take your time and look for what is really best for your needs.

I have a Wind Crest cooktop, but not gas. Fit and finish is very nice, although simple. It's not low end rebranded junk (it's induction and the guts are made by Fagor Brandt), although their web site sure looks it. I haven't dealt with customer service.

The knobs could be a problem. You really need to check it out in person. Call the company and ask them questions. See if they'll talk!

But a big pot hanging off the cooktop over the counter is going to leave a scorch whatever the cooktop--sounds like the reviewer didn't know much about fire. :)

Yay!! Wow, someone who owns a Wind Crest! Good to hear it's not just rebranded junk, but I for sure will want to see it in person if I decide to buy one. Hm... might try calling that customer support number to see if anyone actually answers.

Fori - are your knobs metal? The gas drop in cooktop looks like it has metal knobs. I'm thinking with a 36" 5 burner cooktop that I hopefully won't have big pots overhanging the cooktop anyway (the reviewer just had a 30"). And the big powerful burner is right in the middle... so might heat up the knobs some.

mojavean - thanks for the post and insight. :) You bring up some good points that I hadn't thought of, so I will be ringing them up to see what the CS is like. I did find a store in town that carries them, but from the yelp reviews, the store looks a bit on the shady side, so I'm not really looking forward to going there. However, the salesman who printed out the info on windcrest for me was really great, so I'd be happy to give him my business should this cooktop work out. I think I even tried emailing dvorsons.com to see what they thought of it (since they do carry it) but I haven't heard back.

fori - Are all Wind crest cooktops made by Fagor Brandt or just the inductions ones? I just looked up Fagor Brandt and I all I could tell is that it's a French company... are they a reliable brand? What would you say is the US equivalent?

Thanks!

Mine's all slick--no knobs. And as far as I know, the gas cooktops are awful. :) I think the gas ones are new and it'll be hard to find reviews. BUt here's a bump anyway!

I believe it's just induction guts that are made by FB--apparently there are only a few companies that make induction parts and everyone buys from them.

Be brave and go to the sketchy store! But call them first to be sure they have it on display. And the salesman you liked should be able to tell you if Windcrest has good customer service if he's been selling their hoods.

And, if you decide to get it, be sure it's not a weird sized hole in case if doesn't work out...

I just sent an email off of their website so I'll see what kind of response I get. I'll try calling the number next.
Here was more info I found on their contact us page.
http://www.windcrestcnp.com/WindCrest%20Brochure%20rev1-07.pdf

Says they're made in California, but not sure if all the parts are from here...

"Wind Crest products are designed,
engineered, and manufactured in a
highly modernized, 89,000 square foot
facility in Southern California"

Here is a link that might be useful: info on website

hap

I gave serious consideration to one 36" cooktop when designing our kitchen 4 yrs ago - the only reason I did not go with it was our design changed rendering a Range vs. Cooktop wall ovens

best to you

I sent a message to Windcrest via their website and got a response about a week later. Here's the info I got:
We are happy to hear you are interested in purchasing our cook top.

Let me answer your the questions you have sent me.

1. The cook tops are made and assembled in Brea, CA.

2. No the parts are not made in China .

3. Our unit is ours; there is no other boxing or branding of this unit on the market.

4. if you have a problem with the unit you would contact me directly

Please call or text if you have any other question, comments or concerns.

Regards,

Michael Kirkley

Service & Operations Supervisor

WindCrest by CNP Industries Inc

351 Thor Place

Brea , CA 92821

(877) 387-6721 Customer Service

(714) 482-2320 ext 230

(714) 482-2337 fax

www.windcrestcnp.com

Heather, have you had a chance to go look at one of the cooktops (and any other items you are contemplating) first hand yet? How far along are you on the decisions?

Well, I did go to look at it on Saturday... only to find out the store was closed on Saturdays...and open every other day. I'll have to get out there later this week.

Finally got to a store that had a Wind crest 36" gas cooktop on display. I like it!!! I think I'm just going to take my chances and go for it.
I love the layout of hte burners and haven't found any other with the same layout and power and good price (about $1300).

The all brass burners and grates were super heavy. I don't think I'm going to love having a stainless cooktop though since all the ones I see at my friends' homes show the grime more than my current black one.

The metal knobs and the stainless parts of the cooktop did not match exactly...the metal colors were slightly off, but I can deal if that's its biggest issue. Also, the stainless pan on the floor of the cooktop was a separate piece of metal from the sides (instead of being one molded piece of metal), but the screws were hidden by the grates.

I'll upload some pics if I can figure out how.

can't figure out how to upload the images, so here's a link

Here is a link that might be useful: wind crest pics

May be too late, but just ran across your thread.
I have had the Windcrest 36" gas cooktop for several years. I am a very happy user of the product, and am surprised the company doesn't do more to improve their image. I LOVE the central burner, and it easily gets most of the use of all burners, works well with all size pans except on full when you need a large pan. The smallest 9KBTU burner comes in an easy second on use. Another few high points of the product are the thin design enables useful drawers directly below. Also, the 5 burner layout is great, though not unique to this particular product. The reason I found this thread is because I just typed the company a few recommendations for this cooktop and was seeing if I could find out more info about the company after I typed. What I was suggesting for a future cooktop would be to abandon the two 15kbtu burners and instead put two of the 9kbtu burners up front, and then either create two smaller versions of the central burner to go in back or just use 3 of those burners in back. The only time I ever use the 15kbtu burners is when they're the only spaces left. They follow typical burner design these days, which is really useless as the diameter of the burner ring pushes the flame well past even large pots, so most of the heat is completely wasted. The central burner does spread wide too, but because of the little center burner inside it spreads the heat over the center of the pan and the outside of the pan... the only way a large burner should be designed. I rarely use more than 3 burners at a time, so for the most part the burners work well for me, but in an ideal world that would be my change. There are two small issues I have with the Windcrest unit, and that is the interior stainless surface has squared up corners making it very difficult to clean well... the other is the layout of the burner controls... it seems to be more intuitive that the outside controls would control the front left/right burners instead of the rear. I still have to remind myself this after years of use. Small issues for an otherwise wonderful product, AND as you mention, a great price.

Maybe too late but here's my review. I love love love my windcrest 36 inch gas cooktop. I am now building a new home and am perplexed. Should I buy another one because I loved it so much, or should I try other brands. Other brand under consideration (but also costs more) include Blue Star. One brand under consideration (but costs are comparable and less BTU) is Bertazzoni.

What I loved about my Windcrest: Dependable and reliable cooktop. Solid cast iron construction - nothing flimpsy but also no frills. Loved the BTU and cooking control/flexibility. Grates are heavy. Its a very shallow cooktop so you don't have to compromise a drawer below it. Easy to clean. I combined it with a broan downdraft vent. Great combination!

I am not an average cook; but I'm not a professional either - cooking is just my hobby and passion. Cheers!

Thanks sktexas. Guess what? We added on to our house but decided to put the kitchen remodel on hold...too many choices. Our neighbors remodeled and gave us their gently used amana 36" stainless cooktop...nothing fancy, but the cooktop layout is similar to the Windcrest and much more useful than my old 4 burner cooktop. The one thing I don't like is how things can really burn on to the stainless part. I had a black cooktop before and it was so much easier to clean (or maybe it hid more?). Do you find the stainless part on the windcrest difficult to keep clean?

Just looking today for appliances today for current house remodel. Am planning to get the 36'' model Wind Crest . Knobs are metal with brass stems. Burners come apart for easy cleaning and the pan appearscthatvit will be easy to clean. No deep areas or tricky corners. Stove top is made in America not just assembled here. Appears that the burners are far enough apart that pans will not interfere with each other.